FYI: Start of the TMP consultations and release of the results of the 2011 Origin-Destination Survey

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John Verbaas

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Feb 7, 2013, 3:06:31 PM2/7/13

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The first release of public data related to the update of the 2013 TMP (Transportation Master Plan) process is the January 2013 release of the 2011 Origin-Destination Survey results.

This document is the holy grail of trip data for the National Capital Region with detailed information about trips taken in the region by time of day, by purpose of trip, and by origin and destination, etc, etc. This data is used to derive the future transportation requirements across the different major 'screen-lines' in the city and is a key source of information used to drive the City of Ottawa Transportation Master Plans.

The Survey is performed every 5 years via a telephone survey to over 25,000 residents collecting data on all types of trips made by all persons within the household. This data is then extrapolated up to the full population to give trip volumes representative of what is happening across the whole city.

Observations of changes in travel patterns from survey to survey are extremely useful in projecting the future transportation needs.

On the bright side, use of transit and cycling is increasing faster than the use of cars and the rate of trip generation per household per day continues to decline. However, on the whole, it is claimed there was still 100,000 more trips made per day in the region in 2011 compared to 2005 and the majority of the growth in new trips is still being absorbed by the use of cars. This means pressure continues to spend large sums of money on expanding the road network.

Where that will be focused will be driven by information from this survey. It serves the basis for the projection of future travel needs and trends and is extrapolated into the future based on further projections of trends in population and employment gorwth in Ottawa.

This process is happening during winter of 2013. This future transportation demand scenario is then sub-divided across the different transportation modes (car, transit, cycling, walking) and fed into a computer model of the City's road network. This will result in a list of road expansions required to meet the projected demand and is to be provided for public comment by Spring of 2013.

These road expansion projects will then be ordered in time according to when it is believed they will be required and then an estimate of the costs and financing required to build them over the next 20 years is expected to be available by the end of summer 2013.