The University of British Columbia will pursue a 20 per cent reduction
in single occupancy vehicles (SOVs) traveling to the campus, as
part of an Official Community Plan (OCP) for the UBC area.
UBC will also pursue the complementary goal of increasing ridership
on BC Transit to UBC by 20 per cent by the date of the first OCP
review — representing the most significant increase in transit
ridership in the region.
These commitments are contained in a report to the Greater Vancouver
Regional District (GVRD) outlining how the university will address
the issue of transportation planning under an OCP.
“Everyone is concerned about the growing traffic problems in the
Lower Mainland,” said UBC President David Strangway. “We are committed
to doing our part at UBC in helping to find viable solutions, ones
that may provide models for the rest of the Lower Mainland.”
“The automobile, and its pre-eminence, has intruded into all our
lives and we need to provide alternatives to get people out of single
occupancy vehicles. But we can’t do it alone — the solution lies
in partnerships with the City of Vancouver, BC Transit and others,”
said Shirley Chan, chair of UBC’s Board of Governors.
Following a four-month consultation process which included the
appointment of a transportation consultant, the formation of a community-based
committee to study transportation demand management at UBC, and
four public meetings, UBC will implement the following measures:
– Develop and implement a U-Pass system for UBC (to encourage and
provide alternatives to automobile use) and commit $250,000 per
year toward the program, beginning in the 1998/99 fiscal year. This
funding will come from increases to UBC parking fees, beyond those
in the recently approved Parking and Transportation Business Plan
for the university.
– Research and define more accurately the markets for a U-Pass
system at UBC by identifying and quantifying the travel requirements
of UBC students and personnel. This work will be carried out by
a transportation expert who will draw on the expertise and experience
of the University of Washington’s U-Pass System. This study could
be undertaken jointly with the City of Vancouver, the GVRD and BC
Transit as an example for the rest of the region and as a test of
the validity of the “20 per cent” targets outlined above.
– Open negotiations immediately with BC Transit to develop a unique
U-Pass system for UBC that can be put into operation by September
1999. This should give BC Transit adequate time to secure required
additional buses.
– Hire a full-time transportation director within three months
to coordinate and manage creative solutions for transportation demand
management and to actively work with BC Transit, the City of Vancouver,
local resident groups, the GVRD, the Ministry of Transportation
and Highways and other parties.
– Investigate the feasibility of changing class scheduling, in
conjunction with transit scheduling, to reduce peak traffic flows.
– Finalize UBC’s request to the Ministry of Transportation and
Highways for the removal of all free parking along roads adjacent
to UBC which are controlled by the ministry. This will reduce the
parking supply in and around UBC by almost 600 spaces.
– Utilize the university’s purchasing power to acquire bicycles
and make them available at favourable purchase prices to university
personnel who commit to cycling for all or part of their commute
to and from UBC.
– Investigate the feasibility of using the recently formed Co-operative
Auto Network as a means of reducing automobile ownership and promoting
car sharing.
– Continue the promotion of telecommuting by university personnel.
– Continue to operate a Transportation Committee and ensure that
it includes representation from neighbouring communities.
While UBC has no direct authority to control how trucks travel
to and from the campus, it will work with the City of Vancouver
to ensure that trucks follow the city’s designated truck routes
on 10th and 16th avenues and SW Marine Drive. UBC will also work
with both the trucking companies and those requiring trucking services
to optimize deliveries and thereby attempt to reduce truck volumes.
UBC will also:
– Continue to develop measures under the university’s Preferred
Vendors Program which group certain goods and services entering
and leaving the campus. UBC will coordinate this work through its
Purchasing Department and with its new transportation director.
– Work with the City of Vancouver and the immediate neighbours
to determine which goods and services will be moved along designated
truck routes, in order to minimize impacts on adjoining neighbourhoods.
– Incorporate an enforcement clause, for the above two points,
in each of its contracts and back this up with a $1,000 penalty
for non-conformance.
– Investigate and consider all ways for re-using fill materials
that are created on-site to avoid trucking these materials off-site
and increase its emphasis on recycling within the campus to reduce
the need for removing construction and other waste items from the
campus.
– Create a recognition program for the best new idea for reducing
the impact of truck traffic on adjoining neighbourhoods, perhaps
modeled on the GVRD’s program for recognizing individuals who demonstrate
environmentally sound work practices.
Work on an OCP for the UBC area began in December 1994 upon the
signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the university
and the GVRD. The OCP received third-reading approval by the GVRD
Board of Directors last November.
UBC and the GVRD have also received a commitment from the Minister
of Municipal Affairs to undertake a governance study for all of
Electoral Area “A” including UBC and the University Endowment Lands.
UBC and its Board of Governors fully support the governance study,
and are eager to see the development of one that recognizes the
unique mission of UBC and its obligations under the University Act,
along with provincial interests. UBC would also like to see the
terms of reference and composition of the Governance Study Committee
develop through full consultation with the university’s community
of students, faculty, staff, and residents, as well as residents
of Electoral Area “A.”
-30-
