GC 2020
657 results found
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Solar powered pollution blimp
Take the idea of the "IONIC BREEZE" enlarge it and put it on a blimp. Use solar energy to power it. Fly it over the city to filter out harmful pollution and gasses in the air!
3 votes -
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 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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Earth Day Corporate Challenge
Why not challenge companies in Vancouver to plant boulevards, or round-a-bouts, or empty lots for Earth Day.
3 votesThis is an interesting idea for engaging businesses in the community
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Serve only nitrate free hotdogs/ cooked meats
All the food served in City should be free of chemicals & nitrates. Support organic/ natural -local if possible.
6 votesLocal and healthy local food options are under consideration in the draft Greenest City Action Plan. Parks board already has an Ethical Purchasing Policy in place that encourages the purchasing of Fair-Trade and organic products. http://vancouver.ca/parks/info/policy/pdf/policy_ethical_purchasing.pdf
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Close every other streets with back alley
We don't need all those streets. Close almost half the streets in Vancouver by redirecting local traffic to back alley. Transforms all other streets into parks, bike lanes., green spaces, social housings.
14 votes -
Plant trees to reduce your property tax.
Driving through Vancouver (especially eastern parts) you can notice many front yards that just consist of lawn. No bush, no tree just an empty front. The city should allow home / property owners to get deductions from their property tax (or any other incentive) by proving certain amount (and types) of trees per square-meter open undeveloped property. Vancouver could soon be literally much greener and enjoy all the benefits that come with the trees.
89 votes -
Create scramble intersections at major intersections
A scramble intersection allows pedestrians to cross in every direction at the same time. Vancouver used to have them in some downtown locations, but they were phased out. Toronto now has one at Yonge & Dundas.
Let's bring them back - Burrard & W Georgia? Main and Hastings? Cambie and W Broadway? Many possibilities.
18 votesGreat idea!
The City has been interested in scramble intersections for some time, and staff are currently exploring different locations where they might be suitable. High pedestrian volumes are an important criteria, although there are other considerations as well.
Those interested in learning more about pedestrian volumes downtown and throughout the city might want to check out the City’s 2001-2002 Pedestrian study (http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/transport/pedstudy/). -
Cool Points: Resident Carbon Cap-and-Trade Scheme
Pilot the first municipal carbon trading scheme for residents.
Create citywide, scaleable carbon market where residents (and businesses, tourists) are assigned a personal/household ghg cap based on current avg ghg consumption. These cool points would need to be spent initially on ghg main offenders like gas, home heat, electricity. Over the cap? You'll have to buy cool points from wee emitters on our local carbon market. Buy, sell and save your cool points with a cool points visa-like card/number. The annual cap would gradually be reduced, and the price of carbon would increase.
Perhaps politically and logistically unfeasible, at least…
1 vote -
Foster a friendly ‘greening of the cities’ competition with other major west coast cities.
Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco all aspire to be greener cities along with Vancouver. Finding ways for the west coast cities to compete, share and inspire each other will have a positive effect in driving each other to achieve greater results more quickly and in the spirit of mutually beneficial competition. Perhaps an annual competition with progress indicators, for example.
5 votesThe “Greenest City in the World by 2020” is fostering this competition with cities globally, including those on our coast. Expanding it to a global outlook pits us against less industrialized cities, as well as cities in rapidly developing countries, and makes the contest much more interesting and challenging.
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Waste to resource programs
Have the remaining 19 Vancouver Business Improvement Areas adopt the Strathcona Business Improvement Area’s recent waste-to-resource program throughout the city to find opportunities to convert waste from one business to a resource for another business.
6 votes -
Require all printers sold in the city to be uneasy to use so people are less likely to use them
If we mandated that all printers in the city must be non-user friendly, it would help prevent people from wasting paper!
2 votes -
Provide financial advantages to small businesses to become more sustainable
I've had the opportunity this week to interview several businesses in the Strathcona area who are already taking moderate to extreme action toward decreasing their own footprints. They buy and manufacture their products locally, they build green roofs, they go to Climate Smart to learn how to track and reduce their footprint, they participate in by-product synergy exchanges, they provide incentives to their employees to ride bikes to work, etc. These businesses are making these changes because it is the "right thing to do", and because they are preparing for what they anticipate the realities of business to be in…
8 votesThe draft Greenest City Action Plan includes recommendations for greening existing businesses include recommendations to support work of organizations currently working in this area (e.g. Climate Smart)
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car free communities
create car-free communities and/or buildings where tenents get a break on rent and/or local transportation costs.
11 votes -
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 votesThis 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.
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redesign the "islands" under the cambie bridge
The current granite rubble covering the piers of the cambie bridge is both ugly and sterile. This area could be easily redesigned into a viable habitat that would provide a sheltered/inaccessible piece of false creek to encourage both terrestrial and marine wildlife.
9 votes -
Heat pumps not electric baseboards in all new homes!
Electric baseboard heat is the single largest use of electricity for most condos. They are egregious wastes of electricity and provide inferior heating characteristics. Virtually all are installed with manual thermostats which wastes much more energy. If programmable heat pumps were required as the building code standard electricity consumption could be reduced dramatically, and heat pumps also have the ability of providing air conditioning during our global warming summer heat waves.
18 votesThis idea is included in the draft Greenest City Action Plan
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Day long transit lanes
[Submitted via mail by Penny Perry]
If transit were faster more people would use it and transit lanes allow the buses to make good time. Transit lanes must also make life easier for the bus drivers.
5 votesThis is a great idea that is outside City jurisdiction
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Incubator kitchens
Have certified kitchens available for rent for individuals that would like to create a food business- provide business and marketing support.
13 votesThis idea is in the draft Greenest City Action Plan
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Make Vancouver a Mecca for Green Technologies, Innovation and Jobs
Make Vancouver a global destination for companies to develop and demonstrate emerging clean energy technologies, green transportation systems, energy efficiency solutions, water technologies, green building technology etc. by encouraging, facilitating, procuring and enabling projects to happen in Vancouver rather than other cities.
Solving the world's energy problems, curing our addiction to fossil fuels, reducing waste and ensuring access to fresh drinking water are all contributing to the creation of a new green economy is now valued at more than $5.2 Trillion. This is one of the fastest growing markets in the world and cities around the world are scrambling to…
50 votesA strategy in the Draft Greenest City Action Plan is to give economic development priority to green sectors, and develop a green technology centre and network, along with other specific infrastructure and demonstration projects.
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City-sponsored "Sustainable Living" marketing campaign
Make it catchy, relevant, interactive, funny and shocking. Think of the new "Old Spice" marketing campaign impact. AWARENESS is key - people don't know unless you tell them. Focus on things like:
- civic engagement and participation
- community pride and unity
- alternative transportation
- connect our consumption habits to waste and wastewater output
- showcase local success stories
- encourage everyone to do their part
There's tons more we could cover, if you have ideas, share them in the comments!
5 votesThis idea is included in the Draft Greenest City Action Plan.
