Skip to content

How can we reach our 2020
Greenest City Targets?

GC 2020

  • Hot ideas
  • Top ideas
  • New ideas
  • My feedback

15 results found

  1. No Car City: Measure and reduce car passenger miles: If we drive less, a green city can emerge.

    What kind a lever can we pull that automatically creates a cascade of green behaviours?
    It would seem that very few us would choose to trade our lives for a daily commute, but we do because we don't have much of a choice.
    If we aimed to reduce per capita passenger car miles traveled in our cities, we'd be able to begin to free up some of the 30% of city surface area used for cars; it would mean we'd be doing everything closer to where we live, including work. We'd burn less oil, and we'd walk and ride more.…

    45 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)

    One of the 2020 targets for Green Transportation is to reduce distance driven per resident 20% from 2007 levels. One of the major challenges is data — better data sources are needed to monitor progress and set more detailed targets. Odometer readings would be one way to get better VKT numbers, and would be possible with support from the Province and ICBC. Improved regional travel surveys are another possible approach.

  2. Encourage people to work closer to home through tax benefits or other measures

    More people out of cars (or shorter trips), being more connected to your community, and less time on the road = less money spent and more time doing what you enjoy and a greener and happier population. Tax benefits to those who are able to work closer to home and free support to help people find comparable jobs closer to their community. With some organizations (government civil servants, teachers, etc.) this may be possible through matching / trading positions.

    9 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  3. Reduce single day ICBC rates to encourage mixed use transportation

    As an incentive to get people out of their vehicles and onto public transit more frequently, we are proposing a reduction in the fees for daily insurance, and a more user friendly alternative of purchasing daily insurance online.

    Current daily insurance rates cost $25 and require a visit to a local Autoplan broker.

    Average annual coverage in 2005 was $1079 or or $2.96 a day. 

    As a comparison, a person paying for 2 days a week, or every weekend would pay $2600 a year. 

    For most drivers this cost difference and the need to travel to a broker forces them…

    8 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)

    Outside City jurisdiction, so City’s role is limited to advocacy. The City supports auto insurance schemes that better reflect the marginal cost of driving (i.e. the cost of the next trip), to send better pricing signals to help citizens make more informed travel mode choices.

  4. Utilize responsive upzoning

    De-regulate neighbourhood zoning to allow an intelligent mix of services, work and residential opportunities. Permit networking and sharing of services to balance heat with cooling, production with consumption and waste with resource.

    16 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)

    Zoning and other bylaws, codes, and guidelines that determine the scale and form of new development, are often re-examined through community, central area, and city-wide planning initiatives (e.g. Cambie Corridor, Neighbourhood Centres) and typically with the intent to ‘upzone’ and be more responsive to changing community needs and preferences.

  5. Support Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD) auto insurance premiums to reward those who drive little

    Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD, also called distance-based and per-mile) pricing means that vehicle insurance premiums and registration fees are based directly on the amount it is driven. PAYD pricing is not a new fee, just a different way to pay existing fees. It can be a
    consumer option, so motorists choose the price structure that best meets their needs, similar to telephone and internet rate options. It can provide many benefits including reduction of per capita fuel consumption and pollution emissions.

    199 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  6. childcare

    Re-fund the before and after school child care center which serviced the Champlain Heights Main School.

    This center served 50 children (and had a waitlist of 50). It cost the city approximately $60,000 per year to run (most of the costs were paid by the parents).

    A safe, affordable, accessible before and after center will allow children to attend school in their own neighbourhood. It will give parents time to bus, car pool or take transit to their workplace instead of driving out of area to drop their children off to childcare or have their children attend school out of…

    3 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  7. Build complete, walkable neighbourhoods interconnected by great transit and cycling routes.

    Transportation and land use go hand in hand. Good land use can reduce the distance people travel and support more sustainable choices like walking and cycling by bringing people closer to their daily destinations.

    The city should provide an appropriate mix of land uses and a high quality pedestrian-oriented public realm. Most services and amenities--such as grocery stores, schools, daycare, parks, community centres, and transit--should be within a safe, enjoyable 5 or 10 minute walk from where people live. Longer trips should be easily served by high quality transit and cycling options.

    Links: http://www.vtpi.org/landtravel.pdf, http://vancouver.ca/planning/

    599 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)

    This is an evolutionary process. The City of Vancouver is already considered a North American leader in this regard. Current and future plans and projects (e.g. Cambie Corridor Planning Program) will continue to embrace this ideal.

  8. Support graduated auto insurance

    [Submitted via email by Ann Foster]

    Support graduated auto insurance, with the fees based on mileage. For example: paydpilot.ca.

    15 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)

    The City is supportive of this idea, but implementation requires action outside municipal jurisdiction. The City has and will continue to advocate to the Province and ICBC for PAYD and/or other distance-based forms of auto insurance.

  9. pick up garbage every 2 weeks instead of weekly

    the bins are always picked up 1/2 filled.

    4 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  10. 14 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)

    The City supports the idea of road / congestion pricing, and bridge tolls are one possible implementation. A regional (as opposed to a 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.

  11. Use school buildings as evening community learning centres

    A tremendous amount of infrastructure goes unused for a large amount of time. School libraries, cafeterias, gymnasiums and classrooms could be rented after school for evening programs like adult education, sports groups, community gatherings, potlucks, etc.

    16 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)

    Using public school buildings as a shared community resource after hours seems like a sensible way to get better use from existing resources. However, it should be noted that his item will require further consultation and partnership with the Vancouver School Board.

  12. 21 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)

    This action is outside municipal jurisdiction, since schools are organized and governed under the Provincial Ministry of Education, with local school boards and associations. The action has merit from a Green Transportation perspective, but must be weighed against other issues faced by school boards around enrollment, understanding current and future neighbourhood demand, etc. Using schools for additional community programs after hours may be a way to get better value from existing resources. This item also relates to neighbourhood planning initiatives to provide more housing choice for families that will help support existing schools that are currently experiencing declining enrollments. Response

  13. rezone as much as possible single residential to mix use multi residential

    Take single residential property and rezone them for the purpose of mix use residential/commercial/office space such as the rise.

    11 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  14. 10 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  15. Make it more difficult to get around the city in a car (ex. tolls, road blocks, etc.)

    Sometimes people need to be pushed in the right direction, and by making cars less convenient people will be forced to find other transportation methods! If cars became increasingly annoying to use, because of cycling road blocks, tolls for driving downtown, less road space, etc. then who would want to use cars? People will have to look elsewhere for easy, fast transportation.

    8 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)

Feedback and Knowledge Base