Niagara-on-the-Lake council saw an early draft of its transit master plan in April 2022 but it won’t see a new version until late this spring.

Town staff reported that Stantec Consulting Ltd., the firm in charge of creating the plan, is still working on it. 

The document is a “long-range strategic plan” that the town intends to use to guide the development of its transportation infrastructure, a staff report says.

The plan is meant to “identify future transportation needs and opportunities up to 2031,” it said.

Stantec has been at it since 2019.

The Lake Report asked why a plan three years in the making only looks 10 years ahead when other planning documents produced by the town, like its official plan, are looking 30 years down the road.

A town spokesperson said it is more effective to update the town’s transportation plan in five-year intervals. 

That lets it adapt to unforeseen changes, like “new environmental effects” or “changes in proposed timing of projects within the master plan,” said the town official.

It is also important for the transit plan to complement the town’s other long-term strategies. 

According to the staff report, Stantec is reviewing the plan to ensure it does not conflict with the town’s official plan and any other legislation.

The final plan is meant to promote “an efficient, multi-modal transportation network, including vehicular, bicycle, pedestrian and transit mobility,” the report said.

It was delayed in 2021 by the pandemic and was not presented to council until April 2022, the report said. 

The town then invited residents to review it and provide feedback until Aug. 1.

Stantec completed its own review of the public feedback in October.