Change was in the air amidst vibrant autumn leaves as the Access team gathered beneath a rainy Montreal sky in October. Purpose of the rendezvous? To discuss the future of Access Planning, brainstorm goals and ambitions moving forward, look back on recent achievements, and to have a blast in a city of quaint balconies, twisting terraces, labyrinthine alleyways, and dedicated bike lanes.

Access Planning gathers twice a year for retreats such as these; as a new member to the team, this was my first. And after working remotely with colleagues across Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, it was great to finally meet the whole team in-person. In the boardroom, we discussed Access, our values, past achievements, core offerings, and future planning, and out in the streets of Montreal, we biked on Bixis (as part of our planned ‘Montreal Mobility Tour’), staying true to our philosophy of living our values. Our ‘Mobility Tour’ weaved through key transportation and mobility infrastructure, services, and public spaces in Downtown Montreal. Everything went fantastically smooth – well, almost everything. I made the mistake of choosing an e-bike on the downhill portion of the trip and a conventional bike on the uphill portion. Of course, this did mean that the trip made for a great workout as well!

Access ‘Montreal Mobility Tour’

On the second day of the retreat, we discussed Access’s impact and our past work; sharing stories about what’s worked well, less well, and tips on how to talk about our company and work in different contexts. Building on our conversation around company values and our unique service offerings from the first day, we outlined the future of Access in a world experiencing evolving societal values and ideas. What new ideas and areas of work should we explore for the future? How can we lead positive values transformation whilst doing so?

How we do it

It’s hard to pick one favorite memory from the Fall retreat, given how consistent the fun and bonding experience was, whether it was the game of Jenga that I recklessly joined right at the end when the tower of blocks was already near toppling, the team dinner that we had at a French restaurant where I couldn’t make head or tails of the menu and had to enlist the help of my French-speaking colleagues (who had to consult Google Translate as well), or simply the pleasure of being given a friendly hug by a person whom I’d remotely worked with in a high-stakes project but never met in-person before.

A game of Jenga

Two things I will remember most from the gathering and our discussions and bonding, however, is one, just how important connection is to us humans, and two, the philosophy of living one’s values is central and critical not just to the field of planning, but also to our own selves at a personal and professional level.