Brad Bradford

Here is a new report which provides comprehensive analysis of potential public transit funding options for Canadian cities. "This is the End of the Line: Reconstructing Transit Operating Funding in Canada" (https://lnkd.in/giYnJyw4 ). Summary: This report provides comprehensive analysis of potential funding options to meet transit operating funding shortfalls in Canadian cities. It discusses the additional funding needed to achieve transit goals (increased affordability, economic development and emission reductions). It identifies nine potential funding options (benefit area tax, real estate opportunities, off-street parking tax, motor fuel tax, vehicle levy, VkT tax, regional sales tax and an EV charging tax, and a TNC fee) and evaluates how they would impact mode share, equity, municipal or regional objectives, as well as relative risk and considerations for implementation in specific jurisdictions. It recommends three new funding options – vehicle levies, off-street parking taxes and vehicle kilometres (VkT) fees – for implementation in eight Candain cities. It also discusses the need for provincial and federal funding for urban transit services. It relies significantly on research from my report, "Evaluating Public Transportation Local Funding Options" (www.vtpi.org/tranfund.pdf). It uses my analysis framework and includes 31 citations of my publications. I am flattered, although I am surprized by some of their recommendations and sorry that it focuses on large cities and does not discuss the need to fund more interregional and rural public transit services, as discussed in my new report, "A Business Case for Improving Interregional Bus Services" (https://vtpi.org/bcit.pdf). I also wish they included more discussion of the returns on investment provided by high quality public transit, as discussed in my report, "Raise My Taxes Please!" (https://lnkd.in/g6SKEiwt). What do you think? How can communities best fund public transport?

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Excellent editorial in The Globe and Mail about the shifting landscape in Canada with respect to parking mandates "Smart urban design is one reason that underpins the widespread rethinking of how much valuable space in cities is taken up by too much parking. Amid stratospheric housing costs, the imperative to change old arcane rules is long overdue and abundantly clear. In Canada, Edmonton led the way. Other cities are smart to follow." Remember, there will always be (fluctuating) market requirements for parking but Strong Towns, the Parking Reform Network, and other partners are confident that we'll see the end of poorly conceived parking regulations. https://lnkd.in/g4-fPBh7

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Feds push for transit oriented development with $30B Canada Public Transit Fund. The goal of the Canada Public Transit Fund (CPTF) is to help communities expand their public transit infrastructure and make it more accessible, and the CPTF will deliver funding through three streams. - The first is through 10 year Metro Region agreements that will "support partnerships between provinces and large urban areas with the largest public transit systems." - The second stream is baseline funding, which will deliver "predictable funding" to communities across the country with existing transit systems based on their population and ridership, in agreements of up to 10 years. - The third stream is what the Government calls "targeted funding," which will be delivered on a project-by-project basis, with periodic calls for applications. #rail, #transit, #infrastructure

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1. Roads and bridges: Many municipalities have aging roadways and bridges that are in need of repair or replacement. This can lead to safety hazards for drivers and pedestrians, as well as increased traffic congestion. 2. Water and sewer systems: Many municipalities have outdated water and sewer systems that are prone to leaks, breaks, and contamination. Upgrading these systems is crucial for ensuring access to clean and safe drinking water, as well as protecting the environment. 3. Public transportation: Many municipalities lack adequate public transportation options, leading to increased traffic congestion, air pollution, and limited mobility for residents. Investing in public transportation infrastructure can help alleviate these issues and provide more sustainable transportation options. 4. Parks and recreational facilities: Many municipalities lack sufficient parks and recreational facilities for residents to enjoy. Investing in these amenities can improve quality of life, promote physical activity, and enhance community cohesion. 5. Waste management: Many municipalities struggle with inadequate waste management systems, leading to overflowing landfills, pollution, and health hazards. Improving waste management infrastructure can help reduce environmental impact and promote sustainable practices. 6. Public buildings: Many municipalities have aging public buildings, such as schools, libraries, and community centers, that are in need of renovation or replacement. Investing in these facilities can improve services for residents and enhance community spaces. 7. Emergency services: Many municipalities face challenges in providing adequate emergency services, such as police, fire, and medical services. Upgrading infrastructure for these services can improve response times, enhance public safety, and save lives.

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Ontario is in #HousingCrisis as #Municipalities and other levels of government are making bold decisions around #AffordableHousing projects at remarkable speed, municipal #Infrastrusture projects are not able to keep it up. Housing needs #Water #Wastewater and other municipal services to make it livable. What are some #Innovative ways to build municipal #Infrastrusture projects faster to match up the pace of housing and growth. Are municipalities ready to explore and adopt new Integrated project delivery #IPD models to deliver its #Infrastructure projects?? The answer is YES as we have many good examples around this in Ontario. Then why are some Municipalties still struggling to adopt these new practices?? I am willing to learn and chat with our partners that have and is delivering municipal infrastructure projects in collaborative delivery models. Lets build #Infrastructure for this and many generations to come. Federation of Canadian Municipalities published a report confirming this critical need of supporting #Infrastructure “Estimated cost of municipal infrastructure for new housing By indexing this average unit cost to 2023 construction prices (based on the Building Construction Price Index), FCM determined that a housing unit requires an average investment of around $107,000 in municipally-owned capital assets.” https://lnkd.in/gwA28Nr3

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The Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus is proud to release our 2024 Municipal Infrastructure Policy Paper.   The region is growing. Our 103 small urban and rural communities need the infrastructure to support this growth and the well-being of the people who live and work in Eastern Ontario.   This paper highlights key infrastructure data, takeaways, and recommendations to unlock infrastructure and housing. The evidence will support municipal policy and program advocacy and improvement, funding applications, and future partnerships.   With infrastructure as the top priority in the EOWC’s 2024-2027 Strategic Plan, this paper will also shape our advocacy efforts and support the EOWC in building a better Eastern Ontario.    As part of our research findings, we have identified five key messages:   1. Rural and small urban Eastern Ontario is a growing economy that can grow more with infrastructure investment.   2. Rural Eastern Ontario communities are major exporters to Ontario and other jurisdictions.   3. There is an upfront cost to growth, creating a burden for smaller rural communities.   4. Small, rural municipalities lack the tax base to sustain infrastructure investment and asset management.   5. Innovation is key to cost-effective infrastructure management.   Read the full policy paper here 👉 https://bit.ly/3x644Z9

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Introducing an FCM first: a learning journey. We’ve developed  four resources for Canadian municipalities to use to learn how to address climate change through municipal asset management.     Got 5 minutes? Begin with a brief video on the risks that climate hazards pose to municipal infrastructure and learn how you can respond proactively. Get started on your learning journey today.

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Here is a second blog I wrote almost two years ago to the day on what could be in the Canada Green Building Strategy, which has yet to be released. I'm not too sure if I would have the same list today, but some ideas in there make more sense today, like: 1) Make net-zero emission building standards a condition for any federal government funding 2) Make every air conditioner sold a heat pump 3) Move beyond time-limited pilot projects towards using market development teams to create continuous pipeline of retrofit solutions 4) Use federal power over mortgages and banks to require building energy labels 5) Make all new heating systems be at least 100% efficient, as BC is proposing 6) Provide acceleration services for home performance businesses https://lnkd.in/gWbZNjdP

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In some cases “Good Enough” is appropriate to get it done.

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New research! Equitable Transit Oriented Affordable Housing: A Necessary Complement to Transit Development in Hamilton, ON The Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative (CHEC) have produced a compelling research report on an equitable approach to transit oriented development. They find: ▶ Canada is lagging behind the United States in recognizing that transit development and transit oriented development are often catalysts for reductions in housing affordability, the displacement of low-income and racialized people from the community, and the loss of local businesses, services and community spaces. ▶ This is especially true for governments responsible for planning and funding transit infrastructure development, which regularly promote the benefits of investment, without recognition of the negative effects it can cause. ▶ The characterization of Canada’s housing affordability problems as simply a problem of inadequate housing supply is a key barrier to the pursuit of equitable transit oriented development. ▶ Collaborator in the Hamilton Lab, the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) last year observed that the Federal Government’s proposed “Permanent Transit Fund represented an important opportunity to tie transit infrastructure funding to affordable housing development and preservation in transit station areas, however the likelihood of the Fund being designed this way was low given that the federal government does not acknowledge the negative impacts of transit development or the need to address them.” This can change! Maximizing the impact of public funds by using them to leverage private capital is a best practice in financing equitable transit oriented development (ETOD). In addition to leveraged capital, many US cities have found that a collaborative approach to equitable development is a common first step in achieving beneficial outcomes. With the Hamilton Transit Oriented Affordable Housing Lab, participants are working to launch a Pilot built on the research provided by the Canadian Housing and Evidence Collaborative above, as well as shared knowledge from participants, non-profit housing providers, people with lived experience, and the learning from past CMHC Solutions Labs including the Financialization of Housing, led by SI Canada. The Lab has been funded by the National Housing Strategy’s Solutions Labs program, administered through CMHC.  Download the full research report by CHEC on our website here: https://lnkd.in/egu2Wfsg

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🌱 "Development of the Digitization of Building and Community Electrification Platform" We are excited to highlight one of the recipients of our 36 seed-funded projects. These projects are geared towards promoting sustainability within built environments, enhancing resilient transportation systems, and fostering citizen engagement. Explore our innovative solutions paving the way to a decarbonized future! A collaborative research program between researchers from Toronto Metropolitan University and Concordia University, "Development of the Digitization of Building and Community Electrification Platform" aims to promote digital electrification systems for buildings and communities. The research focuses on creating simplified models for renewable energy technologies, such as solar photovoltaic (PV), thermal, hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors, heat pumps, batteries and electric vehicles. Alan Fung, Associate Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University is the Principal Investigator (PI) of this research project. Caroline Hachem-Vermette, associate professor, at Concordia University and Jenn McArthur, associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University collaborate with Fung as Co-PIs. The project’s budget is $400,000 in cash and $425,000 of in-kind. Thank you to our non-academic partners for their support and trust in this research project: National Research Council Canada / Conseil national de recherches Canada Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) Hydro One Toronto Hydro S2E | Business Technology Consultants Schneider Electric Enbridge Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Explore more about this project on the Volt-Age page: https://lnkd.in/eBqyepiD #digitization #electrificationplatform #smartdualfuelswitchingsystem #hybridsystem #smartthermostat #IoT #nanogrid #microgrid #VoltAgeConcordia

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Trending in #CHBAHighlights ⬇️ From the The Globe and Mail "Governments, at all levels, must figure out how to pay for maintaining, upgrading and building infrastructure and other services, without pinning so much of it on new homes." https://lnkd.in/g9sKGXFa   While steps are being taken to address anti-growth sentiment and policymaking, resistance among some politicians and their constituents remains. Canada is embarking on a generational change where new gens envision living in different types of communities – where there are multiple types of housing, and greater access to work, transit and amenities. CHBA continues to push all levels of government to address opposition to creating more density that will ultimately help restore affordability.   CHBA members, subscribe to #CHBAHighlights: https://lnkd.in/gj3C6bXN

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Excellent work by the City of Burnaby in taking a leading role in building an anti-racist community with the approval of the City’s first Anti-Racism Framework. The Anti-Racism Framework summarizes the anti-racism actions the City is currently undertaking, and makes 19 recommendations for further actions to advance this work. Recommendations include: - Developing and implementing a City anti-racism and antidiscrimination policy focused on increasing safety and belonging for Indigenous, Black and Persons of Colour (IBPOC). - Encouraging the expansion of recreation programming options and community centre access to ensure full participation, access and inclusion of all City of Burnaby residents. - Developing a system for the public to report instances of discrimination or racism which occur while in a civic facility or attending a City program/service. View the press release here: https://lnkd.in/gdVqx96k View the Anti-Racism Framework here: https://lnkd.in/gWSXAyYd #inclusion | #equity | #diversity

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Canada has recently announced its Housing Plan, which includes these five bold actions aimed at alleviating the country's housing crisis. These actions are as follows: 📍 Launching a Historic Public Lands for Homes Plan which will lease public lands for housing, enabling construction of homes at lower costs and faster pace, while ensuring affordability for Canadians. 📍 Introducing a 10% Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance for Apartments will incentivize builders to invest in more housing projects by increasing their after-tax return on investments. 📍 Increasing the annual limit for Canada Mortgage Bonds by $60 billion will enable low-cost financing to be made available for housing. 📍 Providing $15 billion in low-cost loans for the Apartment Construction Loan Program to build a minimum of 30,000 new rental apartments in big cities, small towns, and rural communities alike. 📍Launching Canada Builds, which will leverage the Apartment Construction Loan Program by making it available to provinces and territories that launch their own ambitious housing plans. What is your opinion on these five actions taken by Canada’s Housing Plan? #CanadaHousingPlan #RentalApartments #ConstructionLoans #CanadaBuilds #PublicLands

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A fantastic article linking housing supply shortage, trends in construction, labour capacity trends and potential capacity. My takeaway that is a steal from the article itself is "regulation and production (need to be brought" to the forefront"! Regulation at various levels, how we build houses and a mobilized discussion on scaling housing development needs to happen. #housingsupply #housingaffordability #housingregulations #housinginsights #youcancounton

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Here is our take on #Budget2024. Lots of pre-announcements removed some of the mystery of the Budget, and from a climate perspective it would have been great to see the EV ITC be broader to assist in the deployment and adoption of battery storage for electricity purposes. Overall, steps in the right direct for housing affordability but with a lack of commitments to energy efficiency risks long term affordability and carbon reductions. #cdnpoli #cdnecon #fiscal #climate #taxcredits

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These reports tell a story of how cities across Canada are paving the way for an urban transformation. Next step is to take those conversation to the globe. To share best practices from Canada but also to learn from others that are excelling!

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"As Canada tackles both the housing and climate crises, public policies must be pulling in the same direction: we cannot be building dense housing near transit stations while cutting how frequently the service is running [...]. This kind of transit funding can also stop the dreaded downward spiral of service cuts and fare hikes that impact your ability to get to work, school, groceries, social services, and other daily essentials." 👇 📖 Read this beautiful PDF report by Environmental Defence and Équiterre to learn more and act! 🚍 🚶‍♀️ https://lnkd.in/effzfaaG

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