Long Term Integrated Interprovincial Crossings Plan for Canada’s Capital Region - A Strategic Plan for Interprovincial Crossings and Sustainable Transportation for Canada’s Capital Region

Introduction

As part of the federal goal of ensuring the continued safety and function of interprovincial crossings in the National Capital Region (NCR), the National Capital Commission (NCC) was mandated through Budget 2019: to work with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) towards the replacement of the Alexandra Bridge as it is now more than 100 years old; refresh existing studies related to an additional NCR crossing (studies being refreshed as a separate assignment); and develop a long term integrated interprovincial crossings plan.

In accordance with its Capital planning mandate and the role assigned by the federal government to develop a long-term integrated interprovincial crossing plan, the NCC is seeking the services of an experienced and qualified firm whose mandate will be to develop this plan. The consultant team will help guide relevant federal, provincial and municipal partners to work collectively towards a more integrated, seamless and sustainable interprovincial mobility network by 2050, with short and medium-terms targets

The participation and collaboration of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Ministère des transports du Québec, the City of Ottawa (including OC Transpo), the City of Gatineau and STO are key to develop a comprehensive plan that reflects their values, plans and priorities. 

Objectives

 The Plan will propose a long term transportation strategy with vision and approaches for all parties to build on past successes and move forward to meet new and emerging challenges. The Plan will provide a profile of transportation issues, and priorities for facilitating sustainable mobility, long-term goals, and the way forward to achieve the following vision and objectives, while respecting the mandates of each partner:

• Propose sustainable and innovative choices to support interprovincial mobility;
• Promote, at the regional level, the transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient mobility networks and systems;
• Optimize the “people movement” capacity of the interprovincial network, while taking into account the notion of induced demand;
• Evaluate alternative potential solutions to reduce interprovincial heavy truck traffic in downtown areas, including emerging innovations, technologies and measures such as autonomous trucks, freight bicycles, innovative delivery logistics, that could make interprovincial freight transportation more sustainable and reduce impacts in the downtown core;
• Provide an overview of the interprovincial transportation system to 2050 and beyond;
• Take into account trends and important changes to be anticipated in terms of mobility;
• Evaluate governance options that take into account the current responsibilities of each partner, future changes in infrastructure stewardship and future mobility technologies.