GC 2020
171 results found
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Transport freight using trains instead of trucks
The transport of freight using heavy duty trucks is not sustainable and causes air and noise pollution. It is far more efficient and less costly to move freight on rails rather than building new roads to accomodate increasing truck traffic.
34 votesThe draft Greenest City Action Plan will include directions that support less polluting, appropriately sized goods movement vehicles, including rail where appropriate. Trucks will still have a role to play for the forseeable future. Success requires support and leadership from regional, provincial, and federal partners.
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Force downtown and other high density areas to be automobile free.
Many dense cities force this upon their downtown areas.
Since transit / bike / walking options are good in high density areas, using cars is not needed.
The area can start small (like the areas directly around skytrain stations), and gradually increase once more infrastructure is there.This will provide multiple solutions. Greenhouse gasses will be quelled, infrastructure costs will be lower, and most importantly, these area will become more appealing as public areas, which creates a higher sense of community and city identity.
32 votes -
Increase residential density to achieve efficient land use and high walking/cycling/transit mobility
Our high dependence on gasoline for transportation is largely due to our lifestyle of single-family dwellings. When density is increased, we would be reducing long-distance commutes and automatically encouraging people to walk and bike. Public transportation would also see more riders and be used more effectively. Higher residential density also means more efficient land use. The greenest city would need to protect its forests and restrict the area of urban development. This density is best accomplished by zoning schemes that discourage single-family dwellings and encourage mixed-use high-density developments. Ideally, there would be one day when some of our low density…
32 votesAs the City reviews land use policy and development bylaws through Community, Central Area, and City-Wide planning programs, opportunities for increased residential density (particularly in walkable neighbourhoods with good transit connections) are actively pursued (in balance with concerns for neighbourhood character and community involvement in city building decisions at the neighbourhood level).
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Make Robson Square a true pedestrian square: NO through street!
Robson Street has been closed for the block of the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Law Courts due to the landscaping renovations currently taking place - it should ALWAYS be that way :-) Vehicle traffic is easily diverted around this single block - this is one of the few landscaped, sunny, and already publicly used gathering places that exist in the downtown core: make it a TRUE pedestrian square so that the public gatherings and special events that are so often held around the Vancouver Art Gallery can actually be pedestrian friendly events with space for everyone.... Robson Street buses…
29 votesThe draft Greenest City Action Plan will include directions to explore pedestrian-only and pedestrian-priority streets, but specific locations likely won’t be identified until later (e.g. as part of the transportation plan update).
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Build an underground UBC Line SkyTrain along the Broadway corridor that connects with the existing V
The 99 B-Line bus is a key cog in many students coming from the suburbs and a source of their many frustrations. For too long students in Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey, Langley, etc have sacrificed two hours of their day just to learn at one of the most beautiful and prestigious universities in the world. Being able to connect them via SkyTrain will greatly affect the quality of transportation to campus. The Broadway corridor itself has been waiting for something like this for sometime, and connecting it with the Millennium line at VCC-Clark would do wonders to curb the time…
29 votesTransLink is currently leading a study to determine the best approach to deliver high-capacity, fast, frequent, and reliable rapid transit for the Broadway Corridor from Commercial Drive to UBC. A number of technologies and alignment options are being considered, including rail rapid transit (e.g. SkyTrain), surface light rail transit, and bus rapid transit.
The City of Vancouver is directly involved as a partner agency in the study. In April 2010, City Council endorsed ten principles to guide City input into this process (http://vancouver/ubcline/principles).
Visit http://vancouver.ca/ubcline to learn more about this work, including upcoming public engagement events.
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solar water taxis
London has a solar water taxi, why can't we? All those little boats beetling around--not to mention the seabuses--could be solar. Each station would give them a quick charge or battery change.
28 votes -
26 votes
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Encourage the use of existing greenways by discouraging commuter cars using them
Simple changes to targetted parts of the greenways could reduce car traffic and therefore encourage more cycling. The existing greenway I use (midway bikeway, along 37th from Balaclava to West Boulevard) is also used quite heavily by cars as a way of avoiding 41st. The road is narrow especially towards W.Blvd and despite having speed bumps and mini roundabouts it has not deterred cars from using this route. I would like to see the use of diverters and one way access (like the do in the west end) so that only cyclists and local residents end up using this.
26 votesTraffic calming is an integral part of bikeway and greenway design, but there is room for improvement. The draft Greenest City Action Plan will include directions to go further with traffic calming and through-traffic restrictions on neighbourhood bikeways and greenways. This will be elaborated upon further in future detailed planning efforts (e.g. forthcoming transportation plan update, cycling master plan, specific greenway designs).
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A complete, interconnected network of completely car-free, safe bicycle routes.
We've made a start, but more people would feel safe enough to cycle in Vancouver if all routes separated bicycles from motorised traffic and connected safely with one another. Imagine if you could ride anywhere in the city as safely as on Dunsmuir Street.
25 votesThanks for sharing this idea!
The city’s new 10-year cycling program master plan will soon be in development, and hopefully completed within the next year.
A big part of the work ahead is to identify the complete cycling network, and the type of facility that is most appropriate and/or feasible for different routes. In some cases (e.g. busy arterial routes), separated lanes might be the best approach; in other cases (e.g. lower car volume neighbourhood streets), enhanced traffic calming and/or further reducing car access might be more appropriate. Travis cited some great examples in the Netherlands where cars are ‘guests’ that are allowed in, but do not dominate.
In all cases, the goal should be to make routes that feel safe to all potential cyclists, including beginners, children, and seniors.
For more information, visit http://vancouver.ca/cycling
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five services in five minutes
Every home should be within five minutes walk of five service--a litre of milk, a library kiosk, a post office, drugstore.... We need a micro-commercial zone to allow these small businesses into every neighbourhood.
24 votes -
Make Longboarding a Legitimate Transportation Alternative
A lot of Vancouverites already commute safely by longboard, skateboards modified for stability at speed. The City should embrace and legitimize this choice of transportation and allow longboarders to be treated like cyclists on the road.
23 votes -
Attractive Sidewalks *
Beautify pedestrian ways to attract more walking, with:
- rainbow / sparkly sidewalks in high traffic areas
- sidewalk canopies: tree overhangs, resident-owned PV
- incentives for merchants to beautify their sidewalk area
- neighbourhood identity expressed by residents' design for sidewalks
- textured pavement to define pedestrian areas, or neighbourhoods
- "pedestrianscape" that allows the pedestrian to explore a delightful journey as the travel past varied points of interest along their walk
- sidewalk cafes, laneways pubs / cafes / restaurants
- separate lanes for pedestrian, wheeled traffic: rollerblading & skateboarding, bikes, cars
- buffers between separate lanes of…23 votesThe quality and attractiveness of the pedestrian experience is a primary consideration in public realm planning and design. However, there is an opportunity to be more creative in the design of specific elements, such as sidewalk materials, and incentives/requirements for pedestrian-oriented building design and facade improvements.
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Provide incentives to purchase electric vehicles (cars or bikes).
Many subsidies exist in the USA and Ontario. Vancouver will be one of the first markets to have the Nissan Leaf launch in, but we do not have any subsidies for EVs. Promote EVs now!
21 votes -
relax bike restrictions on skytrain
Allowing bikes on the skytrain during rush hours will encourage people to use transit & their bikes as a viable means of transport. The trains are crowded but a possible solution would be to make the last car of each train seatless making way more room for bicycles and passengers at the same time.
21 votesOutside City jurisdiction. It would be nice to relax these restrictions, but they do serve a purpose — relaxing them is only feasible when and where there is sufficient capacity on transit vehicles. Providing more abundant and more secure bicyle parking at transit hubs will play a bigger part in cycle-transit integration.
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Bike subsidies for low income individuals and families.
It's not always cheap to get a good bike, especially if you have a large household or want to use it for more than just cruising. Having subsidies would encourage more people to take that first step to leaving the car behind.
20 votesThis is a laudable idea, but one that is challenging for the city to undertake. It may be more appropriately handled at a provincial or federal level. The cost of bikes pales in comparison to the cost of cars, so other solutions that increase opportunities for affordable housing nearer people’s places of work will make it easier for residents to give up at least one family car and invest those significant savings in other modes of transportation.
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Awnings
Encourage Awnings - Connected dry cover improve pedestrian traffic in a rainy city. @ More bus shelters that really shelter.
20 votesWeather protection will be highlighted as an important design consideration for the pedestrian realm. Many parts of the city (e.g. most of the downtown, most commercial areas) already include design guidelines for weather protection and design guidelines (including requirements for awnings). However, there may be more opportunities to encourage existing buildings to add awnings (and similar weather protection) through renovation and building facade improvement programs.
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Create a Separated Bike Lane on Commercial Drive
Commercial Drive is a destination shopping street in Vancouver's east side. It is already a popular route for cyclists, but there is currently no cycling facility provided.
The current route network lacks sufficient safe links to shopping destinations. A new separated bike route on Commercial Drive would address this issue and encourage new cyclists. As cyclist traffic increases, local businesses could also benefit from new the new street traffic.
19 votesThe city’s new 10-year cycling program master plan will soon be in development, and hopefully completed within the next year. A big part of the work ahead is to identify where separated bike lanes might be appropriate.
Lessons learned from the downtown trial will be an important input into the plan. The results so far support evidence elsewhere that separated bike lanes are a great way to make cycling more attractive on busy streets.
For more information, visit http://vancouver.ca/cycling .
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bike elevator
Bike elevators are used in Norway to assist with steep hills - used much like a T-Bar on a ski hill. Place them in a few strategic areas to increase bike traffic (and reduce cars!).
See http://www.trampe.no/english/ for an example.19 votesBike escalators are an interesting idea that may make sense elsewhere in the region (e.g. urban bike routes with a very steep, extended incline). The City of North Vancouver has expressed interest in the past in this idea for Lonsdale Avenue.
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19 votes
This has long been a priority at the municipal level. Regionally, support is required from higher levels of government (e.g. Metro Vancouver, TransLink, Province of BC) as other municipalities.
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New streetcar lines to revitalize commercial activity on arterials
Streetcar lines bring development money to streets that need investment. The City should partner with the private sector and TransLink to add streetcar lines as a way kickstart commercial activity and bring pedestrian life back to arterial streets.
Prime candidates: Hastings St from downtown into Burnaby, Powell St, Prior/Venables, Kingsway, E Broadway, Nanaimo, Renfrew19 votes
