GeniUS! Challenge #4 - Utilising footfall & transport
How can footfall and transport be used innovatively to generate income and improve environmental sustainability in the City?
This challenge has 4 key elements:
1.Footfall – how bustling and busy a place is with pedestrians;
2.Transport – getting about from A to B by motorised transport modes such as a car, vans or motorcycle or by more sustainable modes such as walking, cycling, buses and trains;
3.Income - attracting, saving or generating money in the city to help the local economy thrive; and
4.Environmental Sustainability – delivering quality of life whilst protecting the environment i.e reducing carbon emissions which contribute towards tackling climate change, improving air quality, recycling, energy and water conservation, renewable energy generation and protecting and enhancing the natural environment.
When we combine these four elements together this challenge is about finding an innovative way to generate money from footfall and / or transport modes in a way that will improve environmental sustainability in the city.
For this challenge we are focussing on the City Centre, inside the Walls, however, we are open to innovate ideas for any part of York.
The Challenge
Traditionally, motorised transport is a major user of polluting sources of energy. For example, many of us use petrol in our cars to run them. Unfortunately burning such fuels to power our cars can have a wide range of negative impacts on the environment creating air pollution from nitrogen oxides and particulates, and carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming and climate change.
Changing our reliance from polluting to non-polluting modes of transport is challenging enough, which is why the city already has programmes like Intelligent Travel York, and its predecessor Cycling City York. But doing this AND generating income from these changes is even more challenging and we need your innovative thinking!
Background
As a city we are fortunate in having many advantages enabling sustainable travel to be a realistic option for a large proportion of our residents, York also has a particularly high proportion of people who cycle (15% ) and walk (15%) and car trip levels (driver & passenger) are also much lower than the regional and national average (Census 2001). In the city centre alone footfall in 2011 was just under 12 and a half million on Coney Street and eight and half million on Parliament Street.
Environmental impacts of transport
However, it is expected that there will be a significant growth in jobs and housing over the next 15 - 20 years. Such growth is likely to impact on the environmental sustainability of the city unless we can alter the way we travel and live.
Such growth is likely to increase the pressures on the transport network, which could lead to current levels of delay increasing and contributing to more carbon emissions and climate change and pollutants that affect local air quality and health.
By 2050 York’s carbon emissions are predicted to increase by up to 30%, currently 26% of York’s carbon emissions come from the transport sector and as a City we are committed to reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2020.
In order to achieve this target the city is also committed to generating more clean energy from renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind and hydro. However, there are other innovate ways to generate clean energy and we are actively seeking these too, such as generating energy from people as they walk!
York has also declared 2 Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) based on annual average nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels that are higher than the government guidelines.
A presentation with more background information on this challenge and the work currently happening across the city on sustainable transport and climate change is available to view by clicking on the link under attachments lower down the page.
What may be the benefits to tackling this challenge?
Depending on the solution, the benefits may include:
- A healthier population that walks and cycles more (and saves money from it too!)
- Cleaner air and improved health benefits
- A city reducing carbon emissions and the future impacts of a changing climate
- Less congestion across the city
- More people visiting the city and spending their money in the city
- Generating clean energy and reducing the city’s energy bills
Less of this:
And more healthy people to enjoy a healthy environment
But how do we solve the challenge?
If you think you know how to tackle this challenge tell us.
For this challenge we are focussing on the City Centre, inside the City Walls, however, we are open to innovate ideas for any part of York. All we ask is that you stick to the challenge question and involve footfall / and / or Transport modes, income generation that will improve the local environment.
Here’s some ideas:
One such idea could be for example how we could generate energy from people as they walk. York’s footfall figures in the city centre are potentially a great untapped resource - in 2011 there were 12.5 million on Coney Street and 8.5 million on Parliament Street. Technology exists which can exploit all this movement and convert it into a renewable energy source – and potential income!
Ideas could be based around new technology or simply doing things differently or encouraging people or businesses to behave in a different way. For example, discounts could be offered at attractions for people arriving on push bikes – encouraging more cycling and potentially increasing visitor numbers.
Promising ideas will be investigated by experts, working with the originator and affected groups and, if plans are agreed, the Council has committed to make them reality.
Tags: eco-friendly, environmental, footfall, income, pollution, traffic
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jacqueline Warren on
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Tom and Dan - Thanks for the comments – I think its fair to say that if any ideas are developed they will of course be very carefully investigated and all impacts assessed before choosing any proposed action(s).
Cassey – Thanks for the links and interesting examples – I especially liked the Our Cities report – I liked the real examples going on across the world on re-designing transport systems and our cities – I especially liked the pedestrianisation of Broadway event - it reminded me of a event a few years ago here in York where we grassed part of Parliament Street for everyone to sit and enjoy the summer in.
I think perhaps some of the goods ideas so far have been very large scale and many are long term solutions, perhaps we need to try and solve this challenge in smaller bit sized solutions – perhaps start off small and work our way up?
Or perhaps we need to try and think of other innovations to use transport or footfall to generate income and improve environmental sustainability – here’s a different idea from London. It utilises an asset such as shopping centre to generate clean energy from footfall and reduce fossil-fuel based energy consumption (which will help reduce carbon emissions and climate change). There are examples of this type of innovation being trailed in night clubs, schools, events and even the London Olympic. Its just a different way at looking at the challenge through different types of technologies that will still help to reduce negative environmental impacts such a poor air quality or climate change. www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/8799743/Energy-paving-slabs-to-power...
Here’s another similar innovative idea – based on the same idea of using footfall to generate clean energy - http://miltonkeynes.com/uks-first-people-powered-christmas-tree.html
On its own it won't change the world - but it could perhaps be replicable across the city
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Permalink Reply by Tom Smith on -
I'm not particularly wedded to "closing the bridges" I just lobbed it in to see if it was a real request for ideas or if it'd be shut down by small-minded conservatism.
I wonder, how many businesses are really "York businesses" anyway? Barnitts, Bulmers, Bettys ( Harrogate is close enough ), Browns... any more? Why do they all begin with B?
Should York council be doing things that "suit" national and international retail concerns which don't necessarily intersect with what is good for York?
I like small too. Did you see the recycled plastic bottle christmas tree? http://bit.ly/zfw3Cc
And did you see the River of Light too...
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Permalink Reply by Dan Beech on
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I rather liked your idea for creating a walkway, but what about modifying it a bit? Instead of on a bridge, what about between bridges?
Suppose one were able to walk down the steps from Ouse Bridge on the Skeldergate side, and walk on a raised platform perhaps cantilevered out from the river bank in places down to the Bonding Warehouse by Skeldergate Bridge. You would generate footfall on a side of the river that gets little, by creating a circular walkway, bridge to bridge and back on the other side. After all, people like walking in York by the river. There are places on the Skelderate side where new businesses could flourish.
It might mean evicting the Sea Scouts, but hey, no-one could accuse me of small minded conservatism.
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Permalink Reply by Tom Smith on
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Ha... OK.
I think the bit in front of that awful hotel ?? and in front of the Museum gardens could be made into "destinations".... like Vancouver. It's sort of starting to happen already - I think I saw a coffee boat and isn't an Arts Barge lurking somewhere.
You've maybe hit on it. Boats. Lots of boats - hireable by small businesses or orgs. Crikey - they could even relocate on loan in Selby and Goole...
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Permalink Reply by Dan Beech on
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Gondoliers. Perhaps not footfall in the traditional sense - more webbed-foot fall.
So let's put this variety of ideas together. We create a new raised walkway from Ouse Bridge to the Bonding Warehouse by Skledergate Bridge beside and partially over the river, using the existing walkways as much as possible. New shops on the Skeldergate riverbank and the Bonding Warehouse suddenly becomes a potentially viable building. If only David Hockney could be persuaded to relocate from Salt's Mill.....
Small boats can ply their trade - including perhaps a river taxi service between the Park and Ride near Clifton as far south as the Designer Outlet - now if THAT doesn't reduce cars in and out of York, what will? The taxi service will provide WiFi so commuters can read their emails before disembarking at Aviva or the Guildhall for work.
The taxi service could be sponsored by Aviva for that matter.
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Permalink Reply by Heather Niven on
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these are some super ideas, and if you add electricity generating paving stones to the walkway, that could create beautiful light displays along the walk in the evenings (carbon neutrally) it would be safe to use and a really enjoyable evening constitutional. As well as the additional income from the trading boats and taxis :O) keep em coming!!
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Another thought- dynamo exercise bikes that actually pay out! So they directly contribute to powering a building e.g new council building increasing green energy usage ratio and for every unit of leaky produced the cyclist gets a quid! Loads of folk would have a go and u could even have a 'leader board' for the most miles completed in one go. Genius ;0)
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Lol lecky not Leakey damn predictive text ...
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Are u using an iPad? We have had some issues with iPad compatibility. Last one came through ok. Please let me know if it happens again and we will try to help!
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Permalink Reply by Andyd on -
No. It is still there in 'my blog posts' but not in the relevant discussion above relating to topic 4. I think the whole structure is confusing - should we create a post, replywith a message to a discussion, comment on a post or all three??? Maybe if I were a teenager who spent all day on facebook it would make sense...
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This is a pilot platform Andy. Rather than spending lots of money on a bespoke designer platform we wanted to get a conversation mechanism up there quickly and spend the resource on running the workshops and resourcing the outcomes. If you are struggling then I can post on your behalf. Not sure why it isn't posting- it hasn't come through to the moderation space either?
Ah looks like you got there in the end ;0)Cheers h -
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