Friday, October 14, 2011
Natural light in the office From Page 4 One is by using skylights or sky tubes, technology often utilized by big box retailers. Another method is by designing buildings optimized for sunlight with significant use of windows—which can be thermally inefficient and cause glare. Either can increase operating costs for a building. SunCentral’s Core Sunlighting System involves two components: sunlight concentration panels mounted on a building’s exterior and hybrid light fixtures. The panels capture direct sunlight, magnifies it and distributes it to indoor light fixtures, which also include artificial lighting to compensate when sunlight isn’t available. “We’re turning off the lights with sunlight, and we’re doing so in a way that mitigates glare and thermal heat gain and loss issues that come with windows,” said Athwal. And unlike some costly green technologies that offer little economic benefit, the Core Sunlighting System promises commercial payback to customers within three to 10 years—depending on availability of sun and cost of energy. Payback comes in the form of reduced costs in electricity, heating and cooling. The technology is seemingly coming at the right time. Athwal said the global economy is moving toward carbon mitigation. The Kyoto Protocol, mandatory carbon mitigation requirements, government energy targets and cities aiming for net zero carbon emissions are all creating market opportunities. And with fast-growing economies of sun-baked countries like India, the sky’s the limit for the technology’s spread. Athwal said improving efficiency of buildings is key in the carbon neutral quest. “The built environment actually produces more carbon than transport and industry,” he said. “You could have everyone riding a bike, but it’s still not going to make a dent in terms of carbon, because it’s buildings that produce carbon.”
Richmond Review · Page 5
Rooftop garden at cultural centre
City Board Construction advisory September 26–November 10 The City of Richmond has contracted Directional Mining and Drilling Ltd. and J. Cote and Son to perform watermain construction at the following locations in Richmond: • No. 3 Road from Firbridge Way to Granville Avenue • Granville Avenue from No. 3 Road to Gilbert Road Hours of work are scheduled from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Traffic on the affected roads will be reduced to a single lane at times. Delays may occur. The use of an alternate route is strongly encouraged. This work is weather dependent and dates are subject to change without notice. Questions may be directed to Anthony Fu, P.Eng., Project Engineer, at 604-247-4905, or visit the City’s Construction Projects webpage at www.richmond.ca (City Services > Roads, Dykes, Water & Sewers > Construction Projects > 2011 Construction Projects). City of Richmond | 6911 No. 3 Rd. Richmond BC V6Y 2C1 | Tel: 604-276-4000
www.richmond.ca
City Board
Richmond Cultural Centre now boasts a rooftop garden—a new outdoor space reserved for arts programs and events. The previously unused space now features sustainable elements such as recycled glass pebbles along, pillar cisterns and planter troughs to capture rainwater, apple trees and food plants including blueberries, lavender, spinach, kiwi fruit and bok choy.
City Board Construction advisory
Interested in the Noise Regulation Bylaw review and proposed amendments?
September 12–October 31
We want to hear from you
The City of Richmond has contracted Imperial Paving Ltd. to install pedestrian safety improvements at the following locations in Richmond from September 12 to October 31, 2011:
The general public is invited to attend an information open house to learn about and provide feedback on the Noise Regulation Bylaw review and proposed amendments.
• Installation of a raised intersection and new traffic signal with an exclusive pedestrian only phase (pedestrian scramble) at: o No. 1 Road and Moncton Street • Installation of new raised crosswalks across: o No. 1 Road at Chatham Street o Moncton Street at Easthope Avenue o Moncton Street 60 m east of Bayview Street, near Hayashi Court • Sidewalk and drainage alterations to accommodate the new raised intersection and crosswalks Work hours are scheduled from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. As this work is weather dependent, some work may occur on Saturdays and Sundays, and the dates are subject to change without notice. Traffic on affected roads will be reduced to a single lane at times. Delays may occur. The use of an alternate route is strongly encouraged. There will also be a three day full closure of the No. 1 Road and Moncton Street intersection in October. The dates of this closure will be weather dependent. Questions may be directed to Milton Chan, Senior Project Engineer, at 604-276-4377, or visit the City’s Transportation Projects webpage at www.richmond.ca (City Services > Roads, Dykes, Water & Sewers > Construction Projects > 2011 Transportation Projects).
Thursday, October 27 3:00 – 7:00 p.m. Richmond City Hall, Main floor Galleria 6911 No. 3 Road City staff will be in attendance to provide information, answer questions and receive your feedback. Information and a survey provided at the open house will also be posted on the City’s website at www.richmond.ca/NoiseRegulation Your input is important to us and will be taken into consideration in finalizing the draft of the proposed bylaw and the development of options presented to Council. Background Given the very complex issues surrounding the impact of noise in a growing city, and the technical advancements since the inception of the City’s Public Health Protection Bylaw 6989 in 2000, the City is undergoing a noise regulation assessment. As part of the assessment, the City is holding a thorough community public participation process during October and November. In addition, the City has also scheduled opportunities for members of the business community and other stakeholders to provide their input. For more information Visit the City’s website at www.richmond.ca/NoiseRegulation or contact Wayne Mercer, Manager, Community Bylaws at wmercer@richmond.ca or call 604-247-4601.
City of Richmond | 6911 No. 3 Rd. Richmond BC V6Y 2C1 | Tel: 604-276-4000
City of Richmond | 6911 No. 3 Rd. Richmond BC V6Y 2C1 | Tel: 604-276-4000
www.richmond.ca
www.richmond.ca