Exploring transportation planning in the Bow Valley Corridor

Canada, once a world leader in transportation innovation, now finds itself poorly positioned and critically unprepared for a post-carbon future. As federal and provincial transportation authorities continue to push ahead massive highway building programs − intended to facilitate growth in Asia-Pacific trade − in and through Western Canada, an increasing amount of evidence suggests that soon, Peak Oil will undermine the practical value of such projects. The ongoing Trans Canada Highway Twinning Project through Banff National Park is one such example, and indicative of our misplaced emphasis regarding transportation planning in the Bow Valley Corridor. This project aims to explore how that vision has come to dominate regional transportation activities through the observations and opinions of regional stakeholders. Of particular focus is how these stakeholders think about regional transportation issues, develop appropriate solutions, and ultimately, whether or not they might shift towards a sustainable transportation paradigm.