mr.x
September 22nd, 2007, 08:42 AM
We are No. 1 in Canada for green transport
But 'tough graders' say even best Canadian cities deserve only a B
Kathryn Young, CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, September 21, 2007
Greater Victoria has the greenest urban transportation practices in Canada, followed closely by Vancouver, Ottawa-Gatineau, and Winnipeg. But none of the 27 cities surveyed received an A on its report card, says a study to be released today.
While the top cities received Bs, six others got Fs: Sudbury, Ont., Moncton, N.B., Barrie, Ont., St. Catharines-Niagara, Ont, and in last place, St. John's, N.L.
The ranking examined 17 factors, including public transit ridership, number of vehicles per capita, number of hybrid or alternative-fuel vehicles in public transit and municipal fleets, policies such as anti-idling and trip-reduction programs, new housing density, greenhouse gas emissions, employer-sponsored eco-transit pass programs and hybrid taxis.
"We set a 10-year achievable target as to where every city could be at, and none of them were able to make their target at this point, so none of them got an A," said Toronto international trade lawyer Barry Appleton, whose private Appleton Charitable Foundation funded the study, conducted in co-operation with the University of British Columbia's business school.
So why is Victoria better than everyone else?
About 30 per cent of the region's taxis are hybrids and 36 per cent of municipal vehicles use alternative fuels. Carbon emissions and ozone levels are among the best. High housing density means transit systems can be more cost-effective, and 61 per cent of Victoria's housing starts are rowhouses and apartments/condominiums, compared with the average of 39 per cent across the 27 cities.
Vancouver also has better air quality, hybrid taxis and 66 per cent high-density housing starts but fell behind Victoria on the number of people who walk, bike or take the bus to work.
Ottawa-Gatineau came third because 25 per cent of workers don't drive to work, and it has employer-sponsored eco-transit passes.
Winnipeg came fourth because it has free transit in the downtown core, and about 26 per cent of taxis are hybrids -- the second-highest city after Victoria.
Toronto and Montreal tied for fifth place, both benefiting from high transit use. Toronto also has the lowest number of cars per capita.
So, why the failures?
"They're really not making efforts," Appleton said, pointing to St. John's program called STEER -- Smart Taxis Encouraging Environmental Respect. "Great name, but when I look at the number of hybrid or alternative fuel taxis in the fleet: zero," he said.
The low grades are not simply a function of city size, since the study assessed the various factors on a per-capita basis, although larger cities can take advantage of economies of scale. However, size doesn't stop any city from taking action, the report said.
"That which gets measured gets done," said Daniel Muzyka, dean of UBC's Sauder School of Business. "There's really room for improvement across the board. They're tough graders," he said about the study's panel of experts that included economists, climatologists, urban designers, architects and transportation planners.
The 27 cities studied represent two-thirds of Canada's population and 77 per cent of the urban population.
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007
But 'tough graders' say even best Canadian cities deserve only a B
Kathryn Young, CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, September 21, 2007
Greater Victoria has the greenest urban transportation practices in Canada, followed closely by Vancouver, Ottawa-Gatineau, and Winnipeg. But none of the 27 cities surveyed received an A on its report card, says a study to be released today.
While the top cities received Bs, six others got Fs: Sudbury, Ont., Moncton, N.B., Barrie, Ont., St. Catharines-Niagara, Ont, and in last place, St. John's, N.L.
The ranking examined 17 factors, including public transit ridership, number of vehicles per capita, number of hybrid or alternative-fuel vehicles in public transit and municipal fleets, policies such as anti-idling and trip-reduction programs, new housing density, greenhouse gas emissions, employer-sponsored eco-transit pass programs and hybrid taxis.
"We set a 10-year achievable target as to where every city could be at, and none of them were able to make their target at this point, so none of them got an A," said Toronto international trade lawyer Barry Appleton, whose private Appleton Charitable Foundation funded the study, conducted in co-operation with the University of British Columbia's business school.
So why is Victoria better than everyone else?
About 30 per cent of the region's taxis are hybrids and 36 per cent of municipal vehicles use alternative fuels. Carbon emissions and ozone levels are among the best. High housing density means transit systems can be more cost-effective, and 61 per cent of Victoria's housing starts are rowhouses and apartments/condominiums, compared with the average of 39 per cent across the 27 cities.
Vancouver also has better air quality, hybrid taxis and 66 per cent high-density housing starts but fell behind Victoria on the number of people who walk, bike or take the bus to work.
Ottawa-Gatineau came third because 25 per cent of workers don't drive to work, and it has employer-sponsored eco-transit passes.
Winnipeg came fourth because it has free transit in the downtown core, and about 26 per cent of taxis are hybrids -- the second-highest city after Victoria.
Toronto and Montreal tied for fifth place, both benefiting from high transit use. Toronto also has the lowest number of cars per capita.
So, why the failures?
"They're really not making efforts," Appleton said, pointing to St. John's program called STEER -- Smart Taxis Encouraging Environmental Respect. "Great name, but when I look at the number of hybrid or alternative fuel taxis in the fleet: zero," he said.
The low grades are not simply a function of city size, since the study assessed the various factors on a per-capita basis, although larger cities can take advantage of economies of scale. However, size doesn't stop any city from taking action, the report said.
"That which gets measured gets done," said Daniel Muzyka, dean of UBC's Sauder School of Business. "There's really room for improvement across the board. They're tough graders," he said about the study's panel of experts that included economists, climatologists, urban designers, architects and transportation planners.
The 27 cities studied represent two-thirds of Canada's population and 77 per cent of the urban population.
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007