Actually a lot of what the report is suggesting move forward is already happening now and is in fact in the Regional Plan.
Things like promoting active transportation are a priority in the plan, so yes Keith there will be more bike lanes and there should be. The ones here in Calgary are quite impressive and really didn't have that much of a cost; but their impact is quite noticeable. The stats the City's Transportation Cycling Coordinator gave were impressive - although I'm going from memory so I'm likely to get these numbers wrong (if there is an error, please let me know). But right now the dt cycle lane is seeing 1,100 cyclists a day and currently in cold weather (-10 and below) 30 to 45% of cyclists still bicycle into work. The total number of cyclists in Calgary (last # I heard) was estimated at 12,000. So that 1,100 are now cars off the road, using bikes. It's actually a win win when you think about it - because they get a dedicated safe lane and every cyclist that uses it represents a car off the road. Same with transit...
The one thing in the report I'm interested in (lately) is urban agriculture. Not so much of an issue in HRM as there isn't a lot of agricultural land that is being eaten up to sprawl; but certainly a huge issue in Calgary/Edmonton and most of the Greater Toronto Area. However I like the idea that if a building site is going to remain dormant for a while (no construction activity) why not do something with it, rather than leave it empty? They've been doing pop up parks throughout Calgary as a trial (with owner consent) - why wouldn't you have a pop up garden?
When Watts talked about Urban Gardens for Cogswell, I'm sure she meant the whole thing should be a garden - I'm more pragmatic about it and realize we need places for people to live. But why not have it as part of the roof? Or if we have a wide street - put them in planters? Here in Calgary the Downtown Business Association planted a whole bunch of crops in planters along the
Barclay Mall (3rd Street SW) as you can see in this streetview. If memory serves, they started it about 3 years ago and now it's an annual thing - it does very well.
Although I do have to admit the doorknob thing is a bit much...