Some cool facts and stats

Just a bunch of interesting facts I've come across recently...

• The Cache Creek Landfill (where Metro Vancouver's waste is taken) produces enough methane (biogas) that it could power all the trucks that ship our garbage there. Right now, though, that gas is simply burned off.

• All the Waste-to-energy plants (incinerators) in Sweden combined release fewer dioxins into the air than a single fireworks show at the Celebration of Light here in Vancouver. We have at least four of those shows a year, and yet people are worried about the emissions from additional W2E plants.

• In the US alone, in the past 30 years, over 1 trillion aluminum cans have been thrown into landfills - that aluminum is worth over $20 billion!

• North Americans have double the "ecological footprint" of Europeans and 7 times the average of Asians and Africans.

• The population of Vancouver and the Lower Fraser Valley (approx. 2 million people) depends on an area equivalent to 19 times that which is within our boundaries for our food, forestry products, carbon dioxide absorbtion and energy. What would we have to do to even cut that in half, never mind actually live within our means?

• New York City has 2.6 million street trees and 800+ community gardens that produce over 8000 lbs of fruit and vegetables a year. That's right within the city.

• There is a lot of waste we don't even see - for every 100 pounds of product manufactured in the US, approximately 3200 lbs of waste is generated.

• On average, a beer bottle is reused 15-20 times before it needs to be reprossed into new bottles! Shows how well the bottle-deposit system works.
  

Improving West Georgia

Since moving a few months ago I've been spending a lot more time walking along West Georgia St here in downtown Vancouver and have noticed that although parts of it are great, in general it needs some work. In fact I think this street has a ton of potential that is being missed, despite the fact that it really is the main street through downtown. It may have the ability to be to Vancouver what Michigan Ave is to Chicago. That is a lofty goal but I think West Georgia could become the "grand boulevard" that this city lacks.

The section of West Georgia from Seymour to Bute is already off to a good start with its very wide sidewalks and great buildings, but heading east, the street quickly degrades. Heading west of Bute the street is great looking, but there is little to attract pedestrians or any life other than cars. In general the street has a mix of countless types of trees but there are sections lacking any trees at all or those that do exist look pretty sad.

More than any other street in the city, West Georgia is blessed with great buildings and attractions along its length to draw people to it. We should take advantage of that fact and make it a great walking street linking those features. From east to west:

• False Creek (the connection between downtown and False Creek needs major improvement and I know the city is looking into options for that)
• GM Place and BC Place
• Queen Elizabeth Theatre
• CBC TV studio
  
• Vancouver Public Library - main branch
• The Hudon's Bay Company store and building
• Pacific Centre
  
• Vancouver Art Gallery (more on this below)
• The Hotel Vancouver
• Christ Church Cathedral
• Shangri-La building
• The Ritz Carlton (if it ever gets built)
• Several high-end residential buildings
• Stanley Park
  

What other street in the city has so many great places along it? Robson Street has great shopping and links some of the above buildings, but it is already a great street and is nearly over capacity (as anyone walking on a sunny weekend day knows). There is talk of moving the Art Gallery to False Creek, which I don't agree with because it moves it away from the lively heart of downtown where it will always do well. The better option (if it must move) is to move it to the other oft-discussed location which is that huge parking lot across Cambie street from the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. At the very least, the gallery, in its current location, really must reopen the grand entry facing West Georgia, which right now is a gathering place for the homeless.

Now to make the street a grand boulevard, here's what I think needs to be done at a minimum:

• Ensure there are trees planted along the entire length of the street and that those trees are healthy and well cared for. (In winter decorate them with lights - just google "michigan ave christmas" to see why).
• Widen and improve all the sidewalks on the east end of the street to the same width as the rest - right now they are just too narrow and in generally poor condition.
• Wherever possible (in terms of traffic volume) build a centre median to allow the planting of more trees. This would also allow for some left-turn lanes.
  
• Actively encourage and stimulate development on the few parking lots that remain: (between Beatty/Cambie; between Homer/Richards; SW corner at Richards; SW corner at Cardero)
  
• Work with Canada Post to improve the area in front of their building (ie: remove the parking).
• Extend the two-way traffic to at least Beatty Street.

So those are my ideas - in general I think they are pretty simple and would elevate West Georgia from a pretty good street to a great one.