The 2023 annual meeting of the Good Roads Advisory Board of Past Presidents.
Quebec Room
Algonquin Room
The annual joint meeting of the Good Roads Board of Directors and the Good Roads Advisory Board of Past Presidents.
Quebec Room
Registration for the 2023 Good Roads Conference opens. Delegates can pick up their conference identification and other materials at the registration booth in the Convention Foyer located immediately adjacent to the main elevator area on the Convention Level.
Convention Foyer
Ontario Room
“The wave of retirements currently hitting Ontario’s municipalities will continue for the next 5-10 years. In this time, over 50% of municipal employees will be eligible for retirement! As municipalities provide the essential services that are key to maintaining a high quality of life, it is imperative that they be staffed by qualified and competent individuals. Those working in this field help ensure that our infrastructure doesn’t collapse, that our roads remain clear, and that our water is safe to drink.
As part of the 2023 Good Roads Conference, students will have the opportunity to speak directly with municipal professionals about the important work they do every day. Panelists will share their thoughts and experiences with students interested in this type of career. Those in attendance will learn:
Why they should consider a career in municipal government; The type of knowledge, skills, abilities/competencies, or qualifications required to work for their municipality;
The panel discussion will be followed by a networking session. Students will have the opportunity to speak directly to those working in municipal government.”
Northwest Territories
Join Metrolinx on a unique study tour of the QEW Push Box, 403 Flyover Work Zone, and the Operations, Maintenance, and Storage Facility (OMSF). Observe the permanent underpass installation process using hydraulic jacks and the construction of the elevated guideway for the LRT.
At the QEW Push Box located at Hurontario and QEW, learn about the innovative method used to install a permanent underpass for northbound traffic, allowing for the Hazel McCallion Line tracks.
At the 403 Flyover Work Zone located at Rathburn Road, witness the building of a stand-alone structure that will connect the LRT and Hurontario. See the elevated guideway being built directly next to the Hurontario overpass of Highway 403.
And finally, visit the OMSF in Brampton. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the 10,634 m² facility built for the LRT project, with 42 light rail vehicle storage, a repair shop, and material storage and cleaning facilities.
Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to see transportation infrastructure in action!
The Good Roads trade show boasts more than 100 exhibitors serving the municipal sector. Plan to take some time during the conference to visit our exhibitors. Booths can be found on the Convention Floor Foyer, Ballroom, Concert Hall, and Main Mezzanine.
Convention Foyer, Concert Hall, Ballroom, and Main Mezzanine
Get reacquainted with old friends and make new ones. Join us in the exhibit halls on the Convention Level for the opening reception. Light food and refreshments will be provided. Refreshment stations can be found in the Concert Hall, Ballroom and the Convention Foyer. Be sure to visit with the exhibitors while you are there.
Convention Foyer, Concert Hall, and Ballroom
Registration for the 2023 Good Roads Conference. Delegates can pick up their conference identification and other materials at the registration booth in the Convention Foyer located immediately adjacent to the main elevator area on the Convention Level.
Convention Foyer
Delegates can partake in a delicious continental breakfast of assorted muffins and danishes, whole fresh fruit, juice, tea and coffee. This will be served in the foyer just outside the Canadian Room, Convention Level.
Convention Foyer
The Good Roads trade show boasts more than 100 exhibitors serving the municipal sector. Plan to take some time during the conference to visit our exhibitors. Booths can be found on the Convention Floor Foyer, Ballroom, Concert Hall, and Main Mezzanine.
Convention Foyer, Concert Hall, Ballroom, and Main Mezzanine.
Shawanaga First Nation elders Vince Pawis and Donna Longlade of the White Buffalo Road Healing Lodge will share a traditional Anishnabek Nation welcome with delegates.
Canadian Room
Canadian Room
Canadian Room
Brent has over 30 years of experience working on urban design and transportation projects in cities around the world, including Vancouver and Calgary. He is also the founder of the urbanism consultancy, TODERIAN UrbanWORKS, and a sought-after speaker and commentator on urban issues.
Watch Brent Toderian on the Good Roads Podcast
Canadian Room
Coffee stations will be available throughout the exhibit halls (Concert Hall, Ballroom and Convention Foyer). Enjoy your morning coffee and have a chat with some of our many exhibitors.
Convention Foyer, Concert Hall, and Ballroom
Canadian Room
British Columbia Room
Canadian Room
Explore the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s (NWMO) commitment to safe and responsible nuclear waste management! Tour a cutting-edge research facility, where you’ll gain unique insights into the NWMO’s plan for long-term management of used nuclear fuel. Get up close and personal with the design, optimization, and proof testing program and witness the technology behind the scenes.
Walk through a mock nuclear waste storage bunker and see first-hand the advanced engineered barrier system and underground emplacement technologies, designed to ensure technical safety and reliability. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge and understand the future of nuclear waste management.
Join us on a one-of-a-kind study tour of the Pave-Al Plant. Get an up-close look at the lifecycle of aggregates, from extraction to processing and transportation.
See the process of aggregate production in action and learn about the different stages including quarrying, crushing, screening, and washing. Discover how raw materials are transformed into the high-quality construction materials used in our roads, buildings, and infrastructure.
This study tour is a unique opportunity to gain a hands-on understanding of the aggregates industry and its crucial role in our infrastructure. Don’t miss out on this educational and engaging experience.
The award recognizes the successful collaboration between the municipalities and contractors for project excellence and innovation.
Canadian Room
Annual General Meeting of the Association of Ontario Road Supervisors (AORS). Registration opens at 1:00 pm, meeting begins at 1:30 pm.
Imperial Room
Ontario Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney will speak to delegates about the role the provincial government is playing in the municipal transportation sector.
Canadian Room
The policy environment in Canada is undergoing a fundamental shift. Longer-term challenges, such as climate change, and trends, such as increasing digitization of the economy and society, have converged with the once-in-a-century health, social, and economic impacts of a global pandemic to reframe the priorities of citizens and the ways Canadian institutions can and should operate.
This presentation will explore how and why Canadian policy makers should consider, experiment with, and adopt new approaches to policy development, implementation, and service delivery to ensure policy frameworks are flexible and robust enough for an increasingly unpredictable world.
Canadian Room
Get to know the newly minted Leader of the Official Opposition, Marit Stiles. Following a short speech, MPP Stiles will sit down with Good Roads to discuss what the Ontario New Democratic Party would do differently.
Canadian Room
Canadian Room
Visit exhibitors in the Concert Hall, Ballroom, Convention Foyer, and Main Mezzanine.
Convention Foyer, Concert Hall, Ballroom, and Main Mezzanine
This session will provide a platform for discussing & exploring innovations in technical strategies & solutions for improving the public sector in delivering infrastructure services. This platform will showcase the potential of innovative and intelligent technologies.
Northwest Territories Room
In an age of climate emergencies and major infrastructure damage across the country, there is a groundswell of new policies and funding emerging in support of building more resilient infrastructure. Bringing the strategy of “a more resilient Canada” to life as an actionable plan is a challenge faced by many communities hit hard by extreme weather events.
A rebuilding effort goes far beyond replacing what existed previously. It requires thoughtful integration with a community’s broader vision and unprecedented integration with existing plans (risk, economic, social), driving true portfolio level planning.
During this session, panelists will discuss the impact of recent natural disasters throughout Canada. They will share lessons learned to support a discussion around what the transition from emergency response to community rebuilding can look like in Ontario, as well as steps community leaders can take today to identify their community’s risk level, mitigate potential impacts and prepare their staff, residents and business for future natural disasters in their region.
Tudor 7&8
Confederation 5&6
British Columbia Room
Ontario Room
Manitoba Room
Salon 2, 19th floor
Union Station – TD West Carriageway
Registration for the 2023 Good Roads Conference. Delegates can pick up their conference identification and other materials at the registration booth in the Convention Foyer located immediately adjacent to the main elevator area on the Convention Level.
Convention Foyer
Delegates can partake in a delicious continental breakfast of assorted muffins and danishes, whole fresh fruit, juice, tea and coffee. This will be served in the foyer just outside the Canadian Room, Convention Level.
Convention Foyer
The Good Roads trade show boasts more than 100 exhibitors serving the municipal sector. Plan to take some time during the conference to visit our exhibitors. Booths can be found on the Convention Floor Foyer, Ballroom, Concert Hall, and Main Mezzanine.
Convention Foyer, Concert Hall, Ballroom, and Main Mezzanine
Annual General Meeting of the Ontario Good Roads Association. All delegates from member municipalities and member First Nations are eligible to vote.
Canadian Room
Canadian Room
Amarjot Sandhu, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Infrastructure, will speak to delegates about the role the provincial government is playing in the municipal infrastructure sector.
Canadian Room
The biggest misconception associated with road safety is that driver behaviour is to blame for the death and serious injury on our roads. While past crash causation studies focused on road user behaviour, and pinpoint the cause of crashes on road users, contemporary practice is to understand where the road design, vehicle and speed could have prevented the crash, and more importantly the severity outcome of the crash. This approach understands the human-machine-environment system, and recognizes that humans make mistakes on the road, but this does not need to lead to death and serious injury.
Road safety engineering and road safety auditing are world leading practices that investigate the systemic failures of the road and street network that lead to serious crashes. This presentation will focus on best practice processes from around the world in engineering the road environment to reduce crash likelihood and minimize the severity of any crashes that still occur.
Speaker: Kenn Beer, Safe System Solutions
Kenn Beer on the Good Roads Podcast: https://youtu.be/QO6U4m56zjg
Canadian Room
Canadian Room
This session will provide an overview of Ontario’s forest road infrastructure and the Forest Access Roads Funding Program. Ontario has 290,000 km of forest roads and 2,800 water crossings and bridges. This network is built and maintained by Ontario’s forest industry, with a portion being funded by the public. Ian Dunn, President & CEO of the Ontario Forest Industry Association will provide some case studies of how this program and road network facilitates the social, economic, and environmental well-being of Indigenous and non-indigenous communities across all regions of Ontario. Ian will also speak to other resource users who depend on these roads, such as mining and mineral exploration, anglers and hunters, and emergency services, and the work we’ve done together to raise awareness of the importance of these roads. This session will include a discussion on the difficulties associated with our aging forest infrastructure.
Quebec Room
John Fraser will outline the Ontario Liberal Party’s concerns with the government’s current approach and lay out how a Liberal government would do things differently.
Canadian Room
Coffee stations will be available throughout the exhibit halls (Concert Hall, Ballroom and Convention Foyer). Enjoy your morning coffee and have a chat with some of our many exhibitors.
Convention Foyer, Concert Hall, and Ballroom
Ontario Room
This is an Ontario Asphalt Pavement Council (OAPC – Council of Ontario Road Builders’ Association, ORBA) sponsored session for industry and
municipal stakeholder education and engagement about the future of the Trillium Award Program. Since 2002, OAPC has continually advocated to its members to raise their standards and obtain this Trillium Award via a self-regulated application process. With a high percentage of asphalt plants now Trillium awarded these last 20 years, the Council is evaluating its options on increasing the value of this award for its members and the municipalities they serve.
Northwest Territories
Interested in learning about the latest innovations in decarbonizing vehicles and even the materials used to make roads? Come hear from leading organizations about the progress they have made with compressed natural gas, renewable natural gas, hydrogen, the benefits they’re seeing, and their views on the future of decarbonized fleets and road products.
Confederation 5&6
Fred Dean and Nigel Bellchamber, experienced trainers for elected officials and appointed staff, both provide a one of a kind orientation for newly elected councillors. Learn about your responsibilities as an elected official as well as strategies for a successful term.
Tudor 7&8
This session will provide a platform for discussing & exploring innovations in technical strategies & solutions for improving the public sector in delivering infrastructure services. This platform will showcase the potential of innovative and intelligent technologies.
British Columbia
Manitoba Room
Polls will open at 11:30 am. All delegates are eligible to vote regardless which Zone they are from.
Salon A
Discover the future of Toronto’s waterfront with the Port Lands Flood Protection Project. Join us on a tour of one of the city’s largest infrastructure projects, as we reconnect the Don River to Lake Ontario and create a naturalized river mouth. Explore a kilometer-long river valley, witness the construction of a new river mouth, and see the cleanup of polluted land. Learn how this project will provide flood protection to a large stretch of downtown waterfront and pave the way for sustainable development. Be prepared for an exciting 2km loop through an active construction site, with potentially uneven ground and wet conditions. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to see Toronto’s transformation firsthand!
Discover the inner workings of the bustling City of Toronto with this exclusive study tour of the Traffic Operations Centre (TOC)! As part of the Traffic Management Section (TMS), the TOC plays a vital role in managing the city’s extensive road network of 40 km expressways and over 5,600 km of roads, including well-known expressways like the Don Valley Parkway, Gardiner Expressway, and Allen Rd.
Join us for a unique opportunity to learn about TMS, TOC’s evolution, functions, and technologies. Get a rare glimpse into the TOC and experience a behind-the-scenes tour of this innovative traffic management hub. Register now and be a part of this fascinating study tour!
The session will provide information on using the MTO Fuel Price Index and Asphalt Cement Price Index in road construction projects.
Tudor 7&8
From recycling and reducing GHG to extending service life, this session features presentations that showcase innovative solutions and new ideas on steering our municipal infrastructure towards sustainability in design, construction and operation.
British Columbia Room
How do you attract, train, and motivate your workforce? Join David Gagne (GHD), Dina Barazza (The Talent Consortium), and Robin Dunn (Township of Oro-Medonte) as they discuss current trends in attracting and developing a talented workforce both in the private sector and in municipalities. You will hear about popular programs, strategies and initiatives being used to attract, retain, engage, and develop employees.
Ontario Room
Manitoba Room
Confederation 5&6
Legacy Hardware – Presentation of the results of a Study commissioned by Transport Canada. The objective of the study was to crash test legacy systems that are commonly found
on roadways across Canada and, to date, have not been crash tested and evaluated according to MASH 2016 criteria. The legacy systems selected for the crash testing and evaluation during this study were:
1. Temporary
1.22m x 2.44m Work Zone Sign
2. Permanent
Small Stop Sign on Wooden Post
3. Cable
Guide Rail (CGR) with Wooden Posts
4. Steel
Beam Guide Rail (SBGR) with Channel and Steel Posts – 685mm Height
5. Permanent
Concrete Barrier to Temporary Concrete Barrier Steel Beam Transition
6. Barrier
Curb – 150mm Height
Roadside Safety Asset Management – The role of roadside safety hardware is to make collisions less severe and reduce the risk of serious injury and fatalities on our roadways. Roadside safety hardware crash test standards, available systems, design guidelines, and construction specifications have changed significantly since the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) was implemented in 2009. Does your organization currently have an asset management plan for roadside safety hardware, and do you have a plan in place to address deficiencies and legacy hardware? If not, we can assist you with the implementation of a plan because the consequences of failure can be serious. Safe Roads Engineering has developed a program that can assist road authorities to incorporate roadside safety hardware into their asset management planning process.
Crashworthy Pedestrian Access Terminal for Installation Near a Steep Slope – On many roadways across Canada adjacent to bodies of water, steep slopes or forests, guide rail protection is often required, as well as openings to permit pedestrian access to beaches and trails. At some locations, openings have been created by simply removing one length of steel beam guide rail or cutting out a section of rail, resulting in a non functional guide rail system without crashworthy terminals, which is a hazard to motorists and pedestrians. Use of standard crash tested steel beam energy attenuating
terminals (SBEATs) on both sides of a one-metre-wide opening for pedestrians partially addresses the hazard to motorists by restoring the functionality and crashworthiness of the guide rail system upstream and downstream of the opening. However, current SBEAT systems have gating characteristics such that,
when a vehicle impacts them near the impact head of the terminal, they gate out of the way to prevent spearing of the vehicle. The gating characteristics of the SBEAT result in a one-metre-wide physical opening having an effective length of approximately ten-metres through which an errant vehicle could
penetrate through the system into the waterbody or other hazard and could impact any pedestrians within or behind the opening.
Northwest Territories Room
Convention Foyer, Concert Hall, and Ballroom
Rick Harms will present the results of the Board elections. Good Roads thanks all those who put their names forward.
Canadian Room
Canadian Room
Northwest Territories Room
Canadian Room
Canadian Room
Canadian Room
Canadian Room
Registration for the 2023 Good Roads Conference. Delegates can pick up their conference identification and other materials in the Toronto Room.
Toronto Room
Start your morning off right with a hot breakfast. Delegates can partake of pork sausage; scrambled eggs; waffles; hash brown; breads; seasonal fruit salad; assorted fruit and yogurt.
Convention Foyer
Win Bose headphones! To enter, delegates must drop their ticket in the drum on Wednesday morning outside the Canadian Room. Only those present can qualify to win.
Canadian Room
Outgoing Good Roads President Paul Schoppmann will pass the gavel to incoming Good Roads President John Parsons.
Canadian Room
Mike Schreiner will outline the Green Party of Ontario’s concerns with the government’s current approach and lay out how a Green government would do things differently.
Mike Schreiner on the Good Roads Podcast: https://youtu.be/r4c5V9T-OQs
Canadian Room
Canadian Room
The competition showcases the ingenuity of municipal employees and recognizes innovations and achievements that improve the efficiency of municipal transportation and public works services and operations.
Canadian Room
The Final Word provides an opportunity to have your most vexing municipal government questions answered by an all-star roster of experts in the fields of administration, planning, law, construction, drainage, public works and more. Submit your questions in advance at the registration desk or live during the session!
Canadian Room
Win an Apple iPad! To enter, delegates must drop their ticket in the drum on Wednesday morning outside the Canadian Room. Only those present can qualify to win.
Canadian Room
Good Roads President John Parsons will close the 2023 Good Roads Conference.
Canadian Room
Click here to download the most up-to-date version of the agenda.