Mobility hubs consist of major transit stations and the surrounding areas with significant levels of existing or planned transit service and a concentration of land uses and/or high development potential. They serve a critical function in the regional transportation system as the origin, destination, or transfer point for a significant portion of trips. They are places of connectivity where different modes of transportation – from walking to riding transit – come together seamlessly, and where there is a concentration of working, living, shopping, and/or playing. The Big Move identifies 51 Mobility Hubs, 26 of which will include GO Transit facilities.

The purpose of the Mobility Hub Guidelines is to:

• clearly communicate the mobility hub concept
• provide guidance and innovative ideas on how to develop and plan mobility hubs, including incorporation into other planning activities (e.g., official plans, secondary plans, environmental assessments)
• become a tool for Metrolinx, municipalities, transit agencies, developers, consultants, provincial ministries, community organizations, and other public agencies and,
• serve as a direction for Metrolinx when undertaking planning efforts, when building infrastructure in mobility hubs, or when reviewing third party plans and proposals for mobility hubs.

The Mobility Hub Guidelines have no statutory authority; rather, they are guidelines to help implement existing policies and directions in The Big Move and the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The guidelines are not a tool for identifying new mobility hubs.

It is not the intent of this document to create new policies, a new planning process, or additional requirements for municipalities. They are intended to be a useful tool to explain the mobility hub vision and provide direction on how to move toward its successful implementation.

The guidelines do not supersede municipal plans, including official plans, and are not to be interpreted by planners or the Ontario Municipal Board as prevailing over municipal plans. Where there is a conflict between the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and the guidelines, the Growth Plan will prevail.

No. While the scale and context of the guidelines is focused on mobility hubs, the document also contains strategies, best practices, examples, and resources that will assist with transit supportive planning for other major transit station areas.

Metrolinx will use the guidelines to:

• help establish the objectives/scope of work for Metrolinx-led hub and station planning and investments
• inform internal reviews of GO station plans and projects in order to level Metrolinx investments to achieve the hub concept
• provide input into Metrolinx/GO related strategies, and
• supply a framework for reviewing third party plans and proposals for mobility hubs.

Metrolinx will also continue to:

• lead the planning, design, and implementation for key hubs, while leveraging Metrolinx investments to help achieve the hub concept
• form partnerships with municipalities, transit agencies, the province and private stakeholders for planning and implementation of specific mobility hubs, and
• provide advice and guidance to inform planning decisions at mobility hubs.

Metrolinx has led a number of mobility hub studies to date and has partnered with municipalities and transit agencies to plan and implement mobility hubs; however, Metrolinx does not currently have a mobility hub funding program.

Metrolinx will continue to leverage relevant infrastructure investments in the region to advance the implementation of the mobility hub concept. Metrolinx will seek a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach to the planning, design and implementation of mobility hubs and form strong partnerships with municipalities, transit agencies, the province and private stakeholders for planning and implementation of specific mobility hubs.

Mobility hub planning areas should be determined when conducting planning in a specific hub. This process should be collaborative, involving all relevant stakeholders.

The distinction between anchor and gateway hubs in The Big Move is to relate some mobility hubs (anchor hubs) to urban growth centres, while recognizing the importance of other hubs (gateway hubs) in the regional transportation system.

The Mobility Hub Guidelines, however, have a different purpose. The purpose of the guideline document is to provide useful tools in the planning and development of mobility hubs according to their local context and the type of transportation infrastructure associated with the hub.

The distinction between anchor and gateway hubs is maintained in the guidelines insofar it relates to land use intensification and the hubs’ relation to urban growth centres. That is to say that mobility hubs in, or in very close proximity to, urban growth centres have the additional requirement to support density targets of these centres.

In the past, land use planning and transportation planning have often occurred separately. The result has been that of competition, rather than harmony, between land use and transportation operations objectives. The concept of mobility hubs is that of a fully integrated approach to land use and transportation planning, where transportation infrastructure investments most efficiently support the region’s growth management strategies.

Land use planning directions provided in the guidelines were developed in coordination with GTHA municipalities, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and the Ministry of Infrastructure - Ontario Growth Secretariat. The guidelines support the Growth Plan’s policies for major transit station areas, and where relevant, for urban growth centres. The intention of those guidelines and approaches that relate to land use intensification is to provide finer grain guidance for major transit station areas that are especially significant in the region’s transportation system.

In the following months, Metrolinx staff will work to convert the Mobility Hub Guidelines into an accessible web-based document that will act as an interactive tool for mobility hub planning.

The Mobility Hub Guidelines will be updated regularly in response to policy changes or new tools and information becoming available. Developing a web-based version of the guidelines will facilitate regular updates.

The February 2011 draft was approved by the Metrolinx Board of Directors, with minor changes for the final version. The September 2011 final version contains several more case studies to help illustrate the guidelines, approaches, and strategies. As well, the Successful Implementation objectives are re-ordered, and the first two sections of the document (I. Introduction and II. Defining Mobility Hubs) are reorganized to make them clearer and easier to use.

Please contact Lisa Salsberg, Manager, Strategic Policy and Systems Planning at Lisa.Salsberg@metrolinx.com.