https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/02/21/metro-vancouver-regional-district-22m-budget-cuts/
https://globalnews.ca/news/11016648/vancouver-mayor-ken-sim-board-metro-vancouver-waste-of-time/
Not enough money for an express bus and train tunnel between downtown & the North Shore.
However, there are plenty of funds for an overbudjet shit-box!
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-aquatic-centre-proposal-controversy
Just because backwards Vancouver gets a lot of rain, that doesn't mean that almost everything should be symbolically watered down.
Why have a Canada+Line with 152m long stations, like on the Montreal+Metro, when a 50m joke of a station provides excellent watered down symbolism? Why have bridges wide enough for bus & HOV lanes, when everything can be funneled into just 2 lanes each way?
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Vancouver+Aquatic+Centre
https://beatofhawaii.com/its-the-rip-off-honolulu-hotels-that-are-killing-us/
Luxurious accommodations always have their high-end market, but having enough basic and mid-quality hotels, are just as important.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/888-896-cambie-street-vancouver-marriott-yaletown-hotel-npg
This should be a mixed-use tower of at least 65 stories.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-hotel-shortage-2026-world-cup-1.7117696
Swim B.C. president says the group is 'devastated' as the revised plan calls for a lazy river and 25-metre lap pool, rather than the 50-metre pool Vancouver voters backed in 2022
https://vancouversun.com/news/vancouver-aquatic-centre-rebuild-plan-revised
Why build big for a growing future, when you can adhere to the antigrowth mentality and symbolism?
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/02/19/vancouver-aquatic-centre-proposal-sparks-petition/
Just like the short SkyTrain stations, the argument of budget limitations is used as an excuse. A train station can be designed to be gradually doubled or tripled in length. The new Aquatic Centre could be designed in which it could eventually be double or even tripled in size, as well.
This building small for the future, because its just for small Vancouver, is an absurd strategy.
The Burrard_Bridge was originally designed to have 6 lanes & 2 streetcar tracks on a lower level. Well, the tram-trains never became part of the BB. The city was too cheap to build a parallel bike bridge, so 2 lanes were removed from the roadway on the BB instead. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrard_Bridge#History
Had the Burrard_Bridge not been Vancouverized, there could have been 2 bus & HOV lanes & a lower level for tram-trains, along with a parallel bike bridge.
The watering down of Vancouver fits right in with the backwater BC mentality.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Vancouver+Aquatic+Centre
https://www.hsra.gov.au/high-speed-rail
If Australia gets around to this faster than Canada does, it might be because Australia is a warmer country. Most of Canada has to contend with cold & crappy weather for almost half of the year.
https://www.wsp.com/en-au/news/2024/transformational-high-speed-rail-network
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-aquatic-centre-new-design-proposal
Nothing like going backwards, that's the nature of Vancouver and its watering down mentality. Apparently, there is no concept to build a much larger facility in 2 or 3 phases, so just scale it down and do something that is impressive by Prince Rupert, Prince George or Kamloops standards. Smalltown Vancouver thinking really gets to be so irritating.
The new Vancouver+Aquatic+Centre could easily be built 6-8 metres above sea level. There is extra space north, east & south of the old buildings footprint. Unfortunatly, Vancouver has become so entrenched with a mentality or an agenda to mostly build what would only be impressive by backwater BC standards.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/aquatic-centre-push-back-1.7462480
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Vancouver+Aquatic+Centre
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/housing-costs-bc-government-mismanagement
If the developer was actually allowed to build what would be tall buildings by Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Toronto & SF standards, then the extra money from selling the much higher condo floors could go towards the removal of the viaducts.
Plus, larger buildings could accommodate more affordable housing as well.
https://vancouversun.com/news/vancouver-gridlock-viaduct-removal-funding-question
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/dunsmuir-georgia-viaducts-rethink-vancouver-city-council-2022
https://www.alberta.ca/south-bow-river-bridge Being from backwards Vancouver, its difficult to grasp how Calgary was able to twin the South-Bow-River-Bridge. Not only are there 8 lanes, but at least 2 emergency lanes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoney_Trail#Lane_count In BC, it was tough enough just to have 2 waggon roads side by side. Then to eventually have a bridge the width of 4 waggon roads or 4 carriageways, was amazing. Fortunately, Calgary has progressed so far beyond the 1800s & the early 20th century.
https://www.alberta.ca/calgary-ring-road , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dhrataYz5E
https://majorprojects.alberta.ca/details/Stoney-Trail-SE-Bow-River-Bridge-Widening-Pedestrian-Bridge/4312 There have been a lot of complaints as to why it took so long to compleate this project. While backwater BC notoriously takes longer to get things done than Alberta usually does, there might have been an issue with the river. Still, after any environmental assessment, the construction project should have gone faster.
https://www.renewcanada.net/south-bow-river-bridge-project-receives-70-million/
https://westringroad.ca/bow-river-bridge , https://calgaryringroad.com/tag/alberta-highway-201
A fantastic foot and bike bridge is close by and unlike in Vancouver, lanes were added, not removed. Indeed, the Calgary footbridge and The+Helix+Bridge in Singapore were never used as an excuse to remove any lanes from other bridges. The same for the Jubilee+Bridge.
https://www.highway99tunnel.ca/frt-current-work The environmental assessments while necessary, have pushed this BC infrastructure project to at least 2030. https://www.highway99tunnel.ca/project-overview-frt Several decades ago, another tunnel or bus & bike bridge should have already been built. https://www.highway99tunnel.ca/transit-cycling Unfortunatly, when the first tunnel was built, there was no concept to have 2 bus & 2 bike lanes with 2 protected walkways. No need to have 2 wide emergency lanes with a future clearance to allow for 2 truck lanes, given that this is supposed to be a major seaport region. Just funnel everything into 2 lanes each way, whenever possible.
A Ring_road has some advantages, but its not a total solution.
Some examples...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sardar_Patel_Ring_Road, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A10_motorway_(Netherlands)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Berlin_BAB_10.svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels_Ring
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Traffic_Bukarest.svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_Road_(Cairo)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoney_Trail, Calgary. https://www.alberta.ca/calgary-ring-road This was possible, because Calgary doesn't have the same restrictions that Greater Vancouver has. Alberta is able to do more, simply because its not bound by the B$ red tape that BC is under.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Route_9_(Hong_Kong)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_Ring_Road,_Hyderabad , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Ring_Road,_Hyderabad
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Autopistam40.svg, Madrid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M80_Ring_Road, Melbourne
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Ring_Road , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Ring_Road_(Moscow)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Svincoli_GRA_Roma.svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Orbital_Network
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Rocades_de_Paris_%282024%29.png
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Ring_Road_System, Singapore
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Beltway, Washington, DC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ring_roads
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_road#Canada Of course Greater Vancouver doesn't make the list. It's always amazing to see what so many other cities are able to do, simply because they don't have the hassles & restrictions that BC has.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_route
https://www.webuildvalue.com/en/infrastructure-news/metro-urban-mobility.html
Some examples...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Ringbahn
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_%22L%22#Circle_Line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3_(Copenhagen_Metro)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_line_(London_Underground)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U3_(Hamburg_U-Bahn)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Central_Circle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_Line_(Oslo)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_M%C3%A9tro_Line_15 , https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Plan_Lin%C3%A9aire_M%C3%A9tro_Paris_Ligne_15_%28final%29.svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CTrain 1981
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CTrain#History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westbrook_station_(Calgary) , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMV2fYNBJgk No underground or trench station in Vancouver was designed to be as long as Westbrook station.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45_Street_station_(Calgary)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/69_Street_station_(Calgary)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CTrain#Further_underground_infrastructure
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-metro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMV2fYNBJgk
https://gecarchitecture.com/projects/westbrook-lrt-station/
https://cana.ca/project-details/Westbrook-Station-Transit-Oriented-Development-Offices
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton_LRT#History Unlike what backwards Vancouver would end up doing, Edmonton understood the importance of having long underground stations, right from the start.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Line#Stations If you are from Edmonton or Seattle, you will be immediately surprised as to how short & small the underground Vancouver train stations are.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_station_(Edmonton) 1978
"The underground station has a 129-metre-long (423 ft) centre loading platform that can accommodate two five-car LRT trains at the same time, with one train on each side of the platform. At just under 8 m wide (26 ft), the underground platform is narrow by current Edmonton LRT design guidelines." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_station_(Edmonton)#Station_layout
Yet, this is big by narrowminded Vancouver & BC standards. Despite Vancouver having its own version of cold & crappy weather, there just isn't the same concept or desire to have a network of elevated & especially, underground corridors like what Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Dallas & Houston have.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_station_(Edmonton) 1978
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay/Enterprise_Square_station 1983 Being from wattered down Vancouver, it's hard to fathom a 130m long underground station in Edmonton, but Albertal doesn't have anything like a backwards BC mentality to contend with. The first 2 SkyTrain lines were designed to only have 80m stations. The 3rd line to Richmond & YVR, was only designed to have 50m stations. While this initially might have made sense as a cost saving measure, it will cost so much more to eventually try to lengthen these short stations. Thus, all the stations should have been designed to eventually be at least 153m, or just over 500 feet.
"The station has a 130-metre-long (430 ft) centre loading platform that can accommodate two five-car LRT trains at the same time, with one train on each side of the platform." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay/Enterprise_Square_station#Station_layout
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_station_(Edmonton) 1983
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Centre_station 1989
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_station_(Edmonton) 1992 It remains to be scene if Vancouver might have a UBC station by 2032. While geology & climate can vary between cities, the laws of physics in the BC part of Canada isn't supposed to be different. Yet, it takes a long time to get things done in backwater BC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Line#Stations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_North_American_light_rail_systems
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Line_(Edmonton)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Line_(Edmonton)#Valley_Line_Southeast
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_station_(Edmonton) A nice, long underground train station with a surface line connecting station above it.
https://majorprojects.alberta.ca/details/Valley-Line-West-LRT/3692
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Line_(Edmonton)#Valley_Line_West_(under_construction)
https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/keith-gerein-west-edmonton-lrt-construction
https://globalnews.ca/news/11014951/valley-line-west-lrt-stony-plain-road-construction-pace/
https://www.edmonton.ca/projects_plans/transit/valley-line-west
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Line_(Edmonton)#Valley_Line_West_(under_construction)
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/18/winds-to-intensify-montreal/
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/18/rem-service-disruptions-continue Montreals version of the Skytrain should have a snow-plough at both ends of each train.
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/18/exo-trains-cancelled-snow-accumulation Even for the big trains, at a certain point a snow-plough might not be able to properly clear the tracks.
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/18/montreal-snow-disabled-mobility-challenges/
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/17/snow-piling-up-montreal-clearing-loading/
https://dailyhive.com/edmonton/edmonton-weather-forecast-temperature-change-alberta
Despite the severity of such cold winters, that never seem to reach down to mild Vancouver & Victoria, Edmonton is quite a thriving northern city. The decades of being a provincial outpost with waggon roads, are long gone.
https://dailyhive.com/edmonton/edmonton-weather-forecast-temperature-change-heat
One might think that since Greater Victoria is the most mild provincial capital region in Canada, it might have at least the same population as Edmonton. It can't even match Winnipeg and Q. City, or even Halifax. Unfortunatly, almost living anywhere is expensive, but if you don't want to endure the real harsh Canadian winters, then Victoria to Nanaimo and Vancouver to Abbotsford, are the best choices.
However, BC has been reluctant to properly keep up with is infrastructure.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/overnight-closures-highway-17-pattullo-bridge-replacement-project
It's unfortunate that the Pattullo-Bridge-Replacement wasn't designed to have 2 levels. Just like the SkyBridge didn't. The new bridge won't be opening with any bus & HOV lanes. Opening a 4 lane bridge in the 2020s with the same number of lanes as the one from the 1930s is a sad joke, an insult & an indication of the reluctance to plan & build for the future.
While NW & Surrey aren't officially against bus & HOV lanes, this was another case of 2 cities & the province not properly communicating & planning to gradually build a proper regional express bus & HOV network.
The Skybridge opened in 1990 without any future capacity for 2 express bus lanes & 2 HOV lanes. The inept Pattullo_Bridge just has 4 narrow lanes. Yet, somehow the SkyBridge didn't open with at least 3 tracks & 2 sidewalks & 2 bike lanes on an upper deck & 2 express bus lanes & 2 HOV lanes on a lower deck. Instead, it's just a single level bridge with only 2 SkyTrain tracks.
https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/article760907.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reseau_express_metropolitain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alstom_Metropolis_Saint-Laurent
| Train length | 38.1 m (125 ft) per unit |
|---|---|
| Car length | 19.05 m (62 ft 6 in) over coupler faces |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alstom_Metropolis_Saint-Laurent#Design_and_construction Two 125 foot trains = 250 feet, or half the length of a 9 car Metro train.
An 8 car [19.05 m (62 ft 6 inch)] REM train version of this would be great for Vancouver, but an improved Skytrain could be just as good. Unfortunatly, BC has a tough time thinking big for the future.
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/18/rem-service-disruptions-continue/
However, any elevated line or exposed rapid transit train in Montreal, is always potentially disrupted during the winter.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-rem-out-of-service-1.7461000
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9seau_express_m%C3%A9tropolitain#Future_sections
The genius of the Montreal_Metro trains is that they are all underground.
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/17/stormy-weather-continues-in-montreal/
Vancouver & BC always have a difficult time in properly planning & building infrastructure for significant future capacity. Thus, just because the SkyTrain is considered to be a Light Rail Vehicle, it still should have been designed to eventually have (152.5m) long trains, like the Montreal Metro has. If you are visiting from Montreal or Toronto, you will be shocked as to how short the Vancouver SkyTrains & stations are.
It's not that BC is in some kind of a timewarp, it's just that there has been some kind of a strange multigenerational mentality or agenda. Since the BC part of Canada doesn't have the authority or the technology to generate a force_field around its perimeter, the next best thing was to have very restrictive laws. That's especially the case for Vancouver & Victoria. Plus, a general encouragement to symbolically think small & backwards.
Having short trains, narrow bridges & mostly short buildings, all fits in with the symbolism of a reluctance to accommodate significant urban growth. Canada it self is also part of this larger predicament. Despite its size, Canada is nowhere close to containing even just 1% of the worlds population. Given that most of the human population is non-white, this poses an interesting dilemma.
Of course during tougher economic times, immigration is generally frowned upon. However, even during various economic boom-times, Vancouver & Victoria continued to lag behind with the scale of its infrastructure development.
https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/article761925.html
Man dead after he is found in snow-covered car with engine running in Montreal https://globalnews.ca/news/11023614/man-dead-snow-covered-car-montreal/
Montreal snow clearing proceeding slowly after record storm https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/article761613.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/blizzard-school-closure-montreal-1.7460989
https://calgary.citynews.ca/2025/02/18/calgary-february-warm-up
While Calgary isn't as populated as Montreal, it has some of the tallest buildings in Canada, outside of the Greater Toronto Area.
https://calgaryherald.com/news/calgary-in-for-its-latest-upward-tempertaure-swing-this-week
https://wsdot.wa.gov/tnbhistory/tale-of-three-bridges-1940.htm
https://wsdot.wa.gov/tnbhistory/1940-bridge.htm Wow, its like the first TN Bridge was just built to a narrow & inadequate BC standard.
https://wsdot.wa.gov/tnbhistory/tale-of-three-bridges-1950.htm Of course the 4 lane replacement was built well enough that it could eventually be twinned. Backwater BC logic would be to still cram everything into just 2 lanes each way.
https://wsdot.wa.gov/tnbhistory/default.htm#3 1950 w
https://wsdot.wa.gov/tnbhistory/default.htm#4 2007 e
https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/tnbhistory
https://www.gigharbornow.org/news/community/new-tacoma-narrows-bridge-turns-15-years-old
The Lacey_V._Murrow_Memorial_Bridge opened in 1940 with 4 lanes. Once the Homer_M._Hadley_Memorial_Bridge opened in 1989, the Lacey_V._Murrow_Memorial_Bridge could be renovated. This was all part of a plan to have an 8 lane crossing with 2 train tracks.
The Samuel-De_Champlain_Bridge in Montreal opened in 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel-De_Champlain_Bridge#Specifications
Vancouver might eventually try to have its own version of train & highway bridge to the North Shore. However, what's straightforward for Seattle & Montreal is difficult to accomplish in backwards Vancouver.
However, it takes a long time to get things done in BC. At least an 8 lane crossing with 2 train tracks should have been built there decades ago, but there is such a reluctance to think & build big in Vancouver.
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/05/18/ironworkers-memorial-replacement-bc-transit/
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/north-shore-skytrain-burrard-inlet-rapid-transit-brt-lrt-study
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/upper-levels-highway-north-shore-upgrades-study
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/north-shore-rapid-transit-study-skytrain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Narrows_Rail_Bridge#Original_bridge_(1925) This is a smaller bridge than what was originally planned. Of course, that's the backwards BC way.
https://www.nsnews.com/in-the-community/time-traveller-the-first-second-narrows-bridge-1925-3118875
https://www.northshoreheritage.org/blog/2023/11/23/bridge-over-burrards-water
https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/second-narrows-bridge-vancouver-b-c-opened-november-7th-1925-2
https://search.nbca.unbc.ca/index.php/second-narrows-bridge-in-vancouver-bc-6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Narrows_Rail_Bridge (1969)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornton_Tunnel#History Unfortunatly, the new tunnel & bridge weren't designed to be wide enough to eventually accommodate a parallel track. Thus, N. Vancouver & Vancouver are still in the single track crossing trap, just like NW & Surrey are.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Old+and+new+narrow+bridges+in+BC
The New_Westminster_Bridge opened in 1904 and in typical backwater BC style, it was too narrow to do the job, right from the start. Not only should the bridge have been double-tracked, there should have been at least a 2 lane upper deck. At least having a provision for 2 tracks and more than just a 1 lane wagon road.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Fraser_River_Bridge%2C_New_Westminster%2C_BC.jpg
http://archives.newwestcity.ca/Results.aspx Thats all you got back then, just a 1 lane wagon road.
http://archives.newwestcity.ca/Results.aspx? Despite the bridge being required to handle passenger trains as well as freight trains, everything is funneled into a single track, even well over a century later.
http://archives.newwestcity.ca/Results.aspx?AC Had there been some real forward planning, there should have been at least 4 wagon lanes on the upper deck & at leas 3 tracks on the lower deck.
Unfortunatly, NW only saw itself as a provincial capital backwater & that also became the case when the BC capital was relocated to Victoria.
http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/photos/bridges/Vancouver_area.htm
https://www.newwestrecord.ca/local-news/looking-back-and-looking-forward-pattullo-bridge-opened-85-years-ago-today-6106270 It must have been amazing to finally have a bridge with 4 wagon roads. Unfortunatly, there was no provision for a lower deck to accommodate interurban tram-trains & trucks. https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=britishcolumbia/pattullo
https://www.reddit.com/r/SurreyBC/comments/yhf6wg/pattullo_bridge_in_silver_grey_1957 Had there been a provision for a lower deck, then perhaps by 1960, both decks could have provided a wider 3 lanes each way.
Unlike the SHB in NSW, the Old-Pattullo-Bridge wasn't built with the same level of quality and wasn't designed to last that long.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-new-replacement-construction-update-2024 Of course the new bridge is a year behind schedule and once again, doesn't seem to be designed with much that much future capacity in mind.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-new-crossing-widening-six-lanes-surrey-board-of-trade Aparently, opening the new bridge with 6 lanes & a provision for a lower deck with 2 bus & HOV lanes & 2 truck lanes is too advanced thinking for BC infrastructure development. Just like the short Skytrain stations, having double deck bridges goes against the congestive planning agenda. So, the new bridge will open with only 2 lanes each way & no emergency lanes & especially no bus-HOV lanes or truck lanes for a seaport region. Thus, everything will be crammed into a 4 lane crossing. Why would such a bridge not open with enough width for 2 bus & HOV lanes? Most people in the Greater Vancouver Region know that the Skytrain isn't open 24 hours, so a good bus & HOV bridge between NW & Surrey would make sense, but this is the BC part of Canada where a lot of things don't make sense.
https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/
https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/about/projectoverview/
Snow in even the more prepared cities can still be such a pain.
https://www.alberta.ca/blizzards-freezing-rain-ice-storms-and-extreme-cold
Some people really like winter.
While many others dread the perpetual cold weather.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canada-severe-winter-weather-1.7460768
https://weather.gc.ca/data/wxoimages/wocanmap0_e.jpg A time of the year when every city in Canada is frozen over, except for Victoria & Vancouver. A lot of people from within Canada, or from around the world don't like -10C days & -20C nights with a windchill in the -30s. Usually mild Vancouver & Victoria have been very reluctant to accept the scale of growth that is commonplace in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary & Edmonton.
https://weather.gc.ca/canada_e.html
https://vancouversun.com/news/three-dead-in-crash-pattullo-bridge
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/02/15/new-westminster-surrey-pattullo-bridge-fatal-crash/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pattullo-bridge-crash-closed-1.7460474
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-fatal-crash-february-2025
https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca Fortunately, the replacement bridge will have a central safety divider.
https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/about/projectoverview Unfortunatly, the new bridge will open with only 4 lanes & no provision for a lower deck. However, there will be 2 bike & 2 footpaths. Despite being what is supposed to be a major port region, there are no truck lanes. Since Skytrain isn't a 24hr system & the Skybridge wasn't designed to have 2 bus lanes open at least during track maintenance, the new bridge should have had 2 bus lanes. Instead, cars, trucks & busses will all be funneled into only 2 lanes each way. So just like with the first bridge, BC bottleneck planning wins out.
https://www.highway99tunnel.ca While its several decades behind schedule, an 8 lane crossing is at least on the horizon.
https://www.highway99tunnel.ca/project-overview-frt Unfortunatly, in accordance with backwards BC infrastructure planning, there is no provision for a train tunnel or a bridge to Delta & especially the Tsawwassen_ferry_terminal. That seems to fit right in with not having a train from Waterfront_station to Park_Royal_Shopping_Centre and the Horseshoe_Bay_ferry_terminal.
Until the stations on the first 2 Skytrain lines are lengthened, they will be stuck with 5 car trains. Proper long-range planning should have allowed for 8-10 car trains. The joke that is the Canada Line, should have had stations that could initially handle 4-5 car trains, with a provision to eventually accommodate 8-10 car trains. The existing ridiculously short stations can only handle 2.5 car trains. WTH?
This unofficial congestive BC planning initiative is a multigenerational ME$$! Aparenty, narrow bridges & no regional bus bridges & short trains, can adequately move people around in a region of over 3 million people. Fortunately, when greater Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Sydney, Melbourn, Seattle & especially the SFBA all surpassed having 3 million people, they weren't bound by anything like the backwater BC mentality.
"The Pattullo Bridge between New Westminster and Surrey, B.C., remains closed Saturday morning after three people were killed and one person was left with life-threatening injuries in a crash Friday evening..." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pattullo-bridge-crash-closed-1.7460474
Why not have a few more bridges for Surrey, NW, Richmond & Delta? Apparently for several decades, a inept 4 lane P Bridge & an inadequate 4 lane D Island Tunnel, which can easily get blocked & temporarily shutdown, was the best way to go. Unfortunatly, the concept of redundancy in BC has never really caught on.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pattullo-bridge-5-things-you-didn-t-know-1.3564197
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-fatal-crash-february-2025
When the narrow Pattullo+Bridge was built, NW was a provincial backwater & it was amazing to have plumbing & electricity in Surrey. Being in the BC part of Canada there was such a lack of vision that someday NW & Surrey might become mighty river cities. Such as Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary & Portland, Oregon.
Despite being close to the Pacific Ocean, NW & BC weren't just half a world away from Sydney, NSW, they might as well have been on a different world, altogether. Thus, there was no need or vision to build a structure on the scale of the Sydney+Harbour+Bridge (SHB).
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/pattullo-bridge-history-built-in-1937-the-span-was-expected-to-last-50-years Only one narrow sidewalk on a very narrow bridge. Of course the SHB had the budget & the foresight to have a sidewalk on both sides.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/burnaby-brentwood-town-centre-closing-spring-2025
Outdoor sections of any mall in Canada can be OK for the warmer half of the year. However, most people want to be inside a proper warm & dry mall, especially during the crappy & colder half of the year.
If only the 1937 Pattullo-Bridge was built a little higher & with a provision for a lower deck, It easily could have become a 6 lane bridge. Or, there was a provision to widen the narrow bridge at least a few meters on both sides, but that would indicate thinking & planning for the future.
Some people have houses that are wider than the incredibly narrow Pattullo-Bridge. The PB should have been twinned in the 1950s, especially by the 1960s. Thus, a new bridge could have provided 3 lanes 1 way, while a refurbished old PB could have 3 lanes in the opposite direction, with not just 1, but 2 wide sidewalks on both bridges.
Then when the Skybridge was finally built, it should have had at least 3 tracks & 2 bike lanes & a lower deck for 2 express bus lanes, which emergency vehicles could also use & 2 truck lanes, given that this is supposed to be a major seaport region.
The Arthur_Ravenel_Jr._Bridge was built wide enough to accomodate 8 lanes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Ravenel_Jr._Bridge#Construction
Despite being situated in what is suppose to be a major seaport region, the Alex_Fraser_Bridge only opened with 2 lanes each way. Then it was widened from 4 to 6 lanes & more recently to 7 lanes. Unfortunatly, there is no provision for a lower bus & train deck.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11014345/vancouver-market-rental-plan-critics/
The developers building luxury towers & especially top floors for people who can afford 5, 10, 20 or even 40 million dollar properties, isn't the issue. Thus, the city providing decent, basic affordable housing can be of great benefit. However, if the city would allow developers to build 20-30 floors taller on the condition that approximately the lower 5th or quarter of the building is for affordable housing, that can also make a big difference. A 60-80 story luxury condo tower just catering to the high-end market doesn't help most people. However, when a taller residential tower can provide affordable housing on the lower floors, that benefits more people.
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/02/12/north-shore-waste-water-sewer-costs-metro-vancouver/
Total financial mismanagement and excrement!
https://globalnews.ca/news/10378493/north-shore-wastewater-4-billion/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/wastewater-vancouver-b-c-utility-1.7153369
https://globalnews.ca/news/11015114/london-drugs-crime-security-video/
Once any suspected thief or criminal suspect in general, has been found guilty, their image should be shown.
https://www.metrolinx.com/en/discover/what-is-lrt-light-rail-transit-explained
https://www.torontoenvironment.org/what_is_the_difference_between_streetcar_lrt_and_subway
https://www.railforthevalley.com/latest-news/zweisystem/back-to-basics
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=LRV:
https://www.timeout.com/travel/best-public-transport-in-the-world
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/9-north-american-cities-best-165214869.html
https://dailyhive.com/canada/north-america-best-public-transit-systems
https://rankingroyals.com/infographics/cities-with-the-best-public-transport-top-60-cities/
https://www.modeshift.com/where-are-the-best-public-transportation-systems-in-the-world/
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=LRT: https://jf-databits.blogspot.com/search?q=LRT ::
There should have been proper regional planning between Abbotsford & Mission several decades ago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_Highway_11
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbotsford,_British_Columbia#Transportation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission,_British_Columbia#Transportation
The FVRD is the third most populous Regional District in British Columbia,[3] incorporating roughly the eastern half of the Lower Mainland of southwestern BC...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraser_Valley_Regional_District
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Abbotsford+and+Mission
Cold by SW BC standards, but not cold by what winter is for most of Canada.
The first half of February means cold and crappy weather for Vancouver & Victoria. However, the latter half of February is expected to be more fall like than winter. Then by March, its back into spring, even if some days in March might seem more like autumn. As the population grows, more people might want to avoid most of the harsh Canadian winters & opt for SW BC instead. However, the scale of BC infrastructure is so far behind what Alberta & Washington State have. The antigrowth mentality has been very entrenched in backwater BC for generations.
Despite the size of Canada, there is only the Vancouver, Surrey & Abbotsford area that usually has mild winters. The same for Victoria, Nanaimo & Comox. Yet, there seems to be a multigenerational mentality or agenda to not build a series of bike & bus-bridges & efficient rail corridors.
There has been a multigenerational resistance to have the Vancouver to Chilliwack corridor, or the BC Lower_Mainland becoming the 2nd largest urban region in Canada. Just like a resistance to have the Victoria to Comox corridor rivaling the population of Greater Montreal or Greater Seattle. Thus, backwater BC remains in a perpetual half-assed urban planning trap. Allowing anything on a big scale would be too symbolic of planning for growth on a world that is mostly non-white.
There should have been a double track intercity passenger train corridor between Vancouver & Mission several decades ago, with a counterpart south of the Fraser River. Plus, a double track freight version as well. Also, a 4 track rail corridor between Abbotsford & Mission in the Fraser_Valley_Regional_District.
There should have been an intercity passenger & freight train service between Victoria, Nanaimo & Comox for decades. A minimum 4 track, grade separated rail corridor could efficiently move people & freight very efficiently.
Canada as a multicultural nation, still has less than 1% of the worlds population.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Canada#British_Columbia
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Abbotsford+and+Mission
https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/new-strategy-for-market-rental-housing-on-city-land-feb-2025.aspx
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-city-market-rental-housing-program-impacts
https://storeys.com/vancouver-city-burrard-pacific-hornby-towers/
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-freezing-flurries-forecast-weather
Rain might be a pain, but its better than ice and snow slowing things down.
There are some summer days in Australia when you really feel like you are in an oven.
Of course you can head up to Canada and freeze your A$$ off!
Extreme heat and extreme cold are just too uncomfortable and even dangerous.
https://dailyhive.com/toronto/eglinton-crosstown-opening-date
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_5_Eglinton
https://www.blogto.com/city/2025/02/eglinton-crosstown-opening-date/
https://www.metrolinx.com/en/projects-and-programs/eglinton-crosstown-lrt
https://www.infrastructureontario.ca/en/what-we-do/projectssearch/eglinton-crosstown-lrt/
https://www.blogto.com/city/2025/01/eglinton-crosstown-lrt-repairs/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/eglinton-crosstown-opening-june-ttc-1.7400691
https://www.aecon.com/our-projects/current/eglinton-crosstown-lrt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eglinton_East_LRT
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bowen-sunshine-coast-ferry-proposal-backing-bc-politicians
Something like this should have been already running for the past several decades. Its called redundancy.
While Oak+Street continues over the Fraser River as a bridge, there is no Oak+Street+Bridge (OSB) over F. Creek. The city foolishly never even allowed for future clearance for a bus & bike bridge over F. Creek. From the Fraser River to F. Creek, Oak Street should have been mostly for northbout travel.
Right now the Oak Street and Granville Street corridor is 12 lanes. That's because they are both 6 lane streets. Simply by moving the centerline over one lane & they each can provide 4 lanes one way & 2 lanes the other way.
Somehow Granville was never allowed to become much more of a grand street downtown.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_Street#History
https://heritagevancouver.org/top10-watch-list/2010/4-downtown-granville-street/
https://onthisspot.ca/cities/vancouver/granville
There should have been a wide Granville+Street+Bridge over the Fraser River, in addition to the GSB over F. Creek. Then 4 lanes of Granville+Street could be for southbound traffic and 4 lanes of Oak+Street for northbound traffic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ef8p-kQDRs
It would be quite an irony if Canada went from being a colony of the UK to becoming a US state. It would be much better if Canada could officially become its own republic.
NZ would rather remain independent of Australia and not have to become an Australia state. Australia might eventually want to become its own republic, thus becoming fully independent of the UK. The same could eventually happen for NZ. Canada should never be too quick to give up and merely transfer from being under the authority of the UK to becoming absorbed by the US.
Canada, Australia & NZ should each all consider becoming their own republics. Alliances with the UK and the US can easily remain intact.
This was supposed to be a surface transit mall, but now there is a desire to just have it as a pedestrian mall.
Granville_Mall should have been designed to eventually have an underground bus, streetcar or tram-train level, several decades ago. The current GSB should have been modified to have a lower transit deck. Unfortunatly, each version of the GSB wasn't designed to have a lower deck.
The First Granville Bridge: 1889-1909:
Just getting a basic bridge across the creek was challenging enough. Thus, there was no reason for the-first-Granville-Bridge to have a provision for a lower level for such a provincial backwater.
The Second Granville Bridge: 1909-1954:
The 21st century was too far away for backwards Vancouver to think big, so the 2nd Granville-Street-Bridge was also designed with no provision for a lower deck & wider sidewalks.
The Third Granville Bridge: 1954 – Present"
The 3rd Granville-Bridge also had no provision for a lower deck for public transit in the 1950s. Since it was intended to be an expressway bridge for a cancelled city freeway plan, there was no need to have wide sidewalks and a lower-deck for streetcars or tram-trains. Unfortunatly, no one seriously considered that the 2nd Granville-Bridge should have been kept as a streetcar or bus and bike crossing, with widened sidewalks. Indeed, the two bridges could have worked well together.
https://placesthatmatter.ca/location/granville-st-bridge 3 strikes & this Vancouver bridge is out, not quite. The reconfigured GSB loses 2 lanes, but gets 2 bike lanes & wider sidewalks. Unfortunatly, still no lower deck for a potentially revived streetcar line. Vancouver was one of the first cities to get rid of its streetcars in the 1950s and will be one of the last cities to revive them. Of course Seattle & Portland would reinstate some of their streetcars long before slow-moving Vancouver ever will.
