The City’s 2013 Transportation Master Plan (TMP) emphasizes the importance of sustainability and includes the following vision statement: In 2031, Ottawa’s transportation system will enhance our quality of life by supporting social, environmental, and economic sustainability in an accountable and responsive manner. The TMP is currently being updated, and the draft policies include a strong focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and prioritizing sustainable modes of travel. These policies reflect the City’s recently approved Official Plan which calls for more than half of trips to be made by walking, cycling, transit, and car-pooling by 2046. The draft TMP policies acknowledge that continuing to expand roads to accommodate peak travel demand is unfeasible at the scale needed, and that widespread road expansion runs counter to City objectives related to climate change mitigation, urban design, health, and safety.  

However, sustainability encompasses more than just the environment; it also considers economic and social objectives. Roads are needed to provide access to new communities. They are used as truck routes and play an important role in the City’s economy. They also accommodate transit vehicles and active transportation facilities. In developing options to meet the City’s mobility needs, transit and active transportation will be prioritized. However, new roads and road widening projects may still be required to provide access to new development, reduce cut-through traffic, or accommodate residual travel demand that cannot be met by other modes. Road projects will be pursued where transit alternatives have been exhausted and where isolated measures such as intersection improvements are insufficient to address bottlenecks.  

Overall, the 2023 Draft Budget includes more than $52 million of new investments with moderate or major climate contributions. Of these, more than $30 million of investments are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions beyond the Energy Evolution business-as-planned scenario and $22 million of investments are expected to make a moderate or major contribution to build climate resiliency. As part of this funding, $5 million is allocated to support projects under the Climate Change Master Plan including Energy Evolution and the Climate Resiliency Strategy.  Although, we know it isn’t enough to fully implement the Climate Change Master Plan, the 2023 Draft Budget is the first year that the Climate Change Master Plan has had stable, consistent funding that is expected to continue. At a high level, the $5 million spending plan includes funding to advance:  

Thank you for your question. The City has submitted a draft budget of $57.6 million for diversion activities in 2023. As shown on page 8 in this year’s Environmental and Climate Change Committee – Tax Supported book under ‘Expenditures by Program – Diversions/Recycling’, this $57.6M pressure is the highest among others that make up the $113.6M, many of which also contribute towards diversion activities. 

Additionally, Solid Waste Services has identified $287,000 for Promotion and Education which will also work towards increasing waste diversion activities. 

The City's Official Plan (OP) has various policies on density and transit-oriented development; lands selected for inclusion in the City’s urban boundary were specifically selected based on their proximity to transit and there are policies to coordinate development activity with the provision of transit services.  

In addition, the OP has a target that by 2046, the majority of trips will be made by walking, cycling, transit and carpooling. The Transportation Master Plan (currently being updated) will include policies and actions to support and advance the Official Plan's sustainability objectives.  Key policies in the draft TMP include prioritizing modes of travel that are space efficient, encouraging sustainable transportation through community planning and design, and aligning development tools to support mode share targets. However, there will still be residual trips that must be made by vehicles, including commercial vehicles, and therefore the network will also include infrastructure for this mode. The City's road designs include sidewalks and cycling facilities. Local buses operate on roads to expand the City's transit coverage beyond the Transitway and O-Train corridors. 

Thank you for your inquiry about the old railway line going through Dunrobin. 

The 2023 draft budget does not include funding for this pathway project. 

The City purchased the abandoned rail corridor, the western segment of the Beachburg Subdivision, in late 2021/early 2022. This is reflected in the agenda of the October 13, 2021 Council meeting.  In City ownership, it is being protected for future longer-term transportation needs. 

The interim use of this corridor (for a multi-use pathway for example) is being assessed as part of the update to the Active Transportation network.  The priority project list, which includes this pathway and other planned active transportation projects across the City, will be presented to the Transportation Committee and Council for consideration later this year. That list will form the basis for future year funding requests. 

Thank you for your interest in the 2023 Budget.  

All residents are welcome to get involved in the budget process through committee and council meetings, joining a public consultation, emailing their City Councillor or asking their questions on the Budget 2023 Engage Ottawa page. 

Thank you for your inquiry about roads and active transportation infrastructure. 

The full budget book for the Transportation Committee can be found in the agenda of the February 1, 2023 Council meeting. 

The adopted books from the previous three years are on Ottawa.ca and the information on roads and active transportation infrastructure would be under the Transportation Committee sections of those as well.