City councillor Yvonne Harris is pleased the city's transportation study, adopted by council Monday night, considers alternative forms of transportation such as walking.

One section focused on alternative forms of transportation. Issues it cited include inadequate facilities and crossings for pedestrians, cycling routes that don't connect to one another, a transit system that's underused and inefficient, and identifying incentives for handling traffic.

The final section of the study focuses on downtown parking. It suggests the city promote alternative forms of travel, prepare a parking management plan, and stay away from plans for a parkade for five years.

A parkade was proposed for the parking lot at the corner of Third Avenue and Steele Street in the 1980s, but was never built.

Harris said she was happy with the study before the unanimous vote by the six council members present. Coun. Mel Stehelin was absent from Monday night's meeting.

The first section looked at the issues and goals to develop guiding principles for the traffic study.

That part of the study, which was in the works for 18 months, focused on four goals for the city:

• providing infrastructure that services and enhances the quality of life and the natural environment;

• providing save, convenient and accessible movement for all modes of travel;

• providing infrastructure which supports long-term development plans and are consistent with current standards and guidelines; and

• providing infrastructure in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

The second section looked at the city's roadways and traffic operations. The biggest issues it cited were congestion through the downtown and left turns in the downtown, a need for road widening or an extension of Hamilton Boulevard, the number of lanes on Fourth and Second Avenues and traffic flow at intersections.

Recommendations in the study to deal with some of the problems include timing changes at signal lights, using roundabouts, extending Hamilton Boulevard toward Robert Service Way and connecting Pine Street in Porter Creek to the Alaska Highway.

The third part of the study focused on transportation safety by analyzing the safety of Two Mile Hill, Second and Fourth Avenues, the Alaska Highway and school zones and residential streets.

It was suggested by city administration that transportation studies be updated every five years.