GC 2020
657 results found
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Shooting rubbish at 50mph for a cleaner residential development
Read all about it here: http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-tech-shooting-rubbish-at-50mph-for-a-cleaner-residential/
I read that this is already happening is other cities in the US.
3 votes -
62 votes
The City has an existing pilot incentive program for solar hot water. Incentives and financial tools to support the proliferation of renewable energy is included in the draft Greenest City Action Plan. Details here: http://vancouver.ca/sustainability/SolarHomes.htm
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Turn existing "bike streets" into proper separated bike routes
The network of bike streets is a great start, but drivers aggressively squeeze cyclists close to parked cars, increasing the risk of accident. Create physically separated bike lanes on these routes - perhaps by getting rid of one or both sides of street parking. (Or forbidding driving altogether on those routes!)
138 votesThanks for sharing this idea!
The city’s new active transportation plan will soon be in development, and hopefully completed within the next year.
A big part of the work ahead is to identify the complete cycling network, and the type of facility that is most appropriate and/or feasible for different routes. In some cases (e.g. busy arterial routes), separated lanes might be the best approach; in other cases (e.g. lower car volume neighbourhood streets), enhanced traffic calming and/or further reducing car access might be more appropriate. Travis cited some great examples in the Netherlands where cars are ‘guests’ that are allowed in, but do not dominate.
In all cases, the goal should be to make routes that feel safe to all potential cyclists, including beginners, children, and seniors.
For more information, visit http://vancouver.ca/cycling .
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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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Develop a local food hub and expand the availability of local food at a neighbourhood level
A local food hub would support the distribution, processing and storage of local food, a current gap in the local food system. This hub would then be connected to avenues to access locally produced food distributed throughout the neighbourhoods, making more available food produced locally by farmers outside Vancouver as well as urban farmers.
506 votesThe draft Greenest City Action Plan includes a variety of actions to support the availability of local food at the local level.
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Get organics from all sectors out of the waste stream - ASAP.
Organic waste creates methane in landfills, a greenhouse gas that is over 20 times more potent than C02. Compostable organics need to be taken out of the waste stream using an organics hierarchy - first by preventing extra waste in the first place (up to 40% of our food gets tossed!), recovering food to feed hungry people then animals (think pallet of cans that happen to get dented on one side0, then composted to create a high quality end product that completes our nutrient cycle. As a society, we're as healthy as our top soil. A diversified strategy using back…
27 votes -
Eliminate move-in waste by using reusable moving supplies to move your home or office.
Using reusable moving supplies in place of wasteful cardboard boxes not only allows for easier and more organized packing, water resistant, crush proof crates are loaded onto the moving truck in a 1/3 of the time as cardboard boxes, lessening your hourly moving costs. The use of reusuable moving supplies is Eco-friendly regardless whether the supplies are made from raw or recycled materical. But to further 'green' your move, make sure to use moving supplies that are derived from recycled materical.
13 votes -
create incentives for every homeowner to install Photovoltaics, Wind Turbines, or Solar Hot Water
We have to have a GREEN REVOLUTION to really make a difference in our attempt to be "Sustainable". We have to remove our dependence on fossil fuels. Every home could generate enough power to run most of its appliances. We need a smart grid.
Read "Hot, Flat and Crowded" by Thomas Friedman.
"10 easy steps for a green future" - sorry, some sacrifice is required....
64 votesVancouver’s Solar Homes Pilot is offering $4300 towards the cost of solar hot water systems in Vancouver – this is roughly 50 per cent of the cost of a system. The funding is available to 30 homes on a first come, first served basis. In order to qualify for the rebate, your system must be installed by December 31, 2010.
Beginning January 1, 2011, we will be offering $3,000 towards the cost of a qualifying system. Systems must be installed by February 15, 2011.
Will consider extension of program to other areas/technologies.
Details here: http://vancouver.ca/sustainability/SolarHomes.htm
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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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Create an East West bike lane
Remove parking on Broadway and encourage commercial access for bikes
18 votesThanks for sharing this idea!
The 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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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 votesUsing 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.
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Walkable schools.....don't close existing schools
pretty much self explanatory.
21 votesThis 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
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136 votes
You may be interested in learning more about the following programs:
UBC Line Rapid Transit Study – http://vancouver.ca/ubcline and http://www.translink.ca/ubcline
Central Broadway Planning Program – http://vancouver.ca/broadway
Cambie Corridor Planning Program – http://vancouver.ca/cambiecorridor
____________________Outside City of Vancouver boundaries:
Surrey Rapid Transit Planning Program – http://www.translink.ca/en/Be-Part-of-the-Plan/Public-Consultation/Current-Consultations/Surrey-Rapid-Transit-Study.aspx
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Repeal mandatory bike helmet legislation
Vancouver will never convince anyone of being the 'greenest' city without a huge modal shift towards cycling (walking, and transit).
Such a shift will not happen until the average Vancouverite cycles on a daily basis. This will not happen without better infrastructure, progressive policy, AND repealing mandatory helmet legislation.
Yes, this is a provincial law. However, I am sure that Vancouver has the ability to make this change happen.
p.s., the safety and health benefits of more people cycling far outweigh the potential safety benefits of bicycle helmets.
408 votesProvincial jurisdiction.
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Prioritize cycling infrastructure and policy
Vancouver will not convince anyone of being the 'greenest' city without a huge modal shift towards cycling, walking, and public transit.
Cycling infrastructure is already improving (e.g., new Dunsmuir two-way bike lane), but policy needs to improve (e.g., a transportation hierarchy, with pedestrians followed by cyclists at the top).
Also, we will NEVER get the general population cycling daily without repealing mandatory helmet legislation. It just won't happen -- it's too inconvenient.
73 votes -
Retrofit apartments to have individual control over radiator heating
Many low-rise apartment buildings are heated by radiators connected to a central boiler. In lots of these buildings, individual apartments do not have a thermostat or radiator control. Often the building is overheated in winter, with windows open and the boiler working even harder. Lobbies and hallways are also sweltering.
A City program could install valves on each radiator to give occupants individual control and reduce energy wastage. There would be a hugely beneficial return on investment in terms of reduced energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the city.
10 votesHas been implemented in pilot program.
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543 votes
Requires support from TransLink. The City will continue to support this idea, through measures including secured rights-of-way (e.g. the centre median on 1st Avenue near the Olympic Village). The recent Olympic Line streetcar demonstration was very successful and helps make the business case for this project.
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Drinking water fountains + bottled water ban
Ban bottled water. Install public fountains instead! Make sure they're designed so you can fit a tall Sigg steel water bottle underneath to fill it.
Many restaurants and cafes are nice enough to provide water taps/pitchers and glasses - encourage the rest to do so.
426 votes -
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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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
