January 28, 2019

City of London praised for bird-friendly building proposals

An environmental group is praising London city hall for trying to make future buildings more bird-friendly.

Backed by city council’s planning committee this week, a staff report that could pave the way for features to help prevent birds from colliding into buildings will go before full council for approval Tuesday.

The proposed changes, which would affect the city’s site-plan control bylaw, centre on ways to avoid light pollution — a key contributor to bird strikes, which are often deadly.

The proposals include ensuring lights in new developments have cut-off fixtures to avoid up light, as well as treating glass so birds can identify it as a barrier.

“Certainly the fact that London has some initiatives already at the designing phase to avoid bird strikes is very encouraging, and the extra amendments they could add would be a great addition,” said Peter Read, a member and former president of Nature London, an organization for the preservation and enjoyment of nature.

“I think the birding community would definitely endorse the fact they are trying to prevent and end bird strikes and also the light pollution that leads to it.”

Bird strikes happen mainly because of birds’ inability to comprehend glass. They are attracted to urban areas by lighting of the sky at night, which can also confuse birds by creating glare and reflection around windows.

Plans for buildigs higher than four storeys and those that feature large glass facades, for example, would be reviewed by the city’s ecologist and other advisory committees.

Some exceptions, however, could be made to residential developments less than six storeys in height, as long they aren’t located next to designated green areas by the city.

Keep reading in The London Free Press

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