Protecting our local environment

The New Westminster Progressives unveiled their environmental plan today, which encourages the city of New Westminster to become a leader in the field.

NW Progressives city council candidate Ellen Vaillancourt believes the entire community needs to work harder to ensure New Westminster remains a thriving and livable city for years to come.

\”Cities are increasingly playing a vital role when it comes to supporting our global environment,\” says Vaillancourt. \”Our city could and should be doing more to become a leader when it comes to addressing the issue of climate change. This means aligning with Metro Vancouver and aiming to have healthy ecosystems, zero emissions and zero waste by 2040.\”

Working as a team, the NW Progressives are committing to the following as part of their plan:

• • • Supporting the implementation of a new program encouraging single-family residents to open up their backyards to those interested in growing their own food.
      -As part of this initiative, identify and make available more underutilized city-owned land that can support neighbourhood-based initiatives to develop community gardens.
    • Actively encouraging the planting of edible fruit trees on public property if their maintenance and crop collection is conducted and supported by community-based groups.
    • Establishing a per-capita minimum standard of green space required in the city including the development of more \’pocket parks\’ in higher density neighbhourhoods as a key priority.
      -Establish new “pocket park” green spaces in priority areas that are accepting a higher proportion of density.
    • Within 90 days, introducing a by-law imposing mandatory minimum requirement for the installation of electric charging stations in all new multi-family developments.
    • Committing to more actively supporting the Metro Vancouver 2040 Shaping Our Future regional growth strategy which will help to reduce the impact of future climate change.
      -Accelerating the development of more compact and walkable neighbourhoods which make people less dependent on fossil fuels.
      -Creating a new “Industrial and Commercial Land Reserve” policy which will strengthen the protection of jobs-producing land for future generations and reduce the impact of urban sprawl.
      -Providing funding to help match empty/underutilized homes and rooms with renters looking for housing.
    • Getting more people out of their cars by working with TransLink to further expand bus service within the city.
    • Increasing the overall use of city-owned electric vehicles to support our efforts to limit future climate change. This would include:
      -Establish a target of having 50 per cent of our city fleet of vehicles no longer using fossil fuels by 2028.
      -Developing a capital plan for the NW Police Department which would completely eliminate the purchase of fossil-fuel based vehicles by no later than 2028 – assuming access to cost-effective technology is readily available.
      -Work with the NW Fire Department to determine operational feasibility of utilizing more environmentally-friendly vehicles
    • Increasing access to more off-leash dog park spaces throughout the city.
    • Working with the Province of B.C. and rail companies to secure infrastructure investments which will support complete whistle cessation by no later than 2025.
    • Eliminating the need for plastic water bottles and increase better access to fresh local drinking water by converting fire hydrants into drinking fountains throughout the city.
    • Decreasing wait times for neighbourhoods to access the city\’s boulevard street planting program.

“Such projects greatly enhance the overall well-being of participants and those around them,\” says Vaillancourt, who received funding this spring through New Westminster Small Grants for a community garden. \”They provide access for those who enjoy gardening as a hobby, increasing access to the outdoors as well as local and organic food and, perhaps most importantly, an opportunity for social connection, sharing traditional wisdom and an opportunity to build a sense of ownership and pride.

\”If our city is to thrive and remain livable for generations to come, we need to make the protection of our environment a top priority, It\’s up to us as a community to bring these important issues to the forefront in order to ensure we have the greenest city possible.\”

To read the entire commitment to protecting our environment CLICK HERE.