Below is a summary of the discussion as well as next steps and upcoming actions on the Planning for COVID and Climate efforts to bring all your amazing thoughts and insights together. Just as a reminder some of the hoped for outcomes of this effort include (but are not limited to):
- Ensuring that there is a Sustainability/Climate Lens applied to municipal COVID Response and Recovery Teams (we recognize that this is only one a number of lenses that will need to be applied to this);
- Ensuring that who ever is designated on the team to enable the team as a whole to apply that lens is supported in the ability to know how and when it makes to apply it and how they can help their other team members to consider it;
- In order to achieve those above goals there is a crowd sourced collective effort to explore and summarize opportunities and consideration for how to apply that sustainability/climate lens;
- There is also an effort to get feedback/input from municipal politicians involved in the new Municipalities Acting Together on Climate (MACT) Network CAP is helping to facilitate so that both a staff and politician perspective is taken into account;
- Identification and advancement of messaging to other levels of government re municipal input on the need to bring together our COVID and Climate goals (longer term hoped for outcome and success of this hoped for outcome will largely be based on municipal alignment between their COVID/Climate Emergencies response.
Here is the link to the most up to date power point slides compiling input thus far: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SRG-h1xY24uxT1-olX67wmA7zqzKJjuyh_PHfUKk33o/edit?usp=sharing
Re updates to messaging. This was not discussed during our call but was discussed in the afternoon during the MACT Network discussion but just wanted to highlight this update to the messaging:
Just as a summary
POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS
- Identification of where physical distancing space is limited (anecdotally, community input, crowdsourcing a map/pinch points, street/sidewalk width analysis)
- How to apply an equity lens to COVID response re road space reallocation. CAP will be undertaking some research to learn how others are applying an equity lens to their COVID/road space re-allocations). Future sharing on this. Feedback/where a municipality has experience on this please send an email to gkalapos@cleanairpartnership.org
- Priorities re decision making: conversations within municipalities related to prioritization (physical distancing; more space for outdoor exercise; increasing access to outdoor space especially where green space is not as accessible; bringing people to businesses (ex. downtown); what is the most important considerations, for where and why?
Gaps in Messaging Identified Thus Far
(May still be premature for this discussion. While we may be worried about this taking place, we should not assume that it will take place. Thankfully there are far more calls for ensuring we continue to address our climate change emergency as part of our COVID Response and Recovery).
- How to respond to possible arguments re: that we don’t have money for climate because we spent too much on COVID?
- One could also say that we didn’t have money for COVID but we found it because we decided that it was worth investing in saving people’s health and lives.
- If we are okay investing in saving lives as a result of COVID what about saving lives and protecting our economy from Climate shocks?
- How come it is okay to invest/go into debt to save our older and vulnerable populations but we can’t afford to invest in reducing the risks future generations will experience from climate change impacts?
- Especially since we know that the younger generation will also be key to paying back these debts?
- Climate presents greater and longer term risks to our economy and public health than COVID.
Motivations for Reallocating Road Space
#1: To safely provide adequate space for physical distancing.
#2: To provide an alternative to transit.
#3: To support residents’ physical and mental health.
#4: To build a more sustainable post-COVID city.
Types of Road Space Reallocations
- Temporary Health Corridors
- Pilots
- Pinch Points
- Curbside Queuing
- Open Streets/ Slow Streets
Considerations for Road Space Re-Allocation
- Emergency vehicle access
- Local business/resident vehicle access
- Waste services access
- Transit vehicle access
- Risk of encouraging people to leave their homes or congregate
- Equity across mode users considerations: How to apply?
Some Additional Longer Term/Enabling Considerations
- E-Mobility considerations (regulations re children on e-bikes, safety re different speeds) this is a future topic area)
- Increased bike parking requirements/theft of equipment/Disinfection guidance
- Weather condition consideration
If you can let us know about the following questions and feedback that will help us build upon where we are at present
- What are some of the conversations occurring within your municipality related to road space reallocations?
- What are some of the pros/cons/issues for consideration that are being raised?
- What supports would be of value to facilitate these conversations within your municipalities?