Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to research and write three articles for the Ontario Traffic Magazine. This magazine is published online twice annually by the Ontario Traffic Council (OTC).
The link between Carbon Emissions & Transportation
In the first article, I look at the relationship between carbon emissions and transportation (p.12). Transportation accounts for 35% of greenhouse gas emissions in Ontario, and 62% of these emissions come from personal vehicles. In the context of the climate emergency, many municipalities are taking steps to "go green" when it comes to transportation. This includes London, ON who have adopted a new Climate Emergency Screening Tool (CEST), which asks key questions about how projects align with climate change mitigation and adaptation considerations. When applied to transportation projects in 2021, the CEST analysis led staff to recommend the suspension of two road widening projects that could lead to greater use of private vehicles and an increased heat island effect.
What Is AMPS - And why are municipalities pushing for it
My second article is about Administrative Monetary Penalty Systems - also known as AMPS (p. 16). With a growing number of automated enforcement platforms becoming available, municipalities are pushing for the implementation of an AMPS system to help deal with the high volume of infractions being generated. While it is new to consider the use of AMPS for traffic matters, the use of AMPS for non-criminal regulatory provisions is not new.
Ontario's New Multi-Modal Level of Service (MMLOS) Guidelines
And in my last article I provide an overview of the new Multi-modal Level of Service (MMLOS) Guidelines published by the Ontario Traffic Council (p. 18). Level of Service (LOS) is a widely used measurement for assessing how well an intersection is performing, but traditional LOS measurements have prioritized motor vehicles and led to infrastructure designs aimed at maximizing motor vehicle through-put. The new MMLOS Guidelines allow transportation professionals to make design and operational decisions that support multi-modal travel including people walking, cycling, wheeling, and taking transit.
The Ontario Traffic Magazine is available to read for free online.