Green Mobility Forum: Thinking Outside the Car

 TRAX and Transport 2000 Atlantic are pleased to announce that the first annual Green Mobility Forum was a tremendous success!

Approximately 80 people helped us launch sustainable transportation into public debate on May 21-22, 2008 in Wolfville.

We released the Green Mobility Strategy on July 24, 2008.  An exective summary is available here. Please contact us for the full document.

Special thanks to our funders Conserve Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Health Promotion and Protection, Environment Canada, and Transport Canada for making this event possible.

The schedule of this two-day forum is posted below. Where available, links to presentations and information gathered from the workshops are provided.

Day 1

Panel Discussion: Experts from different sectors explored the social, economic, health and environmental benefits of sustainable transportation.

Marcus Garnet, Senior Planner HRM and VP of Transport 2000 Atlantic

Laena Garrison, TRAX Coordinator, Ecology Action Centre

Dr. Chris Milburn, Member of ADAPT

Jacques Cote, VP Velo Cape Breton

Malcolm Beaton, General Manager, Strait Area Transit Cooperative

Success Stories and Best Practice I: Presentations on local initiatives representing various modes of sustainable transportation.

Le Transport de Clare Claredon Robicheau, Coordinator

Kings Transit Ron Mullins, General Manager

Moving Ahead on a Provincial Bicycle Network: Scoping the Blue Route Susanna Fuller & Peter Williams, Eastwind Cycle Consultants

Pictou County Bikeways Project Ruth Mitchell, Pictou County

HRM Smart Trip Roxane MacInnis, TDM Planner HRM

Success Stories and Best Practice II: Presentations on sustainable transportation initiatives from jurisdictions outside of Nova Scotia.

Cycling in Québec: From Holidays to Everydays Marc Panneton, Transport Québec

Community Rail Partnerships Ian Dinmore, Railways Officer Norfolk County Council

The Centre Will Not Hold: Rethinking rural needs and services Cynthia Patterson, Rural Dignity

Island Public Transit David MacKay, PEI Transit Coalition

World Café: Presenters facilitated in-depth discussions centered around the themes explored in the morning sessions.

Green Moves in the Country: Harry Gow, founder of Transport Canada, member of Ottawa Mayor's Task Force on Transport, and expert on public transportation systems delivered a presentation open to the public in both Wolfville (May 21)and Halifax (May 22).

Day 2

Mobility Adventures: Partcipants "walked the talk" by exploring local sustainable transportation modes. The adventures included taking a ride on Kings Transit, exploring pedestrian and trail issues on a walkabout Wolfville, travelling in Trans County Transportation Society's new accessible mini-bus, learning bicycle road safety on a cycle tour, and exploring the history and potential for rail in Nova Scotia.

Wrap-Up: Presenters provided partcipants with a Green Mobility Toolkit aimed to provide participants with "tools" to improve sustainable transportation options in their own community.

Green Mobility Grants Program Amanda O'Rourke, Ecology Action Centre

Rural Transit Handbook Tim Crabtree, Transport 2000 Atlantic

HRM Rural Transit Cookbook Dave McCusker, HRM

TRAX Green Mobility Strategy Laena Garrison, Ecology Action Centre (note: this file is the draft document presented at the event.  The final document - too large to put online - is now available from Trax.)

Key Themes, Good Ideas and Next Steps: A summary of the workshops and group discussions explored in the World Café, Mobility Adventures and Wrap-Up sessions.

Evaluation: A summary of what participants had to say about the Green Mobility Forum.

The Green Mobility Forum is a project supported by the Urban Transportation Showcase Program Information Network. For more information related to what Canadian cities and communities are doing to make their transportation systems more sustainable please visit the UTSP website at www.tc.gc.ca/utsp.