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BEST Practices and Better Policies

Better Environmentally Sound Transportation (BEST) is a membership-based, non-profit charity that works with individual citizens, governments, educators, youth, volunteers, and special interest and community groups to create healthy and sustainable communities for everyone. Since its origin as a bicycle group in 1991, BEST has evolved into an integrated voice for all aspects of sustainable transportation, and has become the largest community-based, non-governmental organization devoted to sustainable transportation and land-use issues in western Canada. 

What are they doing?

The purpose of the BEST Practices and Better Policies project is to contribute to broader public understanding of, and support for, sustainable transportation in Canada. Through a combination of workshops, presentations, and publications, BEST will showcase effective and cost-efficient solutions to traffic congestion and/or to reduce single-occupancy motor vehicle use, and practical and achievable methods of transportation demand management (TDM) to a varied and inclusive audience.

The BEST Practices and Better Policies project consists of two distinctive components:

  1. BEST Practices:

    BEST will research, assess and outline positive best practices in sustainable transportation achieved in various cities throughout Canada and the United States. Innovative practices and equally important systems of performance measurement are advancing quickly and models for success, from even as recently as 5 years ago, have been surpassed, documented and are available to learn from. Specific topics will be selected to ensure relevance and viability for implementation in the Vancouver region and other Canadian urban centres.

    From this research BEST will create and publish a summary of the “best practices” at work in these realms, and present it to specifically selected community stakeholders, highlighting the particular policies, plans and innovations that show demonstrable success in achieving sustainable transportation goals and targets. Emphasis will be placed on how these initiatives can effectively contribute to current land-use and transportation goals and/or federal policy objectives.

  2. Better Policies:

    BEST will engage a broad range of transportation experts, planners and other community leaders to identify possible solutions (through one-on-one discussions and interviews, as well as group strategy sessions) for improved TDM and traffic management, achievable in the Vancouver region. From this BEST will develop and prepare a detailed discussion paper(s) on one or more of the most appropriate and timely transportation issues identified.

    The transportation improvements as outlined and proposed in the discussion paper(s) will be presented through a series of workshops, where BEST will bring together various stakeholders to review and evaluate the proposed TDM and traffic management improvements, and examine costs, benefits and barriers to their implementation. BEST will summarize and compile the findings and outcomes of the TDM and congestion management solutions resulting from the workshops and present them in a final discussion paper titled "Better Policies".

Where can you find more information?

Better Environmentally Sound Transportation (BEST) Website

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Date modified:
2010-02-03