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How can we reach our 2020
Greenest City Targets?

GC 2020

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171 results found

  1. Work with large employers to encourage sustainable commuting choices

    Trip reduction programs have been effective in various North American jurisdictions by giving employers the tools to encourage sustainable commuting. Through either voluntary or regulatory measures, large employers are supported to survey their staff on commute habits and develop a plan to reduce single occupancy vehicle trips. This may include cutting back on free parking, providing transit subsidies, installing lockers and showers for cyclists, or joining a carpool matching program. In Portland, the Employee Commute Options program has reduced over three million vehicle trips in the region.
    http://www.deq.state.or.us/nwr/eco/eco.htm

    15 votes
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  2. Pedestrianised Streets

    Make the following streets pedestrianised:
    Granville St--in the zone dedicated for transit use. Transit can remain on its current routing along Seymour and Howe. (Issue a refund to Translink for their contribution to the redesign)
    South of Smithe, re-allocate two lanes for cycling (four motor vehicle lanes is overtly excessive).
    South of Nelson, remove the car parking on the sidewalk! That has to be the ***** design imaginable. That space should be for pedestrians, not for perching motor vehicles. This is effectively creating a 6-lane arterial on Granville.

    Gastown, and;

    Robson--from Granville St., west to Jervis St.

    47 votes
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    The Rediscover Granville program was a big success in 2009, and the City will be looking to continue and build upon this work in future years. More broadly, the draft Greenest City plan will include directions to explore pedestrian-only and pedestrian-priority streets in the downtown core. Potential locations will be identified at a later date (e.g. as part of the transportation plan update).

    http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/currentplanning/granvilleredesign/rediscover/

  3. Create a safe, licensed, easy carpooling system.

    Create a system where people can become registered carpool hosts for free, they would need to be screened (police record check?) and validated, and display the license in the front window. Set up stations in the city, like bus stations, that say (for example; South Surrey Park and Ride) where people could wait for a carpooler. There could be a small charge as incentive for the driver ($2 per person each way would help a lot with daily parking).

    I have often driven by a line up of bus users, and thought about how much money I could earn by…

    6 votes
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  4. Congestion Pricing Downtown

    Price motor vehicles entering the metropolitan core. Congestion pricing will reduce the number of motor vehicle converging on the Downtown every morning, and will make lane re-allocations and pedestrianised streets an easier process due to reduced demand for road space.

    54 votes
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    The City supports the idea of road / congestion pricing, and bridge tolls are one possible implementation. A regional (as opposed to a downtown or city) approach might work best, given travel behaviour, patterns of movement, and jurisdictional issues. This lies outside City jurisdiction, so our role is limited to advocacy; changes to Provincial legislation are required.

  5. Work with surrounding cities and Translink to improve commuter transportation

    Commuting to and from Vancouver is a huge source of pollution, gas consumption and energy waste. It's great if Vancouver does a lot of smaller things to make it a greener city, but if the issue of commuter waste is not addressed, then calling itself the greenest city might be a little fluffy. Commuting is not going to go away - how could it be better? By using existing rail lines for commuter trains. Building skytrain service further out into the Valley and White Rock. Organize carpool companies that will match commuter needs. We must get the cars with single…

    42 votes
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  6. Municipal Control of Blanket Speed Limits

    Limit motor vehicle speeds in the metro core to 40 km/h.
    Place a 30 km/h speed limit on all local residential and collector streets.
    Speed reduction is essential to ensure the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

    19 votes
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    This is a policy direction that was adopted in the 1997 Transportation Plan. Staff have since been in discussion with provincial officials about legislative changes to support municipal control over blanket speed limits. Unfortunately those changes have not yet been adopted by the province.

  7. 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 votes
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    The 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).

  8. 19 votes
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  9. Higher parking fees / cheaper transit tickets

    Unfortunately people are motivated by their wallets. When parking downtown is cheaper than the 4 bus tickets a couple needs to attend an event, they might choose to drive. (Ignoring of course purchase/operation costs of the car).

    Raise parking prices and lower transit fees to encourage more people to shift to transit.

    113 votes
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    Point taken that adjusting costs of different travel modes to support more sustainable choices is a good idea. The City will continue to review parking fees to better reflect street value and market demand, and the Greenest City Plan adds a more explicit environmental lense to this work. Transit fares fall outside City jurisdiction, and there are multiple factors to consider. Fares are an important revenue source for TransLink; at the same time, it is important that prices are affordable and equitable.

  10. Turn existing "bike streets" into proper separated bike routes

    The network of bike streets is a great start, but drivers aggressively squeeze cyclists close to parked cars, increasing the risk of accident. Create physically separated bike lanes on these routes - perhaps by getting rid of one or both sides of street parking. (Or forbidding driving altogether on those routes!)

    138 votes
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    Thanks for sharing this idea!

    The city’s new active transportation 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 .

  11. Add east-west rapid transit

    Transferring from Canada Line to Skytrain without going downtown creates a huge bottle-neck at the B-line stop. There need to be more efficient ways to move East-West

    289 votes
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    TransLink 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.

  12. Create an East West bike lane

    Remove parking on Broadway and encourage commercial access for bikes

    18 votes
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    Thanks 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 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 .

  13. 136 votes
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    You may be interested in learning more about the following programs:

    UBC Line Rapid Transit Study – http://vancouver.ca/ubcline and http://www.translink.ca/ubcline

    Central Broadway Planning Program – http://vancouver.ca/broadway

    Cambie Corridor Planning Program – http://vancouver.ca/cambiecorridor
    ____________________

    Outside City of Vancouver boundaries:

    Surrey Rapid Transit Planning Program – http://www.translink.ca/en/Be-Part-of-the-Plan/Public-Consultation/Current-Consultations/Surrey-Rapid-Transit-Study.aspx

  14. Repeal mandatory bike helmet legislation

    Vancouver will never convince anyone of being the 'greenest' city without a huge modal shift towards cycling (walking, and transit).

    Such a shift will not happen until the average Vancouverite cycles on a daily basis. This will not happen without better infrastructure, progressive policy, AND repealing mandatory helmet legislation.

    Yes, this is a provincial law. However, I am sure that Vancouver has the ability to make this change happen.

    p.s., the safety and health benefits of more people cycling far outweigh the potential safety benefits of bicycle helmets.

    408 votes
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  15. Prioritize cycling infrastructure and policy

    Vancouver will not convince anyone of being the 'greenest' city without a huge modal shift towards cycling, walking, and public transit.

    Cycling infrastructure is already improving (e.g., new Dunsmuir two-way bike lane), but policy needs to improve (e.g., a transportation hierarchy, with pedestrians followed by cyclists at the top).

    Also, we will NEVER get the general population cycling daily without repealing mandatory helmet legislation. It just won't happen -- it's too inconvenient.

    73 votes
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  16. 543 votes
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    Requires support from TransLink. The City will continue to support this idea, through measures including secured rights-of-way (e.g. the centre median on 1st Avenue near the Olympic Village). The recent Olympic Line streetcar demonstration was very successful and helps make the business case for this project.

  17. 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 votes
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    This 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.

  18. 46 votes
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    Requires support from the provincial and federal governments. The draft Greenest City plan will advocate for new sources of funding for improved transit (e.g. congestion pricing, vehicle levies).

  19. Close downtown to traffic like London, expand Park & Ride to compensate

    If Downtown were a car-free zone on weekdays, like London, and if Park&Ride were more available including parking getting a free transit daypass more people would use it, and there'd be less cars driving around downtown.

    92 votes
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    Some interesting ideas here.

    First, a bit of clarification: London doesn’t prohibit cars from entering the city centre; rather it imposes a fee to discourage their use. This is commonly called congestion charging and it can serve multiple purposes: first, it reduces motor vehicle congestion so that the people who really need to drive (e.g. goods movement, taxis, and essential service vehicles) can get around without getting stuck in gridlock; second, it provides a potential revenue source which can be directed to support improvements to more sustainable modes (public transit, active transportation).

    Congestion pricing is an interesting idea for Vancouver — both as a means to reduce congestion and to generate revenue to improve transit service. It might make more sense to think about it at the regional (rather than city centre or municipal) level, though, given that it would affect travel patterns across the metropolitan area. It would also…

  20. 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
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