UBC Okanagan Transportation Plan


The Transportation Plan will play a critical role in supporting the evolution of the campus, community wellbeing, and climate action, through strategies that make it more convenient, affordable and sustainable to get to, from and around campus.


Overview

The UBC Okanagan Transportation Plan is a high-level roadmap for meeting the transportation needs of the UBC Okanagan community through 2040. It describes the University’s Vision for the future of transportation at UBC Okanagan and articulates related objectives, targets, strategies and actions.

The UBC Okanagan Transportation Plan was endorsed by UBC Okanagan leadership in October 2021.

See full Plan here.

The Plan was informed by campus community feedback collected in November 2020 and September/October 2021 on the Transportation Plan draft Vision, objectives and strategies. The Plan was shaped by community feedback along with input from campus stakeholders and technical analysis.

Read more about what we heard through public engagement here


Transportation Plan Summary

Strategies and actions considered for the Plan were evaluated based on how effective they are at advancing the Plan’s objectives, as well as their relative cost and feasibility of implementation. The result is a suite of strategies and supportive actions that advances these objectives most effectively over time and, ultimately, achieves the Plan Vision.

Compared with a “Business-As-Usual” scenario, the Plan will reduce total trips to and from campus and ensure that most of the growth in trips expected in the coming decades occurs via active and sustainable modes (e.g. walking, cycling and transit).

Successful implementation of the Transportation Plan is dependent on both internal and external influences. These include an ongoing commitment at UBCO to support the Plan’s strategies and actions, as well as investments in sustainable transportation services and infrastructure from the City of Kelowna, BC Transit and other regional and senior government partners. Implementation of the Plan will result in a dramatically reduced need for additional parking spaces on campus and reduced greenhouse gas emissions from commuting.

See the table below to learn more about how the Transportation Plan will support the community in making sustainable transportation choices:

 

What are some of the benefits that will result from this Plan? What is being proposed in the Plan to achieve these benefits?
Better and more convenient public transit. o A discounted monthly transit pass for staff and faculty similar to the existing U-Pass for students, to encourage more people to choose transit.

o A concerted effort to work with the City of Kelowna and BC Transit to improve transit service to and from campus, alleviating some of the current challenges we’ve heard from the community (such as long wait times, limited neighbourhood coverage and low frequencies)

Better cycling infrastructure for biking to, from and around campus. o Expanded secure bike parking and end-of-trip facilities for cyclists.

o New shared micromobility options (e.g. e-bikes, e-scooters) for short-distance travel.

Make carpooling more accessible to the broad campus community. o Incentives and resources to make carpooling easier and more attractive, including a new ride-matching service.

o Incentives for pooled or shared trips in ride-hailing and/or carshare vehicles.

Support for working and learning remotely. o Strengthened policies and practices that encourage remote working, learning and teaching.

 

Reduced need to travel off-campus for housing, services and amenities. o Continued implementation of the 2015 Campus Plan which promotes a compact academic campus with a mix of academic facilities, community amenities, and student housing.

o Commitments to advocate for and work with sustainable land use planning by the City of Kelowna that support more housing options and amenities on and around campus.