Vancouver City Council

SUMMARY OF PRESENTATION
TO CITY COUNCIL TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

26^TH APRIL 2005:
Dr. David V. Bates
Chair, Air Quality Sub-Committee, BCMA

1. In the modern developing city, a number of authorities and jurisdictions can make decisions on policy which have considerable implications for public health.

2. The most important pollutants are:

- fine particles (less than 2.5 microns in size)
- oxides of nitrogen (produced by most combustion processes)
- sulphur dioxide (present in fuel and feed stock for some processes).

3. Although air pollutants cause adverse effects on health, the consequent costs do not appear on the budgets of the authorities making decisions which affect air quality.

4. For this reason, major policy decisions which will affect air quality should be subject to public debate and discussion.

5. At the present time, special attention in the Vancouver region, has to be directed to the following problems (not in order of priority):
        - future modes of public transportation (modern diesel versus natural gas versus fuel cells etc);
        - implications of planned port expansion (emissions from infrastructure such as container     trucks, harbour equipment, and marine emissions);
        - options to encourage use of hybrid vehicles, and to penalize vehicles which have high emission levels.
        - control of emissions and fuel constituents for stationary sources of pollution such as excavating and construction equipment.

6. Thanks largely to remarkable improvements in vehicle technology, Vancouver has managed to undergo substantial growth and at the same time enjoy generally lowered levels of air pollution. If this is to be maintained, it will be important for new developments to be carefully monitored, and a responsible state of “vigilance” in relation to air pollution to be recognised as everyone’s responsibility.

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