2002:01PU URBAN TRANSIT
Whereas:
- In 1991, the National Council of Women of Canada urged the Government of Canada to place a high priority on encouraging greater use of public transportation in its initiatives aimed at reducing pollution; and
- A sustainable environment requires greater examination of the long-term impact of decisions made at every level of government, as well as our individual decisions; and
- 80% of Canadians now live in urban areas, creating serious problems: urban sprawl, clogged highways, long commutes in single-occupancy vehicles, high levels of damaging emissions resulting in poor air quality and related health problems as well as other environmental damage; and
- The abandonment of mixed-use zoning and the development of lower-cost dormitory communities has meant that large numbers of workers live at greater distances from their work or shopping places, with long-term costs in both pollution and infrastructure; and
- It is essential to make the use of alternative means of travel such as urban transit, cycling, and walking more appealing; and
- In the United States, urban transit receives substantial operating subsidies and cities have been given the flexibility to use these subsidies for innovative solutions; and
- State and federal funding for public transportation has enabled US cities to have lower bus fares, covering 41% of operating costs compared to 62% in Canada, and some US cities have free downtown bus service; and
- Municipal governments in their official planning, economic, and housing development processes must work in tandem with environmental issues such as reducing car travel; therefore be it
RESOLVED:
- That the National Council of Women of Canada adopt as its policy the need for annual subsidies for urban transit and support for the use of government funds for innovative solutions to urban transit problems; and be it further
- That the National Council of Women of Canada urge the Government of Canada to:
a. Develop an urban transit policy which would dedicate annual subsidies to urban transit costs and assist innovative transit-related solutions by municipalities;
b. Work in cooperation with the provincial and territorial governments in carrying out this policy and encourage further investment by provinces; and be it further - That the National Council of Women of Canada urge Provincial and Local Councils of Women to urge their respective provincial governments to provide subsidies to lower fares for urban transport and develop other innovative policies in cooperation with municipalities which would encourage more use of urban transit and less reliance on single-occupancy commutes; and be it further
RESOLVED:
- That the National Council of Women of Canada urge Local Councils of Women to urge their municipal governments to create a more sustainable and livable environment through, for example, consideration of:
a. Designing their planning processes so that all planning decisions take into consideration shortening of worker commutes and reduction of car travel;
b. Encouraging an increase in alternative means of transportation such as walking, cycling, carpooling, and urban transit;
c. Limiting urban sprawl which encourages long commutes in single-occupancy vehicles;
d. Providing incentives to develop housing close to local workplaces and public transportation;
e. Permitting mixed-use zoning and discouraging low-density development;
f. Encouraging community-sensitive infill and the location of work sites close to public transportation, housing, and shopping facilities while continuing to provide adequate green spaces;
g. Considering seriously the provision of free transit zones.