GC 2020
657 results found
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Don't re-invent the wheel
Get advice and ideas from cities that are already the greenest (European cities) and from local experts (Suzuki Foundation).
21 votes -
fine drivers of noisy motorcycles
there are existing noise pollution laws - why do police not enforce them?
14 votes -
City Of Vancouver internal operation need to be leaders
I can't believe how far behind city operation are with regards to recycling it's embarassing. We need easy accessible recycling facilities on each floor and or lunch room. Examples of companies that do this well Microsoft, Whole Foods even Metro Vancouver Head Office.
1 vote -
More glass recycling
There used to be a lot of glass bottle recycling back 20-30 years ago. It seemse less so now. I think it should be increased again since there's still a lot of glass usage. And not just bottles but jars and containers. I think al glass can be broken up, melted and reused again.
1 vote -
Daylighting
I've frequently suggested that fibre optics would be useful to daylight culverts in instances where it's impractical to open them up immediately. People are using this method to bring natural light into their living rooms, why not into culverts. Is there something that prevents this method, I've been suggesting it for years. For instance, there are thousands of yards of creekbed that are inaccessible to salmon in Pacific Spirit Park because of the length of the culverts crossing Marine Dr. and yet this method has never been employed.
5 votes -
Include a class/wealth analysis in ecological footprints
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, BC office, released an interesting report that breaks down GHG emissions according to wealth. Surprise! The wealthier emit more GHGs. This gets at a critical justice issue about who is most affected by ecological changes, and who is responsible for causing those changes. This is a local issue as well as a global issue.
Check out the report here:
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/reports/docs/CCPA_BC_ghg_emissions_distribution.pdf4 votesMay be included in research and data gathering to help develop targeted engagement strategies and ecological footprint reduction actions.
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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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Encourage renovation of existing housing stock rather than demo and rebuild.
require new construction to be NET zero and help reduce single family house demolition. The greenest building is one that is already standing.
22 votesFinancing tools (currently under development) may encourage building owners to improve the performance of their buildings rather than rebuild.
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Biodegradable Shopping bags.
As a grocery clerk, I can see this idea being very effective among the people, and the environment.
Plastic bags are commonly used by retailers because they are cheap, strong, functional, lightweight, and a hygenic means of carrying food and other items. However, we use a staggering amount of plastic bags, despite their harmful effects. Plastic bags litter the landscape, kill animals, are non-biodegradable, and created using petroleum.
I propose a change to this system, using biodegradable plastic shopping bags. Also, if a customer may wish to use a biodegradable bag, it will cost them a mandatory fee. Therefore, a…
13 votes -
Relax building heights of single family homes to 3-storeys when a secondary suite is provided
Predominantly single family neighbourhoods in most older Canadian cities are chock a block with beautiful, well-proportioned 3-storey homes. Toronto & Montreal have many noteworthy examples. Many of these homes contain 2-4 separate suites but maintain the look and feel of a single detached home. An effective method for increasing density in a sensitive way, much like laneway housing, would be to relax building heights to allow for 3-storey homes. To ensure density is actually increased, require secondary suites on their own floor. 3 Storey duplexes could also be developed that include 2 main dwelling units and 2 secondary suites for…
4 votes -
Create Green lane ways.
Create like chicago Green Lane ways which a)reduces rain water run off b) helps cools the city c)creates a nicer lane way compared to just ash fault d) they last a lot longer then ash fault ones and look a lot nicer!
13 votesWe have looked at the ""green lanes" pilots and reported to Council in 2008 (summary — they’re 3-4 times more expensive than our now-standard strip pavement, there is a definite "price point’ of how much residents would be willing to pay for the treatment, and they will likely have higher maintenance costs and a shorter service life). We’re currently finalizing our test site for the lower-cost lane treatment option — a permeable lane pavement design.
Here is the full Council report, including the resident survey.
http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20081030/documents/pe4.pdf
Definitely an option for Council to increase the funding (reduce the property owner’s share) for these projects to promote more green lanes. More broadly speaking, the Greenest City team is supportive of the idea to make make laneways and alleys more pedestrian friendly environments, while maintaining essential functions (e.g. access for loading, parking and waste collection).
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Support Social Enteprises in Creating Green Jobs
Vancouver has a great cluster of social enteprises. They are helping to recycle, grow and prepare food, weatherize homes, and do many other important things. We need more of these social enteprises.
6 votes -
Vancouver as a Cleantech Center
Vancouver has a dynamic and growing clean tech cluster. These companies are home grown and are addressing global challenges. Vancouver could become the world's leading clean tech center, but we need incentives, a clean tech center, and programs to help Vancouver based companies stay in Vancouver as they grow.
7 votes -
Implement Vancouver Zoom Your Roof Project
Since building heating is one of the biggest uses of natural gas in BC it should be a priority to reduce this footprint. In Belgium communities are implementing a project where residents can easily see how effective their insulation is. This lets people actually see for themselves whether investing in insulation would be worth it for them.
More info on Belgian project:
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/011446.html
http://infosthetics.com/archives/2010/07/zoom_into_your_roof.html1 voteBuilding labeling and energy audits will help building owners and occupants understand how their buildings are performing and where they are losing heat. While we may not implement the “zoom in” program per se, these other tools included in the draft Greenest City Action Plan address same issue.
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Ban garburetors - they waste water and put waste in water
Change the building code to ban garburetors. Organic material shouldn't use drinking water to be conveyed to the sewage plant for treatment, it should go in a composter
26 votesThis is part of the proposed Liquid Waste Management Plan.
http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/wastewater/planning/Pages/default.aspx -
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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Encourage clothes lines through subsidized "kits" and installation assistance
Dryers are huge energy sucks, and outdoor clothes lines can do a fine job drying laundry (at least for the 50 days a year it doesn't rain!). Perhaps a summer student could be hired to come install clothes lines at residences around the city.
11 votesSeveral years ago the City devleoped water saver kits to help people conserve water. Look for clothes line kits to be ready for distribution in 2011.
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Work with the Commercial Fishing Industry to recycle unwanted Nylon Netting and Leaded lines
[Submitted via email by Terry Slack]
Vancouver and Richmond has a historic and still active commercial Fishing Industry . Presently tons of commercial fishing gear waste is sent to landfills every year and there are still no overall plans inplace to recycle leaded lines and nylon webbing from discarded nets and other gear . The Lead Core lines have no waste metal value and can not presently be recycled ! The old waste nylon webbing again cannot presently be recycled and is also sent to Landfill ! The Lead from the landfilled fishing waste will pollute the environment for hundreds…
9 votes -
2 stroke scooters
The 2 stroke engine requires both gas and oil to burn, the emissions of a 2 stroke lawnmower are worse than even large trucks, a 2 stroke scooter is even worse than a lawnmower as the engine is bigger. It's great that a 2 stroke scooter is not so bad on fuel consumption and is smaller in need of materials to build. But 4 strokes and electrics are readily available. I think that we'd all breathe easier if 2 stroke scooters weren't allowed to belch out noise and pollution in Vancouver.
1 vote -
Cap building energy consumption for different building types on a per occupant basis NOT area
There is no use in capping annual energy consumption on a per area basis if we continue building larger buildings. If we want to effectively limit total energy use, let's do it on a per occupant basis (i.e. kWh per building occupant).
6 votesWill move toward outcomes based codes which will take area and occupancy into account. This idea is included in the Draft Greenest City Action Plan.
