Conference Program
Here’s an introductory note about the program. For Day 1 Workshops, go here.
Click here for a list of of speakers by name and organizations.
Day 2: Thu Oct 29
SOCIETY & CULTURE
Why Every Neighbourhood Needs Pedestrian Streets
Oak Bay Room
While many municipalities across BC have tested car-free spaces through plazas, events, and school streets, there is a growing need for guidance on how to scale them into connected, year-round networks. This session will explore how communities can move from pilot projects to permanent pedestrian spaces, with lessons on design, activations, and public/political buy-in, and clear, practical advice. The session will also highlight lessons learned from communities across BC, helping participants avoid common pitfalls and adapt proven approaches to their local context.
POLICY & STRATEGY
From Plan to Pavement: Why AT Plans Stall and How to Fix Them
Esquimalt Room
While many communities across BC have developed ambitious visions and comprehensive systems for safer, more inclusive, and better-connected networks, far fewer have translated into meaningful on-the-ground change. This session explores the growing gap between adopted plans and built infrastructure, and asks the critical question: what happens after Council adopts the plan? Through follow-up interviews with municipal staff and elected officials, we identify barriers to implementation, including funding constraints, political turnover, cost escalation, staff capacity limitations, and disconnect with capital programs, anchored by a case study from the Village of Belcarra, a small rural community with limited funding and minimal existing active transportation facilities. This session challenges practitioners to rethink what makes an ATNP successful: not the strength of its vision, but its ability to move from plan to pavement.
DESIGN, SYSTEMS & NETWORK EFFECTS
Let’s Get Comfy: Using Comfort to Plan For Cycling Infrastructure
Theatre
For decades, the quality of cycling infrastructure has been categorized by the type of facility that defines it. However, the each type can deliver markedly different user experiences depending on how and where the infrastructure is implemented. Practitioners have turned to more nuanced classification approaches, based on human-centred factors such as exposure to motor vehicle volumes and speeds, as well as infrastructure width, surface, and level of separation from other road/ path users. The result? Infrastructure described using consistent language and classified by level of comfort. In this session, you'll learn about the new comfort-based facility selection tool in the updated BC Active Transportation Design Guide, as well as how SFU, TransLink, and HUB Cycling use a comfort-spectrum to classify and track cycling network progress at the local, regional, and national scales.
SOCIETY & CULTURE
POLICY & STRATEGY
DESIGN, SYSTEMS & NETWORK EFFECTS
Day 3: Fri Oct 30
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Welcome | First Nations, City of Victoria, Peter Ladner (BC Cycling Coalition), John Alexander (Capital Bike)
Morning Keynote | Adam Olsen (memberTsartlip First Nation, former MLA Saanich North and the Islands)
Afternoon Plenary | Discussion Panel: “Beyond the Binary: Exploring the Future of Shared Transportation Corridors”
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Safe Streets Conflicts: Asking Government to Advocate for Itself | Margie Sanderson (Vision Zero Vancouver)
Why Every Neighbourhood Needs Pedestrian Streets | Kelly Clifton (UBC School for Regional & Community Planning), Laura Jane (BEST Mobility), Hugo Johnston (CMHC-Granville Island), Ross Kenny (City of Victoria), Sam Khany (City of Vancouver)
From Pilot to Permanence & The Arc of Change: Uptown Plaza, A Case Study | Barry Fan (Urban Systems), Yuval Fogelson (YF City), Lacey Hirtle (City of New Westminster), Mitchell Reardon (Happy Cities)
From Modes to Moments: Designing Mobility for Real Life | Sandra Phillips (Modo)
Making Connections for Cycle Tourism in BC | Colleen Macdonald (Let's Go Biking, BC Cycling Coalition), Heather Piwowar (BC Cycle Tourism Society)
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From Plan to Pavement: Why Active Transportation Plans Stall and How to Fix Them | Jason Potter, Sophie Renard (Bunt & Associates)
Audacious Planning: Catalyzing AT Improvements | Mo Bot (City of North Vancouver), Dora Gunn (District of Squamish), Rebecca Mayers (TransLink), Oluwapelumi Ogeroju (Ministry of Transportation & Transit)
Reconciliation in Motion: Indigenous Inclusion in AT Plans Across B.C. | Aman Chandi (Movement), Jaimy Fischer (University of Victoria)
Translating Dutch AT Principles to the BC Context | Samir Ajanovic, Kathleen Corey (Arcadis)
Neighbourhood Streets, Big Connections | Kathleen Gallagher (District of Saanich)
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How Victoria Reached 44% Walk & Bike Mode Share | Stephanie Williams (City of Victoria)
Reconciliation You Can Bike On: How Tkʼemlúps & the Ministry Built a Safer Shuswap Road Together | Komalpreet Kaur (Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc), Ian Roth (Urban Systems)
Active Travel Network Data — A Panel Discussion | Nick Andrew (City of Victoria), Rory Buckman City of Vancouver), Jamie Rose (City of Nanaimo), Meghan Winters (CHATR Lab)
Galloping Goose Pedestrian Bridge | Josh Andrews (City of Colwood), Ricardo Araya (McElhanney)
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Host Remarks | Ian MacKichan (Capital Bike), Colin Stein (BC Cycling Coalition)
Morning Keynote
What a Kilometre Is Worth: Bikenomics, Street Design and the Bike-Train Connection | Matteo Jarre (Decisio) -
Galloping Goose History & Lessons Learned | Alastair Craighead (FORT-VI), David Cubberly, Andrew Petter, Denise Savoie, Geoff Young
Aging & AT in BC | Alison Chamberlain (District of Saanich), Lisa Corriveau (HUB Cycling), Dr. Douglas Jones (CARP), Farinaz Rikhtehgaran (BEST Mobility), Jake Winn (Cycling Without Age)
Wheelchairs & Mobility Scooters on Bike & Roll Routes: Why You Should Welcome and Plan for Them | Eric Doherty (EcoPath Planning), Sandra Hough (Victoria Accessibility Advisory Committee)
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Victoria by Bike: Two Stories About North America’s Cycle City | Nic Laporte, Roy Symons (ISL Engineering & Land Systems)
Engagement Improves Accessibility: Inclusive Design for a Floating Island Bus Stop | Lacey Hirtle (City of New Westminster), Tommy Leung (CNIB), Grant Ngieng (ISL Engineering & Land Services)
Mobility-Oriented Development: Helping Cities Prioritize Affordability & Density (bike/scooter tour) | Christian Brandt (Modo), Venkatesh Gopal (movmi), Councillor Dave Thompson (City of Victoria)
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Building Connections: Collaborative AT Data in the Capital Regional District (bike/scooter tour)| Nick Armstrong (City of Victoria), Jay Douillard (Capital Regional District), Kara Martin (Eco-Counter)
Retrofitting Suburbia: Engagement on the Design of Active Transportation Corridors in Southwest Coquitlam | Payvand Razaghizad (City of Coquitlam)
Shared Paths, Shared Challenges: Bike–Pedestrian Separation | Genevieve Tokgoz, Amir Hassanpour (Capital Regional District)
Major Street Makeovers: Shelbourne and Sinclair (bike tour)| Kathleen Gallagher, Troy McKay (District of Saanich)