Northern Ontario Passenger Vehicle Travel Profile

Transcription

1 TRANSPORTATION Final Report The Preparation of a Northern Ontario Passenger and Commercial Vehicle Origin-Destination Survey Northern Ontario Passenger Vehicle Travel Profile Submitted to Ministry of Transportation, Ontario by IBI Group October 30, 2013

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3 Table of Contents Executive Summary... ES.1 ES. 1 Introduction... ES.1 ES.1 Border Crossing Travel... ES.2 ES.2 Provincial Highway Travel... ES.5 ES.4 Summary... ES Introduction Study Background Report Purpose and Organization Design and Conduct of Survey Northern Ontario Context... 6 Population Distribution 6 Provincial Highway Network 7 2. Border Crossing Survey Summary International Travel Overview of Border Crossing Travel Trip Purposes by Vehicle Registration Origin-Destination Flows Mail-Back Survey Summary Provincial Highway Travel Overview of Provincial Highway Travel Trip Purposes Origin-Destination Flows Northern Ontario Gateway Flows 45 Interior Northern Ontario Flows Summary i

4 Table of Contents (continued) Appendix A: Survey Questionnaires Appendix B: Traffic Classification Count Summaries by Survey Station Appendix C: Detailed Travel Summaries by Survey Station and Direction Appendix D: Detailed Origin-Destination Matrices ii

5 Table of Contents (continued) List of Exhibits Exhibit 1.1: Map of Passenger Vehicle Survey Locations... 3 Exhibit 1.2: Valid Survey Sample by Station... 4 Exhibit 1.3: Northern Ontario 2011 Census Population by Region... 6 Exhibit 2.1: Border Surveys: Summary of Travel Indicators by Crossing and Day Exhibit 2.2: Border Crossing Trip Purposes by Country of Vehicle Registration and Crossing, Fall Exhibit 2.3: Border Crossing Trip Purposes by Country of Vehicle Registration at Sault Ste. Marie, 2011 and Exhibit 2.4: Trip Purpose Statistics by Country of Vehicle Registration, All Border Crossings, Fall Exhibit 2.5: Trip Purpose Statistics by Country of Vehicle Registration, Sault Ste. Marie, Day-of-Week Comparison Exhibit 2.6: Summary Zone System Exhibit 2.7: Daily Border Crossing Flows - Fall 2011 Weekday Exhibit 2.8: Daily Border Crossing Flows - Fall 2011 Sunday Exhibit 2.9: Border Crossing Origin-Destination Matrix for All Northern Ontario International Borders Fall 2011 Weekday Exhibit 2.10: Border Crossing Origin-Destination Matrix for All Northern Ontario International Borders Fall 2011 Sunday Exhibit 2.11: Daily Border Crossing Flows at Sault Ste. Marie Summer Exhibit 3.1: Provincial Highway Surveys: Summary of Travel Indicators Exhibit 3.2: Provincial Highway Trip Purposes by Location, Direction, and Survey Period Exhibit 3.3: Trip Length Distribution by Trip Purpose and Day of Week, Gateway Survey Locations, Fall Exhibit 3.4: Trip Length Distribution by Trip Purpose and Day of Week, Station 6 Highway 17 West of Sudbury, Summer Exhibit 3.5: Travel Flows at Northwestern Ontario Gateway: Ontario-Manitoba Border Fall 2011 WEEKDAY Exhibit 3.6: Travel Flows at Northwestern Ontario Gateway: Ontario-Manitoba Border Fall 2011 SUNDAY Exhibit 3.7: Northeastern Ontario Gateways Fall 2011 WEEKDAY Exhibit 3.8: Northeastern Ontario Gateways Fall 2011 SUNDAY Exhibit 3.9: Northeastern Ontario Gateways Summer 2012 SUNDAY Exhibit 3.10: Travel Flows at Highway 11/17 West of Nipigon Summer 2012 WEEKDAY Exhibit 3.11: Travel Flows at Highway 11/17 West of Nipigon Summer 2012 SUNDAY Exhibit 3.12: Travel Flows on Highway 17 West of Sudbury Summer 2012 WEEKDAY Exhibit 3.13: Travel Flows on Highway 17 West of Sudbury Summer 2012 SATURDAY Exhibit 3.14: Travel Flows on Highway 17 West of Sudbury Summer 2012 SUNDAY iii

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7 Executive Summary 1.1 ES. 1 Introduction Exhibit ES.1: Map of Passenger Vehicle Survey Locations This report summarizes findings from the Northern Ontario passenger vehicle surveys conducted in early fall 2011 and summer 2012 at ten locations for the Ministry of Transportation, Ontario. This is part of a larger survey program that consists of a commercial vehicle survey, a passenger vehicle survey, and traffic classification counts to allow for the expansion of the survey data. Other aspects of the study are documented separately. The surveys were conducted at ten locations across Northern Ontario, including the four international border crossings and six provincial highway locations, shown in Exhibit ES.1. Border Crossing Survey Locations (2011) Provincial Highway Survey Locations (2011) Border Crossing Survey Locations (2012) Provincial Highway Survey Locations (2012) Two methodologies were used for the passenger vehicle surveys: Border crossing locations - driver interview surveys: Passenger vehicles crossing the border in either direction were selected randomly by police enforcement and directed to survey bays. Surveys generally took place on the property of the Canadian Border Services Agency. Driver interview surveys were possible due to reduced speeds of vehicles in the vicinity of the border crossing, and allowed vehicles of all jurisdictions to be surveyed. ES.1

8 The border survey database includes a total of 8,714 survey records: 5,870 for fall 2011 and 2,844 for summer Provincial highway locations licence-plate recording/mailback surveys: The licence plates of passenger vehicles passing survey locations were recorded and processed via MTO s address retrieval system to obtain the address of the registered vehicle owners. A survey questionnaire was mailed to the households of the vehicle owners, together with a postage-paid envelope for the survey response. With this method, surveys could only be sent to the owners of vehicles licensed in Ontario. A total of 28,733 surveys were mailed: 11,692 in fall 2011 and 17,041 in summer The final database contains 4,151 valid fall records and 5,382 valid summer records for a total of 9,533 valid trip records. Northern Ontario covers over 800,000 square kilometres or 87% of Ontario s land area. The driving distance between Mattawa, near the southeastern limit of Northern Ontario, and the Ontario-Manitoba border is over 1,700 km. The study area covered by this survey is thus very large. Northern Ontario s Census population in 2011 was 733,000 people, or about 6% of Ontario s total population; this does not include a portion of Northern Ontario s population in incompletely enumerated aboriginal communities. Over half of Northern Ontario residents live in the five largest urban areas, from largest to smallest: Sudbury (161,000 population), Thunder Bay (122,000), Sault Ste. Marie (75,000), North Bay (64,000) and Timmins (43,000). The two main provincial highway routes in Northern Ontario are Highways 11 and 17, which are arterial two-lane highways for much of their length except in the vicinity of larger urban centres. 1.2 ES.1 Border Crossing Travel To provide some geographical context, three of the crossings have both US and Canadian border towns immediately adjacent to the borders: Rainy River (population 850) is across the border from the slightly larger town of Baudette, Minnesota (population 1,000); Fort Frances (population 8,000) is across the border from International Falls, Minnesota (population 6,500); and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (population 75,000) is across the border from a smaller town by the same name in Michigan (population 14,000). The fourth crossing, Pigeon River, is about 60 km to the south of Thunder Bay via Highway 61. The closest US community south of the Pigeon River crossing is Grand Portage, about 10 km to the south along Minnesota Highway 61. The population of Grand Portage numbers in the hundreds, but the Grand Portage Casino and a border store are a significant draw for Canadian visitors. The border crossing surveys were conducted in fall 2011 on a Sunday and a weekday. Passenger vehicle border crossing volumes totalled 9,200 on fall 2011 weekdays, and 11,140 on Sundays (21% higher). The Sault Ste. Marie crossing ES.2

9 accounted for over half the total Northern Ontario passenger vehicle border crossings; therefore, this crossing was selected for supplemental surveys conducted in summer 2012 on a Saturday and a Sunday. In general, Canadians cross the Northern Ontario borders much more frequently than Americans. In Fall 2011, approximately four times as many Canadianregistered vehicles crossed the Northern Ontario borders than Americanregistered vehicles. Exhibit ES.2 summarizes total trips by country of vehicle registration, border crossing, survey period, and trip purpose for fall 2011; very distinct differences can be seen in the types of trips across the Northern Ontario borders by Canadian vs. American residents. The most significant trip types for Canadians were shopping and casino visits, as well as other recreation/entertainment purposes. About 3,500 Canadianregistered vehicles crossed the Northern Ontario in fall 2011 for shopping purposes, corresponding to 38% of total weekday trips and 31% of Sunday trips. Two-thirds of respondents said they made the trip at least weekly. Travel to US casinos near the Northern Ontario border is also among the most common type of trip for Canadians near the Pigeon River and Sault Ste. Marie borders. About 1,000 weekday trips and 1,500 Sunday trips related to visiting these casinos. About 60% of those who go on weekdays make the trip at least weekly, while 50% of those who go on Sundays go at least weekly. Recreation/entertainment cross-border trips by Canadian-registered vehicles total about 500 weekday trips and 1,700 Sunday trips, including restaurants, theatres, sports events, golfing and tourist attractions in the US border towns and surrounding area. Cross-border fishing trips are almost exclusively made by US-registered vehicles, numbering roughly 300 to 500 vehicles daily in the fall. In comparison, cross-border hunting trips are very rare. Other vacation trips across the Northern Ontario borders number in hundreds of vehicles daily in the fall in comparable volumes by Canadian vs. Americanregistered vehicles. At Sault Ste. Marie, where fall and summer Sunday results could be compared, there was little relative difference in the total volume of Canadian-registered vehicles crossing between seasons. However, there was a two-thirds increase in US-registered vehicles between a fall Sunday (1,900) and summer Sunday (3,100), reflecting the high proportion of cross-border travel by Americans comprising vacation travel, which fluctuates more by season. Exhibit ES.3 illustrates the inbound (to Canada) and outbound (to US) passenger-vehicle border-crossing flows for a fall 2011 Sunday, for all four Northern Ontario border crossings. The bulk of border crossing travel is to/from locations very close to the border. The Northwestern Ontario international border crossings typically are used for travel to/from Northwestern Ontario only, given their location on the broader highway network and the geographic barrier of Lake Superior. Compared to the other Northwestern Ontario border crossings, the Sault Ste. Marie crossing has larger volumes of trips with origins and destinations at longer distances from the border on the Canadian side. ES.3

10 Exhibit ES.2 Border Crossing Trip Purposes by Country of Vehicle Registration and Crossing, Fall 2011 Daily Two-Way Passenger Vehicle Volume Rainy River: Weekday CANADIAN-REGISTERED VEHICLES Sunday Fort Frances: Weekday Sunday Shopping Shopping Pigeon River: Weekday Sunday Casino Casino Sault Ste Marie: Weekday Sunday Shopping Shopping Casino Casino Total Weekday Shopping Casino Total Sunday Visit friends Shopping Casino Recreation/ entertainment Rainy River: Weekday Sunday Fort Frances: Weekday Sunday Pigeon River: Weekday Sunday Sault Ste Marie: Weekday Sunday Total Weekday Total Sunday UNITED STATES - REGISTERED VEHICLES Fish Fish Legend: School Work Business Medical Visit friends/relatives Religious/civic activity Shopping Mail/post office Fuel Hunting Fishing Golf Casino Sports event Restaurant Theatre/show Recreation/entertainment (other) Tourist attraction Vacation Other/unknow n ES.4

11 Exhibit ES.3: Daily Border Crossing Flows - Fall 2011 Sunday 1.3 ES.2 Provincial Highway Travel Exhibit ES.4 provides a number of travel summary statistics at the provincial highway survey locations, while Exhibit ES.5 summarizes trips by trip purpose, survey season, day and direction. ES.5

12 Exhibit ES.4 Provincial Highway Surveys: Summary of Travel Indicators Survey Location FALL 2011 Gateway Locations Day of Week Pass. Vehicle Traffic Average Trip % ON Distance Vehicles (km) 1 Trips by Trip Purpose Recreation/ Vacation % Work % Medical % Average People/ Vehicle Trip Frequency: Monthly or More 1 Highway 17 at Ontario- Weekday 2,590 46% % % % % Manitoba border 2 Sunday 4,700 25% % % 82 7% % 2 Highway 69 North of Parry Sound 3 Highway 11 South of North Bay 4 Highway 17 West of Mattawa Weekday 4,602 93% 322 1,404 31% 1,354 26% % % Sunday 8,512 93% 328 4,364 51% 698 6% 259 3% % Weekday 8,184 97% 155 1,318 16% 4,017 39% % % Sunday 8,312 94% 195 2,874 35% 1,469 9% 255 3% % Weekday 3,114 89% % 1,324 35% 287 9% % Sunday 3,603 87% 351 1,266 35% 404 7% 111 3% % Total Gateway Locations 3 Weekday 18,490 88% 211 5,505 32% 476 2% 97 1% % SUMMER 2012 Gateway Locations 2A Highway 69 N. of Parry Sound 3 Highway 11 South of North Bay Interior Locations 5 Highway 11 & 17 West of Nipigon 6 Highway 17 West of Sudbury Sunday 25,127 80% 263 5,065 23% 1,275 2% 204 1% % Sunday 8,950 95% 370 5,505 62% 476 4% 97 1% % Sunday 9,872 97% 245 5,065 51% 1,275 5% 204 2% % Weekday 4,090 83% 522 1,192 29% 1,194 24% % % Sunday 3,566 82% 446 1,408 39% % 229 6% % Weekday 9,924 95% 208 3,242 33% 3,686 29% 931 9% % Saturday 9,781 97% 312 6,159 63% 1,422 6% 294 3% % Sunday 11,000 90% 243 5,315 48% 1,500 6% 283 3% % Notes: 1 Straight-line distance from trip origin to survey station plus straight-line distance from survey station to destination 2 At this location the survey data were expanded to the sum of Ontario-registered vehicles only: 1,191 weekday vehicles and 1,155 Sunday vehicles. 3 This is the direct sum of data at the individual survey stations, which may result in some double-counting of long-distance trips that pass more than one survey station on their route; due to the large distances between survey locations and the travel patterns particular to each survey station, this double-counting is very low. Expanded data totals sum to 17,091 on weekdays and 21,582 on Sundays due to Station 1 expansion to Ontario-registered vehicles only. ES.6

13 Exhibit ES.5: Provincial Highway Trip Purposes by Location, Direction, and Survey Period Daily One-Way Passenger Vehicle Volume Station 1 Highway 17 at Ontario-Manitoba Boundary Legend: Fall WEEKDAY-Eastbound Expanded to Ontario-registered vehicles only School -Westbound Work/Business Fall SUNDAY-Eastbound -Westbound Expanded to Ontario-registered vehicles only Medical Personal Business/Social Shopping Station 2 Fall WEEKDAY-Northbound -Southbound Highway 69 North of Parry Sound Hunting (Fall 2011) Fishing (Fall 2011) Campground (Summer 2012) Cottage/Family Camp Fall SUNDAY-Northbound -Southbound (Summer 2012) Recreation / Vacation No Response Summer SUNDAY-Northbound -Southbound Station 3 Fall WEEKDAY-Northbound -Southbound Highway 11 South of North Bay Fall SUNDAY-Northbound -Southbound Summer SUNDAY-Northbound -Southbound Station 4 Fall WEEKDAY-Eastbound -Westbound Highway 17 West of Mattawa Fall SUNDAY-Eastbound -Westbound Station 5 Summer WEEKDAY-Eastbound -Westbound Highway 11 & 17 West of Nipigon GATEWAY LOCATIONS INTERIOR LOCATIONS Summer SUNDAY-Eastbound -Westbound Station 6 Summer WEEKDAY-Eastbound -Westbound Highway 17 West of Sudbury Summer SATURDAY-Eastbound -Westbound Summer SUNDAY-Eastbound -Westbound ES.7

14 All of the provincial highway survey locations for all survey days have long average travel distances. At all locations, trip volumes by trip purpose are roughly balanced by direction over the course of the day on weekdays. Some sites had directional Sunday flows indicating the end of weekend recreational trips that would have been made in the opposite direction on a Friday or Saturday. All survey locations except for Highway 11 & 17 west of Nipigon (Station 5) had higher passenger vehicle volumes on Sundays than on weekdays. Exhibit ES.6 shows trip length distributions for traffic across all four gateway locations in fall 2011 for weekdays vs. Sundays. Exhibit ES.7 shows similar trip length information for Station 6, Highway 17 west of Sudbury, for three days: weekday, Saturday and Sunday. Trip lengths in this report are straight-line distances between origin and survey station, and survey station and destination, and therefore are lower than actual driving distances. Not surprisingly, there are more longer trips (100 km or more) on Sundays. The Station 6 plot (ES.7) shows that the Saturday has about 50% more trips over 500 km than the Sunday (1,800 vs. 1,200), while the Sunday has more traffic than Saturday overall. Exhibit ES.6: Trip Length Distribution by Day of Week, Gateway Survey Locations, Fall ,000 5,000 4,000 Weekday Sunday Daily Volume 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 < ,000 1,000+ Length Bin (km) Exhibit ES.7: Trip Length Distribution by Day of Week, Station 6 Highway 17 West of Sudbury, Summer 2012 Daily Volume 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1, Total Trips Weekday Saturday Sunday < ,000 1,000+ Length Bin (km) ES.8

15 A selection of conceptual passenger vehicle flows at the six provincial highway sites are shown in Exhibits ES.8 through ES.11 for Sundays. All three Northeastern Ontario gateway locations show very significant levels of relatively long-distance travel flows between Northeastern Ontario and Southern or Eastern Ontario on a fall Sunday: 6,800 vehicle trips on Highway 69 south of Sudbury (Station 2); 3,500 vehicle trips on Highway 11 south of North Bay (Station 3); and 2,700 vehicle trips on Highway 17 east of North Bay (Station 4). 61 In Northwestern Ontario at the Ontario-Manitoba border, some 3,500 trips are made on a fall Sunday by Manitoba-registered vehicles to/from Northwestern Ontario about three times greater than the number of Ontario-registered vehicles traveling past this location on Sundays. Exhibit ES.8: Travel Flows at Northwestern Ontario Gateway: Ontario-Manitoba Border Fall 2011 Sunday ES.9

16 61 IBI GROUP FINAL REPORT: NORTHERN PASSENGER VEHICLE TRAVEL PROFILE Exhibit ES.9: Travel Flows at Northeastern Ontario Gateways Fall 2011 Sunday 61 Exhibit ES.10: Travel Flows at Highway 11&17 West of Nipigon Summer 2012 Sunday ES.10

17 61 IBI GROUP FINAL REPORT: NORTHERN PASSENGER VEHICLE TRAVEL PROFILE Exhibit ES.11: Travel Flows at Highway 17 West of Sudbury Summer 2012 Sunday Note: * Straight-line distance from origin to border plus straight-line distance from border to destination 1.4 ES.4 Summary Key findings from the Northern Ontario passenger vehicle survey results are listed below. 1. The provincial highway gateway locations show strong connection between Northern Ontario and other regions. 2. Northern Ontario s urban centres are common origins or destinations for passenger vehicle travel in Northern Ontario. 3. Cross-border travel flows indicate that Northern Ontario residents have strong connections to US border towns. 4. Cross-border vacation traffic is more balanced between Canadian and US residents than most trip purposes, but is a much smaller component of Northern Ontario cross-border traffic. 5. The Northern Ontario passenger vehicle survey provided insights into differences in travel patterns by day-of-week. 6. Surveys conducted in early fall 2011 captured lower but comparable overall traffic levels compared to summer While there are similarities in travel patterns across seasons at each location, in general there are fewer long-distance recreation/vacation trips and more shortdistance recreation, social and shopping trips and more work trips in fall than in summer. ES.11

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19 1. Introduction 1.1 Study Background The Growth Plan for Northern Ontario directs the Ministry of Transportation, Ontario (MTO) to develop a Northern Ontario Multimodal Transportation Strategy. This strategy will chart a long-term course for future planning, policy, programs, and infrastructure investment opportunities. An important starting point to developing a sound strategy is having an accurate and comprehensive understanding of travel patterns and characteristics in the region. Origindestination (O-D) surveys provide a rich source of transportation information. MTO has retained IBI Group to conduct O-D surveys at various sites throughout Northern Ontario on the provincial highway network and at international border crossings. The survey program consists of three components: a commercial vehicle survey; a passenger vehicle survey; and traffic classification counts to allow for the data expansion of the surveys. This report summarizes findings from the passenger vehicle surveys conducted in early fall 2011 and summer 2012 at ten locations. Two survey methodologies were used: at border crossing locations, driver intercept surveys were conducted; and at provincial highway locations, the licence plates of vehicles passing survey locations were recorded, and mail-back surveys were sent to addresses of the corresponding Ontario-registered vehicle owners. 1.2 Report Purpose and Organization This report describes the results of the passenger vehicle survey, and provides a profile of border crossing and provincial highway travel. Other aspects of the passenger vehicle survey are documented in the following reports: Passenger Vehicle Survey: Design and Conduct; Passenger Vehicle Survey: Traffic and Vehicle Classification Summary; and Passenger Vehicle Survey: Data Coding, Validation and Expansion. The Northern Ontario Commercial Vehicle Survey is also documented separately. 1

20 This introductory chapter describes the study background, provides an overview of the design and conduct of the survey and resulting survey sample rates, and provides a brief Northern Ontario context. Chapters 2 and 3 of the report provide a summary of the findings for the border crossing surveys and provincial highway surveys, respectively. Chapter 4 provides a report summary. 1.3 Design and Conduct of Survey The passenger vehicle surveys were conducted at eight locations in fall 2011 and five locations in summer These locations capture travel in the major travel corridors in Northern Ontario, including the Canada-USA border crossing locations and on major provincial highways, using two methodologies: Border crossing locations - driver interview surveys: Passenger vehicles crossing the border in either direction were selected randomly by police enforcement and directed to survey bays. Surveys generally took place on the property of the Canadian Border Services Agency. Driver interview surveys were possible due to reduced speeds of vehicles in the vicinity of the border crossing, and allowed vehicles of all jurisdictions to be surveyed. A total of 8,864 driver interview surveys were conducted; after coding and validation of trip records, 8,714 survey records were carried forward in the database: 5,870 for fall 2011 and 2,844 for summer Provincial highway locations licence-plate recording/mailback surveys: The licence plates of passenger vehicles passing survey locations were recorded and processed via MTO s address retrieval system to obtain the address of the registered vehicle owners. A survey questionnaire was mailed to the households of the vehicle owners, together with a postage-paid envelope for the survey response. With this method, surveys could only be sent to the owners of vehicles licensed in Ontario. A total of 28,733 surveys were mailed: 11,692 in fall 2011 and 17,041 in summer The final database contains 4,151 valid fall records and 5,382 valid summer records for a total of 9,533 valid trip records. Passenger vehicle survey locations are shown in Exhibit 1.1. All four Northern Ontario international border crossings were surveyed on a weekday and a Sunday in early fall To provide additional insight into summer peak tourism travel patterns, the Sault Ste. Marie border the highestvolume crossing - was also surveyed on Saturday and Sunday in July The 2011 provincial highway surveys included weekday and Sunday surveys at four gateway locations near the boundaries of Northern Ontario in early fall. The summer 2012 provincial highway surveys re-visited the two busiest gateways on Sundays for additional insight into peak summer tourism travel characteristics. The 2012 surveys also included two new interior locations to provide insight into long-distance travel within Northern Ontario. Appendix A includes the survey forms used in two types of surveys. 2

21 Exhibit 1.1: Map of Passenger Vehicle Survey Locations 61 Border Crossing Survey Locations (2011) Provincial Highway Survey Locations (2011) Border Crossing Survey Locations (2012) Provincial Highway Survey Locations (2012) 3

22 The valid survey sample rates by survey station are shown in Exhibit 1.2. The overall valid sample rate at border crossings is 27% of cross-border passenger vehicle traffic, and the valid sample rate for provincial highway surveys is 10% of passenger vehicle traffic at the survey locations. These sample rates allow for a very strong basis for travel pattern analysis. The results in this report are expanded results, with an expansion weight associated with each record such that the sums of expansion weights equal the total traffic passing through each survey station. Exhibit 1.2: Valid Survey Sample by Station Survey Station Day Direction Border Crossings Interview Surveys Valid Surveys Passenger Vehicle Traffic Valid Sample Rate Fall 2011 Sault Ste. Marie Border Weekday To Canada 280 2, % To USA 301 2, % Sunday To Canada 392 3, % To USA 354 2, % Pigeon River Border Weekday To Canada % To USA % Sunday To Canada 444 1, % To USA % Fort Frances Border Weekday To Canada % To USA 478 1, % Sunday To Canada % To USA 605 1, % Rainy River Border Weekday To Canada % To USA % Sunday To Canada % To USA % 2011 Total 5,870 20, % Sumer 2012 Sault Ste. Marie Border Saturday To Canada 577 3, % To USA 768 3, % Sunday To Canada 580 3, % To USA 919 2, % 2012 Total 2,844 12, % Total 2011 and 2012 TOTAL 8,714 32, % 4

23 Exhibit 1.2: Valid Survey Sample by Station (continued) Survey Station Day Direction Provincial Highway Licence Plate Recording/Mail-Back Fall Highway 17 at ON- MB Border 2 Highway 69 north of Parry Sound 3 Highway 11 south of North Bay 4 Highway 17 west of Mattawa Valid Trip Records Passenger Vehicle Traffic Valid Sample Rate Weekday Eastbound 75 1, %* Westbound 68 1, %* Sunday Eastbound 122 1, %* Westbound 77 3, %* Weekday Northbound 143 2, % Southbound 88 2, % Sunday Northbound 338 3, % Southbound 257 5, % Weekday Northbound 579 4, % Southbound 597 4, % Sunday Northbound 596 4, % Southbound 432 4, % Weekday Eastbound 126 1, % Westbound 139 1, % Sunday Westbound 250 1, % Westbound 264 1, % 2011 Total 4,151 43, % Summer A Highway 69 north Sunday Northbound 585 4, % of Parry Sound Southbound 511 4, % 3 Highway 11 south of North Bay 5 Highway 11/17 west of Nipigon 6 Highway 17 west of Sudbury Sunday Northbound 402 4, % Southbound 454 4, % Weekday Eastbound 177 2, % Westbound 171 2, % Sunday Eastbound 181 1, % Westbound 224 1, % Weekday Eastbound 431 4, % Westbound 520 4, % Saturday Eastbound 410 4, % Westbound 495 5, % Sunday Eastbound 473 6, % Westbound 348 4, % 2012 Total 5,382 55, % Total 2011 and 2012 TOTAL 9,533 99, % Total Border and Provincial Highway Surveys All 2011 and 2012 Surveys 18, , % Note: * Survey sample is based on total passenger vehicle traffic; records were expanded to represent estimated Ontario vehicles only (resulting in an approximately 20% sample) at Station 1 due to the very high incidence of vehicles with Manitoba licence plates that could not be surveyed and that are expected to have significantly different travel patterns than vehicles with Ontario plates. 5

24 1.4 Northern Ontario Context This section contains a brief description of the population distribution and provincial road network in Northern Ontario to provide some context for the travel patterns described in this report. Northern Ontario covers over 800,000 square kilometres or 87% of Ontario s land area. The driving distance between Mattawa, near the southeastern limit of Northern Ontario, and the Ontario-Manitoba border, using Highways 11 and 17 is over 1,700 km. The study area covered by this survey is thus very large, and the ten survey locations were strategically located to capture different types of long-distance flows throughout Northern Ontario, focusing on travel to and from Northern Ontario. Population Distribution Northern Ontario s Census population in 2011 was 733,000 people, or about 6% of Ontario s total population; this does not include a portion of Northern Ontario s population in incompletely enumerated aboriginal communities. Exhibit 1.3 is a table showing the distribution of Northern Ontario Census population by municipal area, typically Districts; these were also mapped in Exhibit 1.1, which showed survey locations. Exhibit 1.3: Northern Ontario 2011 Census Population by Region Region Area Type 2011 Census Population % of Northern Ontario Population Northwestern Ontario Kenora District 57, % Kenora City 15, % Rest of Kenora District - 42, % Rainy River District 20, % Thunder Bay District 146, % Thunder Bay (City) City 108, % Rest of Thunder Bay District - 37, % Total Northwestern Ontario - 224, % Northeastern Ontario Algoma District 115, % Sault Ste Marie City 75, % Rest of Algoma - 36, % Cochrane District 81, % Timmins City 43, % Rest of Cochrane - 40, % Greater Sudbury City 160, % Sudbury District 21, % Timiskaming District 32, % Manitoulin District 13, % Nipissing District 84, % North Bay City 53, % Rest of Nipissing - 31, % Total Northwestern Ontario - 509, % Total Northern Ontario Total 733, % 6

25 (Parry Sound and Muskoka Districts are sometimes considered part of an extended Northern Ontario region; these are not listed in the exhibit.) Over half of Northern Ontario residents live in the five largest urban areas, from largest to smallest: Sudbury (161,000 population), Thunder Bay (122,000), Sault Ste. Marie (80,000), North Bay (64,000) and Timmins (43,000). Overall 70% of the population lives in Northern Ontario s urban areas, which compares to 86% urban population in Southern Ontario. The population in Northern Ontario is much more spread out across the region than in Southern Ontario, often with several hundred kilometres between major urban centres. As a significant draw for recreational trips for residents from other regions including Southern Ontario, Manitoba and the United States, the seasonal population of Northern Ontario is anticipated to be significantly higher than the numbers represented by the Census. Northern Ontario s common recreational attractions include campgrounds, cottages, fishing, and hunting, among others. Provincial Highway Network The two main provincial highway routes in Northern Ontario are Highways 11 and 17, which are arterial two-lane highways for much of their length except in the vicinity of larger urban centres. Highway 17 is a Trans-Canada highway and runs generally east-west across northern Ontario from the Ontario-Manitoba border in the west through eastern Ontario, including the Ottawa region (where it becomes Highway 417); from west to east across Northern Ontario, Highway 17 connects the urban areas of Kenora, Dryden, Thunder Bay, Nipigon, Wawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, North Bay and Mattawa. Highway 11 runs both east-west across most of the province from the Rainy River US border crossing in the west to approximately Cochrane in the east, then runs north-south to Barrie in the south; from west to east Highway 11 connects the Northern Ontario urban areas of Rainy River, Fort Frances, Thunder Bay, Nipigon, Hearst, Kapuskasing, Cochrane, New Liskeard, and North Bay. Between Nipigon and Thunder Bay, Highway 11 and 17 are co-signed. Being the only highway option across the top of Lake Superior, all road travel between eastern and western Canada use this link (if not traveling via the United States). Other major highways provide important connections across regions: Highway 101 runs east-west across Northeastern Ontario from Highway 17 at Wawa to the Quebec border, and also connects Chapleau and Timmins; Highways 129 and 144 together form a broad north-west corridor between Highways 17 and 101 in Algoma and Sudbury areas. Highway 129 runs from Chapleau to Thessalon (east of Sault Ste. Marie) and Highway 144 runs north from west of Sudbury to west of Timmins; Highway 69 connects Sudbury and Parry Sound, and continues farther south as part of Highway 400, forming a gateway between the Muskoka region and Northern Ontario; 7

26 Highway 61 connects Thunder Bay to the US border crossing at Pigeon River, where the road continues as Minnesota Highway 61; and Highway 71 connects the Kenora Region with Highway 11 near Rainy River. Some provincial highways are the only available roadway connection for certain communities: Highway 6 connects Manitoulin Island to Highway 17, although an alternative travel mode is via the ferry route connecting South Baymouth to the continuation of Highway 6 in Southwestern Ontario; Highway 106 connects Elliot Lake to Highway 17; and Highways 72 and 105 serve Kenora District communities north of Highway 17. 8

27 2. Border-Crossing Survey Summary International Travel This chapter provides an overview of passenger vehicle travel between Canada and the United States at the four Northern Ontario international border crossing locations; from west to east, these are Rainy River, Fort Frances, Pigeon River and Sault Ste. Marie. Additional traffic and travel pattern detail by crossing and direction is included in the following appendices: Traffic classification count detail by day and direction are included in Appendix B for each survey station, including hourly volume variation plots; In-depth information on travel patterns by crossing, day and direction are included in Appendix C, including detailed origin-destination plots, and summaries by trip purpose; and Detailed travel origin-destination matrices by crossing are included in Appendix D. The origin-destination survey database can be analysed further in a number of ways not included in this report as may be desired for particular transportation planning purposes. 2.1 Overview of Border-Crossing Travel To provide some geographical context, three of the crossings have both US and Canadian border towns immediately adjacent to the borders: Rainy River (population 850) is across the border from the slightly larger town of Baudette, Minnesota (population 1,000); Fort Frances (population 8,000) is across the border from International Falls, Minnesota (population 6,500); and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (population 75,000) is across the border from a smaller town by the same name in Michigan (population 14,000). While these US border towns are comparable to or smaller than their Canadian counterparts in terms of population, they tend to have shops (in particular Walmart), services, restaurants, casinos and other entertainment options that are a significant draw for residents on the Canadian side. The fourth crossing, Pigeon River, is more distant from urban areas, with Thunder Bay about 60 km to the north via Highway 61. The closest US community to the south is Grand Portage, about 10 km to the south along Minnesota Highway 61. The population of Grand Portage numbers in the hundreds, but two local businesses are a significant draw for Canadian visitors: the Grand Portage casino, and conveniently located immediately south of the border a border store/gas station/parcel service. 9

28 The border crossing surveys were conducted in fall 2011 on a Sunday and a weekday. Passenger vehicle border crossing volumes totalled 9,200 on fall 2011 weekdays, and 11,140 on Sundays (21% higher). The Sault Ste. Marie crossing accounted for over half the total Northern Ontario passenger vehicle border crossings; therefore, this crossing was selected for supplemental surveys conducted in summer 2012 on a Saturday and a Sunday to gain additional insight into travel patterns during the peak tourism period. Exhibit 2.1 provides overall statistics by border crossing including total volumes, proportion of Canadian vs. US passenger-vehicle traffic, distribution of trips by trip purpose, travel distances, and trip frequencies. Exhibit 2.1: Border Surveys: Summary of Travel Indicators by Crossing and Day Survey Location Fall 2011 Day of Week Passenger Vehicle Traffic % Canadian Vehicles Trip Purpose (%) Recreation/ Vacation/ Casino Shop/ Fuel/ Mail Work/ Busines s Trip Distance (km)* Personal Business/ Social Other Canada USA Total Trip Frequency: % Monthly or More Rainy River Weekday % 19% 43% 15% 9% 13% % Sunday 1,120 83% 41% 27% 4% 17% 11% % Fort Frances Weekday 1,860 73% 21% 46% 11% 12% 9% % Sunday 2,250 71% 32% 38% 4% 16% 9% % Pigeon Weekday 1,370 82% 63% 21% 7% 5% 3% % River Sunday 1,970 85% 61% 21% 4% 5% 7% % Sault Ste. Marie Weekday 5,070 81% 29% 43% 14% 7% 7% % Sunday 5,800 84% 47% 34% 4% 11% 4% % Total Weekday 9,200 80% 31% 40% 12% 8% 8% % Summer 2012 Sault Ste. Marie Sunday 11,140 81% 46% 32% 4% 11% 6% % Saturday 5,720 70% 52% 30% 3% 11% 4% % Sunday 6,540 76% 55% 26% 2% 13% 4% % Note: * Straight-line distance from trip origin/destination to border As a note on terminology, this report refers to trips as one-way travel, corresponding to one vehicle crossing the border. As such a journey to cross the border and back can be considered two trips. The border survey questionnaire did not ask about the length of travel or about the opposite-direction trip across the border. In general, Canadians cross the Northern Ontario borders much more frequently than Americans. In Fall 2011, approximately four times as many Canadian-registered vehicles crossed the Northern Ontario borders than American-registered vehicles. Fort Frances the proportion was somewhat less at 71% to 73%. In the summer, with an increase in US vehicles crossing the border, the proportion of Canadian vehicles at the Sault Ste. Marie crossing was also lower. 10

29 Discretionary trips (non-work, non-school trips) predominate at the Northern Ontario border crossings. Recreation and vacation trips (including casino trips) are among the most common Northern Ontario cross-border trip purposes at 31% of weekday trips and 47% of Sunday trips overall. Shopping trips are common on both weekdays and weekends and account for a third or more of cross-border trips. Work/businessrelated trips account for 12% of cross-border trips on weekdays and 4% on Sundays. Travel distances at Northern Ontario border crossings are varied, ranging from fairly short same-day excursions between the towns on either side of the border, to trips starting or ending at considerable distances from the crossing. The average distances reported in the fall were 170 km on the Sunday and 161 km on the weekday. Passenger-vehicle trips across the Northern Ontario borders tend to be made by drivers who are familiar with the border crossings, with 75% to 80% of fall 2011 trips made at least monthly. Cross-border trip frequencies vary by trip purpose: work trips are most frequent; shopping, casino and social trips are made at least once per month, often weekly; and vacation trips are low frequency, long-distance events, as will be seen later in this chapter when trip frequencies are considered in more detail. Summer 2012 weekend surveys at Sault Ste. Marie captured a period of slightly higher traffic volumes at this crossing compared to the early fall 2011 survey period. The summer Sunday 2012 traffic volumes at Sault Ste. Marie were 11% higher than in Fall 2011 (6,540 vs. 5,800), largely due to an increase in cross-border travel by Americans to visit Northern Ontario campgrounds, cottages/camps/cabins (the term varies across Ontario), and other types of vacations. 2.2 Trip Purposes by Vehicle Registration Very distinct differences can be seen in the types of trips across the Northern Ontario borders by Canadian vs. American residents. (The country of the vehicle s registration/licence plate is used as a proxy for the home country of people in the vehicle in this analysis, as home country information was not always provided by the survey respondent.) Trip purpose was not directly asked in the border crossing driver-interview survey. The surveys included questions about the activity at both the origin and destination of their trips, as well as at the ultimate start and end locations of their trips if these were different from the origin or destination locations. For analysis purposes, the principal trip purpose was inferred from the activities at each location. In most cases, one side of the border had a home activity (or else work or school, etc.), which became the base and the main activity on the other side of the border became the trip purpose. When more than one activity was noted on the opposite side of the border, these were ranked according to their estimated significance to determine an overall trip purpose for analysis (e.g. hunting, fishing, campground and cottage/camp were higher up on the ranking and took precedence over going to a restaurant or stopping for fuel). In the following pages four exhibits summarize travel information by trip purpose and country of vehicle registration: Exhibit 2.2 is a bar chart showing total trips by country of vehicle registration, border crossing, survey period, and trip purpose for fall 2011; 11

30 Exhibit 2.3 is the same as above for the four survey days across two seasons at the Sault Ste. Marie crossing; Exhibit 2.4 includes statistics for total trips by trip purpose by day for fall 2011, including vehicle occupancies (number of people in the vehicle), average travel distances on either side of the border, and travel frequencies, with some aggregation of trip purposes compared to the plots, and Exhibit 2.5 includes statistics by trip purpose and country of vehicle registration at the Sault Ste. Marie crossing for fall weekday, and a Summer Saturday and Sunday. Trips by Canadians were three to five times more common than trips by US residents at each of the Northern Ontario border crossings individually in fall 2011; overall about 80% of cross-border passenger vehicle traffic are Canadian-registered vehicles. For all trip purposes, especially for vacation trips, trips by US-registered vehicles tend to involve longer distances on both the Canadian and US sides of the border on average than Canadian-registered vehicles. In part because much of the travel across the Northern Ontario international borders is discretionary, and because services and attractions on either side of the border are available on all days of the week, there is a lot of similarity in the magnitudes and proportions of trips by trip purpose between days-of-week by crossing. There tends to be only a small percentage of (non-discretionary) cross-border school/work/business trips on weekdays, and even less on weekends. The most significant trip types for Canadians were shopping and casino visits, as well as other recreation/entertainment purposes. About 3,500 Canadian-registered vehicles crossed the Northern Ontario in fall 2011 for shopping purposes, corresponding to 38% of total weekday trips and 31% of Sunday trips. This is about twice as much as the total number of trips by USregistered vehicles for all trip purposes combined in the fall season. These shopping trips tend to be relatively short less than 40 km on weekdays and a little longer on weekends. They also tend to be made frequently: two-thirds of respondents said they made the trip at least weekly. Travel to US casinos near the Northern Ontario border is also among the most common type of trip for Canadians near the Pigeon River and Sault Ste. Marie borders. About 1,000 weekday trips and 1,500 Sunday trips related to visiting these casinos. Like shopping trips, these trips are relatively short-distance trips. Those who make these cross-border casino trips make them relatively frequently: about 60% of those who go on weekdays make the trip at least weekly, while 50% of those who go on Sundays go at least weekly. (Virtually none of the casino trips were one-time trips.) Recreation/entertainment cross-border trips by Canadian-registered vehicles total about 500 weekday trips and 1,700 Sunday trips. There tend to be more restaurants, theatres, sports events, and tourist attractions in the US border towns and surrounding area that draw Canadian residents just across the border. A couple hundred Canadian-registered vehicles also involve travel to/from US golf locations on Sundays, especially in the Sault Ste. Marie area. 12

31 Exhibit 2.2: Border Crossing Trip Purposes by Country of Vehicle Registration and Crossing, Fall 2011 Daily Two-Way Passenger Vehicle Volume Rainy River: Weekday CANADIAN-REGISTERED VEHICLES Sunday Fort Frances: Weekday Sunday Shopping Shopping Pigeon River: Weekday Sunday Casino Casino Sault Ste Marie: Weekday Sunday Shopping Shopping Casino Casino Total Weekday Shopping Casino Total Sunday Visit friends Shopping Casino Recreation/ entertainment Rainy River: Weekday Sunday Fort Frances: Weekday Sunday Pigeon River: Weekday Sunday Sault Ste Marie: Weekday Sunday Total Weekday Total Sunday UNITED STATES - REGISTERED VEHICLES Fish Fish Legend: School Work Business Medical Visit friends/relatives Religious/civic activity Shopping Mail/post office Fuel Hunting Fishing Golf Casino Sports event Restaurant Theatre/show Recreation/entertainment (other) Tourist attraction Vacation Other/unknow n 13

32 Exhibit 2.3: Border Crossing Trip Purposes by Country of Vehicle Registration at Sault Ste. Marie, 2011 and 2012 Fall 2011 Weekday Fall 2011 Sunday Summer 2012 Saturday Summer 2012 Sunday Fall 2011 Weekday Fall 2011 Sunday Summer 2012 Saturday Summer 2012 Sunday Daily Two-Way Passenger Vehicle Volume CANADIAN-REGISTERED VEHICLES Work Visit friends Visit friends Visit friends Visit friends Vac. Vac. Shopping Shopping Shopping Shopping Vacation Vac.n Golf Casino Golf Casino Casino Casino UNITED STATES - REGISTERED VEHICLES Vac. Vac. Vacation Legend: School Work Business Medical Visit friends/relatives Religious/civic activity Shopping Mail/post office Fuel Hunting Fishing Campground (2012) Cottage/Family Camp (2012) Golf Casino Sports event Restaurant Theatre/show Recreation/entertainment (other/unspecified) Tourist attraction Vacation Other/unknow n 14

33 Exhibit 2.4: Trip Purpose Statistics by Country of Vehicle Registration, All Border Crossings, Fall 2011 Trip Purpose 1 Trips % WEEKDAY Vehicles Registered in Canada % of Total Trips Avg. People/ Vehicle Average Distance 2 (km) Trip Frequency In In 1x/ Canada USA Total Daily Week 1x/ Month 1-4 x/ Year 1 Time Only Work/business/school % 10% % 20% 5% 7% 5% Visit friends/relatives 419 6% 5% % 40% 9% 21% 13% Shopping 3,515 48% 38% % 63% 22% 8% 1% Hunting % 0.2% 1.94 * * * * * * * * Fishing % 0.4% % 6% 84% - Casino 1,035 14% 11 % % 59% 27% 10% 0% Recreation/ entertainment 532 7% 6% % 41% 11% 30% 7% Vacation 269 4% 23% % 21% 9% 36% 29% Medical 143 2% 2% % 31% 24% 33% 1% Other 445 6% 5% % 35% 21% 20% 8% TOTAL 7, % 80.0% % 50% 18% 13% 4% Vehicles Registered in United States Work/business/school % 2% % 15% 5% 19% 5% Visit friends/relatives % 3% % 30% 15% 24% 12% Shopping % 2% % 44% 22% 21% 3% Hunting 43 2% 0.5% % 14% 65% 16% Fishing % 4% % 8% 81% 9% Casino % 0.2% 1.51 * * * * * * * * Recreation/ entertainment % 4% % 14% 7% 30% 43% Vacation % 4% % 7% 36% 45% Medical 6 0.3% 0.1% 2.22 * * * * * * * * Other 96 5% 1.0% % 35% 6% 26% 2% TOTAL 1, % 20.0% % 16% 10% 37% 21% Notes: * Statistics not shown when trips total less than Notes on Trip Purposes: Shopping includes fuel, mail/post office. Recreation/vacation includes tourist attraction, sports event, golf, unspecified/other recreation/vacation type. Vacation excludes above and includes unspecified/other vacation type. Other includes religious/civic activity, other, refused/unknown. 2 Distances are straight-line distances 15

34 Exhibit 2.4: Trip Purpose Statistics by Country of Vehicle Registration, All Border Crossings, Fall 2011 (continued) Trip Purpose 1 Trips % SUNDAY Vehicles Registered in CANADA % of Total Trips Avg. People/ Vehicle Average Distance 2 (km) Trip Frequency In In Canada USA Total Daily 1x/ Week 1x/ Month 1-4 x/ Year 1 Time Only Work/business/school 361 4% 3% % 20% 13% 20% 3% Visit friends/relatives % 8% % 33% 17% 26% 11% Shopping 3,427 38% 31% % 58% 19% 13% 2% Hunting % 0.2% 1.78 * * * * * * * * Fishing % 0.1% 2.13 * * * * * * * * Casino 1,548 17% 14% % 45% 33% 17% 1% Recreation/ entertainment 1,721 19% 16% % 46% 14% 22% 6% Vacation 598 7% 5% % 18% 7% 37% 36% Medical % 0.3% % 10% 56% 3% Other 473 5% 4% % 35% 9% 25% 5% TOTAL 9, % 82.0% % 46% 19% 19% 6% Vehicles Registered in UNITED STATES Work/business/school 76 4% 0.7% % 24% 7% 12% 15% Visit friends/relatives % 3% % 35% 19% 26% 4% Shopping 108 5% 1.0% % 27% 9% 42% 18% Hunting 62 3% 0.6% % 3% 75% 8% Fishing % 4% % 3% 12% 73% 8% Casino 36 2% 0.3% % 12% 3% - 64% Recreation/ entertainment % 2.9% % 15% 41% 28% Vacation % 3.6% % 10% 17% 28% 44% Medical 2 0.1% 0.0% 1.00 * * * * * * * * Other 145 7% 1.3% % 56% 4% 16% 8% TOTAL 1, % 18.0% % 19% 13% 40% 19% Notes: * Statistics not shown when trips total less than Notes on Trip Purposes: Shopping includes fuel, mail/post office. Recreation/vacation includes tourist attraction, sports event, golf, unspecified/other recreation/vacation type. Vacation excludes above and includes unspecified/other vacation type. Other includes religious/civic activity, other, refused/unknown. 2 Distances are straight-line distances 16

35 Exhibit 2.5: Trip Purpose Statistics by Country of Vehicle Registration, Sault Ste. Marie, Day-of-Week Comparison WEEKDAY (Fall 2011) SATURDAY (Summer 2012) SUNDAY (Summer 2012) Trip Purpose 1 Trips % % of Total Trips Avg. Total Dist. 2 (km) Trips % % of Total Trips Avg. Total Dist. 2 (km) Trips % % of Total Trips Avg. Total Dist. 2 (km) Vehicles Registered in Canada Work/business/school % 11% % 2% % 2% 338 Visit friends/relatives 196 5% 4% % 7% % 7% 503 Shopping 2,069 50% 41% 28 1,699 43% 30% 36 1,641 33% 25% 34 Hunting % 0.4% * not applicable 3 not applicable 3 Fishing % 0.3% * not applicable 3 not applicable 3 Campground not applicable % 2% % 3% 413 Cottage/Family Camp not applicable % 2% % 2% 345 Casino % 11% % 10% % 12% 53 Recreation/ entertainment 224 5% 4% % 9% % 14% 216 Vacation 110 3% 2% % 6% % 8% 716 Medical 86 2% 2% % 0.2% * 16 0% 0.3% * Other 245 6% 5% % 3% % 3% 535 TOTAL 4, % 81.1% 88 3, % 70.0% 197 4, % 76.2% 233 Vehicles Registered in United States Work/business/school % 3% % 0.6% % 0.3% * Visit friends/relatives % 3% % 4% % 6% 347 Shopping 96 10% 2% % 0.7% % 0.8% 117 Hunting 10 1% 0.2% * not applicable 3 not applicable 3 Fishing % 2% 573 not applicable 3 not applicable 3 Campground not applicable % 3% % 1.5% 373 Cottage/Family Camp not applicable % 5% % 5% 519 Casino % 0.3% * % 0.4% % 0.3% * Recreation/ entertainment % 4% % 5% % 3.2% 418 Vacation % 4% % 10% % 7% 609 Medical * 0 0% 0% * Other 45 5% 0.9% % 0.8% % 0.9% 126 TOTAL % 18.9% 429 1, % 30.0% 674 1, % 23.8% 445 Notes: * Statistics not shown when trips total less than Notes on Trip Purposes: Shopping includes fuel, mail/post office. Recreation/vacation includes tourist attraction, sports event, golf, unspecified/other recreation/vacation type. Vacation excludes above and includes unspecified/other vacation type. Other includes religious/civic activity, other, refused/unknown. 2 Distances are straight-line distances 3 The given trip purpose was not an option on the survey questionnaire for the survey season. 17

36 In Northern Ontario border towns, social trips to visit family or friends make up much of the remaining cross-border trips made by Canadians (after shopping, casino, and recreation/entertainment trips); there is a similar volume of cross-border social trips by Americans at these crossings. Sometimes cross-border trips are made to attend church services, funerals and weddings as well. These patterns suggests a high degree of social interconnectedness across the border at these border towns. The Pigeon River crossing, which is not a border town, has a very low number of social trips. Cross-border fishing trips are almost exclusively made by US-registered vehicles, numbering roughly 300 to 500 vehicles daily in the fall. In comparison, cross-border hunting trips are very rare, although the hunting season may not have been in full swing at the time of the surveys, and perhaps also due to security issues in bringing hunting equipment across the border. Other vacation trips across the Northern Ontario borders number in hundreds of vehicles daily in the fall in comparable volumes by Canadian vs. Americanregistered vehicles. A total of about 150 cross-border trips for medical purposes were made into the US on weekdays by Canadian-registered vehicles at the Northern Ontario borders; there were virtually no cross-border trips for medical purposes by US-registered vehicles. Summer Weekend Travel At Sault Ste. Marie, where fall and summer Sunday results could be compared, there was little relative difference in the total volume of Canadian-registered vehicles crossing between seasons, given the high frequency of same-day short-distance trips relative to other trip types. The total recreation and vacation cross-border vacation trips by Canadian-registered vehicles remains fairly constant in summer vs. fall, such that an increase in vacation trips in the summer are somewhat matched by a decrease in recreation/entertainment trips, suggesting that these types of trips are at least partly made by the same population. There was a two-thirds increase in US-registered vehicles between a fall Sunday (1,900) and summer Sunday (3,100), reflecting the high proportion of cross-border travel by Americans comprising vacation travel, which fluctuates more by season. There were about 440 US vehicles traveling to/from Canada for general vacation purposes on a summer Sunday, the early fall surveys had about 190 vacation trips, or 43% of summer Sunday totals. The summer Saturday had one-third more US vehicles crossing for vacation purposes than on the Sunday 600 vs In addition, about 470 vehicles on the Saturday vs. 390 vehicles on the Sunday were travelling to/from campgrounds and cottages/family camps in Canada. The average trip distances by US-registered vehicles crossing the borders for most trip purposes were longer on Saturdays vs. Sundays, whereas trips made by Canadian-registered vehicles tended to be slightly longer on Sundays vs. Saturdays. 2.3 Origin-Destination Flows Origin-destination flows described in this section and in the following chapter are summarized based on a 31-zone system based on municipal or district boundaries. The zone system is illustrated in Exhibit

37 Exhibit 2.6: Summary Zone System 19

38 Exhibit 2.7 and Exhibit 2.8 illustrate the inbound (to Canada) and outbound (to US) passenger-vehicle border-crossing flows for a fall 2011 weekday and Sunday, respectively, for all four Northern Ontario border crossings. Origin-destination matrices of these flows are also included as Exhibit 2.9 and Exhibit 2.10, respectively. The flows are described for each crossing from west to east below. Exhibit 2.11 illustrates the summer 2012 border crossing flows by direction at Sault Ste. Marie for a Saturday and Sunday. Rainy River Crossing Trips through the Rainy River crossing were mostly between the Rainy River area in Ontario and the nearby towns of Baudette, Minnesota (Lake of the Woods County) and Warroad (Roseau County); a small number of trips are to/from other parts of Minnesota. Some trips using the Rainy River crossing use just a portion of Minnesota as a shortcut between the Rainy River area and Winnipeg area, rather than taking the significantly longer route entirely within Canada. A small portion of the cross-border traffic to/from US locations close to the border is part of longer-distance travel, as Canadians cross the borders to travel to/from airports in Winnipeg, Manitoba or Warroad, Minnesota. Fort Frances Crossing Approximately 80% of all trips through the Fort Frances crossing were between Fort Frances and International Falls, Minnesota. Approximately 10% of the travel was between Kenora District and Minnesota, and the remainder of trips extended farther into Northern Ontario and/or Minnesota (e.g. Duluth and Minneapolis). A significant proportion of US-registered passenger vehicles at this crossing can be seen pulling trailers with boats, attesting to the prevalence of cross-border fishing trips at this location. Pigeon River Crossing At the Pigeon River crossing, 90% of the trips started or ended in the Greater Thunder Bay area, with most trips to Minnesota Highway 61 locations such as the Grand Portage casino and border store. About 250 km south of the border, Duluth is also a significant origin/destination for Pigeon River Crossing trips, as well as other Minneapolis locations. The Northwestern Ontario international border crossings typically are used for travel to/from Northwestern Ontario only, given their location on the broader highway network and the geographic barrier of Lake Superior. Sault Ste. Marie Crossing Compared to the other Northwestern Ontario border crossings, the Sault Ste. Marie crossing has larger volumes of trips with origins and destinations at longer distances from the border on the Canadian side, with trips to/from as far as Eastern Ontario and Quebec via Highway 17. However, the bulk of border crossings at Sault Ste. Marie border are to/from Canadian locations very close to the border. Trips to/from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario accounted for 79% of trips on weekdays and 76% on Sundays in fall Including the broader Algoma District (e.g. Wawa and Elliot Lake), these local trips accounted for approximately 90% of the weekday travel and 85% of the Sunday travel in fall Other notable Canadian origins and destinations included the Sudbury area and Manitoulin Island. In addition, some

39 weekday vehicle trips travel between Southwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario, as the route through the Michigan on Interstate 75 is the shortest distance between these locations, with more of this type of trip flow on weekends. On the US side, approximately 80% of Sault Ste. Marie border-crossing trips started or ended in the Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan area, with the rest of the origins and destinations spread across Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The travel flows on summer Sunday followed a similar pattern to the fall Sunday, but with longer distance origins and destinations figuring slightly more significantly. 21

40 Exhibit 2.7: Daily Border Crossing Flows - Fall 2011 Weekday MANITOBA RAINY RIVER Inbound: 444 trips 71 % Canadian vehicles 92 km avg. trip length* Outbound: 461 trips 78 % Canadian vehicles 147 km avg. trip length* OTHER USA RAINY RIVER DISTRICT OTHER MINNESOTA FORT FRANCES Inbound: 978 trips 64 % Canadian vehicles 117 km avg. trip length* Outbound: 884 trips 74 % Canadian vehicles 110 km avg. trip length* THUNDER BAY DISTRICT PIGEON RIVER Inbound: 676 trips 71 % Canadian vehicles 341 km avg. trip length* Outbound: 689 trips 84 % Canadian vehicles 232 km avg. trip length* OTHER MICHIGAN OTHER ALGOMA OTHER NORTHEASTERN SAULT STE MARIE Inbound: 2,581 trips 72 % Canadian vehicles 196 km avg. trip length* Outbound: 2,485 trips 83 % Canadian vehicles 106 km avg. trip length* SOUTH- CENTRAL SOUTHWESTERN Legend 1,000 trips 500 trips 100 trips INBOUND OUTBOUND Note: * Straight-line distance from origin to border plus straight-line distance from border to destination OTHER USA 22

41 Exhibit 2.8: Daily Border Crossing Flows - Fall 2011 Sunday MANITOBA RAINY RIVER DISTRICT FORT FRANCES Inbound: 1,120 trips 70 % Canadian vehicles 131 km avg. trip length* Outbound: 1,129 trips 65 % Canadian vehicles 176 km avg. trip length* THUNDER BAY DISTRICT Legend 1,000 trips 500 trips 100 trips INBOUND OUTBOUND RAINY RIVER Inbound: 553 trips 83 % Canadian vehicles 118 km avg. trip length* Outbound: 564 trips 62 % Canadian vehicles 147 km avg. trip length* OTHER MINNESOTA PIGEON RIVER Inbound: 1,255 trips 84 % Canadian vehicles 235 km avg. trip length* Outbound: 711 trips 80 % Canadian vehicles 185 km avg. trip length* OTHER ALGOMA SAULT STE MARIE OTHER USA OTHER MICHIGAN Inbound: 3,230 trips 84% Canadian vehicles 178 km avg. trip length* Outbound: 2,573 trips 78% Canadian vehicles 154 km avg. trip length* SOUTH- CENTRAL SOUTHWESTERN OTHER USA Note: * Straight-line distance from origin to border plus straight-line distance from border to destination 23

42 Exhibit 2.9: Border Crossing Origin-Destination Matrix for All Northern Ontario International Borders Fall 2011 Weekday 24

43 Exhibit 2.10: Border Crossing Origin-Destination Matrix for All Northern Ontario International Borders Fall 2011 Sunday 25

44 Exhibit 2.11: Daily Border Crossing Flows at Sault Ste. Marie Summer 2012 A. SATURDAY B. SUNDAY Legend 1,000 trips 500 trips 100 trips INBOUND OUTBOUND Note: * Straight-line distance from origin to border plus straight-line distance from border to destination 26

45 3. Mail-Back Survey Summary Provincial Highway Travel This chapter provides an overview of passenger vehicle travel at the six provincial highway travel pattern survey locations. Four of these locations are gateway locations and capture travel to/from Ontario from other parts of Ontario and Canada, and two locations are internal to Northern Ontario to capture long-distance travel within Northern Ontario. Additional traffic and travel pattern detail by survey station, day and direction is included in the following appendices: Traffic classification count detail by day and direction are included in Appendix B for each survey station, including hourly volume variation plots; Additional in-depth information on travel patterns by survey location, day and direction are included in Appendix C, including detailed origin-destination plots, and summaries by trip purpose; and Detailed travel origin-destination matrices by survey location are included in Appendix D. The origin-destination survey database can be analysed further in a number of ways beyond the analyses in this report, including time-of-day analysis, further origin-destination location detail, additional cross-tabulations of survey responses, etc. as desired for particular transportation planning purposes. 3.1 Overview of Provincial Highway Travel Exhibit 3.1 provides a number of travel summary statistics from the traffic classification counts and mail-back travel surveys at the survey locations, including total passenger vehicle traffic, estimated proportion of Ontarioregistered vehicles (from observations during licence plate recording), proportions of select trip purpose types, average people per vehicle, average trip lengths, and proportion of infrequent trips (trips made less frequently than once per month). All of the provincial highway survey locations for all survey days have long average travel distances. These range from 155 km on a fall weekday at Highway 11 south of North Bay (Station 3) roughly the distance between North Bay and Gravenhurst - to over 500 km on a fall weekday at Highway 17 at the Ontario-Manitoba border (Station 1) about the distance from the survey station to Thunder Bay. Some of the survey stations are close to Northern Ontario s larger urban centres and therefore have significant work trip volumes on weekdays, which tend to be shorter trips. Trips for medical purposes are also significant, especially on weekdays, with many trips to/from health care centres in North Bay, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Winnipeg. 27

46 Exhibit 3.1: Provincial Highway Surveys: Summary of Travel Indicators Survey Location FALL 2011 Gateway Locations Day of Week Pass. Vehicle Traffic % ON Vehicle s Average Trip Distance (km) 1 Trips by Trip Purpose Recreation/ Vacation % Work % Medica l % Trip Averag Frequenc e y: People/ Monthly Vehicle or More 1 Highway 17 at Ontario- Weekday 2,590 46% % % % % Manitoba border 2 Sunday 4,700 25% % % 82 7% % 2 Highway 69 North of Parry Sound 3 Highway 11 South of North Bay 4 Highway 17 West of Mattawa Total Gateway Locations 3 SUMMER 2012 Gateway Locations 2A Highway 69 N. of Parry Sound 3 Highway 11 South of North Bay Interior Locations 5 Highway 11 & 17 West of Nipigon 6 Highway 17 West of Sudbury Weekday 4,602 93% 322 1,404 31% 1,354 26% % % Sunday 8,512 93% 328 4,364 51% 698 6% 259 3% % Weekday 8,184 97% 155 1,318 16% 4,017 39% % % Sunday 8,312 94% 195 2,874 35% 1,469 9% 255 3% % Weekday 3,114 89% % 1,324 35% 287 9% % Sunday 3,603 87% 351 1,266 35% 404 7% 111 3% % Weekda y 18,490 88% 211 5,505 32% 476 2% 97 1% % Sunday 25,127 80% 263 5,065 23% 1,275 2% 204 1% % Sunday 8,950 95% 370 5,505 62% 476 4% 97 1% % Sunday 9,872 97% 245 5,065 51% 1,275 5% 204 2% % Weekday 4,090 83% 522 1,192 29% 1,194 24% % % Sunday 3,566 82% 446 1,408 39% % 229 6% % Weekday 9,924 95% 208 3,242 33% 3,686 29% 931 9% % Saturday 9,781 97% 312 6,159 63% 1,422 6% 294 3% % Sunday 11,000 90% 243 5,315 48% 1,500 6% 283 3% % Notes: 1 Straight-line distance from trip origin to survey station plus straight-line distance from survey station to destination 2 At this location the survey data were expanded to the sum of Ontario-registered vehicles only: 1,191 weekday vehicles and 1,155 Sunday vehicles. 3 This is the direct sum of data at the individual survey stations, which may result in some double-counting of long-distance trips that could pass more than one survey station on; due to the large distances between survey locations and the travel patterns particular to each survey station, this double-counting is very low. Expanded data totals sum to 17,091 on weekdays and 21,582 on Sundays due to Station 1 expansion to Ontarioregistered vehicles only. Recreation/vacation trips are the main component of travel especially on Sundays. All survey locations except for Station 5, Highway 11 & 17 west of Nipigon, had higher passenger vehicle volumes on Sundays than on weekdays. Across survey locations, roughly 40 to 60% of the trips made were made monthly or more. 28

47 3.2 Trip Purposes The survey questionnaire asked about activities at the origin and destination of the observed trip. Activities were ranked to assign an overall trip purpose for this summary. Exhibit 3.2 is a bar chart of trips by survey trip purpose, survey season, day and direction. At all locations, trip volumes by trip purpose are roughly balanced by direction over the course of the day on weekdays. The same is somewhat true on Sundays, with the following exceptions, which indicate in large part the end of weekend trips that were made in the opposite direction on a Friday or Saturday: Station 1, Highway 17 at the Ontario-Manitoba border (fall) has more personal business/social and recreation/vacation trips returning east toward Ontario on Sunday (the larger component of travel was the vehicles returning west to Manitoba based on licence plate observations); Station 2, Highway 69 north of Parry Sound, had about 1,500 more hunting, fishing, or recreation/vacation trips southbound toward central and Southwestern Ontario than northbound on the fall Sunday; and Station 6, Highway 17 west of Sudbury, had over 1,000 more Sunday cottage/camp trips travelling east toward Sudbury and beyond than westbound (many of these representing the return trip home to urban centres); also, slightly more cottage trips were made eastbound from Sudbury and beyond on the Saturday. The survey stations close to Northern Ontario s large urban centres also have a considerable volume of work trips. Medical trips are also notable at all locations, especially weekdays. 29

48 Exhibit 3.2: Provincial Highway Trip Purposes by Location, Direction, and Survey Period Daily One-Way Passenger Vehicle Volume Station 1 Highway 17 at Ontario-Manitoba Boundary Legend: Fall WEEKDAY-Eastbound Expanded to Ontario-registered vehicles only School -Westbound Work/Business Fall SUNDAY-Eastbound -Westbound Expanded to Ontario-registered vehicles only Medical Personal Business/Social Shopping Station 2 Fall WEEKDAY-Northbound -Southbound Highway 69 North of Parry Sound Hunting (Fall 2011) Fishing (Fall 2011) Campground (Summer 2012) Cottage/Family Camp Fall SUNDAY-Northbound -Southbound (Summer 2012) Recreation / Vacation No Response Summer SUNDAY-Northbound -Southbound Station 3 Fall WEEKDAY-Northbound -Southbound Highway 11 South of North Bay Fall SUNDAY-Northbound -Southbound Summer SUNDAY-Northbound -Southbound Station 4 Fall WEEKDAY-Eastbound -Westbound Highway 17 West of Mattawa Fall SUNDAY-Eastbound -Westbound Station 5 Summer WEEKDAY-Eastbound -Westbound Highway 11 & 17 West of Nipigon GATEWAY LOCATIONS INTERIOR LOCATIONS Summer SUNDAY-Eastbound -Westbound Station 6 Summer WEEKDAY-Eastbound -Westbound Highway 17 West of Sudbury Summer SATURDAY-Eastbound -Westbound Summer SUNDAY-Eastbound -Westbound 30

49 Exhibit 3.3 shows trip length distributions for traffic across all four gateway locations in fall 2011, and includes trip length distributions for weekdays vs. Sundays and for total trips as well as for select trip purposes. Trip lengths in this report are straight-line distances between origin and survey station, and survey station and destination, and therefore are lower than actual driving distances. Not surprisingly, there are more longer trips (100 km or more) on Sundays, mostly personal business/social and recreation/vacation which share very similar trip distributions and fewer shorter trips. Among the longest trips 1,000 km or more, which make up just a few hundred daily trips, there are approximately equal numbers of trips on weekdays and Sundays. The large majority of work/business trips at these locations tend to be under 100 km on weekday; there is only a small fraction of these shorter work trips on weekends, though among the longest work trip distances the volumes are similar on weekdays and Sundays. The most common trip lengths on weekends are in the order of 200 to 400 km, 400 km being approximately the distance between Ottawa and North Bay, or between Toronto and Sudbury. Exhibit 3.4 shows similar trip length information for Station 6, Highway 17 west of Sudbury, for three days: weekday, Saturday and Sunday. This location was surveyed on all three days so that differences in tourism travel patterns could be identified, especially between weekend days. The trip length distributions in this exhibit are not directly comparable to those in Exhibit 3.3 because of the different location and different travel patterns, for example more trips in the 100 to 200 km range, relating to travel between Elliot Lake or Manitoulin Island and Sudbury. In terms of total traffic, Sunday has more total traffic volumes, and higher peak directional volumes of traffic which reflect traffic returning toward Sudbury in the afternoon (Appendix B). In terms of the longest travel distances, the Saturday has about 50% more trips over 500 km than the Sunday (1,800 vs. 1,200). This represents Ontario-registered vehicles only; the previous chapter showed that there were slightly more cross-border vacation trips in US-registered vehicles on Saturdays vs. Sundays as well. Travellers starting longer vacations as opposed to weekend trips, or those traveling longer distances for the weekend may decide to drive on Saturdays compared to Friday nights, and Saturdays are often the change-over days for one-week cottage rentals in Northern Ontario. In terms of transportation infrastructure planning, analysis of Sunday travel would be more of interest due to its higher overall travel volumes and increased load on the system, though in terms of understanding more fully the amount of longdistance tourism travel in an area, Saturday has more long-distance travellers. 31

50 Exhibit 3.3: Trip Length Distribution by Trip Purpose and Day of Week, Gateway Survey Locations, Fall ,000 5,000 Total Trips Weekday Sunday 4,000 Daily Volume 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 < ,000 1,000+ Length Bin (km) 2,500 2,000 Work/Business Trips Weekday Sunday Daily Volume 1,500 1, < ,000 1,000+ Length Bin (km) 2,500 2,000 Personal Business/Social Weekday Sunday Daily Volume Daily Volume 1,500 1, ,500 2,000 1,500 1, < ,000 1,000+ Length Bin (km) Total Recreation/Vacation Weekday Sunday (with Hunting and Fishing) < ,000 1,000+ Length Bin (km) 32

51 Exhibit 3.4: Trip Length Distribution by Trip Purpose and Day of Week, Station 6 Highway 17 West of Sudbury, Summer 2012 Daily Volume 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1, Total Trips Weekday Saturday Sunday < ,000 1,000+ Length Bin (km) Daily Volume 1,600 1,400 1,200 1, Work/Business Trips Weekday Saturday Sunday < ,000 1,000+ Length Bin (km) Daily Volume 1,600 1,400 1,200 1, Personal Business/Social Weekday Saturday Sunday < ,000 1,000+ Length Bin (km) Daily Volume 1,600 1,400 1,200 1, Total Recreation/Vacation (with Cottage/Camp and Campground) Weekday Saturday Sunday < ,000 1,000+ Length Bin (km) 33

52 3.3 Origin-Destination Flows This section discusses the travel patterns observed at the four gateway and two internal survey locations in 2011 and A series of maps showing conceptual daily origin-destination flows is provided in the following pages, as follows: Exhibit 3.5 and Exhibit 3.6 show travel flows for the Northwestern Ontario gateway location - Station 1 at the Ontario-Manitoba border - for a fall 2011 weekday and Sunday, respectively; Exhibit 3.7 through Exhibit 3.9 show travel flows at the Northeastern Ontario gateways locations (Stations 2, 2A, 3 and 4); Exhibit 3.7 and Exhibit 3.8 for a fall 2011 weekday and Sunday, respectively, and Exhibit 3.9 for a summer 2012 Sunday; Exhibit 3.10 and Exhibit 3.11 show travel flows at Highway 11 and 17 west of Nipigon for a summer 2012 weekday and Sunday, respectively; and Exhibit 3.12 through Exhibit 3.14 show travel flows at Highway 17 west of Sudbury for a summer 2012 weekday, Saturday and Sunday. Drawing from these flow patterns as well as other information provided in this chapter and from detailed summary information in the appendices, a description of travel at the provincial highway survey locations is provided below. 34

53 Exhibit 3.5: Travel Flows at Northwestern Ontario Gateway: Ontario-Manitoba Border Fall 2011 WEEKDAY OTHER MANITOBA, WESTERN CANADA FLOWS EXPANDED TO - REGISTERED VEHICLES ONLY 1 OTHER KENORA DISTRICT Legend 1,000 trips 500 trips 100 trips EASTBOUND WESTBOUND HWY 17 AT ON-MB BORDER Eastbound: 582 trips 752 km avg. trip length* Westbound: 609 trips 532 km avg. trip length* RAINY RIVER DISTRICT 61 NORTHEASTERN SOUTHERN Note: * Straight-line distance from origin to survey location plus straight-line distance from survey location to destination 35

54 61 61 IBI GROUP FINAL REPORT: NORTHERN PASSENGER VEHICLE TRAVEL PROFILE Exhibit 3.6: Travel Flows at Northwestern Ontario Gateway: Ontario-Manitoba Border Fall 2011 SUNDAY OTHER MANITOBA, WESTERN CANADA FLOWS EXPANDED TO - REGISTERED VEHICLES ONLY 1 OTHER KENORA DISTRICT Legend 1,000 trips 500 trips 100 trips EASTBOUND WESTBOUND RAINY RIVER DISTRICT 61 HWY 17 AT ON-MB BORDER Eastbound: 710 trips 426 km avg. trip length* Westbound: 446 trips 583 km avg. trip length* SOUTHERN Note: * Straight-line distance from origin to survey location plus straight-line distance from survey location to destination 36

55 Exhibit 3.7: Northeastern Ontario Gateways Fall 2011 WEEKDAY Legend NORTHWESTERN AND WESTERN CANADA HWY 11 SOUTH OF NORTH BAY Northbound: 4,984 trips 235 km avg. trip length* Southbound: OTHER NORTHEASTERN 4,889 trips 255 km avg. trip length* OTHER NIPISSING 2,500 trips 1,000 trips 100 trips Toward Northern Ontario From Northern Ontario 4 - HWY 17 WEST OF MATTAWA Eastbound: 1,554 trips 265 km avg. trip length* NORTH BAY Westbound: 1,560 trips 322 km avg. trip length* MANITOULIN OTHER EASTERN CANADA 2 - HWY 69 NORTH OF PARRY SOUND PARRY SOUND DISTRICT EASTERN Northbound: 2,201 trips 401 km avg. trip length* Southbound: 2,401 trips 268 km avg. trip length* SOUTH-CENTRAL EASTERN SOUTHWESTERN Note: * Straight-line distance from origin to survey location plus straight-line distance from survey location to destination 37

56 Exhibit 3.8: Northeastern Ontario Gateways Fall 2011 SUNDAY Legend 2,500 trips NORTHWESTERN AND WESTERN CANADA HWY 11 SOUTH OF NORTH BAY Northbound: 4,212 trips 208 km avg. trip length* Southbound: 4,100 trips 182 km avg. trip length OTHER NORTHEASTERN 1,000 trips 100 trips Toward Northern Ontario From Northern Ontario 4 - HWY 17 WEST OF MATTAWA OTHER NIPISSING Eastbound: 1,735 trips 347 km avg. trip length* MANITOULIN 2 NORTH BAY 3 4 Westbound: 1,868 trips 355 km avg. trip length* OTHER EASTERN CANADA 2 - HWY 69 NORTH OF PARRY SOUND Northbound: 3,390 trips 334 km avg. trip length* PARRY SOUND DISTRICT Southbound: 5,122 trips 324 km avg. trip length* SOUTH-CENTRAL EASTERN EASTERN SOUTHWESTERN Note: * Straight-line distance from origin to survey location plus straight-line distance from survey location to destination 38

57 Exhibit 3.9: Northeastern Ontario Gateways Summer 2012 SUNDAY Legend 2,500 trips NORTHWESTERN AND WESTERN CANADA HWY 11 SOUTH OF NORTH BAY Northbound: 4,984 trips 235 km avg. trip length* Southbound: 4,889 trips 255 km avg. trip length* OTHER NORTHEASTERN 1,000 trips 100 trips Toward Northern Ontario From Northern Ontario OTHER NIPISSING NORTH BAY MANITOULIN 2A 3 EASTERN 2 - HWY 69 NORTH OF PARRY SOUND PARRY SOUND DISTRICT Northbound: 4,253 trips 388 km avg. trip length* Southbound: 4,696 trips 345 km avg. trip length* SOUTH-CENTRAL EASTERN SOUTHWESTERN Note: * Straight-line distance from origin to survey location plus straight-line distance from survey location to destination 39