“Rain gardens have been included in bus bulges on Lonsdale to minimize the impact of the built environment on the City’s small streams. But this is just part of the picture. These bus bulges help to contribute to the social, economic and environmental aspects of the sustainability of the City ,” states Tony Barber.
“Metro Vancouver will continue to work with the member municipalities to complete the remaining actions. Vancouver and Burnaby are implementing the actions that are specific to each municipality and continue to collaborate with Metro Vancouver on the joint action items,” stated Ed von Euw.
A road rehabilitation project provided District staff with the opportunity to do something different with two existing storm drain inlets.
“One of our research interests was to determine the effectiveness of a single tree versus that for a cluster of trees. We explored and quantified the variables influencing the interception process. We also investigated the effects of tree density, tree structure and tree species on rainfall interception,” explains the Richard Boase.
“The District is exploring how we will align our local actions with the provincial and regional policy framework for water sustainability in general, and rainwater management in particular,” states Rodney Stott.
According to Remi Dube, a key message about the Morgan Heights development is that the developer is holding securities for landscaping and sediment control; and that money is not released until after the houses are built.
“On the matter of implementing on-site rainfall capture, there is a fundamental difference between Surrey and other Metro Vancouver municipalities,” states Remi Dubé. “Surrey has moved beyond pilot projects; we are moving to a broader watershed objectives approach to capturing rain where it falls to protect our streams.”
2010 Winter Games organizers have awarded the Richmond Olympic Oval a “Sustainability Star” for its environmentally-friendly design and construction. Green building features include a unique rainwater management system.
“Students compare the impacts based on traditional neighbourhood development techniques, to the impacts when the sustainable design features are employed. Students also have the option of comparing through a variety of rainfall intensity and duration events,” reported David Hislop.
The 250-hectare neighbourhood of East Clayton in Surrey was designated as ‘urban’ in 1996, setting the stage for an unprecedented new neighbourhood plan to increase residential density, promote social cohesion and maximize affordability and walkability.
