Bunt & Associates is doing an Active Transportation Plan for Port Hardy
PORT HARDY – Communities across Vancouver Island are reaching out to Bunt & Associates Engineering Ltd. to find solutions for active transportation.
The latest for the transportation planning and engineering company is Port Hardy, the northernmost town on Vancouver Island, which is having the firm lead the development of its Active Transportation Plan.
Bunt & Associates, founded in 1993, is one of the largest specialist transportation planning and engineering consulting companies in Western Canada, with 60 transportation planners, engineers, technologists and support staff in offices in Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.
Tyler Thomson
Senior Transportation and Active Transportation Planner Tyler Thomson has been with Bunt for 15 years and is an associate of the company, and is currently leading the Port Hardy initiative.
Their work in Port Hardy includes gathering information on “how people move by non-motorized modes like walking and cycling, and it also touches on mobility scooters. It’s about inspiring healthy, active ways of moving around a community,” he says.
Bunt & Associates is using a two-phase public engagement strategy that started with understanding the experiences and perceptions of citizens.
“We have learned a lot from the community in terms of how weather, maintenance, accessibility, and social behavior conditions affect transportation choices,” Thomson says.
Soon, the team will be launching an interactive survey which asks citizens to help prioritize recommended projects based on budgetary constraints.
“The challenge is stitching communities together and making sure there is a connected network, for All Ages and Abilities (AAA), allowing people to use walking or cycling or scootering to move around to the places they want to go,” he notes. “So there’s a connected network that gives people the choice not to use their cars, and stay active and healthy.”
Thomson observes that COVID-19 has resulted in more people getting out in the fresh air to walk and cycle, part of a healthier lifestyle that he hopes continues once the pandemic passes.
Other Bunt & Associates projects in the region include the Island Rail Corridor Condition Assessment, the Ganges Village Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure Plan on Saltspring Island, the Cortes Island Transportation Demand Study, Royal Bay Master Transportation Plan, Six Mile Road Corridor Study, E&N Rail Trail Wayfinding Signage Review, Latoria Boulevard Bike Lane Design, and Cadboro Bay Road Design amongst many others.