Origins and Development

With hot summers and cold winters requiring considerable energy for cooling and heating, water and wastewater pumping power needs aggravated by steep topography, and heavy reliance on the personal automobile resulting from dispersed development patterns, Kamloops has always had much to gain from proactive energy planning.

Throughout most of the 1990s, the City enjoyed significant economic and population growth, and liveability issues became a concern. As the time came to develop a new Official Community Plan (OCP), these factors were projected to continue well into the future.

In 1996, the City of Kamloops won a bid for considerable funding from the Community Energy Association to develop a community energy plan (CEP). The City's bid was successful for several reasons including:

• the City's energy consumption patterns pointed to a substantial potential for energy savings;
• the City's recent record for implementing innovative environmental programs;
• the City's OCP was due to be renewed and could be co-developed and integrated with the CEP.

The CEP development process included:

• developing energy-related objectives for the City that would help to meet the community objectives of the existing and developing OCPs;
• identifying strategies for achieving these energy objectives and supporting broader community goals;
• establishing the City's approximate baseline energy use;
• using a computer model, evaluating the energy implications of alternative development scenarios for the OCP process; and
• developing an action plan to meet the energy objectives, and establishing monitoring and management protocols to evaluate the actions and to ensure the continued relevance of the plan.

The OCP, "Kamplan 1997", was developed alongside the CEP and published shortly after. The energy policies identified by the CEP are reproduced as a separate chapter in the OCP. In addition, the OCP includes the following key planning goals, all of which are consistent with sound energy management:

• encouraging infill and intensification;
• discouraging urban sprawl;
• guiding new development to cost-effective and pre-serviced growth areas;
• bringing shopping, work and home closer together;
• encouraging a mix of housing types and density in old and new neighbourhoods; and
• encouraging alternate transportation systems, including walkways, transit, bike paths and ride sharing

(Source: City of Kamloops)

From the start of the CEP project, a community energy planning stakeholder group helped to guide its development. Stakeholders included a broad cross-section of energy utilities, provincial ministries, City staff and school board, business and industrial representatives.

The starting point for the energy plan was a review of the community's objectives as stated in the existing and developing OCPs. The stakeholder group established energy-related objectives to support these broader community goals.

GIS (geographic information system) modeling established the baseline energy use of both the City as a whole and of a typical subdivision zoned for future development. The City modeled various development scenarios to judge the effects of major planning decisions on the area in terms of cost and environmental and social impacts. It also compared various "neighbourhood" subdivision development scenarios.

After detailed modeling and evaluation by the project consultants and City staff, stakeholders participated in a workshop to select a preferred development scenario from an energy perspective, and to screen and prioritize CEP action items.

The next page details the major features of the CEP.

Major Features

At the time of its development, one of the most exciting features of the plan was a framework for establishing development standards for new subdivisions. The Upper Sahali neighbourhood redesign study resulted in the creation of the "Sub-hub" concept. The sub-hub concentrated activity in a moderate density, mixed-use nodal area. It was a compromise strategy intended to gain some of the energy-efficiency and liveability advantages of an "urban village," while preserving the integrity of the surrounding residential neighbourhoods (including auto access). From an energy standpoint, the sub-hub focused on three top energy issues for Kamloops:

• increasing travel mode choices;
• creating anchor loads for small district energy systems, and
• creating opportunities for on-site electricity generation.

Design criteria included increased density and diversity, street connectivity, parking supply, transit orientation, district heating, solar orientation, and others.

Comparison of the As-built and the CEP Re-design scenarios suggested that:

• total costs could be reduced by 5-10%;
• air emissions could be reduced by over 10%;
• total per capita energy use could be reduced by 5-10%;

These results were thought to be significant given that the sub-hub incorporated very conservative changes to the original design and targeted a suburban neighbourhood. Much more significant savings were estimated for more urban-oriented sub-hubs.

The City also used a GIS-based modeling tool (INDEX) to evaluate the energy implications of three alternative development scenarios that were under consideration in the OCP process.

Twenty-four initiatives in six focus areas were adopted as "high priority, short term" action items. Ten others are listed as lower priority, longer term items. Because they contain many interesting ideas, they are described in full in linked pages at the foot of this page. Some of the key initiatives include:

• a performance points system (to provide incentives to encourage energy-efficient development);
• density guidelines (to encourage sufficient residential densities to make commercial services and transit viable in designated areas);
• alternative fuel in fleet vehicles (applicable to City and other public/private vehicle fleets);
• joint water/energy retrofits (installing water and energy conserving devices in homes and businesses);
• street orientation design guides (considering solar angle as a criterion for design in new development);
• district energy zoning (establishing a special zone in the downtown area to support the development of a district energy system, and identifying other candidate neighbourhoods for similar systems); and
• energy audits (for existing and planned City facilities).

However, as worthy as these initiatives invariably are, only a fraction of them have been implemented in a way foreseen by the CEP. A review process four years after the development of the plan gave a valuable insight into the successes and failures of the plan's implementation.

Implementation experience

Initially at least, the Kamloops CEP gained a reputation among some as a "failure" for reasons that were based on a misunderstanding of the plan's intentions and focus, an overemphasis on a few key initiatives that failed to get off the ground and a failure to advertise its successes. For example, comprehensive feasibility studies and analyses that ultimately led to the scrapping of three high profile initiatives (e.g., the "sub-hub" concept for Upper Sahali, a proposed district heating system for a municipal building complex, and the piping of waste heat to the downtown core from a nearby pulp mill) led to general disappointment and disillusionment with the CEP.

When the plan was initiated, it was understood that each of these initiatives was innovative, would require significant investigation, and might not be implemented as is. However, when all three of them failed to reach implementation stage, there is little doubt that the plan's image was dented.

The CEP review process in 2000 revealed, however, that many of the actions in the plan had indeed been fully implemented or comprehensively investigated, primarily by City staff. For example many of the transportation actions have been fully examined and/or implemented.

Still, several of the CEP's key proposals, particularly those relating to the development of performance points systems, development standards and the coordination of energy activities have not been implemented or investigated several years after its publication. Many other less onerous action items had similarly been apparently ignored.

Discussions revealed many reasons for stagnant action items. These included:

• A lack of ownership in the Plan.
  Because the CEP had been developed with the input of many different stakeholders, no party, including City staff, felt a sense of ownership over it. This was exacerbated by the many personnel changes in all organizations represented; few people remained of the original design team just four years after the CEP's creation. Also, because the CEP was a "City document", current City staff inherited responsibility for leadership commitments made by unknown internal and external participants who had since moved on. The plan was seen to be too comprehensive, to the point of being overbearing.

• No clear responsibility for individual action items
  All action items required the collaboration of many people, and the lead responsibility was not clearly assigned to an individual. Although responsibilities were understood at the time, they were lost through personnel changeovers and lack of communication in the meantime. Also, some of the action items were proposed by people with no stake or role in their implementation, and were sometimes not seen as relevant by those who were.

• Insufficient regard for existing successful programs
  A large number of energy saving programs and initiatives that were being developed and implemented by the City of Kamloops were being done independently of the specific Actions detailed in the CEP. Although these new initiatives contributed to many of the specific CEP goals, this was more often by coincidence than design.

• Change in drivers
  The local context of energy saving had also changed over the four years since the CEP's creation, external "drivers" to make energy planning a key focus of City activities having eased somewhat. For example, population growth and economic development had slowed, public concerns about quality of life issues had eased and support for certain development restrictions had waned in an "anti-red tape" political climate. Increased development competition from the neighbouring City of Kelowna also contributed to this shift in community priorities.

Other points of contention that acted as barriers to the implementation of the CEP include:

• the role of elected officials in backing established City policy or in acting as energy champions.
  Councillors made clear their interest, for example, in reducing the cost of municipal operations. The conflict between this position and political opposition to activities perceivable as bureaucratic was recognized by all. To date, the sub-hub concept, for example, has not been implemented primarily because of a lack of strong political support in face of some opposition to the CEP's goals

• the way in which various monitoring objectives (eg for energy, transport and sustainability indicators) could be integrated.

• the question of whether or not the City needs some form of formal, coordinated umbrella view of energy use.
  Some felt that the adoption of a specific energy management committee was unnecessary given the relatively small size of the City and the degree of informal communication already ongoing. Others pointed out the lack of internal awareness of some schemes and cooperative opportunities.

• the question of what constitutes a community energy plan.
  During the review process in 2000, Kamloops CEP stakeholders proposed that a CEP has several essential features:
• • a commitment to a coordinated view of energy in municipal and wider activities;
  • the establishment of baseline energy use and the adoption of a Plan of Action;
  • a commitment to a monitoring scheme that feeds back quantitative results of those activities and the willingness to continuously review and improve the Plan of Action.

These features, the group agreed, were fair descriptions of both a CEP and the activities of the City of Kamloops, albeit primarily through other initiatives.

Integrating CEP with other City Programs

The City of Kamloops undertook a number of initiatives in parallel with its CEP.

For example, it now uses an ISO 14,000-style environmental management system approach to its solid waste management activities. This includes a commitment to pollution prevention approaches and material and energy quantification, monitoring and tracking.

Also, the City's activities under the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Partners for Climate Protection program are approached from a similar perspective.

The Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) commitments include the need to profile and forecast energy use and emissions for municipal operations and for the wider community, establish reduction targets and to develop local action plans to meet those targets - activities that lie at the heart of community energy planning.

The establishment of a detailed emissions baseline, required by Milestone 1 of the PCP program, is now almost complete. This baseline is more detailed than the energy baseline that was estimated for the CEP.

The City is therefore ready to implement Milestone 2, which requires the setting of emissions targets and the development of an Action Plan to help meet these targets. Clearly, there is opportunity here to integrate the working elements of the CEP, and the EMS successes with the PCP program. Indeed, this is the approach under consideration by the City.

By integrating these mechanisms, this approach provides an elegant and practical way of overcoming the barriers to the implementation of the outstanding and worthwhile aspects of the CEP, since it:

• levers the benefits of an existing, successful organizational structure (responsible for implementing the PCP program);
• ensures an umbrella view of energy activities;
• increases efficiency and productivity. Since greenhouse gas emissions correlate directly with energy consumption, modeling and monitoring requirements are readily combined;
• will have direct exposure to Council, increasing the potential to justify proactive measures to reduce energy use;
• will act as both an internal communications conduit and a feedback mechanism to the various City departments;
• is supported by all participants.

Among the issues that the City may wish to consider as they integrate these programs are:

• is there a need to institutionalize these changes by making formal, job description amendments?
• will there be adequate and timely communication of energy and greenhouse gas activities between City departments and external partners?
• of the identified CEP action items, which ones most effectively meet combined energy and PCP objectives?
• Will there be a real commitment to pursue them?
• can the modeling work required by the PCP program be used to shed more light on the efficacy of the priority CEP action items?
• should unwanted and unworkable CEP goals and actions be formally deleted?
• does there need there be more explicit recognition of CEP and PCP objectives in the next revision of the OCP (i.e. more than as a separate section)?
• which energy indicators should be monitored and where and how frequently should they be reported (e.g. monitoring annual energy consumption and report every five years in Kamloops State of the Environment report)?

Current status and lessons learned

As a municipality embarks on a range of programs that have many overlapping goals, activities and procedures, the lines between each will necessarily become blurred. This is to be celebrated rather than avoided as long as the existence of these overlaps does not lead to the duplication of effort and resources.

With this in mind, it is fair to ask to what degree the Kamloops CEP was a success.

In the sense that many action items are still providing inspiration, that there is an umbrella view of energy use, and that City energy use will be monitored against an established baseline, Kamloops can clearly be said to be undertaking "community energy planning".

However, it cannot be claimed that the actions that contribute to the goals of the CEP are necessarily undertaken in the name of the plan, or necessarily mindful of it.

For CEP designers and advocates, this raises the question of how to define a living, working CEP that exists as part of a proactive municipality's portfolio of programs aimed at energy, environmental and sustainable objectives.

The culture of the City of Kamloops is clearly one in which energy-efficiency and sound energy management assume a central position. Indeed, it was this very culture that in 1996 drove the development of one of Canada's first comprehensive community energy plans.

However, the changing needs of the city, both in terms of shifting community priorities and commitments to a range of social and environmental programs, underlines the fact that to be in any way relevant, CEPs must be flexible, realistic and held dear by those who are responsible for them. As Kamloops shows, a commitment to the environment does not necessarily lead to a commitment to a CEP.

As Special Projects Communicator Marni Gillis put it, "everyone you work with has a different methodological approach, be they MELP or First Nations or whoever. But when it comes down to it, we're all interested in the same objectives. It's all about health -- health of the environment, well-being of people, health of the economy. We just try to find ways to work with these objectives in mind".

Perhaps the key lessons learned by the Kamloops CEP Implementation are:

• Keep it Personal
  A community energy plan needs a sense of ownership from those who will implement it. Too much external involvement (including excessively influential developmental input from parties unwilling or unable to subsequently contribute to implementation) may be counterproductive.

• Avoid Duplication
  Where possible, integrate the plan with parallel programs (e.g. environmental management systems, sustainability indicator tracking programs etc) to improve efficiency, data consistency and relevance.

• Nurture Organizational Links
  A CEP thrives on partnerships between municipal, utility companies and other organizations, and depends on active engagement from all sides. All parties have much to gain from recognizing each others' needs, skills and resources and continuously working together towards common goals.

• Build on Established Ways of Doing Successful Things
  A CEP may need to be carefully integrated with existing successful organizational structures in ways that take advantage of ongoing successful activities and working relationships. Creative and workable mechanisms need to be found that effectively incorporate the basic needs of the CEP.

That being said, there are certain aspects of a CEP that may require real institutional adaptations. A CEP particularly needs some form of functional commitment to an overarching or "umbrella" view of local energy use to pick up the synergies and opportunities that arise from different departments' activities.

• Don't Reinvent the Wheel
  It may not be necessary to develop monitoring programs specifically for energy activities. Using existing or off-the-shelf tools, such as those offered by the FCM, saves time and resources.

• Don't Totally Rely on Individual Champions
  Although champions can be invaluable in making change happen, CEP designers should ensure that the knowledge and policies contained within CEPs are effectively institutionalized to ensure they will withstand changes to staff and local government officials.

How could this be achieved?

• Keep it Dynamic
  Kamloops' experience illustrates the importance of regularly reviewing the achievements, barriers and opportunities of the plan, and noting changing wider social and economic changes that influence its implementation.

One way of achieving this, as well as promoting turnover protection, could be to integrate the measures identified for tracking in the CEP into the City's regularly reported key performance measures.

General Infrastructure Planning

General Infrastructure Planning

For smaller, slow growing communities, more energy aware infrastructure planning policies may take many years, sometimes decades, to deliver results. However, perhaps the single most important CEP principle is to develop a long term planning vision to ensure that things will, eventually, get better.

In this first section, therefore, we look at a number of policies adopted by Quesnel's OCP for ensuring long term success.

The OCP contains a number of policies aimed at gradually increasing density and reshaping the urban mix of commercial and residential users. This is done with the expectation that these changes will eventually result in more livable spaces, reduced emissions as a result of shifting away from automobile toward pedestrian, cycling, and transit modes of travel, reduced cost of transit, and improved business viability of the downtown core.

The policies can be regarded as one of two types: direction policies and implementation policies. The former outline what Council wants to achieve; the latter spell out some of the ways it intends to bring these changes about.

Direction policies

Encouraging a mix of land uses downtown and in other commercial centres

First storey commercial mixed-use developments are a great way of providing more opportunities for people to be within walkable distances of the places they need to go, while at the same time creating a dynamic street environment, making the area safer and more attractive to potential residents and visitors.

The OCP also identifies a economic argument for this:

"Strong planning policies for Downtown Quesnel can promote business retention and new development. As the focal point of the community, a healthy and vibrant downtown can boost morale and stimulate investment".

Accordingly, Quesnel Council will:

"encourage mixed-use residential and commercial development, with residential above first storey commercial uses within the downtown and other specific commercial areas."

As a corollary to this, Council will will also:

"discourage office uses from locating anywhere other than the Downtown area [including government offices]"

Another option along these lines is to:

"in certain areas, allow live-work uses, where people can live in the same building in which they work."

Increase density downtown and in other commercial centres

Increasing the intensity and density of residential land use near commercial and employment centres has a direct impact on local transportation options. People who live near their places of work have more realistic opportunities to walk or take a bicycle to work, or to similarly access other services such as restaurants or dry cleaners. Not only does this reduce the number of vehicle trips, but it also helps to stimulate a vibrant urban centre that is more 'liveable' than conventionally-planned neighbourhoods.

Quesnel Council will:

"encourage the intensification of residential land use and density near commercial and employment centres, along major arterials and in areas where existing services can accommodate higher densities".

Densifying along major arterials helps cut down on traffic created by people moving through several suburban streets to access main streets.

Implementation policies

Some of the things Council will do to bring these things about include:

Favouring infill

Council will:

"encourage infill and redevelopment of existing areas designated as medium density residential before designating new areas as medium density residential."

Densifying existing areas increases the efficiency of many infrastructure services, such as water and wastewater provision, as well as reducing the "embodied energy" of the infrastructure -- since the amount of materials per individual is reduced, energy (and money) is saved on everything from the manufacture of asphalt to traffic signals. Also, of course, the greater the residential density of a location, the more viable public transportation provision becomes.

Offering developers density bonuses

The Quesnel OCP also spells out specific conditions under which it will offer so-called "density bonuses". Developers are attracted by increased density authorizations because the more units they can construct per unit area, the lower their costs per unit. Municipalities, however, often need to limit the density of certain areas to maintain the character of an area. Local Councils can therefore offer somewhat elevated density "bonuses" as an incentive for developers to incorporate other features the municipality wishes to promote and which may offset any negative effects of increased density.

In Quesnel's case, this is phrased as follows:

"Council may consider applications to rezone new areas to allow densities up to 120 dwelling units per hectare [the regular maximum being 90] if development [within designated areas] meets the following criteria:

• Must be within a five minute walk (about 250 metres) of the Downtown core or West Quesnel commercial area;
• Must provide amenities that may include public gardens, public plazas, playground equipment, public art, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and other amenities;
• Primary vehicular access to the development is from a major road that does not require travel through adjacent Low Density Residential Areas;
• Provision of at-grade parking, under-building parking or underground parking;
• Provides a maximum of three stories of residential use;"

The public amenities described are all aimed at improving liveability and providing incentives for people to walk or bicycle around an area rather than exclusively travel by car. In BC's colder climates, this practical design criterion is particularly critical for encouraging pedestrian travel.

Making residential developments conditional on the provision of commercial space

One way of ensuring that the downtown area develops a healthy mix of residential and commercial uses is to tie the construction of one to the other. The OCP, for example, says that Council will:

"allow multi-family residential development within the downtown designation only when the ground floor contains commercial uses."

Being flexible in zoning

Quesnel will be relatively flexible in the way it interprets the zoning of "medium density residential" areas to ensure a lively mix of appropriate commercial, public and institutional uses. The OCP says that Council will:

"consider other uses in the medium density residential designation, including:

• home businesses;
• small parks;
• small places of worship;
• small local commercial uses, especially where located on the ground floor as an integral part of the medium density residential development;
• institutional uses directly related to residential needs, such as medical care, meal provision, exercise facilities, daycare facilities."

Transport-Specific Policies

In its section on transportation, the City of Quesnel's OCP states that the City will:

"consider alternative design standards and neo-traditional planning principles (which include the use of a grid street network, lanes, boulevards and narrower streets)".

This statement refers to a more general change in urban planning priorities and so is explored with reference to the City's other policies below.

The term neo-traditional planning, otherwise called 'New Urbanism', is a reform movement that recently emerged in North America to respond to the problems created by urban and suburban sprawl. All the above-mentioned policies of the Quesnel OCP are consistent with this 'new' approach that, as its name suggests, looks backs to less vehicle-dominated times for inspiration.

According to the US Department of Energy's Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development, the primary design characteristics of New Urbanism include the following:

• Mixed land uses within neighborhoods;
• Pedestrian-centered neighborhoods with primary social and economic facilities within a five-minute walk;
• Community orientation around public transit systems;

On the previous page, we discussed how mixed land uses can help prevent sprawl and the problems associated with it. On this page, we discuss how roads and trails can be made more pedestrian and bicycle friendly. Transit options are covered on the following page.

Roads and streets

Other than considering the general application of neo-traditional design principles, the Quesnel OCP does not cover in detail specific implications of this approach and their potential effect on roads and streets.

However, many people have suggested a list of features associated with neo-traditional road and street design. For example, in his study of sustainable design and planning strategies in North America, Robert Hsin lists the following considerations:

• "Human-scaled" streets
  Reducing road widths and curb radii have many beneficial effects. Traffic speeds are reduced, and streets feel smaller and less daunting to pedestrians. Embodied energy is reduced since less material is required for construction.

• Street patterns to dilute rather than concentrate traffic.
  Conventional street patterns use various techniques to force traffic into a small number of primary arterials, leading to traffic congestion and a generally unpleasant environment for pedestrians around these areas. A grid-type design, by contrast, offers travellers more options and so spreads the load more evenly.

• Street patterns that conform to a site's natural topography.
  Where traffic is not a critical issue, however, designing a street to conform to a site's topography is desirable, to reduce environmental impact of the development, to reduce the need to alter the site's natural drainage patterns, and to save costs by eliminating unnecessary over-engineering of road systems.

• Provide greenery within the streetscape.
  Urban greenery helps improve local air quality and enhances liveability.

• Specify alternative paving surfaces.
  Where appropriate, alternatives to asphalt and concrete may be used to reduce the environmental impact of using these materials. For sidewalks and areas where traffic load is not high, unpaved or permeable paving surfaces could be used. Alternatively, recycled materials, such as crushed glass, recycled tired or aggregate could be specified.

• Reduce the area of impervious surfaces.
  Other effective ways of reducing the amount of paved surface required include multi-storey developments, shared driveways, and decreasing side and rear yard setbacks.

• Provide alternatives to parking lots.
  Street parking can often help create a more pedestrian-focused street environment and prevents the loss of 'dead space' that parking lots represent.

Bicycle routes

More common in OCPs throughout the province are policies on improving the availability and quality of pedestrian and bicycle trails. For Quesnel, however, the development of certain bicycle routes is specifically part of an overall transport system.

Quesnel Council's policies on pedestrian and bicycle routes include the following:

• "Provide for and encourage bicycle and pedestrian movement by developing an integrated system of safe and convenient sidewalks, pathways and trails;
• Continue to implement a program of priority sidewalk construction within Quesnel;
• Work towards improving the width and approaches on sidewalks in order to allow more efficient wheelchair access within Quesnel;
• Consider extending sidewalks to service areas with particularly high volumes of pedestrian traffic including schools, recreational facilities and commercial areas;
• Continue the policy of requiring sidewalk in new development, except for along cul-de-sacs;
• Work towards establishing a bicycle and pedestrian trail network;
• Consider widening sidewalks downtown and in other areas where there are high volumes of foot traffic;
• Investigate a pathway connection between residential areas and industrial employment centres toward the north end of the City;
• Investigate options for pedestrian access across [the local] Highway;
• Encourage stronger connections between the Downtown, and the Riverfront park and Trail;
• Continue to improve the pedestrian environment of downtown".

Because of Quesnel's severe winters and steep terrain, it is unlikely that bicycle trails will offer an entirely realistic commuting alternative for most people in the City. However, in addition the benefit offered to those are willing to brave this geography, bicycle trails also enhance the liveability of the City for wider numbers of people who enjoy them for recreational use.

Pedestrian routes

'Walkability', says Richard McLaughlin in one of a series of articles on New Urbanism for Planning Minnesota, is a central feature of the neo-traditional urban design approach. McLaughlin introduces two features crucial to creating walkability: walking distance and pedestrian continuity.

Walking distance, he proposes, is

"a distance comfortable for most people to walk, as an attractive alternative to driving. This distance is best represented as one quarter mile (400 metres), or a five-minute walk. Walking distance is a historic axiom of urban pattern, delimiting the French Quartier and the Neighborhood Unit described in the 1929 New York City Regional Plan. Current adaptations such as Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) and Transit Oriented Development (TOD) also use a five-minute walking distance as a primary design determinant."

Neo-traditional planners also try to achieve "pedestrian continuity" which McLaughlin describes as,

"an experiential quality created by a safe, comfortable and attractive network of pathways connecting frequently-visited destinations. The essential characteristics of pedestrian continuity are: ·

• Each pathway's trajectory has a desirable or useful destination;
• Frequent destinations are located in places that create a succession of five-minute walks;
• The pathway network offers choices of route, and is logical, uninterrupted, and inclusive of shortcuts wherever possible;
• The pathway's trajectory is spatially defined by interesting building architecture and landscape, and tempered by the local climate, providing shade when the air is hot and sun when the air is cool;
• Pathways are protected from automobile traffic wherever possible;
• Pathways are visually monitored by people in surrounding buildings, and therefore offer pedestrians a sense of safety;"

Tackling Transit

Tackling transport

As the sidebar on the benefits of public transportation describes, improving public transportation opportunities in a community can significantly increase energy efficiency and liveability. However, this can also be one of the most difficult things for a community to tackle in a proactive way, since most municipalities in BC share responsibility for it with BC Transit.

The BC Transit Municipal Systems Program administers transit planning and funding for all systems outside Victoria and the Lower Mainland. Through this program, BC Transit partners with local communities to provide a level of service that balances the needs of various stakeholders.

Quesnel's experience shows that a community can be very much an active partner in this relationship.

The City of Quesnel is currently served only by a 'para-transport' system that is primarily aimed at people with specific (mostly ambulatory) needs.

However, largely through the enthusiasm and commitment of one member (see sidebar on Political Leadership), Quesnel Council recognized the key role improved transit could play in enhancing air quality and meeting other objectives. The City advised BC Transit of recent changes to its transportation needs, and invited it to assess potential public transportation options. Following a feasibility study by BC Transit, Council and BC Transit agreed to initiate a new, expanded transportation system.

Communities elsewhere in BC can similarly assume responsibility for alerting BC Transit to their changing needs. In this section, we summarize the kind of information BC Transit looks for in assessing the viability of a public transport system in a smaller community, with the intention of empowering local people to monitor these local indicators themselves.

Helping BC Transit monitor local needs

BC Transit works with communities to develop an appropriate level of service. In performing a transit feasibility study, BC transit follows a relatively predetermined procedure of the following logical steps:

• Identifying perceived local transport objectives;
• Examining the past experience of public transport in the City;
• Researching and analyzing the effectiveness of current transport arrangements;
• Examining potential transit markets;
• Evaluating various potential transit options;
• Proposing a specific portfolio of transit services;
• Outlining a proposed implementation strategy;

Local communities can assume a proactive role in their relationship with BC Transit by using their local knowledge to keep abreast of developments in the first activity (identifying perceived local transport objectives) and the fourth (examining potential transit markets).

BC Transit uses a variety of sources to assess the public transportation needs of the communities in its jurisdiction on an ongoing basis. For example, it uses statistical data generated by BC Stats to estimate the potential demand for each demographic group in each community.

However, as Mike Doyle's experience has shown, local people are best placed to understand the specific situations behind the statistics and so pick up on local needs before an external agency. In this section we draw from the BC Transit study prepared for the City of Quesnel to highlight the issues communities may wish to be alert to.

In performing a market analysis, BC Transit typically looks at the transport requirements of the community from the perspective of the following groups (Persons with a disability are also considered a specific target group by BC Transit because of their need for special services. However, these needs cannot be generalized in the same way as the others because they incorporates people of all ages):

• School students / youths;
• Younger adults / collage students;
• Adults;
• Seniors;

Unsurprisingly, each group has distinctive needs and patterns of transit use that are fairly consistent across communities. Significant changes in the local transportation situation of any of the following groups should be raised with BC Transit. By taking note of these local indicators, communities can begin to assume a proactive relationship with their public transport provider.

School students / youths

This group typically has limited transportation options, other than walking or cycling, and so is potentially a captive market for transit. Essentially a commuter market to and from school, other main uses include weekday afternoons and weekends to central areas. Transit's main strategies to maximize ridership in this group are to offer fixed schedule/route services to and from school, and central areas on weekday afternoons and weekends.

Possible indicators of changing transit needs in this group may therefore include the following:

• New schools, relocating schools;
• School District re-evaluations of busing needs due to changing ridership boundaries etc;
• New or emerging residential areas, increasing urban densification;
• Significantly increased school intakes;
• Emerging new central areas, regular attractions;
• Increased concern about security.

Establishing ridership at this stage will increase likelihood of transit use in later life.

Younger adults / college students

This group is again a potentially relatively captive market for transit, though many typically rely on family and friends for most transportation. This group tends to make multiple trips for a variety of personal errands; evening ridership higher than for youths. College students have commuting needs that may not conform to typical peak periods. Transit's strategies to capture this group therefore include include offering fixed schedule/route services to and from college, possible evening services, and consistent, moderately frequent fixed-route service during weekday business hours.

Possible indicators of changing transit needs in this group may therefore include the following:

• New colleges, relocating colleges;
• Significantly increased college intakes;
• New or emerging residential areas, increasing urban densification;
• Relocation of basic services, eg post offices, day care facilities etc;
• Emerging new central areas, regular attractions.

Adults

Adults are most likely to own a private car. Some do not, however, and typically have same needs as young adults. Some also choose not to use private car, for a variety of reasons. Adults will typically need transport for commuting, as well as during evenings and on weekends to core areas.

Adults might best be attracted to transit by offering fixed-route, fixed-schedule commuter service, consistent, moderately frequent fixed-route service during weekday business hours and possibly an evening service. Transit can also work with employers to create a 'Travel Options' strategy to reduce single occupancy vehicle use and peak time congestion.

Possible indicators of changing transit needs in this group may therefore include the following:

• New industrial or commercial areas, relocating industrial or commercial areas;
• Major new employers, change of major employer management;
• Significantly increased working population;
• New or emerging residential areas, increasing urban densification;
• Relocation of basic services, eg post offices, day care facilities etc;
• Emerging new central areas, regular attractions.

Seniors

Non-driving seniors are again a relatively captive market for transit, who tend to be midday riders. BC Transit tries to encourage multiple trips in a day, thereby giving passengers more ability to independently arrange their days and trip plans. A fixed-route, fixed-schedule service that offers consistent midday service and 'personal' service will appeal to a broad base of seniors.

Possible indicators of changing transit needs in this group may therefore include the following:

• Significantly increased senior population;
• New or emerging residential areas, increasing urban densification;
• Relocation of basic services, e.g. hospitals, medical centres, activity centres post offices, etc;
• Emerging new central areas, regular attractions.

Conclusions

Conclusions

In this feature, we have highlighted some of the steps the City of Quesnel has undertaken to improve its citizens' transportation options, primarily to help increase the quality of its urban air.

The main points of its approach have been to:

• Develop a long term urban planning vision that will ensure that its transportation situation will slowly improve;
• Consider the use of 'neo-traditional planning principles' to help make walking and cycling more pleasant and therefore more realistic;
• Instigate a program of road and trail building to offer people some alternative transportation options as well as improving urban liveability;
• Take a proactive role in its relationship with BC Transit by alerting it to changes in local transit needs.

Quesnel's portfolio of transportation strategies is by no means comprehensive -- further ideas for improving the prospects of public transportation can be found throughout this website. However, this is a good example of an effective portfolio of initiatives for a community of this size and situation. The strategies outlined here include straightforward, common sense ideas that can be undertaken without placing an overly onerous burden on Council, planners, developers or local residents and businesses. They include simple incremental steps toward long-term solutions for transportation and air quality problems.

Clearly, there is no 'magic bullet' for solving transportation problems, nor a template that can be applied in all communities. For Quesnel, long term solutions will come from integrating a diversity of approaches in mini-steps, and responding over time to the emerging benefits of increasing urban density and mixes of use. As Councillor Mike Doyle puts it, "When I was first assigned my responsibilities [environment, transport, trails and employment], they appeared diverse and unrelated. But the more I looked into the environmental, economic and social issues, I could see they were all interlinked".

The ideas presented in this feature are summarized below:

• Develop a "very long term" urban planning vision;
• Inoculate the vision against short term political change by developing it with broad stakeholder participation and OCP revisions;
• Offer developers incentives to help realize the vision;
• Work persistently towards a more compact and mixed use urban infrastructure;
• Adopt the "five minute rule" to attract pedestrian use;
• Ensure that bicycle and pedestrian commuting routes are as practical, safe and pleasant as possible;
• Work with local employers and BC Transit to consider "green' commuting options;
• Develop a proactive relationship with BC Transit and help it keep abreast of relevant changes in local target markets;

Above all, take responsibility for your own air quality. Even if the major factors affecting local air quality are effectively beyond your influence, taking what steps you can is an important act of leadership, and may have many long term livability benefits.

District of Vanderhoof - adopted a community energy plan; CAEE community

During the course of the last 3 years, the District has teamed up with the Ministry of Environment on an air quality project.  Monitors are in place at 2 different locations within the community.  The results have been collected and analyzed and Council is working in an attempt to define what has peaked emissions at various times throughout the years with the goal of eliminating the causes of increased emissions.  One of the stated goals and objectives of Council is to investigate the banning of outdoor furnaces and other such woodburning appliances that are contributing to air pollution.  In addition, a climate change study has been completed in Vanderhoof called "Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Forest-Based Communities Assessing Adaptive Capacity: A Case Study for Vanderhoof, BC".

Council has recently adopted a 'Community Energy Plan'. We participated in our community 'Trade Show' this past May and made information available on the CEP along with brochures and a questionnaire.  People were invited to partcipate in an on-line ecological footprint quiz designed to raise awareness of the impact each of us has on the planet.  Public meetings will be held to outline the plan and to encourage our residents to think 'greener' and become more aware of how all of us can achieve energy efficiences in a myriad of ways.

Members of the business community, developers, home builders, energy experts and planners were asked to sit on the Energy Committee to formulate a plan for the future.  The mission of the CEP is to "encourage energy efficiency in all sectors throughout the community and to incorporate energy and greenhouse gas considerations into all aspects of municipal decision making".  The plan was adopted by Council last month.

We are excited about this plan and the committee has agreed to continue on to participate in the community dialogue sessions.

Attached are Council resolutions and a copy of the District of Vanderhoof Community Energy Plan.

City of Surrey

 Creating a Sustainability Charter for our City.

 City-wide Energy Management Program.

 Energy Efficiency workshops with developers and staff.

 Investigating Geo-exchange systems in new neighbourhoods.

 Investigating Integrated Energy Master planning for new developments.

 "Nature Matters" a program of education and action in cleaning up our City's environment.

 Tree Preservation Bylaw to protect and enhance our bio-diversity.

 "Green City Program" a program of tree planting and mangement. 

 Preparing a Green Fleet Management Plan.

 A Green Ways Plan for bicycle and pedestrian links throughout the City.

 Planning new communities for energy efficiency.

 Converting street and traffic lights to LED.

District of Central Saanich - Local Government Action on Energy Efficiency for New Buildings

As a Councillor for the District of Central Saanich I am proud to report that energy efficiency programs have been advancing in Central Saanich for over two years.  

District of Houston's On-The-Ground Green Initiatives

As stewards and leaders of the community, the District of Houston firmly believes that a sustainable community is nurtured through development and progress that not only effects economics, but also quality of life and protection of the environment.  The District has a long-standing commitment to local and global environmental protection and conservation - a way of thinking that has been gaining momentum in recent years.  Mayor and Council are continually looking for ways to  accelerate their commitment, ensuring that environmental footprint considerations are a component of community decisions - both by the District itself and that of its citizens, businesses and visitors.  All the while, Council is actively seeking solutions to promote healthy lifestyles.

As a small, northern community with limited financial means, the District of Houston's focus is ON-THE-GROUND initiatives that make a difference to quality of life for residents, all the while ensuring that our environmental impact leaves a pristine and sustainable community for our children.  Current "green" initiatives include:

1.  Geothermal heating of the new pool - commissioned in 2006

2.  Geothermal heating and ice refrigeration for both the arena and curling rinks - 2007/08

3.  District energy system - a revenue-generating, long-term utility

4.  Energy Centre of the North - a demonstration model of key "green" building technologies

5.  Heat recovery from the sewer treatment plant, heating the public works building

6.  Community Action on Energy Efficiency initiatives

7.  Arena "Live Sites" upgrade

8.  Community "LocalMotion" walking / bicycling trails

9.  "Green" bylaw upgrades including, a) official community plan amendments for sustainable living land-use, b) clean air bylaw, c) nuisance bylaw and d) revised water bylaw with water meter provisions

10. Municipal woodstove exchange program -  to financially entice compliance with the clean air bylaw - for the elimination of non-certified solid fuel burning appliances by 2010

11. Industry's compliance by decommissioning their beehive burners by 2007 - replaced by a pellet plant and bark energy system

12. District composting program

13. Greening with street trees program - 200 mature trees planted in 2006 alone

14. Financial sustainability focus through a responsible asset management program and Community Forest initiative

15. New seniors housing centre and announcement for 24/7 healthcare starting in 2007

Gibsons - What can a community do to adapt to climate change

A proposed collaborative project of: Adaptation & Impacts Research Division, Environment Canada, Design Centre for Sustainability, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of British Columbia, Department of Forest Resources Management and School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of British Columbia, Department of  Sociology, University of British Columbia and the Town of Gibsons.

  Our project, entitled "Being green in a brown world: examining adaptive capacity and the adaptation process in Gibsons, B.C." represents the initial phase of collaborative research undertaken in response to a request from the Town of Gibsons for research and technical support in adapting to climate change.

Smithers

Some town initiatives include developing a community energy plan, exploring development options that include geothermal, exploring energy saving heating/cooling transfer equipment between the rink and the pool, installing energy efficient features in the new town office

Village of Nakusp water conservaton

The Village of Nakusp has brought in watering restrictions of watering on odd and even days as per house number and further has restricted lawn watering to the hours of 7am to 9am and 7pm to 9pm on those days.  Ticketing by-laws have been strengthened to enable ticketing for offenders.  Resolutions were passed to enable process.