TRANSPORTATION EQUITY
Protected Intersection Design Guide: Ottawa, Ontario
However, these examples from across the country show it is possible to embed equity across stages of a transportation project. As transportation systems become more complex and disciplines become increasingly specialized, it can be easy to
Intersections are a pain point for many cities
think that equity is not your area of influence. We
seeking to increase the number of people cycling.
encourage all our fellow transportation
However, new designs can be difficult to navigate
professionals to see equity as both a
for people with vision impairments, especially
responsibility and an opportunity to begin to do
when it is unclear where crosswalks meet cycle
our work differently. If you found this article
tracks. In Ottawa, we heard a history of poor
insightful and are seeking more resources on how
feedback led to a push to create new,
to apply equity to your transportation practice,
accessibility-focused standards for protected
we invite you to read our final report that will
intersections. From the outset the project was
share more promising practices, set for
conceptualized with the goal of improving safety
publication in Fall 2023.
for all vulnerable road users, including both cyclists and people with vision impairments. Staff
This research was also shared in a webinar and
and consultants visited existing intersections with
workshop hosted by the Canadian Association of
members of the disability advocacy community to
Road Safety Professionals (CARSP) in
understand how designs did or didn’t work in real
conjunction with the ITE Canada/CARSP
life. This practical approach helped the designers
2023 Joint Conference.
better understand the needs of people different than them and led to concrete recommendations, such as enhanced tactile indicators that go above
AUTHOR BIOS
and beyond the provincial standard.3 “I think there was a lot of trial and tribulations on the lead up to the guide that helped kind of shape the fact that we were going to actually have accessibility as a focus… and it worked out well.” Staff, Ottawa
More Equity Resources to Come Equity work in transportation practice is evolving, and no one we spoke to felt like they had all the answers. We heard this work is challenging, because it requires many of us to think and act in new and different ways and ask uncomfortable questions about implicit bias and power differentials within and outside our institutions.
Tessa Williams is a Registered Professional Planner (RPP, MCIP) with 4 years of experience working with local governments. As a graduate researcher at Simon Fraser University, she uses her skills with policy development and spatial analysis to explore sustainable transportation as a tool for more equitable communities.
Dr. Meghan Winters is a population health researcher who works with local governments to study how community design impacts how people get around. She is a professor at Simon Fraser University, principal investigator with INTERACT, and holds the PHAC/CIHR Applied Public Health Chair in Sex, Gender, and Healthy Cities.
3 City of Ottawa and Alta Planning + Design, Canada Inc., Protected Intersection Design Guide, 2021. https://documents. ottawa.ca/sites/documents/files/protectedintersection_dg_en.pdf.
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