The Region, and the world, face many unknowns and significant potential disruptors: climate change, new game changing technologies such as automated vehicles and 3D printing, demographic shifts and associated preferences, including decreasing use of personal cars, the growth of the sharing economy, among other factors. The pace of change and introduction of disruptors is also faster than ever before.
What these and other factors mean to the Region and the Region’s transportation system remain unclear. Certainly, they make planning for long-term infrastructure very difficult, and risky.

This necessitates new thinking and a common vision for regional transportation connections – one that reflects a shared regional view: bi-national and multi-jurisdictions, multimodal, works for passengers and goods, private and public sector stakeholders.

This short paper – on the context and rationale for a multimodal transportation vision and strategy for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Region – is the first in a series of papers that will lead to the development of a multimodal transportation vision and strategy for the Region that will be released at the Great Lakes Economic Forum in Detroit-Windsor this April.

Release Date

December 1, 2016