California has some of the most polluted regions in the United States, and it is vital that we protect the health and well-being of our residents, visitors, and workforce. Emissions from vehicles, industry, and even household sources significantly affect the natural environment, air quality and well-being of residents, employees, and visitors of Culver City. Individual actions such as taking transit, not idling vehicles, walking, or biking to work and school, carpooling, and conserving energy can directly improve air quality in our region.
Everyone can play a role and education about air quality can raise community awareness, encourage our community to develop better habits, and improve our community health. Californians will be joining together across the state to help clean the air on October 5, 2022, the 5th Annual Clean Air Day, and the City of Culver City is committed to the health of our residents, workforce, visitors, and community at large.
The City Council be declared October 5, 2022 “Clean Air Day” in the City of Culver City and encourages all residents, businesses, employees, community members, and City staff to participate in Clean Air Day to help clean the air for all Californians. Consider getting involved and taking the Clean Air Day Pledge!
The City's Actions to Promote Clean Air
Culver CityBus Free Fare Day on Wednesday, October 5th
Transportation is the single biggest source of air pollution in California. On #CleanAirDayCA, #trytransit to clear the air and save yourself money and time! It's #CleanAirDay on Wednesday! Visit the Culver CityBus website to take advantage of free fare and plan your commute! #trytransit California Clean Air Day!
Transportation
Biking and walking are free, healthy, and environmentally friendly modes of transportation, reducing traffic and car use within the City and improving air quality. Culver City is investing significant resources to promote biking and walking in the City, including adoption of its 2020 Bicycle & Pedestrian Action Plan, and the City has begun to implement the projects and measures it contains. There are multiple City mobility projects currently in the planning stages or now underway, including neighborhood projects that improve local access and safety and citywide projects that increase connections to public transportation and regional bikeways. For example, the Move Culver City is a pilot program creating a dedicated bus lane and protected bicycle lane from the City’s Arts District to its downtown, including a connection to the City’s light rail station.
Urban Forest
Among other benefits, trees in urban areas reduce the ambient temperature and improve air quality. For over 100 years, Culver City planners and developers have planted trees across the community, creating an urban canopy of old-growth, creating picturesque tree-lined streets that are some of the most coveted in the region. The City adopted an Urban Forest Master Plan to ensure the long-term health and sustainability of its trees and has received Tree City recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation.
Clean Power
The Clean Power Alliance's 100% Green Power option is the default electricity tier for the Culver City community, providing 100% renewable, carbon free power at competitive rates. Currently, 95% of the City's businesses and residents now purchase 100% green power. Culver City has avoided an estimated 174,698 metric tons of CO2e since launch of CPA service in 2019. This is equivalent to taking 37,640 gas-powered passenger vehicles off the road, or planting 2,888,498 tree seedlings and growing them for 10 years.
Energy Efficiency
This year, the City is replacing its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system at its Veterans Memorial Auditorium, which will convert the prior natural gas space heating equipment with all-electric. Doing so will reduce natural gas use by 1,570 therms annually and reduce carbon dioxide GHG emissions by 27.09 metric tons each year.
Electric Vehicle Charging
The Public Works Department is currently working on a grant-funded project to prepare a City-Wide Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan, which will be completed by the end of this year. The project goal is to foster the transition from fossil fuel to electric powered vehicles. It features a comprehensive outreach component and strategies for all property types, with the aim to grow the number of private and publicly available charging stations, listing rebate/incentive programs available, and creating how-to reference guides for EV owners and property managers.
Environmental Programs and Operations: Organic Waste
The Walk & Rollers Program, sponsored by the City, will celebrate Clean Air Day by organizing participation in International Walk to School Day. School students in the Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD) will join millions of kids around the world in this international event.
The City also has multiple initiatives to improve the Ballona Creek Bike Path and expand access to it. For example:
- The City Council recently approved opening a new residential access point to the bike path at Jackson Avenue.
- In partnership with the Baldwin Hills Conservancy and using grant-funding, the City has begun a project that will make improvements along a 1.1 mile stretch of the bike path between National Boulevard and Duquesne Avenue, including wayfinding signage, resurfacing the bike path with eco-friendly permeable pavement, installation of solar powered lighting, planting of over 100 trees, and other safety and accessibility enhancements.
- A project to replace the Higuera Street bridge will be completed shortly that will add a new ramp connecting the dynamic Hayden Tract business area to the bike path, expanding commuters use the path.
- Culver City is also a supporter of a proposed regional plan to extend the path.
Organic materials such as food scraps, yard trimmings and soiled cardboard make up half the volume of refuse that is currently dumped into landfills, these landfills are the third largest source of methane emissions in California. To reduce landfill methane emissions and improve air quality, the Environmental Programs & Operations Division continues to expand its organic waste recycling program to additional properties throughout the City. Our program allows for both food and green waste to be placed into the organic containers. This co-mingled material is processed and eventually broken down into high quality finished compost. The finished compost is then redistributed through sponsored compost giveaways and/or used as a soil amendment for specific city owned locations. The expansion of our organic waste recycling program diverts this material from being dumped into local landfills while also adhering to California state law SB 1383 Short-lived Climate Pollutants.
Original source can be found here.
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