GC 2020
178 results found
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A Comprehensive Odour Management Plan
A comprehensive odour management plan is needed for the 'greenest city'
Our neighbourhoods smell of a rendering plant throughout the summer and very little action has occured over the decades. A truly green Vancouver would smell nice on warm days and we would then be able to open our windows and cool our houses with the breeze.
5 votesCity of Vancouver will support Metro Vancouver in its efforts to address this.
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Tax meat, milk and eggs & stop subsidizing
United nations, World Watch Institute and numerous high profile climate experts have all agreed that animal agriculture produces more greenhouse gas emissions than the entirety of the transport sector. Yet our government will not stop subsidizing meat, milk and eggs making them "affordable" beyond the capacity of our ecosystem. We need to start taxing these products and stop subsidizing them for the sake of our future.
54 votesEcological footprint impacts of different food choices form part of the data gathering; examining the City’s regulatory and policy tools to encourage lighter footprint living is included as an action.
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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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Covered bike racks like these from San Francisco (South Park) #bikearc http://ow.ly/i/2AC9
Covered bike racks to keep people's seats dry during the rainy season would increase accessibility and make it more attractive to ride through the winter. This design isn't perfect but it gives you an idea of what we could do.
15 votesThe City supports this idea, and is starting to look at opportunities to implement it.
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Stormwater/Rainwater capture
Kitchener/Waterloo has just introduced a innovative system to reduce the volume and increase the quality of stormwater runoff.
In 2011 they will reduce the property tax and then charge every land owner a "Stormwater Levy" based on the quality and quantity of stormwater coming off of their property. In 2011 this will be a revenue neutral program.
However, there will be a CREDIT program to reduce your stormwater levy by reducing the volume or increasing the quality of the stormwater leaving your site. This creates an economic incentive for the landowner to implement some of the water recycling programs that…9 votesIncluded in the Draft Greenest City Action Plan.
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Ensure City of Vancouver buildings/events only serve vegan food.
The production of plant-based foodstuff is far better for the environment than animal products, which are one of the leading causes of climate change. The City should lead by example, and ban animal products at any event they cater - ie meetings, catered food for staff, event food.
31 votesLow footprint food choices are not the same as vegan food choices in all cases, the analysis is more complex than this. Generally a low footprint diet is local, seasonal food, and limits consumption of red meat, dairy, and some grains. We will look for opportunities to offer low footprint choices in City facilities.
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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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Encourage vegan options for all!
A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the ***** impacts of climate change, says the report from United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) international panel of sustainable resource management.
1,073 votesLow footprint food choices are not the same as vegan food choices in all cases, the analysis is more complex than this. Generally a low footprint diet is local, seasonal food, and limits consumption of red meat, dairy, and some grains. Low footprint food choices are included in the draft Greenest City Action Plan and will be discussed through community engagement activities.
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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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Create a separated bike lane along Kingsway
It is an incredibly direct route leading from Broadway corridor to Burnaby, but currently has far too many lanes of car traffic to feel good cycling along it.
37 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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Create a public bike sharing program (e.g. Montreal's Bixi, Paris' Velib)
Montreal has installed the Bixi bike system, similar to many European systems, of having publicly available bikes for a small cost downtown on major street corners. The bikes are incredibly robust, widely available, and highly convenient with bike stands every 2-3 blocks.
It encourages locals to bike (rather than take the bus or metro) and is great for short trips around town. It is very convenient as there is always a drop off location nearby, and there is no worry of getting your bike stolen. It is also a huge tourist attraction, making transport easier, cheaper and greener!
155 votesAn exciting idea that will be given serious consideration.
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Work with shipping & cruise line industry to reduce idling and diesel emmissions whilst in Port
Vancouver is the second busiest port in North America and sees a lot of shipping traffic. The City needs to work with the shipping & cruise industries to cut emissions whilst tankers/freightlines/cruise ships are docked in Port. Can we mandate a power hook-up to shore?
3 votesPort Metro Vancouver is under Federal jurisdiction. The City of Vancouver works with Metro Vancouver, Environment Canada, Port Metro Vancouver to advocate for shore-power. This idea is included in the Draft Action Plan.
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14 votes
The City supports the idea of road / congestion pricing, and bridge tolls are one possible implementation. A regional (as opposed to a city) approach might work best, given travel behaviour, patterns of movement, and jurisdictional issues. This lies outside City jurisdiction, so our role is limited to advocacy; changes to Provincial legislation are required.
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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.
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Increase residential density to achieve efficient land use and high walking/cycling/transit mobility
Our high dependence on gasoline for transportation is largely due to our lifestyle of single-family dwellings. When density is increased, we would be reducing long-distance commutes and automatically encouraging people to walk and bike. Public transportation would also see more riders and be used more effectively. Higher residential density also means more efficient land use. The greenest city would need to protect its forests and restrict the area of urban development. This density is best accomplished by zoning schemes that discourage single-family dwellings and encourage mixed-use high-density developments. Ideally, there would be one day when some of our low density…
32 votesAs the City reviews land use policy and development bylaws through Community, Central Area, and City-Wide planning programs, opportunities for increased residential density (particularly in walkable neighbourhoods with good transit connections) are actively pursued (in balance with concerns for neighbourhood character and community involvement in city building decisions at the neighbourhood level).
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Create more affordable family housing within easy walking/biking/transit radius of downtown.
We need more family housing (i.e. 3-bedroom units that real people with under-$100K incomes can afford) within easy walking/biking/transit radius of downtown. Studies have shown that 20 minutes is the maximum work commute that people can withstand before they start to accrue major daily stress. And coincidentally, letting people live ... See Moreclose to their jobs leads to massive reduction in auto emissions.
How to create affordable housing?
- Force developers to offer a mandatory number of units beyond the tiny 1-bedroom and 1+den units that currently dominate the market.
- Take over apartment buildings and convert them to co-ops.
- Create a…
404 votesA critical challenge for Vancouver. Laneway housing, STIR, the 20% Inclusionary Zoning Policy, and other programs and policies are intended to help increase housing affordability— see http://vancouver.ca/housing. The draft Greenest City plan recognizes the importance of affordability and will review additional strategies, e.g. unbundled parking.
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Pedestrianised Streets
Make the following streets pedestrianised:
Granville St--in the zone dedicated for transit use. Transit can remain on its current routing along Seymour and Howe. (Issue a refund to Translink for their contribution to the redesign)
South of Smithe, re-allocate two lanes for cycling (four motor vehicle lanes is overtly excessive).
South of Nelson, remove the car parking on the sidewalk! That has to be the ***** design imaginable. That space should be for pedestrians, not for perching motor vehicles. This is effectively creating a 6-lane arterial on Granville.Gastown, and;
Robson--from Granville St., west to Jervis St.
47 votesThe Rediscover Granville program was a big success in 2009, and the City will be looking to continue and build upon this work in future years. More broadly, the draft Greenest City plan will include directions to explore pedestrian-only and pedestrian-priority streets in the downtown core. Potential locations will be identified at a later date (e.g. as part of the transportation plan update).
http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/currentplanning/granvilleredesign/rediscover/
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Congestion Pricing Downtown
Price motor vehicles entering the metropolitan core. Congestion pricing will reduce the number of motor vehicle converging on the Downtown every morning, and will make lane re-allocations and pedestrianised streets an easier process due to reduced demand for road space.
54 votesThe City supports the idea of road / congestion pricing, and bridge tolls are one possible implementation. A regional (as opposed to a downtown or city) approach might work best, given travel behaviour, patterns of movement, and jurisdictional issues. This lies outside City jurisdiction, so our role is limited to advocacy; changes to Provincial legislation are required.
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Municipal Control of Blanket Speed Limits
Limit motor vehicle speeds in the metro core to 40 km/h.
Place a 30 km/h speed limit on all local residential and collector streets.
Speed reduction is essential to ensure the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.19 votesThis is a policy direction that was adopted in the 1997 Transportation Plan. Staff have since been in discussion with provincial officials about legislative changes to support municipal control over blanket speed limits. Unfortunately those changes have not yet been adopted by the province.
