GC 2020
657 results found
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Mobile bike mechanics on the bike routes: create licensing and locations
Use the model Beijing has for bike repair people. There are bike repair carts along the major bike routes in Beijing. These carts can do most minor repairs on the spot and help you get to work. If you break down along the way, you can give them a call on your cellphone and they'll bike over and fix you up. It would be nice to have designated locations along major bike routes and business licenses for this type of entrepreneur.
12 votes -
Tax large businesses, corporations and industries that pollute the environment
They are the heaviest polluters of our environment, their contribution to green/eco development should be direct and based on their level of polluting. The more they pollute, the more they pay.
3 votes -
Increase indoor temperature range, to connect people to outside and reduce energy. Sweaters! Shorts!
Change commercial (including offices) buildings operating temperature range, to decrease air conditioning in the summer, and decrease heating energy in the winter. My estimates show that a changing the range from 2°C to 8°C could decrease overall building energy by 10%.
4 votesWhile the City cannot mandate the temperature that people set their thermostats to, this issue is addressed through occupant engagement as well as education and capacity building for building operators.
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Energy efficiency training
Grassroots training in home energy efficiency assessments so community members can learn and support each other in improving home energy efficiency. A few workshops around the city, and you could train a number of neighbourhood efficiency "experts" to do assessments and workshops in their area.
3 votesEducation and training around energy efficiency are an integral part of the draft Greenest City Action Plan. Occupants determine to a large degree the level of energy performance in a building.
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Ensure Park Board had adequate funding for programs and maintenance of facilities.
Building more parks is great, but they are far more valuable if there are community oriented programs available and the park infrastructure is maintained and attractive.
10 votes -
Develop sustainable education tax incentives
Provide a venue where Vancouver residents could go online and watch educational videos about sustainable and green ideas. In order to promote and encourage residents to watch the videos provide a tax incentive on say property tax. This will make more people watch these videos with the hope that a light will turn on in their heads as to making lifestyle changes that make sense as demonstrated by the videos.
4 votesThe City only has property taxation authority which isn’t an easy link to encouraging this kind of behaviour, although some form of incentive can be explored in the review of City policies and regulations.
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14 votes
The City does not have jursidiction in this area, though the best way to send price signals to discourage the use of air conditioners may be through sales tax administered by the provincial government.
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Covered bicycle parking
Cycling in the rain's not so bad, but getting on a wet bicycle is not so great. We need to get more bicycle parking in sheltered areas where the bike is dry when you need it.
8 votes -
Integrate Green with 125th Celebrations
2011 marks the 125th birthday of Vancouver. The City is planning to spend $ on the celebrations. How can we celebrate in a way which moves us forward on creating a significantly more sustainable city.... so that we might have something to celebrate in another 125 years?!
3 votesThis idea is under discussion.
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Express Bus Lane to Seattle
Express Bus (way cheaper and easier to do than high-speed rail) to Seattle. Set aside a dedicated lane for bus service between the two hubs and watch transit (and business connections) take off. Bonus idea: Specific buses that require all passengers to be nexus approved, meaning swifter border crossings.
Already in place on the East Coast: http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/travel/25Prac.html?adxnnl=1&hpw=&adxnnlx=1279735270-6prOYEpRjwtJ5CN5jXa6mA
1 voteOutside jurisdiction. Inter-regional transit is a great idea.
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3 votes
VEDC attracts conferences as part of business attraction program
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Eliminate residential curbside recycling collection of packaging materials
BC is a world wide leader in extended producer responsibility (EPR) policy. Also known as "product stewardship", current legislation covers items such as tires, paint, beverage containers, and electronics. High recycling rates of these materials are achieved through consumer "take back" programs, where recyclable items are returned to retail stores or taken to depots. EPR policy is centred on the notion of placing waste management/recycling responsibility of products that become waste squarely on the shoulders of the industries that produce these items in the first place. The benefit of EPR is that it shifts the costs of managing these items…
11 votes -
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 -
3 votes
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No more floor-to-ceiling windows
Change the building code to reduce floor-to-ceiling windows. This type of condo design requires an unecessarily large amount of energy for heating and cooling. These windows usually have a couch or TV unit or shelf shoved up against them and blocking the view anyway! Even putting a solid wall on the bottom 25% of each storey would reduce energy use. (And hopefully liven up the architecture compared to the currently ubiquitous - and boring - walls of glass condos.)
10 votesGlazing ratios are addressed in our passive design toolkits and may be revised in design guidelines. This idea is included in the Draft Greenest City Action Plan.
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Biodiversity and Permeability Standards through the Zoning By-law
Create a biodiversity and permeability performance standards for new development through the Zoning By-Law. A variation on this could be create market incentives for more biodiversity.
8 votesPermeability is already included in the Zoning Bylaw. Biodiversity is not covered by the Zoning Bylaw.
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Put the Blue into Green: Encourage Abundant Groundwater flow:
to have a credible green policy, Vancouver must include water in the planning. Sound water policy would include Encouragement of Abundant Groundwater flow: We must use less concrete and asphalt in our infrastructure in favour of ground water permeable aggregates. The city should prohibit asphalt use for parking lots and drive ways. There are many excellent alternative materials that are water permeable. All traffic calming barriers (i.e. traffic bulges and traffic circles) should have open, soil and indigenous plant filled centers. At the moment, the type and abundance of boulevard plantings is limited because our boulevards are essentially deserts. Surrounded…
5 votes -
Tree Removal Permit Fee Tied to Age of Tree
The fee that the City charges for a permit to cut down a tree should be tied to the age of the tree. More mature trees should have a larger penalty for removal. i.e. $5/year in tree's age. The current removal fee ($59) is too small to be a deterrent. (Idea submitted by public via twitter)
24 votes -
Recycling of all sorts of metals.
I don't think there's any metal that can't be melted and reused. It makes sense that we recycle all types of metals.
1 vote -
Create signs to alert tourists that water, pop, juice and alcohol bottles are refundable, not trash.
Tourists, visitors and new Vancouver residents don't always know that in the City of Vancouver, these bottles are worth money, and are not garbage. A sign at each garbage can might prevent this and encourage them to put the bottles in the trash can pocket provided.
9 votes
