The mandate for the Environmental Task Force was transferred to the Sustainability Roundtable and then to the Roundtable on the Environment. The following material is provided for archival purposes.

Minutes:

Sue Zielinski, Workgroup Co-ordinator, made introductory welcomes to the Working Group and advised that the theme of the meeting was "Not Moving People" - using access, land use, zoning, technological and telecommunication approaches to reduce or replace travel.

A "go-around" of brief introductions by those in attendance at the meeting was undertaken. A sign-in sheet was circulated to the group.

Sue noted to the group that the Directory forms were due at tonight's meeting and requested that any outstanding forms be faxed to Debbie Bernardi (416-392-0816) by the end of the week.

The presentation section of the meeting then commenced with the presentation by Kevin Currie, Wheel ment, on "Telework and Telecommunications as Travel Replacement". Some examples of telework were:

home-based businesses - typically working from a home office where majority of work is directed from an office area in their home

specialized home telecommuters - main telephone number with calls distributed to various locations through a network - e.g. pizza companies

internet-based home business.

Implications:

social impact - no employee interaction

high cost of home based equipment

federal government tariffs on telecommunications equipment

internet home shopping - researching and purchasing from home = less time out shopping at local businesses

solution: local community home page.

The next presentation was by Ron Neville, Management of Technical Services, on "Land Use and Access as Travel Replacement". Ron noted two existing factors - auto dependance and urban sprawl. He advised that the average commuting time for a person has not changed much over the last 600 years - 2 hour average time. Ron also noted that the most wealthy cities in the world are not auto dependent, but offer strong commuter rail and transit networks. Since the 1950's, there has been a decline in the use of public transit across North America, as population density has declined on average. Toronto's population density in the amalgamated City is comparable to population densities in many European cities that have much higher transit ridership. The work that has been done for the GTA Transit Plan indicates that, by 2020, there will be substantially more gridlock than exists today.

Ron advised that land use is the key to CO² reduction targets, however, this is a long term change, and that the land use issue is one of different scales - regional level (population densities), city level (redevelopment), and street level (neighbourhoods and communities).

The next presentation was by Ross Snetsinger, Transport 2000, on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Backcasting Study. Ross discussed a presentation paper by Peter Wiederkehr, OECD Environment Directorate - "The OECD's Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Project", dealing with noise, air pollution emissions, global impact from air travel, life cycle of transportation vehicle, etc. Copies of the paper were distributed at the meeting. At this point, Ross discussed 4 overhead graphs representing:

Long Term Projections of Transportation Emissions in Eight OECD Member Countries

Combination Scenario for Freight Transport - Situation in 2030

Combination Scenario for Passenger Transport - Situation in 2030

Railway Tie "Mountains"

Ross noted that there has been a loss of approximately 3,000 miles of rail infrastructure in recent years.

The last presentation for the evening was by Anna Gibson, Green Tourism Association, on a "Green Map" of Toronto. The Green Tourism Association is in the process of preparing a map focused on green tourism opportunities in Toronto - parks, gardens, green organizations, green businesses and restaurants, organic food suppliers, bike trails, self-guided tours, transit services and routes, and sustainable day trips in Toronto. Anna noted that the City of Toronto is a supporter and sponsor of this project and that 100,000 copies will be published by May, 1999.

The meeting then broke up into 3 small groups to discuss:

key "not moving people" messages

targets

government and public structures

evaluation/indicators of success.

The reports back from the 3 groups were as follows:

Messages:

Group 1

encouragement around rail movement

integration of rail

promote home-based job functions

intensification is better than sprawl

urban sprawl not internationally competitive

Group 2

reinforce main streets idea

promote mixed land use

maximize human powered vehicles (human bodies)

end "big box" expansion

education campaign to promote urban sustainability

Group 3

rather see human powered trips (to encourage higher density) than internet shopping, big box

not moving at all or not moving very far

Targets:

Group 1

Kyoto target for CO² reduction

promote local, community-based products and services

planning density targets

change property tax structure to favour downtown density / unit assessment

redevelop freight rail terminals

incorporate infrastructure costs into development charges

tie development changes to density levels

Group 2

less rigid zoning - legality of home businesses

car sharing

restructuring official plans of GTA

implementation guidelines

32 hour work week / flex time tax breaks

Group 3

ecological footprint for Earthshare

community-based maps - foot and pedal range

tax breaks on green spaces - grassed lawns, green roofs

Government and Public Structures:

Group 1

structures to encourage local production

re-involve Province

better integration of transit and land use planning

public budget to promote sustainable transportation

exchange of information - "business as usual"

Group 2

GTSB to insist on sustainable development and transportation policies

requirement for sidewalks, inline skating lanes

parking supply and pricing must be increasingly restricted

Group 3

1 City on-street parking permit per dwelling

increase parking permit fees

no front yard parking

car pool lanes

Evaluation/Indicators of Success:

Group 1

reduced road transport

reduced vehicle kilometres travelled

increased small business growth in City

increased mode share for transit and rail freight

higher population densities in and around Toronto

cleaner air, more parks

Group 2

reduction in car emissions to Kyoto target

City population is increased

more transit - lower prices

gas taxes to go to transit

lower car speeds

private roads should pay taxes (e.g. Highway 407)

emissions trading - targets

At this time in the meeting, Sue Zielinski advised the Workgroup of the following changes in future meeting dates:

Wednesday, April 7 - Meeting Cancelled - Draft Report to be Emailed/Faxed for Comments

Wednesday, May 5 - Meeting as Scheduled - Final Draft Report Review - 1:30-4:30 p.m., Committee Room No. 1, Second Floor, Toronto City Hall.

Homework Assignment:

Sue Zielinski requested that the meeting's homework assignment consist of an email communication to her, filling in the following question blank:

"It would be a real shame if the S.T. report left out _______________".

The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m.