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Project Overview
The Active Transportation Planning Project was developed to strengthen walking and cycling connections across Canadore College campuses by improving links between municipal infrastructure, campus routes, and natural spaces. The plan focuses on safety, accessibility, year-round usability, and seamless transitions between destinations, while laying the groundwork for a future capital project.
How the project came to be
Canadore College undertook this planning initiative to respond to growing demand for safe, accessible, and affordable transportation options that reduce reliance on private vehicles. With nearby trail, walking, and cycling infrastructure – and access to extensive natural and recreational assets – the college identified an opportunity to better connect existing infrastructure through coordinated planning and design.
The project focused on improving active transportation connections across two campuses:
- College Drive Campus, including 12 km of wooded trails spanning 700 acres
- Commerce Court Campus, including access to the Panther Sportsplex
Funding acknowledgement
This project was made possible through funding from the Government of Canada’s Active Transportation Fund (ATF), administered by Infrastructure Canada. ATF support enabled comprehensive planning, technical design work, and the development of materials needed to create this plan.
What the plan includes
The Active Transportation Plan proposes a coordinated set of upgrades and design concepts, including:
- Improved walking and cycling connections between municipal and campus networks
- Widening of a key footbridge to support safer, bi-directional and accessible use.
- Solar-powered, high-efficiency lighting to support year-round use.
- A flat, accessible walking loop through the campus forest.
- Indigenous-informed interpretive signage to deepen connection to land and water.
Across both campuses, the plan also proposes Active Transportation Hubs featuring:
- Secure bike storage
- Water refill stations
- Air stations
- Seating and rest areas
Project goals
- Improve safety, accessibility, and comfort for active transportation users.
- Encourage walking and cycling as affordable, low-carbon travel options.
- Strengthen connectivity between campuses, municipal routes, and key destinations.
- Support inclusive mobility for people of all ages and abilities.
- Generate costed design concepts to inform a future capital project.
Planning and design activities supported by ATF funding included:
- Site assessments at the College Drive and Commerce Court campuses to identify connectivity gaps and constraints.
- Collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of engineers and architects to complete engineering design for Active Transportation Hubs and develop Class B cost estimates.
- Development of conceptual designs and renderings to improve walking and cycling connections and enhance safety and accessibility.
- Integration of winter active transportation considerations into planning concepts.
- Exploration of Indigenous-informed interpretive signage.
- Coordination with internal stakeholders and technical experts to ensure alignment with institutional, municipal, and community priorities.
Working with a multidisciplinary team of engineers and architects, Canadore College completed the engineering design for proposed Active Transportation Hubs to support Class B cost estimates for a future capital project. The hubs are designed to provide secure bike storage, seating, water refill stations, and air stations to encourage sustainable transportation.
As proud signatories of the SDG Accord and a Gold-rated institution through Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), sustainability was intentionally integrated into the design.
Features such as a durable standing seam metal roof, glulam mass timber elements that store carbon, perforated aluminum panels for passive ventilation, and stormwater management through directed roof runoff and a rain garden collectively reduce environmental impact while supporting biodiversity and long-term resilience.
Conceptual renderings illustrate how proposed improvements could enhance connectivity, accessibility, and user experience across campus routes and trail networks.
Engagement was integrated throughout the project through surveys, ongoing campus outreach, and collaboration with community partners.
- Commuting surveys with students and staff identified strong use of transit, carpooling, and ridesharing, as well as gaps in walking and cycling connectivity.
- Informal feedback was collected during new student orientations and sustainability-themed events involving students, staff, and the broader community.
- During the development of Canadore’s 10-year Forest Management Plan, we hosted teachings in the Mshibizhiwgamig (Great Lynx Lodge) and sought guidance from Knowledge Keepers to deepen our understanding of the land. These learnings helped inform the Active Transportation Plan, particularly the approach to Indigenous-informed interpretive signage and strengthening connection to land and water.
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Equity considerations were embedded throughout the planning process, with a focus on accessibility, safety, affordability, and cultural inclusion. The project recognizes active transportation as a low-cost mobility option that can support access to education, employment, recreation, and community services for individuals without access to private vehicles.
Design concepts prioritize inclusive routes, rest areas, lighting for year-round use, and connections to key destinations.