What’s in Yellowknife’s proposed transportation plan?

After nearly a year of development, the City of Yellowknife has released its proposed transportation plan, which will guide how people move around the city over the next 25 years.

The city says the 389-page plan, titled Let’s Move YK, is the first “single, unified roadmap for Yellowknife’s transportation network.” The plan brings together existing studies, strategies and policies as well as a future vision for movement across the city.

The plan outlines the current status of transportation in Yellowknife, including challenges and opportunities.

It also sets out an implementation plan with short, medium and long-term actions. The ultimate aims are:

• providing people with comfortable, convenient, reliable and equitable transportation choices year round;
• reducing emissions;
• providing a connected transportation network;
• improving health, wellbeing and safety; and
• ensuring the efficient movement of people and goods to support the economy.

Let’s Move YK still needs a final stamp of approval from mayor and council, who are expected to vote on the plan at their next council meeting on September 23 – one of their final acts before a municipal election in October.

People can contact city council to share their thoughts on the plan ahead of the vote.

Most Yellowknifers currently drive

According to a 2025 survey completed by 715 households, driving is the main mode of transportation used in the city.

Survey respondents reported taking 68 percent of daily trips by private vehicle. Of those, 71 percent were single-occupancy. The survey says 88 percent of all Yellowknife households own at least one vehicle.

The survey found 19 percent of daily trips were on foot, 7.6 percent by bike, two percent by school bus and 2.3 percent by public transit. Two-thirds of households own a bicycle or “micromobility device,” meaning the likes of e-bikes, e-scooters and skateboards.

People living downtown and members of low-income households were the most likely to say they regularly walk, bike or take public transit, the survey said.

An analysis of survey responses found that, based on distance, 48 percent of driving trips could be completed by bike and 15 percent on foot, suggesting a “significant opportunity” to increase active transportation in the city “with the right conditions, culture shift and infrastructure in place.”

The plan says such opportunities include more multi-use pathways, trails, sidewalks, bike lanes and bicycle parking, as well as more frequent transit service and routes, and safety improvements at higher collision areas.

Actions to guide improvements

Let’s Move YK includes 106 strategies and actions for improvement under five themes: streets, active transportation, public transportation, sustainable commuting and technology, and culture.

Actions the plan considers “quick wins,” meaning they can be accomplished within two years or less, include adopting a formalized street network classification, evaluating intersections and crossings, and formalizing a snow and winter road maintenance policy.

Short-term goals that can be completed within three to five years include developing and implementing a crosswalk policy, traffic calming program, and truck route bylaw. The plan also considers supporting the expansion of car share operations, and partnering with schools and organizations to deliver transportation education and awareness initiatives.

Medium-term goals with a six to 10-year time frame range from developing alternate routes and redundant street networks – to provide travel choices in emergencies – to ensuring all new large-scale development areas have transit service within a five-minute walking distance.

Actions expected to take 11 years or more include improving transit service frequency, supporting community initiatives for winter active transportation such as cross-country skiing, and working with hotels and major employers to encourage increased shuttle service to airports and remote locations.

Adam Denley – co-founder of bikeshare program Shift NWT and an advocate for active transportation in Yellowknife – said overall, the plan is “pretty good.”

Denley said “unsexy” parts of the plan he particularly likes include a proposed process for residents to request traffic calming measures, as well as plans to define arterial roads, collector streets and local streets. Those definitions would come with accompanying widths, expected walking and cycling infrastructure and speed limits for each type.

He said there were “missed opportunities” in the plan, like not installing illuminated crosswalks on Old Airport Road and Kam Lake Road, something Shift NWT has previously requested.

Denley also wants bus stops on Old Airport Road and Byrne Road/Norseman Drive included in improvement plans for transit stops, and believes parking on collector and local streets should be limited to one side.

“I don’t see why the city needs to be responsible for overflow parking for folks whose driveways are already full of vehicles,” he said.