Institutional integration for sustainable transportation policy in Canada

In recent years, many Canadian urban areas have witnessed a rapid population and economic growth thereby putting sustainable transport and urban form at the forefront of planning initiatives. As a result, the development of strategic transport plans and long-range visioning exercises has become a priority for most cities. Still, proper appraisals of these plans along with funding and implementation have lagged behind. Reasons for this lag can be attributed to the lack of constructive interactions between actors in the decision-making process and of common grounds for policy evaluation. This paper proposes to assess the extent of institutional integration in the appraisal, funding, and implementation of transport policy. For this purpose, a survey was conducted with planners and policy-makers pertaining to the three levels of government (municipal, provincial, federal) in Canada. The survey discussed the existing process for funding and evaluation of transport policy and its associated pitfalls as well as the desired state of policy appraisal. Results show low institutional integration among the three levels of government and weakened regional visions within most urban areas in spite of an increased sensitization of decision-makers and the public regarding the importance of achieving society's goals of sustainability and equity.