Date/Time
29/05/2023 - 31/05/2023
All Day
Taking place at the Toronto Marriott Airport Hotel, 901 Dixon Rd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M9W 1J5.
If you are a Transportation Professional involved within a municipal multi-modal transportation career in engineering, planning, road safety, policing or law enforcement, or are interested in learning more about multi-modal transportation information and best practices, this OTC Conference is ideal for you. Post-COVID, our communities are changing and, in many cases, will never be the same. Join over 150 municipal and industry supplier staff and management as we explore what our municipalities will look like moving forward in this “Re-Imagining our Communities” Conference. This event is close to home, whether you are in the GTHA or within a drive or short flight from anywhere in Ontario. While we want to see you in person, we also have the opportunity for delegates to attend virtually.
Connect and network with other industry professionals and subject matter experts to expand your knowledge through sharing experiences, information, and best practices.
Here’s what registrants are saying:
“I am really looking forward to attending the York University Active Transportation Facility Tour as part of the 2023 OTC Conference to learn about the design and post implementation lessons learned from Toronto’s first protected intersection and on-campus separated cycling and multi-use trail infrastructure. Of particular interest is information shared and lessons learned from the Accessibility Focused Site Visits conducted by the City of Toronto, which will inform future AT design in the city.”
J. David McLaughlin, BA, MES, MCIP, RPP
Principal & Director – Planning
National Active Transportation Practice Lead
WSP Canada
Co-Chair OTC Active Transportaion Committee
Transportation Planning and Science
Click HERE to download the conference program.
ACCOMMODATION:
- Enjoy your stay at the beautiful Toronto Airport Marriot Hotel. The OTC has reserved special room rates for conference attendees of $199 per night plus tax.
- To book this special rate, email sandra@otc.org
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
PROGRAM AT A GLANCE*
Sunday, May 28
8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. OTC Committee Networking Evening
Join us as we network, share experiences, and celebrate together with other OTC Committee Members for the first time in over 3 years.
This is a free event for OTC Committee Members – pre-registration is required.
Monday, May 29
8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Committee Meetings
Transportation Planning Committee
Traffic Engineering Committee
Active Transportation Planning Committee
8:30 a.m. Breakfast
10:00 a.m. Conference Welcome
10:15 a.m. Keynote Presentation: Health, Well-being and Resiliency through 15-Minute Neighbourhoods, Inge Roosendaal, M.Pl.,MCIP, RPP, Senior Planner, Healthy Communities, Ottawa Public Health
11:00 a.m. Connected Cities, Marie-France Laurin, MBA, TDM-CP, Director of Business Development, Generation AV, Stantec
11: 45 a.m. Changing How People Travel – Now With Science!, Jessica Roberts, TDM-CP
12:30 – 1:15 p.m. Lunch
1:15 p.m. In-Person Keynote Address: Honourable Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation Ontario
1:35 p.m. MTO Update, Sheri Graham, Manager, Traffic Office, MTO
2:20 p.m. Toronto Facility Tour Presentation, Kanchan Maharaj, P.Eng, Sr. Engineer, Cycling & Pedestrian Projects, City of Toronto
3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Toronto Facility Tour (Buses to be Provided) York University
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Networking Reception
7:00 – 9:00 p.m. OTC President’s Dinner
Tuesday, May 30
7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Keynote Presentation: Re-Imagining Our Communities Through a Reconciliation Lens, Denise Baxter, Vice Provost, Indigenous Initiatives, Lakehead University
Presentations:
9:00 a.m. The Provincial Administrative Penalty System (APS): Everything You Need to Know About AP Implementation, Sheilagh Stewart, Principal Stewart Solutions
9:45 a.m. Bill 23 Technical Panel, Moderator Ute Maya-Giambattista, B.Arch, M.Pl., RPP, MCIP, LEED AP Principal, Urban Design, Fotenn Panelists: Lisa Prime, City of Cambridge, Gary Muller, Director of Planning, Region of Durham and Michelle Banfield, RPP, Director of Development Services, City of Barrie
10:30 a.m. Exhibitor / Sponsor Micro-Presentations
10:45 a.m. Networking Break Exhibitors Area
11:15 a.m. Transportation’s Critical Role in Vancouver’s Climate Emergency Response, Tim Barton, Senior Transportation Lead, City of Vancouver
11:45 a.m. Climate Change Plans Panelists: Sarah Grady, P.Eng., Traffic and Transportation Engineer, Transportation Planning and Design, City of London, Steven Murphy, Project Engineer, Transportation, City of Orillia, City of Toronto (invited)
12:30 p.m. Exhibitor / Sponsor Micro-Presentations
12:45 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. Keynote Presentation: Ian Lockwood, Professional Engineer, Livable Transportation Engineer, Toole Design
2:15 p.m. Transportation Planning Project of the Year Presentations (3 x 15 min)
3:00 p.m. Networking Break
3:30 p.m. Transportation Planning Project of the Year Presentations (3 x 15 min)
4:15 p.m. Bike Share Toronto: 4-Year Growth Plan & Strategic Planning, Grace Candy, Planner, Bike Share Toronto, Toronto Parking Authority, Wesley Carvalho DaSilva, Planner, Bike Share Toronto
5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Reception
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. OTC Awards Dinner
8:30 p.m. OTC Young Professional Networking Evening
Join us as we network, share experiences, and celebrate together with other young professionals as a reboot this group.
This is a free event for OTC young professionals – pre-registration is required.
Wednesday, May 31
7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Keynote Presentation: Simplifying Accessibility: How Traffic and Transportation Can Meet Accessibility Best Practices, Julie Sawchuk, CEO & RHFAC Professional, Sawchuk Accessible Solutions
9:15 a.m. 2022 Transportation Planning Project of the Year Presentation – Ottawa Protected Intersection Guideline, Nataliya Pekar, P. Eng Associate and Senior Engineer, Alta Planning and Design Canada
10:00 a.m. Vision Zero – It’s a Journey Not a Statistical Goal Post, Russell Brownlee, CEO, True North Safety
10:45 a.m. Networking Break
11:15 a.m. Mental Health: Journey or Destination?, Nancy Hood, MSW, RSW, Training and Learning Development Lead, Your Health Space
12:00 p.m. Transit Sustainability & a Changing Future, Marco D’Angelo, CEO, Canadian Urban Transit Association
12:45 p.m. Conference Wrap-Up and Draw
1:00 p.m. Lunch / Boxed Lunch
1:45 – 3:15 p.m. Bonus Workshop (Optional): Hostile Vehicle Mitigation: Applying OTC Guidelines to Your Public Events, Jeffrey Suggest, M. Sc., Senior Project Manager, Transportation, CIMA +, Derek O’Brien, Direct Traffic / Ramudden, Rich Shebib, Project Manager, Corridor Management Section, Public Works Department, City of Hamilton (Invited)
*Subject to Schedule Changes
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
MEET THE PRESENTERS
Denise Baxter
Vice-Provost, Indigenous Initiatives at Lakehead University
Denise has served as Vice Provost Indigenous Initiatives since 2017. She also teaches in both the Department of Indigenous Learning and Department of Continuing Education. She is completing her PhD in Equity and Indigenous Education at York University. As an established education leader, Denise has worked in multiple contexts including public school boards, the Ministry of Education, Lakehead University, and First Nations private schools for the past 30 years. Within each of these contexts, she has built capacity and partnerships with multiple community stakeholders. Her work with the community has involved education conferences, workshop presentations, and traditional pedagogy. She is a co-chair of the National Indigenous University Senior Leaders Association, and a member the National Advisory Committee Indigenous Teacher Education, Rideau Foundation. She currently serves on the following boards: YES Employment, Children’s Centre Thunder Bay, the Thunder Bay Police Services Governance Committee, Keewatin Patricia DSB, and a provincial EDI advisory committee.
A Marten Falls First Nation member, she maintains that preserving and practicing cultural traditions and ceremony keeps her connected to the community, Indigenous cultures, traditions, and protocols. She works to establish networks, strengthen relationships with Indigenous communities and governments, and build capacity between Indigenous, public, and private partners which have supported multiple initiatives that advance educational outcomes for Indigenous students.
Presentation Title: Re-Imagining our Communities through a Reconciliation lens
Description: The Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action play an important role in public and private sectors. Explore partnerships, policies and practices in relation to your industry and your action in re-imagining and re-designing our communities.
Diana Kakamousias, MES, MCIP, RPP, Program Manager, Sustainable Mobility, Public Works
Diana Kakamousias is a Registered Professional Planner and the Program Manager of Sustainable Mobility with the Regional Municipality of York. Her portfolio looks after both infrastructure and education/outreach programs geared towards sustainable transportation in order to encourage residents to use active and sustainable forms of transportation to get from point A to point B. Initiatives include managing the build out of the Region’s active transportation network, furthering projects such as the Lake to Lake Route and South York Greenway Pedestrian and Cycling Corridor and working collaboratively with Regional stakeholders on sustainable mobility programs.
John Kazilis, MPA, MCIP, RPP, Manager, Transportation Development Planning, Public Works
John Kazilis is a Registered Professional Planner and public administrator. He holds the position of Transportation Development Planning at York Region which encompasses sustainable mobility, streetscape and urban design and transportation planning from a development review perspective. With a pragmatic approach, John has played an integral role in advancing the Region’s interests in these areas to foster sustainable growth and bringing complete communities to reality. Examples of this can be seen in the recently updated South Yonge Street Corridor Streetscape Master Plan and South York Greenway Cycling, Pedestrian and Micromobility Corridor Feasibility Study. He volunteers in the community with his most recent post being a Jury Member for the Canadian Institute of Planner’s Planning Student Trust Fund.
Presentation Title: South York Greenway Cycling, Pedestrian and Micromobility Corridor – Feasibility Study
Description: The South York Greenway is a planned recreational and commuter active transportation corridor that spans over 50 kilometers within York Region in the vicinity of a hydro corridor. The Feasibility Study identified a preferred route alignment, included a comprehensive engagement study, preliminary design considerations and capital cost estimates to move this transformative active transportation project within Region forward.
Grace Candy
Planner, Bike Share Toronto
B.E.S. in Planning (University of Waterloo)
Responsible for expansion planning, network analysis, and long-range planning.
Wesley Carvalho DaSilva
Planner, Bike Share Toronto
B.P.A in Public Administration and Urban Studies
Responsible for network expansion/relocation, strategic planning, and long-term planning.
Presentation Title: Bike Share Toronto: 4-Year Growth Plan & Strategic Planning
Description: As part of the Four Year Growth Plan, Bike Share is expanding the network to all 25 wards in the City of Toronto and expanding the system from 625 stations and 7,165 bikes to over 1,000 stations and 10,000 bikes by 2025. Bike Share ridership broke records in 2022 with 4.6 million rides, and this Growth Plan will tackle multiple challenges and generate opportunities for the future of the service/network.
Inge Roosendaal, RPP, MCIP is the Senior Planner for Ottawa Public Health and is co-located with the City of Ottawa’s Planning, Real Estate and Economic Development department to advance health, equity and resiliency in city-building. Inge is a champion of building great places that create the conditions for people to thrive. She promotes innovative approaches to healthy urban design through linking public health interests to urban planning and transportation processes. This includes championing new frameworks for implementing healthy, inclusive, and resilient 15-minute neighbourhoods.
Presentation Title: Health, Well-being and Resiliency through 15-Minute Neighbourhoods
Description: This session will describe how Ottawa has instituted 15-minute neighbourhoods as a key framework for future growth and travel patterns. 15-minute neighbourhoods provide options for residents to meet their daily needs within walking distances by bringing destinations closer together and making the walk safe and enjoyable. This session will outline the benefits of 15-minute neighbourhoods as places that makes the healthy choice the default easy choice, while supporting climate resiliency and more equitable and inclusive places for everyone. This includes the impacts of new transportation policies on the ground, and how this will support physical and mental well being, and create the conditions for people to thrive.
Jessica Roberts is a Principal Consultant at Alta Planning + Design, focusing on campaigns that help people change their transportation habits for good. She is known as the founder of the fast-growing “behavioral TDM” movement, which is building bridges between behavioural scientists and transportation professionals. Her work in this arena is creating more effective campaigns that are based on evidence and theory, and that are evaluated rigorously.
Presentation Title: Changing How People Travel – Now With Science!
Description: If you’re trying to get more people to drive less, it helps to know what works. Behavioral science offers us some clues about how we can use “nudge theory” to make it easy and convenient for folks to walk, bike, and take transit more often. Join this session to learn the basics of how our brains work, and what that means for transportation behavior change.
Julie Sawchuk
B.Sc., B.Ed., RHFAC
As a Best Selling Author, Speaker, Educator and Accessibility Strategist, Julie is committed to forming positive, strong, and responsive relationships that help you create accessible spaces.
After sustaining a spinal cord injury in 2015, Julie became aware of the everyday challenges of living in a world not built with accessibility in mind, and so began her journey as an accessibility strategist. She earned the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification and launched Sawchuk Accessible Solutions, where she consults, completes accessibility ratings and educates folks in the design and construction industry all across Canada.
Whether it’s retrofitting an existing building or starting from scratch, Julie speaks to audiences of architects, facilities managers, engineers and builders to achieve meaningful levels of accessibility for private homes, international airports and everything in between. Chosen by the Province of Ontario, Julie is the Chair of the Standards Development Committee for the review of the Design of Public Spaces under the AODA. Julie was also a key member of the CSA B652 Accessible Housing Building Standard Technical Committee and is the Vice Chair of the Huron County Accessibility Advisory Committee.
Presentation Title: Simplifying Accessibility: How traffic and transportation can meet accessibility best practices.
Description: With so many layers of codes and legislation, it can be challenging to prioritize what really matters or know where to start. Spend the morning with Julie and you will instantly see that the way we plan for traffic and transportation needs to change to be more inclusive, safe and accessible. Reach beyond the code to understand through lived experience why doing it right really matters and learn to forever spot the small details that add up to make a big difference.
Kanchan Maharaj is a Senior Engineer in the City of Toronto’s Cycling & Pedestrian Projects Unit.
She is responsible for the delivery and coordination of the unit’s standalone projects including line marking, delineator/concrete, accessible platforms and bicycle signals. She was one of the Project Managers for the design and delivery of the York University Connections project and protected intersection. She has worked for over 25years on Canadian and international engineering and planning projects and initiatives in both the public and private sector.
Shawn serves as Manager for the City of Toronto’s Traffic Operations Unit, and oversees the North York and Etobicoke Districts. Shawn is a member of the Ontario Traffic Committee’s Active Transportation Committee. Shawn is a graduate of the Transportation Engineering Technologist program at Mohawk College. With over 27 years of traffic engineering experience in Toronto and York Region, Shawn is responsible for the development, management and coordination of projects related to road safety and neighbourhood traffic management. Providing expertise to a variety of traffic operation studies ranging from safety audits, signal operation and design, geometric road design, school zone review, parking utilization, sign and pavement marking plans. Shawn was notably involved in projects including the Highway 7 Bus Rapid Transit, Metrolinx Crosstown, Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension and the Bloor Street, Woodbine Avenue and Danforth Avenue Bicycle Lane projects.
York University Cycling Connections Tour
Date: Monday, May 29, 2023
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Location: York University Campus – 2 sites
• Murray Ross Parkway from Steeles Ave W to Shoreham Dr
• Murray Ross Parkway from Keele Street to Evelyn Wiggins Dr
Join Transportation Services staff from the City of Toronto on a three hour walking and cycling (?) tour near York University to learn about road safety improvements for pedestrians, people cycling, taking transit, and driving.
In addition to protected two-way bikeways, multi-use trails, transit platforms, green infrastructure and widened sidewalks, the tour will highlight several new accessibility features and transportation infrastructure installed in 2021 and 2022.
The tour will cover the engineering design, delivery and lessons learned as part of this project.
Hon. Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation; Minister of Francophone Affairs
Minister Mulroney was elected as the Member of Provincial Parliament for York-Simcoe in 2018, and subsequently re-elected in June 2022.
Continuing in her portfolio as Minister of Transportation since 2019, Minister Mulroney has focused on creating a more safe and efficient transportation network across Ontario. This includes overseeing the largest transit expansion in Ontario’s history and ensuring that critical infrastructure is built to execute our government’s ambitious plan to build Ontario.
Also serving as Minister of Francophone Affairs, Minister Mulroney has worked to ensure the prosperity of our francophone communities, by continuously promoting Ontario’s Francophonie as an economic asset and focusing on training a strong bilingual workforce. She has paved the way to open l’Université de l’Ontario français and has modernized the French Language Services Act to ensure quality services are available for generations to come.
Minister Mulroney is a graduate of Harvard College and the NYU School of Law.
Nataliya Pekar is an Associate and Senior Civil Engineer with Alta Planning + Design Canada. She works on active transportation projects across the country and spends her days applying a Complete Street lens to reimagining our streets. Nataliya gets into the details of making intersections safe, comfortable, and accessible for pedestrians and people on bikes. She was on the team for the OTM Book 18 Update (2021), the Corner Design for All Users White Paper (2020), and the Ottawa Protected Intersection Design Guidelines (2021), and has been involved with the planning, design, and implementation of protected intersections across Canada, including the one recently built in Toronto at Evelyn Wiggins Drive and Murray Ross Parkway.
Russell Brownlee is a Transportation Safety Engineer and the CEO of TNS. He brings 27 years of public and private sector experience in the areas of road user safety, human factors and transportation engineering. At TNS, he provides forensic investigation and consulting services relating to transportation facility design, construction, operations, human factors, and maintenance. He is a registered professional engineer in several Canadian provinces and has been qualified in the Superior Court of Justice, Ontario as an expert in road safety. Most recently, Russell was provided safety related input as part of the consulting team updating in OTM Book 18.
Presentation Title: Vision Zero – It’s a Journey Not a Statistical Goal Post
Description: Transportation safety is not a discrete objective or resolution, but a long-term investment in the proper planning, design, operations, and maintenance of our community’s transportation facilities. Vision Zero was meant to set goals and focus in order to inspire our people, peers, and communities to place human life and well-being at the forefront of all transportation decisions.
In the haste to accelerate or fast-track this process, there are communities that thought they could purchase a Vision Zero strategy or plan from the local consulting group or commercial entity marketing Vision Zero through a pseudo-road safety organization; only later to find out that Vision Zero is more than a graphic laden document with a host of empowering signatures. Instead, they learned that the product was an overarching road map that then required the implementation of a safe systems approach necessitating ongoing and unequivocal support of their decision-makers and the backing of their entire organization. The grassroots of Vision Zero in Sweden was a long journey of concerted efforts at all levels to change the safety culture of an entire country. Vision Zero is the little tugboat attempting to turn a long-standing transportation ocean liner with a navigation course built on nominal safety, engineering and enforcement programs mainly focused on achieving vehicular mobility, with an unwelcome but “expected” by-product of collisions and user losses.
This presentation is an effort to advance the Vision Zero journey. It is not intended point fingers at specific entities and/or provide all the solutions to our transportation safety problems. Its objective is to provoke discussion well beyond this OTC conference session; the idea and incubation of a safety culture within our transportation and planning groups, our organizations, our universities and schools, and our communities. The presentation will be based on the realities of this monumental task of Vision Zero and the “inconvenient truths” we need to address along that journey.
Sheilagh Stewart retired from public service in 2017 after working as an Assistant Crown Attorney for over 30 years. She is the Principal of her own consulting company – Stewart Solutions Inc. – providing support to various municipal and other public sector clients with an emphasis on solutions for sustainable and transparent automated enforcement and administrative penalty programs, including the new provincial AP program. The company has access to subject matter experts with senior experience in municipal law, court administration, governance and municipal finance as well as individuals experienced with all aspects of automated enforcement.
She is the recipient of a number of awards and recognition, including the Amethyst Award – the highest award a civil servant in Ontario can receive- and the Prosecutors’ Association of Ontario Award of Merit and Lifetime Membership Award. Most recently, Sheilagh was made a Member of the Order of St. John, an honour given on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen by the Governor General of Canada, in recognition of her work with the St John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program. Sheilagh wears the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her contributions to road safety in Canada and the Alpha Gamma Delta International Distinguished Citizen Medal for public service.
In addition to running her own company, Sheilagh is the Coordinator of the Therapy Dogs in the Courtroom Program, the proud handler of a therapy dog, Ringo Starr, a Wheaten Terrier, and the author of the 4th edition of Stewart and Moffatt on Provincial Offences Procedure in Ontario available through Earlscourt Legal Press.
Presentation Title: The Provincial Administrative Penalty System (APS): Everything You Need to Know About AP Implementation
Description: This presentation will cover key aspects of the new provincial administrative penalty program for vehicle-based contraventions (automated enforcement), including how we got here and the differences between the new regime and the existing municipal AP program. It will canvass some of the collaborative efforts including the OTC’s AP Working Group. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions about the implementation of the new program and the impact of the program on the processing of images.
Tim Barton believes that transportation has a critical role in creating communities that are healthy, vibrant and sustainable. He is passionate about applying his skills, knowledge and experience to bring about positive change in how people move about and experience their towns and cities.
At the City of Vancouver, Tim leads a team focused on developing transportation plans for new transit orientated communities. This includes city initiated plans as well as large developer led projects. Tim also provides transportation leadership to Vancouver’s Climate Emergency Action Plan; he is responsible for coordination and guidance around the City’s target of reaching two-thirds of all trips be by sustainable modes by 2030.
Tim has over 20 years experience in both the public and private sectors and has worked in both the UK and Canada. He is a Professional Licensee Engineer (P.L.Eng.) with Engineers and Geoscientists BC.
Presentation Title: Transportation’s Critical Role in Vancouver’s Climate Emergency Response
Description: Vancouver’s Climate Emergency Action Plan was passed by Council in November 2020. At its heart are six Big Moves designed to reduce the city’s GHG emissions in line with the UN’s target to limit global warming to 1.5C. Big Move 2 focuses on transportation with its objective of having two-thirds of all trips be made by walking, cycling or transit by 2030. The presentation will outline the projects proposed as part of Plan, and how they have progressed so far. This includes challenges and changes to the plan as it has progressed, including lessons learned in delivering successful climate change-focused transportation projects and policies.
Ute Maya-Giambattis is an urbanist with more than 22 years of experience. Ute is a Principal of Urban Design at Fotenn Planning + Design overseeing the Toronto and Kingston area work.
As an urban designer and planner, Ute approaches her work with the understanding that design can be a vehicle for creating healthy places and communities while being aware of the complexities of urban spaces and the potential of infrastructure to transform the vitality of a place. Integral to all her management and design work is her commitment to the integration of social, economic, and environmentally sustainable practices from the early stages of the process.
Ute is the President and Treasurer of the Council for Canadian Urbanism, a member of the City of Vaughan Design Review Panel, a member of the Province of Ontario provincially appointed AODA Design of Public Spaces Standards Development committee, a member of the PISG group at OPPI and the past-chair of the Women’s Leadership Initiative Allies in Action sub-committee at the Urban Land Institute.
Ute is a member of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute and the Canadian Institute of Planners.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
CANCELLATION & REFUND POLICY –
Should a registrant decide to cancel attendance at an in-person or virtual event, training or symposium based on health concerns, unexpected travel issue or emergency, OTC will provide a credit to the registrant.
Rescheduling to another event is permissible and the registrant will be charged an administrative fee of $75.00. If the request is made five days in advance, no cost will be applied.
If a registrant wants to cancel attendance at an event (in-person or virtual) and requests a refund, the registration fee less 50% will be refunded.
Please note that from time-to-time additional consideration may be given based upon circumstance and situational need. However, the above policy will be strictly enforced as the policy governing our events, trainings and symposia in all circumstances.