Transportation Master Plan

We are identifying multi-modal transportation improvements in King and need your help!

Summary of Project

What is a Transportation Master Plan?

A TMP is a detailed, long-term planning document that provides details on how the Township will enhance, manage, and invest in King's transportation infrastructure. These plans are essential for shaping how people and goods move within a community.

Key points about TMPs:

• Strategic Framework: A TMP outlines the vision, goals, and priorities for a Township’s transportation system. It considers different ways people move around the Township, including walking, cycling, public transit, and driving. The TMP will reflect the strategic goals of the Township.
• Long-Term Perspective: TMPs typically plan for 20 to 25 years in the future. They consider projected population growth, land use changes, and evolving transportation needs.
• Multi-Modal Approach: TMPs promote a multi-modal approach, emphasizing a mix of transportation options. This includes improving sidewalks, bike lanes, public transit networks, and roads.
• Community Livability: TMPs can also enhance community livability by ensuring safe and efficient options, and promoting sustainable transportation options. They address congestion, safety, environmental impacts, and accessibility.
• Integration with Official Plans: TMPs work in conjunction with an Official Plan, which guides land use and development patterns. The plans complement each other to create a cohesive vision for the community.

A Transportation Master Plan will guide the improvement and development of the Township’s transportation system, seeking to enhance a well-connected, accessible, and sustainable environment.

The Study will:

• Introduce a New TMP: Replacing the previous TMP in 2020, this new TMP will address updated population and employment forecasts, the changing policy landscape, and emerging new trends in transportation, looking ahead to the year 2051.
• Assess Current Conditions: Evaluate current transportation conditions in King and develop the supporting policies and decision-making framework that will be used to select the preferred multi-modal network for the TMP.
• Explore Future Scenarios: Examine different transportation scenarios to identify future transportation network improvements.
• Identify Opportunities: Review opportunities to support sustainable travel modes through the redevelopment and/or intensification of land uses in urban settings.
• Provide Recommendations: Offer recommendations to address the Township’s most pressing needs considering growth, existing and future conditions, and feedback from the consultation and engagement sessions.

Background

Background Information:

The Township of King is an evolving, dynamic municipality that is currently home to approximately 28,000 residents. Located on the northern edge of the GTA, the Township is one of nine municipalities in the Region of York, roughly at the midpoint between Toronto to the south and Barrie to the north, covering an area of 333 square kilometres. Most of the Township’s residents reside in the villages of King City, Nobleton and Schomberg, with many other hamlets such as Ansnorveldlt, Kettleby, Laskay, Lloydtown, Pottageville and Snowball, as well as the Township’s rural areas contributing to the community. The Township is home to Ontario’s ‘vegetable basket’, a key area shared with Bradford West Gwillimbury that plays an important role not only in Canada’s food export market, but also locally within the GTA.

King Township is starting a review of its Official Plan, titled “Our King”. The Official Plan Review will develop a roadmap to guide growth in King to the year 2051. The Official Plan affects every resident, business, and landowner in King Township. Our King establishes a comprehensive, long-term vision for the future of the Township as a whole and a detailed policy framework to guide growth in King. The Transportation Master Plan will be informed by the directions in the Official Plan, which for transportation planning and management is to address concerns related to the following:

• Traffic calming
• Traffic congestion originating from both sources within the Township’s boundaries as well as from bordering municipalities (flow through traffic)
• Providing travel alternatives to automobiles
• Prioritizing public transit and active transportation, especially in key areas in the Township including new or expanded employment zones
• Urban Growth Centres
• Major Transit Station Areas
• Strategic Growth Areas and Intensification Corridors.

The updated Transportation Master Plan is intended to reassess the function of the street/road network, public transit network and active transportation/pathways network to support multimodal mobility, traffic calming, and Township/community building.

Get Involved

Get Involved:

We value your input in exploring recommendations that support more residents in using more sustainable modes of transportation, reduce congestion, improve connectivity, and ensure transportation options meet the diverse needs of current and future residents.

Ways To Get Involved:

1. Stay Updated: Save this website to your browser favourites and/or subscribe to project updates, or to provide comments on any aspect of the project that you consider important using the “Stay Informed” icon on the right side of this page. Your input is critical in the TMP process as the Project Team identifies existing problems and opportunities, evaluates improvement alternatives and selects the preferred alterative to meet community needs for the current and future population. Comments and questions will be reviewed by the Project Team and responses will be provided by email. Check back on this website for public engagement opportunities!

2. Check the Key Dates: Visit the “Key Dates” tab on this page for details on engagement events being held this fall!

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Why does King Township require a Transportation Master Plan?

King Township requires a Transportation Master Plan to address current and future transportation needs and challenges effectively. As the Township grows, so do the demands on the transportation network. By developing a TMP, the Township can proactively plan for these changes, improve connectivity, reduce congestion, enhance safety, promote sustainability, and ensure that transportation options meet the diverse needs of King residents.

2. What challenges and opportunities will the Transportation Master Plan look to address?

• Influences on travel behaviour
• Trip pattern perspectives across various areas of the Township
• Differences in mode splits across the Township
• Travel costs
• Pedestrian and cycling infrastructure
• Growing transit ridership and improving service
• Growth management and supporting mobility
• Roadway and transit infrastructure and services
• Parking regulation requirements
• Reducing GHG emissions and improving climate resilience and adaptability

3. What is the project timeline?

The final Transportation Master Plan report is expected to be substantially completed in 2025.

4. Who are you planning to consult with?

The Township is seeking input from a diverse public. This includes Township residents, visitors, and employees, whether they walk, cycle, take transit, drive or use any other mode of transportation. Public consultation will also seek input from equity-deserving groups to ensure the TMP considers those with unique transportation needs, such as Indigenous Communities, people with disabilities, newcomers, seniors, and low-income residents.

5. How can I get involved?

There will be many online and in-person opportunities for the public to get involved. An online survey will be available for the first phase of the engagement process. In the following phases, in-person Public Information Centres will allow the public to provide feedback, ask staff questions, and encourage participation.

6. How will my feedback be considered?

Public input is at the core of developing the Transportation Master Plan. All engagement events, the public engagement survey, and their results will be accurately and clearly documented. After each phase of the study, we will prepare a “What We Heard” report, which includes a summary of the feedback received and a list of key themes that emerged during the consultation. The project is structured so that the first PIC will collect feedback on travel preferences, patterns, and accessibility across the Township, and the public will be able to provide feedback on the draft vision statement, guiding principles, goals, and objectives. In PIC #2, we want feedback on various multimodal network scenarios and input towards identifying a preferred scenario. This will then inform the recommendations on the preferred scenario and comprehensive implementation plan as part of the final Transportation Master Plan, which will be presented at the third PIC for further commentary.

All feedback received will be recorded (anonymously), and engagement summary reports will detail how this feedback has been/will be incorporated.

7. How will engagement results be shared?

The “What We Heard” summary report and the engagement results will be made available to the public on a project webpage. It will also be shared through project updates during community engagement sessions.