Toronto Introduces Equity Lens to Cycling Infrastructure

Written by Kim Perrotta

The Challenge

Historical practices have resulted in the inequitable delivery of services to some areas of Toronto. The unequal burden of COVID-19 among residents revealed the economic, racial, health and social disparities that exist in some neighbourhoods. 

But even before the pandemic, the City recognized the need to transform many of its systems, including how transportation projects are planned and implemented, to address those inequities. This applies to cycling infrastructure as well as other modes of transportation.  

“Historically, there has been much more investment in on-street cycling infrastructure in the downtown core of Toronto, than in the suburbs. This has meant that a number of lower income neighbourhoods in the City’s suburbs have not been well served by cycling investments,” offered Katie Wittmann, Project Lead, Capital Projects and Program, Transportation Services. “In 2019, we developed a Cycling Network Plan that applied an equity lens for the first time to give greater priority to underserved neighbourhoods in the city. A similar equity-based approach is being applied to other modes of transportation as well.”  

The Process

The equity lens applied to the 2019 Cycling Network Plan was grounded in the Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs) that were identified by the City in 2014. Toronto’s 140 neighbourhoods were scored using 15 indicators of neighbourhood inequity with statistics related to issues such as income levels, education, the walkability of neighbourhoods, voter turnout, and health risks such as diabetes. The results were used to score neighbourhoods on a Neighbourhood Equity Index. Neighbourhoods that passed a certain threshold were identified as NIAs that would receive additional staff support and funding to address inequities. The 2019 Cycling Network Plan added NIAs to the prioritization process for future cycling investments.  

The 2021 Cycling Network Plan Update, which was approved by City Council in December 2021, applies an expanded equity-based approach.  This time, staff combined a neighbourhood analysis of cycling infrastructure with a neighbourhood analysis of equity to create a Neighbourhood Cycling and Equity Map that combines both ratings and their overlap to prioritize investments. The 2021 Cycling Network Plan Update also shares analyses of other equity-related variables, such as crowded transit routes and areas that need more parkland, which are also considered in the expanded prioritization process. 

“We engaged with some advocacy, academic, and community groups on the revised approach but were limited in our ability to consult because of the pandemic,” noted Katie. “There was overall support for the updated analyses and approach, but we would like to do more consultation on the broader transportation programming process in the coming years, in addition to the project-specific consultations that already take place for each cycling route.” 

The Outcome

The installation of cycling infrastructure over the last three years has been unprecedented in Toronto’s history. From 2019 to 2021, 65 km of new bikeways were installed and 47 km of existing cycling routes were upgraded or enhanced. This work has accelerated progress towards the City’s goal of making cycling infrastructure accessible (i.e. within 250 to 500 metres) to all of the City’s population and jobs. The percentage of people and jobs that have access to cycling infrastructure has increased from 62.8% to 67.1% over the last three years. This means that about 180,000 more people are living or working within close proximity of a cycling route today than in 2018.   

“We have also seen some concrete improvements in underserved neighbourhoods over the last few years. For example, many cycling routes have been installed in Thorncliffe Park & Flemingdon Park (#55 and #44 on the map) and near York University and Downsview (#27 and #26 on the map), and there are more routes in these and other NIAs planned for the near-term” said Katie. 

The 2021 Cycling Network Plan identifies the need to increase the cycling budget to enhance public consultations, hire more staff to support design, consultation and delivery of cycling infrastructure, and for an increase in the capital budget from $16 million per year to $20 million per year.

“Since 2016, we have not increased the cycling budget to meet our equity goals; we have simply re-allocated existing funds for those goals,” explained Katie. “However, the pandemic brought a huge demand for cycling infrastructure from residents and Councillors alike which resulted in increased spending in 2020 to meet that demand, and we don’t see that demand changing in the future.”

All photos courtesy of Kanchan Maharaj.

Planting Trees to Attenuate Heat Waves in Montreal

Written by Kim Perrotta

Goals

A new project is aiming to turn down the temperature in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Montreal.  Vert le Nord aims to green urban spaces to reduce the urban heat island effect and improve the quality of life and work in the north end of Montreal.

Inspired by the ILEAU campaign run by the Montreal Regional Environmental Council (CRE-Montreal), this project is led by the non-profit organization, Ville en vert, in collaboration with the non-profit organization, VertCité. The Vert le Nord project is directed at neighborhoods in Montreal that rate high both as urban heat islands and for social deprivation.

“One of our goals is to create green, cool spaces in neighbourhoods that can experience extreme heat because they have too few trees, too little shade, and too much pavement, that are also home to socially disadvantaged populations,” offered Clementine Mosdale, Project Manager for Vert le Nord. “These populations can be more sensitive to extreme heat because social disadvantages – such as low incomes and poor working conditions – can put these populations at greater risk for negative health outcomes.  These populations can also be more vulnerable to extreme heat because they are less likely to have access to air conditioning, cool parks or swimming pools that offer relief from high temperatures.”

“We also want to raise awareness about environmental issues in the City and the actions that people can take to address them,” noted Tiphanie Lebeaupin, the Communications Officer for both Vert le Nord and Ville en vert. “With the Vert le Nord project, we particularly want to increase public awareness about both, the negative health impacts that can result from extreme heat, and the health benefits that can be provided by trees.”

Process

The project is funded for three years (2020-2022) by the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ), which put out an open call for proposals from organizations to “combat” the urban heat island effects in Montreal. This funding is part of Quebec’s 2013-20 Climate Change Action Plan.

Vert le Nord is focused on, and supported by, three administrative boroughs – Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Saint-Laurent, and Villeray—Saint-Michel—Parc-Extension. These are high-density boroughs that are characterized by heat islands.

“We want to work with municipalities, schools, residents and some local businesses to identify the projects that can green their neighbourhoods while meeting other needs they have identified for themselves,” explains Clémentine.“We want to find synergies with them; see if we can meet more than one need at a time. For example, green places that create social spaces where people can meet and interact, while also reducing the urban heat island effect and the hazards it presents.” 

“We really work to educate and mobilize the community. We want to engage them in the decisions that affect their neighbourhoods and in the planting of trees,” noted Tiphanie.

Outcomes

The project began in 2020. While constrained by the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project team was still able to accomplish a great deal. That first year was spent contacting local residents and organizations, identifying potential locations for projects, and convening meetings with partners to discuss project ideas.

There was more “on the ground” work in the second year. The Vert le Nord team completed 10 projects in 2021: one with a non-profit organization, one with an early childhood center, two with businesses, four green alley projects with the municipality, and two that involved planting trees on private property. In 2021, Vert le Nord removed 51 square metres of pavement and supported the planting of 40 trees and 316 shrubs and perennial plants.

“We are eager to do work on school properties because children are particularly sensitive to heat and school yards often have a lot of pavement, very few trees, and little shade,” noted Clémentine. “We were unable to complete any school projects in 2021 but plan to do so in 2022.”

Learn More

To find out more about the project, visit the vertlenord.ca website, or watch their videos:

Photos courtesy of Vert le Nord.

Pathways Between Transportation and Health – February 4th | 2022

VIDEO AVAILABLE

Transportation is an integral part of our daily lives, giving us access to people, education, jobs, services, and goods. Our transportation choices and behaviours are influenced by four interrelated factors: the land use and built environment, infrastructure, available modes, and emerging technologies/disruptors. These factors influence how we move ourselves and goods, and are modifiable. In turn, these factors impact various exposures, lifestyles and health outcomes. Understanding how transportation can be both beneficial and detrimental to health is crucial for policy- and decision-makers aiming to prioritize and improve public health in their cities.

This webinar will:

  • Summarize pathways that link transportation to health
  • Review how pathways between transportation and health intersect with equity
  • Show quantitative health impact assessments of these pathways from cities across the world
  • Overview data and methodological gaps in health impact assessments of transportation decisions
  • Discuss how understanding the pathways, health impacts and co-benefits can inform decision making about transportation and public health

About the speaker:

Haneen Khreis is a Senior Research Associate in the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge and is an Associate Scientist with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. She is a cross-disciplinary researcher broadly studying the health impacts of transport planning and policy with a special interest in cities. She is trained in transport planning and engineering, vehicle emissions and air quality monitoring and modelling, systematic reviews, health impact and burden of disease assessment. She also has expertise in policy options generation and the science-policy link. Haneen has worked extensively with air pollution and asthma in particular, doing epidemiological, burden of disease assessment and monetization studies.

She has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers, chapters and technical reports, with a large media impact, and edited three books on integrating human health into planning, transport and health, and traffic-related air pollution and health. Haneen recently developed a cross-disciplinary course titled “Traffic-Related Air Pollution: Emissions, Human Exposures, and Health.”. She is dedicated to improving human health and equity through supporting relevant education, workforce development, and evidence-based healthy and just planning.