Transportation Demand Management
Transportation Demand Management (TDM) is one approach to reducing traffic congestion, travel times and pollution. Rather than continuing with the traditional approach of building more roads to relieve congestion, the goal of TDM is to reduce the number of single occupant vehicles especially during peak congestion periods through car/vanpooling, transit, walking, cycling and alternate work arrangements. Please select the appropriate link below to find out what the City of Burlington is doing to promote TDM to its staff or to learn more about public programs.
City Initiatives
Initiatives to reduce single occupant vehicles have been underway at the City for years including flexible working schedules and telecommuting policies. Between 2007 - 2010, a corporate Transportation Demand Management Team was created under the Smart Commute Halton program to reduce single occupant vehicles for commuting to and from work. The program focussed on downtown employees at City Hall and Sims Square. Strategies that have been implemented include a carpool ridematch program, an emergency ride home program, sheltered bike lockers and wall racks, change room lockers at City Hall, a parking space exchange and a Burlington Green Map (contains transit routes and connections to trails for biking/walking, as well as a street index).
A member of our staff was profiled on Environment Canada's website for commuting to work by bicycle and/or transit rather than a single occupant vehicle. To view her story, please click here.
Publically Available Programs
Coming soon!
The installation of 24 new public art bike racks throughout the downtown core was announced on December 9th. The project was completed in partnership with Tourism Burlington and the Burlington Hotel Association who have also installed sheltered secure bike parking at five Burlington hotels. Mountain Equipment Co-op donated cycling repair kits for use free of charge at the hotels and community centres (Tansley Woods and Brant Hills). The five hotels, Tourism Burlington, Tansley Woods and Brant Hills community centres, and City Hall are registered members of the Welcome Cyclist Network.
The ashpalt work on the multi-use pathways (Centennial pathway from Woodview to Sherwood Forest Park and on the hydro corridor from Guelph Line to Berton Park) has been completed. Remaining work to both pathways such as pedestrian bridge replacements, installation of way-finding signs, etc. will be completed by October 31, 2011.
Sharrows, a pavement marking designed to allow cyclists and vehicles to share the road, and bike route signage on streets identified in Burlington's Cycling Plan as "proposed bicycle priority streets" were painted and posted in the summer of 2010.
All Burlington Transit buses now have bike racks attached to the front of the bus. This ‘Rack ‘n Ride’ program allows residents and visitors to use multi-modal forms of transportation. That is, one can ride their bike to a bus stop, place the bike on a rack outside the bus, and ride the bus to another location.
Those taking GO transit to Toronto for example, can hop in the bus, show their GO transit ticket and pay only $0.65 to the GO station. This helps reduce frustration driving to the station and trying to locate a parking spot while also reducing unnecessary emissions from a single occupant vehicle.
Burlington Transit is launching the new PRESTO smart card in Burlington. A new and convenient way to travel using multiple transit systems across the Greater Toronto/Hamilton Area (GTHA).
Did you know that if you are a frequent transit user, you could be eligible for the Federal Transit Tax Credit?
For those who choose to drive a vehicle, there are incentives to carpool. Carpool parking lot locations are available along the highway 400 series to meet your colleague and carpool to work. Also, High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes are also available along some major highways for carpoolers.