Potential CO2e Reduction on PEI from Active Transportation

Over the past several months, as a Councillor in the Rural Municipality of Warren Grove, I have been exploring options to add active transportation (AT) to the North York River Rd – Rte 248.  The intent was to increase safety and active transportation. The road is frequently used by cyclists and joggers and currently has no paved shoulder. In addition to the absence of a paved shoulder, frequent speeding of passenger and commercial vehicles combined with slow-moving agricultural vehicles increases safety risk to pedestrians and cyclists.

The proposed protected (separated from the road) multi-use active transportation trail for walkers, runners, bikers, etc. was approximately 6km along Route 248, between Route 1 and Route 2, through Cornwall, Warren Grove, and Miltonvale Park. It would have linked the new Cornwall Active-Transportation Cycleway and the Confederation Trail.

The map below highlights the proposed route along Rte 248 (in blue), the Cornwall/Charlottetown Cycleway (in green), and the Confederation Trail (in pink).

As the Province has now committed to paving a 1.2m shoulder on both sides of the road over the next two construction seasons, the municipality has decided to no longer pursue a trail separate from the road. The primary issue was the cost of the project and the allocation of funds. The Province will pay for shoulder work and maintenance, but trail work requires significant municipal contributions. Even though the project would benefit more than the residents of Warren Grove, with a population of 356 residents (2016 Census), the municipality does not have the tax base to adequately contribute financially to the project. 

In addition to communicating with officials and employees of the Town of Cornwall, the Rural Municipality of Miltonvale Park, the City of Charlottetown Mayor’s Task Force on Active Transportation, and the Rural Municipality of Brackley, I was also in touch with members of Bike Friendly Charlottetown/Communities, Cycling PEI, PEI Roadrunners Club and the Department of Transportation’s Active Transportation Working Group. All around there was good support in principle for the project, with an understanding that the financial piece would be the challenge.

With the passing of the Net-zero Carbon Act, and recent announcements around the purchase of 12 electric school buses and the electric vehicle incentive, I wondered what kind of reduction could be possible, if conditions were right (research seems to hold true for active transportation that “if you build it, they will come”), and more Islanders opted for Active Transportation rather than taking a fossil fuel-powered vehicle. Below are some quick calculations based on the 2016 Census data for the City of Charlottetown, the Town of Stratford, the Town of Cornwall, and the City of Summerside.

This shows that if a quarter of the residents from these four municipalities that were the lone driver in their vehicle and reported a journey to work of 9.9kms or less chose active transportation rather than their vehicle for 3 months of the year there could be a potential annual reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, CO2 equivalent (CO2e), of 302 to 514 tonnes. The potential emissions reduction is in fact larger given that the active transportation infrastructure would be used by others who are not residents of the four municipalities and for purposes other than commuting to work.  The difficult part is shifting mindsets and Government priorities in order to make the pathway to changing behaviours and forming habits easier.