A chilly challenge: The City of Ottawa, ON, was faced with the challenge of reducing automobile dependency in a winter city with far-flung suburban areas. Their response was to launch an ambitious transportation plan that combines high-quality transit with safe and accessible year-round cycling infrastructure, aiming for 66 per cent of all trips to the city core to be made via public transit or bike.

Sustainable solution: Ottawa's innovative approach combines city-wide land-use planning that supports transit and cycling with integrated cycling-transit services such as bike racks for buses and a Bike and Ride program. The city has also developed dedicated cycling infrastructure, such as segregated bike lanes, "Complete Streets" and a winter cycling network.

Green benefits: Integrating cycling with transit is effective because it provides options for cyclists during bad weather and increases the accessibility and reach of public transit by encouraging trips that combine both modes. And it's having a big impact: just one initiative — the award-winning Laurier Avenue Segregated Bike Lane Project — succeeded in quadrupling cycling trips on that road, reducing roadway operation and maintenance expenses and almost doubling the cycle mode share in the downtown core.

Success secrets: Some of the reasons for Ottawa's success include promoting integrated options for biking and walking, focusing on key route connectivity and quality rather than total kilometres, and using electronic monitoring data to track and report on success. 

Looking for ways to increase cycling levels in your community?

Learn more about the City of Ottawa's projects with these resources: 

• Laurier Avenue Segregated Bike Lane Project: City of Ottawa, ON, Winner - 2015 FCM Sustainable Communities Awards (case study and video)
• City of Ottawa Transportation Master Plan
• Cycling in the Capital: Laurier Avenue Segregated Bicycle Lane Pilot Project (paper presented to Transportation Association of Canada conference)
• Churchill Avenue Cycle Tracks (project summary, Transportation Association of Canada award nomination)
• Cycling in the City (City of Ottawa e-newsletter, November 2015)
• The Next Great Idea: Ottawa's Light Rail Transit System (A City of Ottawa presentation given at a workshop on promising technologies and solutions)

Discover more sustainability ideas and project examples

Read the other articles in this series for more sustainability ideas and project examples that you can use in your community:

• Cranbrook gains $1.2M in value by using wastewater for irrigation
• How Saint-Hyacinthe turns organic waste into biogas and revenue
• Innovative projects prepare older Brampton suburbs for climate change
• Why net-zero energy buildings reduce emissions and costs for communities
• How low-carbon design helps cut greenhouse gas emissions in half

This series was inspired by "From Crazy to Common Sense: 'Radical' Ideas Whose Time Have Come," a workshop that was held at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' 2016 Sustainable Communities Conference.

Move ideas to reality: Get funding and free resources from FCM's Green Municipal Fund

Subscribe to email updates and get the resources, training, networking opportunities and funding you need from FCM's Green Municipal Fund to implement these sustainability ideas in your community.

A wasteful challenge: Like many progressive communities, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, faced a significant challenge: how to deal with the region's organic waste and sewage sludge in an economically and environmentally responsible manner. Saint-Hyacinthe's solution, however, was far from commonplace: they decided to turn their waste into biogas.

Sustainable solution: The municipality's solution uses anaerobic digestion to convert waste into a high-quality biosolid and a pipeline-quality biogas that is then used to run municipal vehicles and to heat and cool their buildings. Excess biogas is sold to the regional utility, Gaz Métro. This biomethanation project is a first in Quebec and the winner of the 2016 FCM Sustainable Communities Award for Waste.

Green benefits: The environmental benefits of the project are compelling. It diverts waste from the landfill and significantly reduces both odours and greenhouse gas emissions. But what's grabbing the attention of municipal decision-makers is its financial model: the project is projected to pay for itself by generating millions of dollars in annual savings and revenue.

Success secrets: The keys to Saint-Hyacinthe's success were getting the provincial government onside and developing the knowledge and skills of their own municipal staff to do the work in-house. Municipal staff conducted in-depth research in Europe and worked with the province to develop standards that will pave the way for future projects. 

Interested in turning your organic waste into a biogas resource?

Learn more about the City of Saint-Hyacinthe's project with these resources:

• A pioneering project in biomethanation: City of Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, Winner - 2016 FCM Sustainable Communities Awards (case study and video)
• City of Saint-Hyacinthe
• Programme de traitement des matières organiques par biométhanisation et compostage (PTMOBC) du Ministère Développement durable, Environnement et Lutte contre les changements climatiques (in French only)
• Liste des projets en cours via le PTMOBC (in French only)

Discover more sustainability ideas and project examples

Read the other articles in this series for more sustainability ideas and project examples that you can use in your community:

• Cranbrook gains $1.2M in value by using wastewater for irrigation
• Innovative projects prepare older Brampton suburbs for climate change
• Why net-zero energy buildings reduce emissions and costs for communities
• How low-carbon design helps cut greenhouse gas emissions in half
• Ways Ottawa increases cycling with green transit options

This series was inspired by "From Crazy to Common Sense: 'Radical' Ideas Whose Time Have Come," a workshop that was held at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' 2016 Sustainable Communities Conference.

A Green Home Makeover demonstration showcases eco-friendly home improvements, and educates homeowners and the building industry about installation and maintenance.

An age-related challenge: Like many 1980s-era suburbs, the County Court neighbourhood in the City of Brampton, ON, is filled with single-family homes, cul-de-sacs and large parks. It also has aging infrastructure, such as its stormwater systems, in need of an upgrade to deal with the realities of climate change.

Sustainable solution: Instead of taking a piecemeal approach, the city partnered with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) in the Sustainable Neighbourhood Retrofit Action (SNAP) program to explore integrated solutions for addressing local water, energy and ecological retrofit needs. The SNAP program brings regional governments, local authorities, businesses and residents together to work on building resilient and efficient local communities.

Green benefits: For the County Court neighbourhood, partnering with the SNAP program has resulted in a series of innovative projects that meet multiple needs at once, such as a Green Home Makeover, bio-filter swale and stormwater irrigation facility. The impact of these initiatives is monitored and reported on through the TRCA's Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program.

Success secrets: Several key features contribute to the success of this approach:

• a focus on collaboration
• coordination of public- and private-sector actions
• development of integrated solutions  
• use of existing regional and municipal plans and budgets at the local level 

Is your neighbourhood in need of a retrofit?

Learn more about sustainable neighbourhood development with these resources:

• Sustainable Neighbourhood Development: Practical Solutions to Common Challenges (free guide by FCM's Green Municipal Fund)
• Sustainable Neighbourhood Retrofit Action Plan (Toronto and Region Conservation)

Discover more sustainability ideas and project examples

Read the other articles in this series for more sustainability ideas and project examples that you can use in your community:

• Cranbrook gains $1.2M in value by using wastewater for irrigation
• How Saint-Hyacinthe turns organic waste into biogas and revenue
• Why net-zero energy buildings reduce emissions and costs for communities
• Cut GHG in half with low-carbon design
• Ways Ottawa increases cycling with green transit options

This series was inspired by "From Crazy to Common Sense: 'Radical' Ideas Whose Time Have Come," a workshop that was held at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' 2016 Sustainable Communities Conference.

Move ideas to reality: Get funding and free resources from FCM's Green Municipal Fund

Subscribe to email updates and get the resources, training, networking opportunities and funding you need from FCM's Green Municipal Fund to implement these sustainability ideas in your community.

The solar panel on the roof of this house in Halifax is part of a solar-powered water heating system, which reduces water consumption and lowers energy bills.

Reduce GHG emissions by constructing more energy-efficient homes

The UN estimates that buildings use about 40 per cent of global energy and are responsible for about 33 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, cities need to dramatically improve the efficiency of new and existing buildings to achieve their ambitious climate change targets.
Net-zero energy (NZE) buildings are a key part of the puzzle. They are designed to produce as much energy as they consume on an annual basis. To qualify, the energy has to be produced onsite and come from renewable sources such as solar, wind and geothermal.

Net-zero energy construction, financing and education promoted across Canada

Both public and private sector actors are leading the way. For example, the Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA) Net Zero Energy Housing Council is developing pilot projects, financing, education and an NZE labelling program. Similarly, the Toronto Atmospheric Fund is using an Energy Savings Performance Agreement to retrofit buildings, generate revenue and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Local governments — such as Halifax, NS, Bridgewater, NS, and Toronto, ON — are helping by financing energy retrofits through property taxes and local improvement charges.

Net-zero energy buildings offer better efficiency, comfort and air quality

The key to the success of net-zero energy construction is to combine efficiency, quality and accessibility. For example, the CHBA's net-zero energy homes are 80 per cent more energy efficient than homes built to code and offer other benefits such as improved comfort and indoor air quality. Their long-term goal is to deliver net-zero energy homes at "net-zero cost" by using the monthly energy savings to pay for the additional capital investments needed.

Interested in starting a net-zero energy project in your community?

Learn more with these resources:

• An Action Plan for Net Zero Energy Housing in Canada Moves Forward (Canadian Home Builders' Association)

Discover more sustainability ideas and project examples

Read the other articles in this series for more sustainability ideas and project examples that you can use in your community:

• Cranbrook gains $1.2M in value by using wastewater for irrigation
• How Saint-Hyacinthe turns organic waste into biogas and revenue
• Innovative projects prepare older Brampton suburbs for climate change
• How low-carbon design helps cut greenhouse gas emissions in half
• Ways Ottawa increases cycling with green transit options

This series was inspired by "From Crazy to Common Sense: 'Radical' Ideas Whose Time Have Come," a workshop that was held at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' 2016 Sustainable Communities Conference.

Move ideas to reality: Get funding and free resources from FCM's Green Municipal Fund

Subscribe to email updates and get the resources, training, networking opportunities and funding you need from FCM's Green Municipal Fund to implement these sustainability ideas in your community.

The Town of Ladysmith commissioned three studies of contamination at a former industrial site on its waterfront, to review options for remediation.

A geotechnical study looked at subsurface soil and groundwater conditions. It found extensive coal waste that was at risk of becoming liquid and destabilizing the ground during a seismic event. The study made recommendations for ground improvement to mitigate the seismic hazard and erosion caused by ocean wave action.

An environmental site investigation and a marine sediment study assessed the soil and groundwater. It found contaminants including oils, fuels and contaminants associated with coal waste, rail yards and shipping.  

The town is considering an application from a private developer to remediate and redevelop the site, and has agreed to involve the Stz'uminus First Nation as a partner in any redevelopment.

Results

Challenges

• Both the province and the town had many other projects underway at the time, reducing capacity for the study.
• The town had to make an application for additional drilling to determine the extent of the contamination.
• The involvement of three jurisdictions (the municipality, the province and the First Nation) complicated the process.
• The area was inhabited at the time of the study.

Lessons learned

• Meet regularly and communicate well with partners.
• When multiple jurisdictions are involved, partnership is the key to success: everyone has a piece of the puzzle.
• Reach out to provincial agencies until the right partner (the department best equipped to move the project through regulatory processes) is found.
• Make sure the community understands what is happening at the site - the what, why and how of the research.

Resources

• Town of Ladysmith - sustainability vision documents

Partners and Collaborators

• British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture
• Stz'uminus First Nation

Project Contact

Ruth Malli
City Manager
Town of Ladysmith, BC
T. 250-245-6401