EP!C Expo.

After picking up my name tag and volunteer t-shirt during the orientation on Wednesday evening, I went to see the EP!C Expo as a civilian on Saturday to sit in on a handful of discussion panels about all things sustainable.

EP!C is Vancouver’s largest Sustainable Living Expo which runs annually over the course of three days. What I enjoyed most aside from wine tasting at the Banrock Station booth was panelists in key areas discussing about how to keep Vancouver on track to becoming the greenest city in the world by 2020. One such panel was titled EPIC on Wheels: The Future of Sustainable Transportation where a representative from the City of Vancouver, the Co-operative Auto Network, and TransLink came together to discuss, among other things, alternative modes to get around the city and using incentives/disincentives to influence people’s attitudes and behaviours about ditching their private vehicles.

I personally wish to see the downtown core free of private motor vehicles; open only to transit, emergency response, and commercial vehicles such as delivery trucks and taxis. My ideal Vancouver will adopt a system similar to Singapore city where private motor vehicles will have to pay for a permit granting privilege to drive into city centre. In turn, the city should invest in maintaining and improving infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, employing more pedestrian only streets like Granville street, and expanding the bike lanes to other key corridors.

Personally, I’m delighted to have Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson and city counsel take the initial steps in transforming Vancouver into a more livable city. News about the resounding success of the Burrard street bridge bike lane trial (now on its way to becoming a permanent fixture), the newly opened Dunsmuir street separated bike lane, and city counsel unanimously committing to spend $25 million over the next two years to building 55 kilometres of new bike lanes makes me proud to live here and call this city my own. We still have some catching up to do compared to cities like Portland where they have over a hundred miles of bike lanes and Montréal where they’ve installed a hop-on hop-off bike network called BIXI, but I’m confident that Vancouver Green Capital will hold up to its motto in time.

I begun my shift on Sunday afternoon as a Main Stage Assistant, working alongside with Paul, Randall, and a handful of other volunteers who were all a pleasure to work with. It was so nice to speak about sustainability with like-minded individuals all around me and exchange some meaningful dialogue. Did you know that Vancouver was given the status of Fair Trade Town earlier this month? It’s the first Canadian city to be given this designation!

I’m gushing with Vancouver achievements and have plenty more ammunition to brag about my great city, but as a Canadian, I must remain humble and let you Google that for yourself.