If you've ever wondered about the plants in the middle of the road, around a parking lot or at the edge of a park, you're about to find out.
Coquitlam's Building Better Campaign will be rolling out this year to increase public awareness around the city's green infrastructure projects. The information campaign will feature new signage and decals to showcase some of the innovative building approaches, many of which are underground or, for those that are above ground, aren't necessarily clear to the public.
"We want to help the public identify these features and understand how they work," said Melony Burton, an engineering project co-ordinator who developed the Building Better Campaign as part of the city's leadership program.
In her presentation to Coquitlam's council-in-committee Monday afternoon, Burton said projects like the Galloway Park rain garden, which includes special features that clean polluted water and controls water flows to a nearby creek, are ideal for the Building Better Campaign.
Other projects that will be showcased through the Building Better Campaign include bioswales on the Ikea property next to Nelson Creek and at the Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex, rain gardens on Rochester and Poirier streets and pervious pavement decals (including one stretch on a lane off Blue Mountain Street).
Building Better will represent city projects as well as those implemented by developers and businesses in Coquitlam.
Burton noted the green wall at the Como Lake Shopping Centre, Veratec engineered soil (which cleans heavy road pollutants) in a Lougheed Highway median bioswale, TD Canada Trust tree planting events and others as projects that would be included on a new Building Better web page.
Part of the campaign will also include printing a brochure for builders and homeowners and an online tool for users to choose various green infrastructure projects for their property with dials displaying how certain choices affect stream health and rainwater capture.
"Education is key to people understanding why we've created these bioswales," said Coun. Craig Hodge. "To some it's just an unkempt ditch. People don't understand that we're doing these things to better the environment."
Coun. Terry O'Neill questioned the estimated $5,000 cost for retrofitting signs, creating new ones and installing plaques in some areas, but Burton said the cost, which will be funded from the engineering and public works budgets, is in line with typical project messaging costs.
Mayor Richard Stewart said that, at less than nine cents per household, the cost is worth it so that residents understand how the city is implementing green features into its infrastructure and development projects.
