More Port Coquitlam commuters are travelling shorter distances to get to and from work and many are not even leaving the municipality at all, according to the city's Master Transportation Plan update.
Forty-three per cent of all trips during the AM peak hour were within the municipality, with another 23% travelling to Coquitlam. That number is up dramatically from the 29% of drivers who commuted within Port Coquitlam in 1996.
And while cities such as PoCo are often thought of as bedroom communities to Vancouver's commercial core, statistics show that only 3% of local commuters are travelling to the downtown peninsula.
Dave Currie, the city's manager of transportation, said the shift in traffic patterns can be attributed to increased job growth within the municipality and the region.
"More people are making a conscious decision to shift their residential location or their job location to be closer," he said. "From the data, it is clear that a lot more people who live in PoCo are working here as well."
The Master Transportation Plan update was approved by PoCo's transportation solutions and operations committee Wednesday and outlines the city's existing traffic conditions and the changes that have taken place in the last 10 years. Currie said the information will be used as staff and council put together a new transportation master plan that will serve as a blueprint for road infrastructure investment over the next decade.
The last decade has seen many changes to the city's traffic patterns and road grid, particularly with the development of north-south connections. For example, Currie said the Coast Meridian Overpass has helped ease traffic on Shaughnessy Street, enhancing PoCo's downtown business area.
But the update also highlighted several points that staff and council will work to correct in the new master plan.
Despite improved bus service over the last decade along Lougheed Highway, connecting Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge with Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam Town Centre, transit continues to be an issue.
More than 80% of all travel generated in Port Coquitlam is by car, with only 6 to 7% of trips being made by public transit. Those figures, according to the master plan update, have been consistent since 1996.
The problem is particularly acute during the morning hours, when auto trips in the last 10 years have increased by 8% while alternatives such as walking and biking have declined by 10%.
A draft 2011 master plan will be put together by staff and is expected to be reviewed by committee before coming to the full council at some point in the spring.
