Transport Action Canada
Hotline 1116, May 13, 2011
(formerly Transport 2000 / anciennement Transport 2000 Canada)
info@transport-action.ca
(613) 594-3290
Recorded Hotline: 1-800-771-5035
Calendar:
14 months late: high speed rail study
14 months late: Canadian Transportation Agency decision on upgrade to
Toronto-London rail connection
Transport Canada supports Decade of Action for Road Safety but ...Canada's road safety plan has no trucking safety component
On Monday Canada's top road safety group will unveil a new plan to make Canada's roads the "safest in the world". The last master plan, Road Safety Vision 2010, saw Canada's safety standing, relative to OECD countries, plunge.
The new Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators/Transport Canada road safety initiative will be unveiled at a news conference:
Monday, May 16, 11:45 - 12:30
Harbour Front Delta Ocean Pointe, Victoria, BC
Reliable sources tell Transport Action it will not have a trucking safety component. In 2007, the CCMTA's Road Safety Vision mid-term review slammed the group responsible for truck safety saying, "the CCMTA Standing Committee on Compliance and Regulatory Affairs (CRA) needs to accept accountability" (page 134).
Four years later nothing has emerged. Nor has any study been made of the group's main "safety" initiative, implemented in 2007, which increased the weekly maximum hours of truck driving time from 60 to 77.
Transports Canada appuie la Décennie d’action pour la sécurité routière des Nations Unies
Transport Action Atlantic AGM: May 14
Transport Action Atlantic AGM will be held in the Thistle Room of the Dartmouth Sportsplex at 3 pm Sat. May 14. The Sportsplex is located near the Dartmouth end of the MacDonald Bridge. There is ample parking at the rear and a major transit terminal is next door. Nominations for the Board must be received in advance and should be sent immediately by e-mail to Don Macleod.
The program will consist of a panel discussion about current Atlantic transportation issues plus a presentation about rural N.S. transport links from the fall 2010 meeting of the Community Transit Society of Nova Scotia. A board meeting is scheduled for 1030 AM saturday at the home of president Marcus Garnet, just a couple of blocks from the AGM location. Lunch will be served, then the board meeting will continue until about 2:30 pm.
Transport Action's Wellar to speak at Sustainable Community Summit, May 14
Dr. Barry Wellar, Distinguished Research Fellow at Transport Action Canada, will be a keynote speaker at the Sustainable Community Summit organized by Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi. The presentation by Dr. Wellar, “Transportation: Inspiring a Sustainability Action Agenda”, can be viewed at:
http://www.transport-action.ca/dc/Wellar_2ndSustainableCommunitySummit.pdf
Transport 2000 sonne l'alarme et en appelle maintenant au Ministre des transports
Montréal, le 10 mai 2011 -- Après plus de quatre années de discussions, de consultations diverses et la multiplication des tables de travail (11 à 18 tables selon les informations disponibles), le président de l’association Transport 2000 Québec demande maintenant au ministre des Transports du Québec l’adoption d’un plan d’action pour accélérer la mise en œuvre imminente de mesures de mitigation efficaces et une meilleure intégration des modes dans l’axe Turcot.
Selon son président monsieur Robert Dubé, Il est évident que les travaux de l’échangeur Turcot, bien qu’essentiels, causeront des perturbations importantes qui ne se termineront qu’en 2018. Ils affecteront non seulement les automobilistes de l’échangeur mais également tout le réseau routier dans le secteur ouest de la Métropole. Il faut, et le temps presse, se prémunir contre ce risque et présenter des mesures de mitigation efficaces pour faciliter le déplacement des personnes sur cet horizon, voire même au-delà de l’échéance prévue.
Transport 2000 Quebec says use more transit to brace for Turcot jams
"For years, Quebec has been working on its plans to rebuild the Turcot Interchange, used by about 300,000 cars daily. The project – to run from 2012 to 2018 – will cost $3 billion and will cause many serious traffic jams. Yet it’s still unclear what the province plans to do to help avoid gridlock. This morning, Transport 2000, a public-transit users’ group, issued (an) open letter urging the province to act now," Andy Riga reported for the Montreal Gazette on May 10.
Transport 2000 Quebec advises:
"Public transport can play a key role in mitigating the adverse effects of work on the Turcot interchange. . . .
The STM, the AMT and the MTQ, should quickly implement an emergency plan with integrated measures, starting with optimizing the use of current facilities. ...
The AMT should examine strategies for some improvements as soon as possible, and certainly before 2016However, in our opinion, the key short-term solution to attract travellers and compete with the private vehicle is a significant improvement in the quality of bus service, with reduced travel times, improved reliability and increased frequency," The Montreal Gazette reported.
Transport Canada and the "duty to protect"
"Last week, the B.C. Supreme Court was to examine whether a federal regulatory agency should be held responsible for the deaths. In a civil suit brought by Mr. Honour’s widow and his three children, Transport Canada was
accused of breaking its own rules by licensing a helicopter service company “with an extensive history of unsafe practises.” But at the last minute, the agency avoided potentially embarrassing questions about its air safety operations, agreeing to a confidential out-of-court settlement just before the trial started." Julian Sher, reported for the Globe and Mail on May 10, 2011.
Transport Action's Gerry Einarsson represents the watchdog group on the Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council.
Michigan passenger rail money boosts hopes for more Canadian investment
"Efforts to build a high-speed rail line in the Windsor-Montreal corridor may gain traction after Michigan secured $200 million from Washington to build a new high-speed rail connection between Detroit and Chicago," Dave Battagello wrote for the Windsor Star on May 10, 2011.
Le futur train léger d'Ottawa
« Le futur train léger d'Ottawa pourrait entrer en service un an plus tôt que prévu, soit en 2018. ... Rappelons qu'à l'origine, le futur train léger d'Ottawa devait entrer en service en 2019. L'organisme Transport Action Canada souhaiterait, pour sa part, que le train soit prêt en 2017, à temps pour le 150e anniversaire dela Confédération et de la capitale nationale » Radio Canada a rapporté le 6 mai.
America 2050 praises $2 billion intercity rail grants
"America 2050 — a national coalition of regional planners, scholars and policy-makers focused on infrastructure, economic development and environmental issues — commended the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) for redistributing $2 billion in high-speed and intercity rail grants to 15 states. The funds became available earlier this year after Florida Gov. Rick Scott decided not to accept federal stimulus dollars to build a high-speed rail connection between Tampa and Orlando, Progressive Railroading reported on May 11.
Japan models a plane-train
"Japanese researchers rolled into the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Shanghai with a scale model of a robotic plane-train that levitates on a cushion of air. It’s essentially a plane — complete with stubby wings, a handful of propellers and a tail — that flies perilously close to the ground," Mark Brown for Wired on May 12.
Harry Gow finally on the move: Amis, collègues, friends, colleagues
Notre maison ici est louée* dès le 1er juillet à une famille de London dont les les chefs se nomment John et Sue. Ils ont un fils au Collège Algonquin et une fille à Queens. Our house in New Chelsea has been let* from July 1st to a couple, John and Sue, from London, Ont. They have a son at Algonquin College and a daughter at Queens. Nous allons déménager par étapes vers le 1847, ch. du Rivage, Saint-Antoine sur-Richelieu (non-inondé!). We shall move in stages to 1847, ch. du Rivage, Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu (not flooded, luckily).
CAA, Changing Lanes, Vancouver May 25
The Canadian Automobile Association's national conference. Changing Lanes: Improving the Bike-Car Relationship on Canada's Roads, will be hosted on May 25 in Vancouver, B.C. The conference has an impressive roster of speakers including:
Gil Penalosa, Executive Director, 8-80 cities, Toronto
Margaret Mahan, Executive Director, Better Environmentally Sound
Transportation (B.E.S.T), Vancouver
Jean-François Pronovost, Vice-President, Development and Public Affairs,
Vélo Québec, Montreal
Eleanor McMahon, Founder and C.E.O., Share the Road Cycling Coalition,
Burlington, Ontario
Hans-Jurgen Becker, Velocities 2012, Vancouver
Jennifer Dill, Oregon Transportation Consortium, Portland
It will be held on Wednesday May 25, 2011 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM PD at the Vancouver Convention Centre (WEST), 1055 Canada Place.
Francophones en baisse
"L'article "La proportion de francophones en baisse dans Prescott-Russell Dix fois plus d'arrivants anglos" (LeDroit, 11 mai) ne m'a pas surpris. Dans mon travail de consultant en transports collectifs dans les comtés unis, la proportion de sondages remplis en anglais me semble assez élevée. Et plusieurs de ces réponses semblent l'être par des francophones. Si des lecteurs francophones et francophiles voudraient nous aider, ils sont invités à accéder au site web www.teo-eot.ca et à répondre dansla langue de Molière. En 10 minutes, ils auront aidé les transports collectifs, l'environnement et la langue française," Harry Gow a écrit Le Droit le 13 mai
Pay-As-You-Drive Vehicle Insurance in British Columbia
A new study evaluates Pay-As-You-Drive Vehicle Insurance. It identifies significant potential benefits to motorists, the economy and the environment.
Insurance is one of the largest motor vehicle expenses, costing about $1,200 annually for a typical automobile. Conventional insurance is a fixed cost with respect to vehicle use; moderate reductions in vehicle travel provide no savings to motorists. An alternative price structure, called Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD), changes insurance into a variable cost, so motorists save money when they reduce their mileage. As a result, they tend to drive less," reports Todd Litman of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute.
Vancouver Island Rail: Roads, bridges, highways, ferries
Transport Action BC's Matthew Buchanan points to a Nanaimo News Bulletin story by Transport Action member Ian Gartshore:
"Critics say that if the railway can’t pay its own way, then it should die. Strange thinking when all other modes of travel are heavily subsidised by various governments. Why are railways alone not considered to be an ‘investment’ like roads, airports, and cruise ship or ferry terminals? Perhaps this is because rail travel is seen by most to be a ‘thing of the past," Ian Gartshore wrote in the Nanaimo Daily Bulletin reported on Apr. 16.
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