Transportation in flux
Getting mix right helps attract talent to city
The burden on the transportation system translates into a burden on people getting to work. Workers are actively seeking more alternatives
MEGAN ZIMMERMAN, CALGARY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Blanka Bracic has been riding her bike to work for years — weather permitting — and says transportation networks, from roads to bike paths to pedestrian walkways, all have a major impact on how, when and where people work in today’s society.
“Transportation impacts how we work from a peak-period point of view,” says Bracic. “Everyone is trying to get to the same place and that causes a lot of demand on our transportation system.”
She should know. Bracic is a transportation engineer with the “active transportation project” at City Hall. She works on developing plans to “help people have an easier time walking or biking somewhere,” including to and from work.
“The more options we have for people, the more efficiently and more creatively we can use our transportation system that’s already in place,” Bracic said.
Existing roadways can be better used to incorporate the city’s downtown cycle track network, for example, while sidewalks can be widened and better maintained to encourage pedestrian use and longer trains will accommodate more transit users, she added.
On a personal basis, transportation issues have played a big role in Bracic’s own decision on how to get to work.
“Transportation, especially my commute, plays a huge part in where I choose to live,” she said.
Bracic used to live in the city’s northwest by the University of Calgary, where she had a 30-minute bicycle commute from door to desk. Now, she lives even closer to city hall in the west end of downtown. It’s now a 15-minute bike ride in ideal conditions or a short walk.
Megan Zimmerman, manager of marketing and communications for Calgary Economic Development, this week hosted an event, called Soul of the City, which was meant, in part, to help employers and workers better understand how large of a role transportation issues play in how, where and when workers get their jobs done.
“It’s a hot topic and something that’s faced Calgary more and more as we’ve grown quickly because it becomes a bit of a pain point,” she said.
The burden on the transportation system translates into a burden on people getting to work. Workers are actively seeking more alternatives, she said.
“Topics like this do affect the soul of the city,” said Zimmerman. “They affect the quality of life as citizens, they affect our competitiveness … and these are all things that affect peoples’ perceptions of Calgary.”
Doug Morgan, director of Calgary Transit, said trains and buses will play an increasing role in how people get to work as the organization gets set to expand train lines and modify bus routes and frequencies to adjust to the city’s ongoing growth.
“It’s (about) how to create a great culture within Calgary with choices like walking, cycling, transit and cars to attract the greatest amount of talent in the world to come here,” said Morgan.
“All the tools you see us applying are for those broader goals of competitiveness, making a great place to live, access to activities and to make Calgary fun,” he said.
The Pembina Institute recently ranked Calgary high for its transportation progress and overall vision for the expansion of its transit system, but Zimmerman said it takes a collective effort.
“It really does require a lot of collaboration between the city, employers and planners to make these systems work really efficiently,” she said. “Employers are aware that productivity is an important thing, so it’s about how much time your employees are spending commuting versus actually being productive at their jobs.”
Bracic, meanwhile, continues her own efforts in her job as a transportation engineer to find new ways to make life easier for commuters. Mobile technology is playing a huge role by enabling people to work seamlessly from almost any location at any time, she said.
Employers also continue to embrace a more flexible approach to work.
“We’re seeing a shift towards people’s attitudes about work versus life (and) balancing them,” she said. “I think they’re merging more and more as time goes on.”