GC 2020
657 results found
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mindfullness in schools
Whereas Climate change requires individual behaviour change and
Wherease individual behaviour change is significantly enhanced by cultivating the ability for critical thought and the abilility to step back and question and
Wherease these abilities are proven to be enhanced by practicing mindfulness (aka meditation, centering prayer, and many other labels), and
Whereas some success has already been achieved by introducing mindfulness programs in Vancouver schools,
Collaborate with the vancouver school board to introduce mindfuflness training in all grade levels across the city. This may include providing a financial incentive for the VSB to fully roll out the program.15 votesInteresting idea, have shared this with the Vancouver School Board.
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Provide a 5 year property break for buildings that go off grid.
The concept is that if a building goes off grid, they will be given a property tax holiday for 5 years to fund it. They must use BC based technology whenever possible. This will green our existing buildings, create jobs and reduce out carbon footprint. An investment in our future that reflect all three legs of sustainability.
8 votesThe plan addresses incentives for low- or no- emission buildings. Off-grid is not emphasized as one way of achieving our energy reduction and carbon neutral goals is through sharing excess renewable energy between buildings – which requires grid connection.
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Micro-Hydro Power
Implement water collection systems on all new buildings and retrofit old buildings to generate power from rain water. "Inline stream engines" can also be connected to the city reservoir. Can support all grey water uses and generate compressed air and electricity to work towards creating closed-loop energy systems throughout the city.
10 votesGood ideas! The City is currently doing a feasibility assessment of connecting a micro-turbine to the City’s water system. If the feasibility is positive, it will be considered in the City’s capital budget for implementation.
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Implement tiered energy billing system
Consumers pay attention to cost. Implementing a tiered energy billing system where individuals with high energy usage are billed more compared to individuals with low energy usage will act as an incentive to save money and energy. Very low energy usage should be rewarded by a lower rate, and a higher rate should be applied to high energy usage. The tiered energy billing systems should be adjusted on a regular basis to reflect changes due to consumers purchasing energy-saving appliances over time.
5 votesBC Hydro has taken this approach with their rate setting schedules.
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Encourage Community Groups
Facilitate meetings at all community centres in the city that give neighbours an opportunity to meet and discuss topics relevant to their communities. This will support community involvement and decision making.
8 votesThis kind of work is already underway all over the City, much of which is led by community organisations. Find one in your neighbourhood, or one that works on issues that you care about, and join in. This action plan includes building supports (e.g. tools, resources) to support community groups in talking about, and working toward, the greenest city.
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Car Free granville island
Hardly a new Idea, this would enhance the experience of the island. It is treacherous walking around there on a weekend....that is if the cars are moving at all, as often they are just sitting in a giant line idleing.
There may need to be a nearby structure with limited parking, but increased shuttle and transit service (olympic line) would go a long way to make it feasible.
Think about all that extra real estate available without parking lots and wide roads down there! Even the Growth mongers must smile at that prospect
133 votesImplementation of the City’s streetcar plan (http://vancouver.ca/streetcar) might help to enable this, by providing dramatically improved transit service to Granville Island.
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Laneway Mini-Lots
Laneway houses are a great trend, but being able to subdivide lots from typical 122 x 33 to, for example, 90 x 33 and 32 x 33 would create much more affordable housing stock to purchase by enabling actual sale of laneway houses, and spur more compact, dense residential dev't.
25 votes -
New types of crosswalk signal
Here's two new crosswalk signal ideas. The first is to make the city more accessible to seniors, strollers and people in wheelchairs. Have a walk signal like a dual-flush toilet--press the big button for more walk time and the small button for fast walkers.
The second idea is for cycle crossings. Since bicycles are human-powered it really sucks to stop at red lights while you press the button and wait for the light to change. So, the crossing button could be halfway up the block so cyclists can slap it on their way by--the light will be changing as they…
6 votes -
Collect fares before bus arrives
Between 3-5 minutes are wasted at each bus stop as the driver collects fares from passengers. Other cities, including Curitiba, Brazil, have implemented a system so that fares are collected before the bus arrives at the stop. The goal is get travel times by transit to be equal or faster than by car. Reducing load time at each stop will reduce travel time by bus.
9 votes -
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 votesOutside 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.
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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 votesZoning 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.
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Reduce electrical permits for solar (saving...) Right now the cost of an electrical permit for a
Right now the cost of an electrical permit for a solar photovoltaic system is three times the cost of one for a diesel generator of the same capacity. By reducing this cost it would encourage green energy while not significantly affecting city revenues.
12 votesIn order to meet the target of carbon neutral buildings by 2020 the draft Greenest City Action Plan will address ways and means of making alternative energy systems more affordable.
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Green City information Store
My idea is simple, set up a store close to city hall were we can go and ask questions to a real person.
Questions like,
Where can I recycle old paint cans or my old tv ?
How do I get a compost bin ?
Can I put a garden in my front yard ?Somewhere simple were we can talk face to face with someone who knows how to answer our questions about being greener.
4 votes -
rickshaw stands at all outlying skytrain stations organized through a central dispatch service
One of the largest obstacles to greater transit use for families, the elderly and people with baggage is the few blocks between home and a station. A rickshaw service located at each outlying station would facilitate access for these users. The short trips and high volume would result in reasonable rates. Existing communication technology would create an efficient and accessible dispatch system.
13 votes -
compost street bins
To reduce smell and garbage, and can be picked up daily by volunteers or city works to be put in round about gardens or used in local parks
5 votes -
Make It Mandatory That Asphalt Roofing Shingles Be Banned from Landfills (and recycled instead)
In the Vancouver region alone approximately 80,000 tonnes of tear-off roofing shingles are disposed of in our landfills each year! 80,000 tonnes means 160,000 barrels of oil used and 4.8 million tonnes of CO2 produced! This is unnecessary waste, and there is one company making a difference in this area that grinds up the shingles to be sold as binder in asphalt paving mixes and as fuel for kilns. To keep this huge amount of waste that could be re-used out of our landfills, the city of Vancouver should partner with this company by either purchasing grinders so the landfills…
19 votes -
Bike & Pedestrian Bridge across False Creek
A bike and walking link that spans that spans over False Creek from Charleson Park on the south side of the creek to David Lam Park on the downtown side.
This site is one of 4 that the city recently identified as a potential location for a bike bridge crossing.
Take a look at the designs that Emily Carr students came up with:
http://blogs.eciad.ca/elverum/2010/03/05/design-for-bikes-bridging-false-creek/10 votesThe pending active transportation plan provides an opportunity to consider ideas such as this.
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farmBay
It is difficult for local farmers to actively and regularly connect with consumers (i.e., eaters) around specific food items.
Let's say a local farmer has a few dozen extra eggs or a few pounds of extra tomatoes. What does the farmer do? He usual composts the extra.
Across town a restaurant or person at home would like to get some fresh eggs or tomatoes for tonight. But, the farmers market isn't for several days.
How do they connect up? farmBay - eBay for farmers and eaters. Farmers post food for sale and eaters buy it in an eBay like format.
11 votesThis idea has been started through a community-led initiative. Please visit: http://www.sharedharvest.ca/metrovancouver
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Adopt a fruit/nut tree program
Stop wasting growing space! Municipalities should encourage the planting of food producing trees on city property. The maintenance of these trees and harvesting of food could be managed through an Adopt-a-Tree program that individuals or community groups such as the Scouts or Food Sharing initiatives could participate in.
25 votes -
Ban disposable cups, plates and cutlery in all restaurants/cafes
Let's face it: coffee tastes better from a real cup; food is easier to eat from a real plate! Single use containers/cutlery create massive amounts of waste. How to stop this senseless waste of materials and energy? Phase in a progressive ban on them: start with requiring restaurants to offer reusuable plates/cups/cutlery, and eventually require them for all in-house service.
190 votes
