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CITY OF KAMLOOPS
SUSTAINABLE KAMLOOPS PLAN

INFORMATION PACKAGE ON TRANSPORTATION

(Final Version)

BACKGROUND

Kamloops’ transportation network comprises many components, including roadways, parking,

transit and facilities for bicycles, pedestrians and other alternate modes. Transportation is
important to the sustainability of our community for many reasons:

• A well-functioning transportation network is pivotal to our local economy in terms of

moving goods and allowing business to thrive;

• The transportation network is important to establishing and maintaining good community

social connections;

• Elements of transportation can support active living, and contribute to a community’s

health and wellness;

• Safety of the transportation network can be ensured through a properly designed and
operated system;

• Transportation is the highest cost of infrastructure for the City; and

• Transportation has substantial impacts on the environment and human health including
greenhouse gas emissions, land consumption, noise, and water and air quality.

BASELINE CONDITIONS

There are several ways to characterize Kamloops’ transportation network, including:

• Physical infrastructure of the transportation network;

• Typical mode choice by transportation network users;

• Number of vehicles owned in Kamloops; and

• Amount of money spent on the transportation network.

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These baseline conditions are in addition to the energy used to provide mobility (i.e. gasoline,
diesel, etc.) and the greenhouse gas emissions that result from transportation. These topics will
be addressed in more detail as other key components of Kamloops’ Sustainability Plan.
The table below summarizes key characteristics of the physical infrastructure of the
transportation network which are available at the time of writing.

Table 1 – Physical Infrastructure

Criteria Measure
Roadways (lane kilometers) 1720 km (total)
-1,230 km (City)
-490 km (Ministry of Transportation)
Designated Bicycle Facilities (streets, off-street 100 km
pathways, etc.)

Sidewalks (maintained by City) 120 km

Transit Routes 12 major routes

Additional baseline conditions which relate to physical infrastructure will be compiled as part of
subsequent investigations. These include:

• Extent of off-street pathways and trails (pending Pedestrian Master Plan);

• Availability and cost of parking spaces in the City Centre (research underway);

• Levels of Service at major intersections and along key transportation corridors

(Travelsmart update); and

• Average Network Speed along key transportation corridors during afternoon peak hour
traffic conditions (Travelsmart update).
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Mode Choice

Table 2 summarizes information from Statistics Canada relating to how people travel to work.

Table 2– Comparison of Modes of Travel to Employment

% % % % carpool,
% Driving to %
Municipality Public Walked other walk/cycle, public
Employment Carpool
Transit / Cycle modes transit, other modes
Kamloops 79% 8% 4% 7% 1% 20%
Penticton 71% 10% 1% 17% 1% 29%
Kelowna 79% 8% 3% 9% 1% 21%
Vernon 78% 9% 1% 12% 1% 22%
Prince George 80% 9% 2% 7% 2% 20%
Nanaimo 79% 7% 3% 9% 2% 21%
Abbotsford 83% 11% 1% 4% 1% 17%
Chilliwack 83% 9% 1% 6% 1% 17%
Coquitlam 74% 7% 14% 4% 1% 26%
Mission 85% 8% 3% 3% 1% 15%
Langley 85% 7% 3% 4% 1% 15%
(Town) -
District in
Stats Can
N. Vancouver 77% 7% 10% 5% 1% 23%
(District)
British 72% 8% 10% 9% 1% 28%
Columbia

Vehicles per Capita

The table below summarizes the number of vehicles owned in Kamloops compared with our
population. This information was collected from the Community Energy and Emissions Inventory.

Table 3 – Vehicles per Capita

Community Number of Passenger vehicles Vehicles/capita

Vernon 29,287 0.81
Abbotsford 83,579 0.67
Prince George 48,182 0.68
Nanaimo 62,447 0.79
Penticton 24,691 0.77
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Kelowna 87,876 0.82

Kamloops 61,727 0.77

Transportation Expenditure

The table below summarizes the 2009 budget for transportation related expenditures including
capital and operating expenses.

Table 4 – Transportation Infrastructure Costs

Item Cost
On-Street Parking $0.15 million
Off-Street Parking $0.8 million
Roads (capital) $10.7 million
Including:
$0.3 million (bicycle network)
$0.5 million (pedestrian network upgrade)
$0.15 million (Safer City Initiatives)
$4.2 million (Valleyview Interchange Bicycle Paths)
Road Maintenance (snow $5.1 million
plowing, weed control, etc.)
Transit $12.5 million ($3.0 million once grants and fare revenue are
included)

A Note About Transportation Planning

The City’s transportation planning efforts over the last decade have been guided by the
Travelsmart program. The initial version of Travelsmart, which shaped the evolution of the City’s
future land use pattern in conjunction with transportation facility planning, was completed in the
late 1990s. Travelsmart resulted in the delay of many major road projects which had previously
been proposed (such as Sixth Avenue Extension and Singh Street Bridge) through guiding growth
to selected areas of the City, and accomplished this without compromising the level of service
(typically thought of in terms of congestion) provided by the City’s road network. Travelsmart
also noted the importance of alternate modes of travel other than the single occupant vehicle,
which assisted in setting the stage for further planning exercises such as the Transit, Bicycle and
Pedestrian Plans.

GOALS

As was the case in most North American communities over the last century, transportation in
Kamloops became synonymous with the automobile, and the road network required to
accommodate mostly single-occupant automobiles during desired travel times. A major objective
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of the transportation component of Kamloops’ Sustainability Plan is to adjust this paradigm. This
objective is expressed through the following goals:

• Reduce automobile usage in Kamloops, particularly single-occupant automobiles, by

increasing the use of alternate modes of travel, and integrating land use and
transportation planning; and

• Balance the need for ease of automobile movement on the road network with other
considerations relating to environmental, economic and social sustainability;

TARGETS

Specific targets which have been defined include:

• Increase to 30% the number of people using other modes of travel to employment
(including carpooling, transit, walking, cycling and other modes) by 2020:

• Increase transit ridership by 50% (compared to base year of 2008) by 2020;

• Reduce vehicle ownership to 0.6 vehicles per capita by 2020;

• Increase spending on active transportation facilities and programs directed to modes of

travel other than the single occupant vehicle (primarily cycling and walking by 50%.

Additional targets may be defined as further work in completed on transportation plans including
the Travelsmart update, and bicycle and pedestrian plans.

PROPOSED DIRECTIONS

City Operations

• Leadership role through promoting alternate modes of travel by City employees at all major
employment centres

City Influencing Community

• Re-evaluate need for major proposed road corridors (including Sixth Avenue Extension and
Singh Street Bridge) from all sustainability perspectives, and desired increase in use of
alternative modes;
• Maximize use of existing transportation corridors as multi-modal facilities;
• Review transit service availability to major facilities and employment centres (including timing
of service relative to commuter demands);
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• Examine existing / potential active transportation corridors where users travel safely and
comfortably (including innovative ways to move cyclists and pedestrians uphill);
• Provide support for rideshare (carpooling);
• Create enhanced public awareness of many benefits of active transportation;
• Improve accessibility and ease of mobility for all modes of travel during winter conditions;
• Link elements of alternative transportation modes (ie. bike and transit facilities);
• Review parking availability, cost and requirements in the City Centre to achieve balance
between parking for patrons, and encouragement of alternate mode use by employees;
• Increase expenditures on active transportation facilities;
• Evaluate special levy on gas purchased in Kamloops as an additional source of revenue for
alternate transportation facilities;
• Review Travelsmart program to integrate future transportation / land use links, along with
other dimensions of community sustainability;
• Review Transit Plan

City Working With Others

• BC Transit on Transit Plan Update

• Major Employers on Promotion of Alternative Modes (ie. ridesharing, transit service)
• Senior Government on Funding for Alternative Modes
• Ministry of Transportation on Integrating City / Ministry Facilities
• Kamloops Central BIA on Parking in City Centre
• School District on Transit Services
• Public (including Interest Groups) on Selected Topics