Technical Documents

The 2018 Regional Parking Study was produced by Metro Vancouver and TransLink. The study surveyed 73 apartment sites and nearby streets. A household survey, comprising 1,500 responses was also completed. The study provides updated information to local government practitioners to inform appropriate apartment residential parking requirements, in particular near the Frequent Transit Network. “Rightsizing” apartment parking can improve the financial viability of apartment housing projects and potentially reduce the cost of housing for prospective renters and owners.

Regional Screenline Survey – Fall 2017 (Summary Report, Interactive Data)
TransLink

This survey collected traffic counts and found since 2011 that region-wide weekday vehicle volumes, traffic across the Fraser River Main Arm, traffic into and out of the Central Business District has increased. The survey also found that inter-regional trips into and out of the Lower Mainland showed the largest percentage increase in traffic volumes, while cross border volumes were generally unchanged since 2011.

Metro Vancouver and other partners examined opportunities and challenges to building new affordable rental housing in transit-oriented locations across the region. The first phase of the study found a supply gap for affordable rental housing; higher transit usage among renters, especially lower income renters; and that land and construction costs create barriers to providing rental housing development.

The study’s second phase evaluated a potential regional revolving loan fund and policy approaches to reduce the barrier of high land costs.

Transport 2021 Revisited: Background Report for Transport 2021 Symposium (Download)
Christina DeMarco

This report was produced for TransLink during the creation of the 2013 RTS document and provides a retrospective on the Regional Transportation Strategy from 1991 entitled “Transport 2021”. The report provides a summary of the progress made towards planned investments and mode share targets laid out in Transport 2021.

The trip diary is a household travel survey conducted by TransLink approximately every five years to support transportation planning in the Metro Vancouver region. It is the most comprehensive source of information on overall travel patterns in the region, and it informs many decisions involved in delivering a better transportation system.

This collaborative report examines the relationship between the built and natural environments and health, how health outcomes vary across different groups in Metro Vancouver, and how walkable communities can reduce health care costs.

Climate Change and the Region

Climate 2050 Strategic Framework ( Download)
Metro Vancouver

Metro Vancouver’s Climate 2050 Strategic Framework guides policies and collective actions to transition our region to a low carbon, resilient future. It will apply a climate lens to all of Metro Vancouver’s policies and actions to inform climate change greenhouse gas reduction and adaptation measures in the coming years.

Economy and the Region

Greater Vancouver Economic Scorecard 2018 (Link)

Scorecard 2018 ranked the Metro Vancouver region against 19 other metropolitan regions around the globe on economic and social issues and provides analysis on challenges facing our region. The scorecard notes that Metro Vancouver enjoys a competitive advantage in financial services, insurance, tourism and information technology and benefits from its proximity and trade with Asia. However, the region suffers from its relatively short public transit railway network, poor housing affordability, low per capita after-tax income, and fragmentation of industrial lands. The report suggests better regional coordination and governance for economic development, affordable housing, and transportation.

This policy backgrounder provides an overview of inland terminals, their potential benefits, factors for success, and constraints for goods movement in the Metro Vancouver region.

Moving Goods through Marine Ports in Metro Vancouver – Facts in Focus (2013) (Download)
Metro Vancouver

This policy backgrounder outlines the state of goods movement through marine terminals in the Metro Vancouver region, and identifies policy issues, such as the need to protect health, safety and the environment, optimize efficiencies in the goods movement system, and coordinate among port authorities.

Office Development in Metro Vancouver’s Urban Centres – 2018 Update (Download)

Prepared by Eric Aderneck, on behalf of Metro Vancouver

This report identifies challenges and opportunities for office potential in Metro Vancouver's Urban Centres, such as complex and lengthy development process, smaller urban centres attracting only limited office development, significant growth in tech sector, varying tenant preferences on location and amenities, the high costs of housing and living, and high land and construction costs.

Short Sea Shipping in Metro Vancouver – Facts in Focus (2015) (Download)

Metro Vancouver

This policy backgrounder provides an overview of short sea shipping in the Metro Vancouver region, current forms and volumes of goods moved, related infrastructure, and potential expansion of short sea shipping.

Health and Community Well-Being and the Region

Transportation and Health in Metro Vancouver (Download)

This survey analysis examines the association between transportation choice and health outcomes in the Metro Vancouver region. The analysis found: active transportation users have improved health outcomes (lower body mass index, meeting recommended levels of physical activity); car users with long commute times have lower sense of community belonging; and transit use is highest among lower income households, visible minorities, and recent immigrants.

VitalSigns 2016 (Link)
Vancouver Foundation

Based on a large survey, VitalSigns 2016 reports on how British Columbians feel about their communities. It surfaced what resident concerns are, where progress is being made, and what needs to be improved. The survey and report highlights key differences and commonalities between municipalities within Metro Vancouver in terms of quality of life, priorities, and other matters.

Where Matters: Health & Economic Impacts of Where We Live (Report Forthcoming)
University of British Columbia, J. Armand Bombardier Foundation, Metro Vancouver, TransLink, City of Vancouver, Real Estate Foundation, My Health My Community (Vancouver Coastal Health, Fraser Health, University of British Columbia)

This collaborative report examines the relationship between the built and natural environments and health, how health outcomes vary across different groups in Metro Vancouver, and how walkable communities can reduce health care costs.

Previous Regional Transportation Strategies

• 2013: Regional Transportation Strategy (RTS) Strategic Framework
• 2008: Transport 2040
• 1993: Transport 2021