Media Release

For Immediate Release

April 26, 2007

SMU and HRM Reach For STARs With Largest Ever GPS Study

Reach for the STARs: SMU and HRM launched the Space-Time Activity Research (STAR) project at City Hall this afternoon. Pictured: Mayor Peter Kelly (MBA '96); Jamie Spinney, STAR Project Coordinator; Brian Reid, President and CEO of Britech Information Systems Limited; Marcus Garnet, HRM Regional and Community Planner; Dr. J. Colin Dodds, President of Saint Mary's; and Stephanie Sodero, Ecology Action Centre.

Saint Mary’s University and the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) have teamed up to make a better future for HRM with the launch of the Halifax Space-Time Activity Research (STAR) project. Mayor Peter Kelly and SMU President Colin Dodds unveiled the project today at City Hall.

The STAR project will collect data from more that 2,000 households across HRM over the next year to learn more about neighborhoods, what activities residents are engaged in, and when and where they are engaged in them. The results from this study will be most beneficial for land and transportation use planning, helping HRM better plan for optimal use of transit services and construction of roads, sidewalks, bike paths. The findings will also be used to examine policies and projects that impact the economy, the environment, social policy, and overall quality of life in HRM.

“We’re very pleased to partner with Saint Mary’s on the STAR project, which has been called the most innovative travel use study in the world,” said Mayor Kelly. “This is the largest deployment ever of this particular GPS technology for a travel survey, yet the study is very simple for the selected participants to take part in. The results will be invaluable for HRM.” Mayor Kelly demonstrated how easy it is to participate and his STAR experience—which tracked his coming and goings for one day—was displayed at the launch.

SMU’s Time-Use Research Program, in partnership with HRM, will conduct the study. HRM company Britech Information Systems Ltd is also a partner in this project.

The project has several phases:

- The first phase involves recruiting a random sample of up to 2500 households throughout HRM to participate in the project on a voluntary basis. Recruitment and tracking will be carried out over 365 days.

- Only one household member over the age of 15 will be randomly selected as the primary respondent and will be asked to provide general household information. Other members of the household will be asked to participate as well.

- For two assigned days, the primary respondent keeps track of all the places s/he visits by carrying a Global Positioning System (GPS) and writing travel activity in a log. Britech developed the software for collecting GPS data. Other members of the household will be asked to complete a travel log as well but will not carry a GPS.

- After the two tracking days, the primary respondent completes a phone questionnaire.

- Members of the Time-Use Research Program will spend the next year collecting and analyzing the data recorded from all participants, with results expected in summer 2008.

“Saint Mary’s is proud to work with HRM and other partners in order to ensure an even brighter future for our region,” says Dr. J. Colin Dodds, President of Saint Mary’s University. “This project is a unique example of how a post-secondary institution like Saint Mary’s can work directly with others in planning that will have long term benefits for our city’s transportation needs while securing a brighter tomorrow for our economy, environment and society overall.”

The Time-Use Research Program is a nonprofit research program at SMU that promotes and facilitates the understanding, measurement, analysis, and policy applications of human time allocation.

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For More Information:

Paul Fitzgerald
Public Affairs Officer
Saint Mary's University, Public Affairs
(902) 420.5514
E-mail: paul.fitzgerald@smu.ca
www.smu.ca