Friday, June 5, 2026
Thursday, June 4, 2026
Why Los Angeles Buried Its Own Subway Tunnel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J9Nk4cP2eo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahuenga_Pass
https://www.cppoa.org/about/cahuenga-pass-history
https://www.beforethe101.com/post/hollywood-bowl-treasure-curse-of-cahuenga-pass
https://calisphere.org/item/8ab93650c12b0e4a44fc4f93c245a4af/
https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/comments/zw5c16/cahuenga_pass_1920/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_Line_(Los_Angeles_Metro)
https://www.reddit.com/r/LAMetro/comments/1qcc6z2/really_happy_with_the_direction_of_the_b_line_and/
African migrants flee into the mountains as South Africa's xenophobic violence surges
https://www.dw.com/en/foreigners-flee-south-africa-after-anti-migrant-protests/video-77412123
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0269pwxg3o
https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/05/20/south-africa-new-waves-of-xenophobic-attacks
In Dubai, E 11 is known as "Sheikh Zayed Road"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_11_road_(United_Arab_Emirates) , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlDku6jVTt0
https://uaescript.com/sheikh-zayed-road-e11-dubai/
https://www.bayut.com/area-guides/sheikh-zayed-road/
https://propsearch.ae/dubai-thoroughfares/sheikh-zayed-road
https://www.expedia.ca/Sheikh-Zayed-Road.dx6147375
https://www.reddit.com/r/DubaiPetrolHeads/comments/1qq9iv9/sheikh_zayed_road_now_a_days_be_like/
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Why are there no freeways in Vancouver?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g1amH6Epvo
https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comments/bpcvpc/tbt_ocean_parkway_proposal_1960
https://evelazarus.com/project-200-and-the-waterfront-freeway
https://voony.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/the-case-for-rapid-transit-in-1970
https://viewpointvancouver.ca/2008/01/29/revising-the-revision/
Delta to allow outdoor booze consumption at certain events
The amendment would authorize the general manager of Parks, Recreation and Culture to approve uses on a case-by-case basis https://www.delta-optimist.com/local-news/delta-to-allow-outdoor-booze-consumption-at-certain-events-12333571
Sometimes a bunch of cantankerous, constipated old people just can't stop young people from having fun.
Six arrested after chaotic B.C. chase involving dogs, helicopter, emergency team
Sometimes the level of stupidity and foolishness is just too much!
Nothing like driving very fast in a stolen vehicle for some. However, they didn't seem to understand that doing that on an island dramatically limits where they can go, especially when there is only one main island highway.
Its not like they could just hop onto a ferry to Delta and escape into the BC_Interior.
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Restaurants and hospitality operators across British Columbia are welcoming a three-year pilot project from the provincial government to expand liquor purchasing options
https://globalnews.ca/news/11887557/bc-bars-restaurants-welcome-change-liquor-policy/
Its strange as to why BC has to be so slow in getting things done better.
Racism is a risk when Vancouver and Toronto hosts the World Cup
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/national-sports/racism-is-a-risk-when-vancouver-hosts-world-cup-but-measures-exist-bc-ag-sharma-12361474 So, this is basically the same article repeated.
https://www.britannica.com/place/British-Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire#Rivalry_with_other_European_empires
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire#Expansion_and_colonial_conflict_(1707%E2%80%931783)
Despite its overall area, Canada has less than 1% of the worlds population. A global population that is mostly nonwhite.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire#Consolidation_and_global_dominance_(1783%E2%80%931815)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire#Britain's_imperial_century_(1815%E2%80%931914)
For its first century, Canada was supposed to be primarily for people from Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire#Changing_status_of_the_white_colonies
That was the British Colonial Agenda, but eventually the British_Empire had to acknowledge that most of the worlds population is nonwhite. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire#Decolonisation_and_decline_(1945%E2%80%931997)
There are strong arguments that Canada should be able to gradually contain a little more of the worlds population. Since a lot of the worlds population is from warmer areas, a lot of people might not like the Canadian Winter season. SW BC just happens to be the most mild part of Canada during the winter. The Lower_Mainland of BC and SE Vancouver_Island have been very reluctant to think big and build on a grand scale.
The Lions+Gate+Bridge and the Johnson+Street+Bridge are both classic 3 lane BC bottleneck-chokepoints. They are both fine examples of not wanting to build for a growing population on a world that is composed mostly of nonwhite people.
Toronto and Southern Ontario just never had the same level of small scale thinking as in SW BC. In fact, it the backwards BC approach to things just never caught on in Toronto, Melbourne and SF. They never got rid of their streetcars and trams like Vancouver and Victoria did.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/lzvgg7/the_british_empire_at_its_territorial_peak_oc/
As Canada started to become more multicultural in the 1960s and 70s, predominantly White city councils in BC kept imposing a small-scale approach to things.
Will some people start to say that by keeping most of the world out of Canada is good for the environment? There are already some people that would like to use nonwhites as being too much of a carbon footprint and that Canada should never have 1% of the worlds population. This would be a very clever and sinister way to perpetuate the KEEP THEM OUT agenda.
The days of Canada being officially under a British Colonial, White authority management power structure are long gone. As of 2026, Canada has yet to have half of 1% of the worlds population.
History of Anti-immigration rallies in major cities across Australia
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/march-for-australia-anti-immigration-rally/106269414
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_for_Australia
https://racismnoway.com.au/about-racism/timeline/timeline-2020-2029
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_Australia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_for_Australia#Links_between_organisers_and_far-right_extremism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_violence_in_Australia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Australia_policy
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/white-australia-policy
Burnaby 2050 sets the city’s long game
https://www.straight.com/burnaby/burnaby-2050-sets-citys-long-game
While Burnaby is smaller in area and population compared to Vancouver, its a lot bigger than tiny NW.
Unlike Vancouver, Burnaby can build taller than Vancouver, because it isn't bound by Vancouver's imposed height restrictions.
https://www.straight.com/burnaby/what-burnaby-builds-next-depends-on-urban-design-getting-it-right
Unlike Vancouver, Burnaby has more than just a few kilometers of freeway going through it. The highway right of way was acquired when Burnaby was still mostly undeveloped. That's the same case for Richmond, Delta, Surrey, Langley & Abbotsford.
https://www.straight.com/burnaby/in-defense-of-burnaby-middle-child-of-metro-vancouver
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_Highway_1#Lower_Mainland_section There should eventually be an elevated, high-capacity interregional commuter train along BC_Highway_1. However, BC takes a very slow approach towards dealing with congestion and mobility.
Monday, June 1, 2026
Metro Vancouver faces new water restrictions
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/water-restrictions-metro-vancouver
Its not like there is a shortage of rain during the fall and winter. Its a lack of not building more reservoirs to store the rainwater and to use more lakes in SW BC.
Vancouver International Airport eyes new routes to Vietnam and South America for trade ambitions
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-yvr-airport-vietnam-south-america-routes-trade-goals
With such a provincial backwater approach to things, its taken this long for backwards BC to get around to this.
Yaletown–Roundhouse station's fare gate capacity increased by 66%
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-yaletown-roundhouse-station-additional-fare-gates-completed
The Canada line is such a watered down version of what should have been a proper big city airport and ferry rapid transit link. Just because this infrastructure project had to be scaled down during its first phase, the stations still could have been designed to eventually accommodate 5-6 car trains. Unfortunately, the stations were only designed to accommodate a 2.5 car train. While this perfectly fits in with the inept urban transportation mentality and especially fits in with the BC congestive transportation agenda, this is another sad result.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-yaletown-roundhouse-station-fare-gate-expansion
Despite being downtown with several condominiums around, the Yaletown-Roundhouse_station is too small for an inner-city station.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaletown-Roundhouse_station#Station_information
There is barely enough level clarence beyond the short platform for another car. To remedy this inadequate situation, this line needs to have three full-size cars, not just some eventual 2.5 car joke of a train.
https://www.eke-electronics.com/automatic-selective-door-operation-asdo
Then eventually, once people got used to a 3 car train, an extra car could be added at each end, resulting in a 5 car train. Its a workaround that can eventually enable the 3rd line or the C Line to run 3-5 cars trains to meet demand.
Then the Exp. Line and Mil. Line, or what could become A & B lines with standard 5 car trains. However, during the busy times, a 7 car train could be possible with selective-door-operation technology.
It would have been better to have just built all of the Skytrain stations long enough for 5 car trains in the first place, with enough level track clearance for 10 car trains eventually.
AI uncertainty hangs over Vancouver office market
Some experts say shifting job needs are making future demand for office space harder to predict https://www.biv.com/news/technology/ai-uncertainty-hangs-over-vancouver-office-market-12348582
Was Vancouver somehow generations ahead of AI in not allowing tall office towers. In many cities a 30 story office tower is like a stump. Even a 40 story office tower would just be average, at best.
Given the strict height limitations of Vancouver, the 30 story TD_Tower wasn't completed until 1972.
That means that during its construction, Vancouver had its first office tower rising over 29 floors in 1971.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TD_Tower_(Vancouver)
https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/the-stack/35667 38 floors
https://www.canadianarchitect.com/the-stack-zero-carbon-office-tower-officially-opens/ 37 story
https://www.mmoser.com/projects/the-stack-rooftop-vancouver 37 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amieA9XHAVQ
https://macleans.ca/culture/building-vancouver-stack-work-life-balance/ 37
https://www.oxfordproperties.com/lease/office/31191 36
https://www.adamson-associates.com/project/the-stack-1133-melville/ 36
https://www.reddit.com/r/skyscrapers/comments/1k7dt3j/the_stack_vancouver_bc/
https://www.urbanyvr.com/oxford-properties-announces-major-tenants-of-the-stack-at-1133-melville/
Sunday, May 31, 2026
City's chief planner emphasizes creating a 'Vancouver approach' to taller towers
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-higher-buildings-review-taller-towers
Seattle, Calgary and Edmonton all have taller and wider downtowns, where as most of downtown Vancouver is confined to a small peninsula. Yet, Seattle, Calgary and Edmonton already each have a taller residential tower than what restrictive Vancouver allows.
So far, only three buildings have been permitted to be higher than the flag at the top of the 581 ft. Harbour_Centre.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Vancouver
As of 2026, no residential tower within Vancouver has 65 stories and no office tower has been permitted to have a 40th floor.
Backwater BC is 75% mountainous, yet there has been such a cultivated fear that somehow provincial Vancouver could block out most of the mountains by allowing significantly taller towers.
Whenever retuning from Los_Angeles to Vancouver, you quickly realize that even the mountains just north of Vancouver are shorter than the ones in L.A. Its as if even the Vancouver mountains are under height restrictions.
Singapore, Honolulu and Houston
Honolulu and San Diego...
Honolulu is very reluctant to allow buildings to go much higher than 450 feet. SD can't go higher than 500 feet, because of the airport being so close. However, that's not the case in Boston.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honolulu#Economy
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=421
Will Honolulu ever have some Miami or Singapore size buildings? That remains to be seen. For now, Honolulu like San_Diego will remain free of 50 story hotels and condos and 40 story office towers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_San_Diego
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=120
If SD can ever relocate its airport, then it can have much taller buildings. Once Edmonton closed an airport that was too close to its downtown, the city eventually had the tallest building in Western Canada.
Honolulu got a nice airport train station long before SD.
Vancouver 450 ft and Fahrenheit 451
Was a 450 foot height restriction just a chance, or was it intentionally made to be very close to 451 Fahrenheit? Honolulu is still stuck around that maximum, while San Diego is at 500 feet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451 (1953) By the 1950s, so many things were already banned, watered down or scaled back in provincial Vancouver. Generations later, there was the No Fun Vancouver mind virus that further tried to cancel out things in such a small city with so much red tape and other ridiculous obstacles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451_(1966_film) By the mid and late1960s, the city made sure that its first office tower to have more than 29 floors wouldn't be until the 1970s. Its highly doubtful that Vancouver will have an office tower over 40 stories by 2030. However, Burnaby and Surrey could, because they aren't under the extreme restrictions of Vancouver.
It wasn't until 1973 when Vancouver allowed its first building to be taller than the Los_Angeles_City_Hall. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_City_Hall
The Scotia_Tower (stump) is a good reference point to visualize the small scale of backwater Vancouver, as its about the same height as the Los_Angeles_City_Hall at 453'.
https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/scotia-tower/4396 453'
https://skyscraperpage.com/b65/vancouver/the-scotia-tower 452'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451_(2018_film) By 2018 it was quite apparent that Vancouver was in the process of allowing for more buildings over 450 feet. However, nothing has been permitted to reach 700 feet, so far. A tower over 1000 feet would help to water down its provincial mindset.
_(cropped).jpg/3840px-Vancouver_panorama_(49988799796)_(cropped).jpg)
SF, Sydney & Auckland are just as scenic as Vancouver & warmer throughout the year. They all have taller building than what Vancouver currently permits. Seattle is just as scenic as Vancouver, but its allowed to function like a proper big city, because it doesn't have the imposed restrictions like Vancouver has. While its cold, damp & depressing like Vancouver during the fall & winter, Seattle usually gets noticeably hotter summers than Vancouver, BC. The tallest building in Seattle is the 76 story B of A office tower.
Everything is so small or scaled back in Vancouver. Even the Greater Vancouver mountains aren't allowed to be as tall as the ones in L.A. While the San_Francisco_Bay & Port_Phillip Bay by Melbourne are big next to their cities, English_Bay in_Vancouver is so much smaller. Its even smaller than Elliott_Bay by Seattle.
Vancouver really needs to have bus and HOV bridges built next to its mostly narrow & congested bridges. Only a 5 car Skytrain is the max on the first 2 lines and ultimately, just a 2.5 car joke of a train on the YVR-Canada Line.
Selective+Door+Operation can allow a short train to have an extra car at each end, despite a shorter platform.
.jpg/3840px-Vancouver_sunset_(J).jpg)
Australia like the USA, has some big & tall cities on the Pacific Rim. However, Vancouver symbolically kept watering down its size, because that's how you demonstrate a reluctance towards proper urban planning & growth.
Oddly enough, the small scale Vancouver mentality & agenda wasn't adopted by most cities around the world. Officially, there is no Vancouver Mind Virus (VMV), but somehow it keeps manifesting, just like the BCMV.
Despite its size, Canada has less than 1% of the worlds population.
Saturday, May 30, 2026
Philadelphia's Airport Train
Philly’s Airport Train is a Little Weird https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH1zcTLOCM0 Traveling from Terminal A at Philadelphia Airport to 30th Street, in Center City on the SEPTA Airport line takes under 30 minutes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport_Line_(SEPTA)
https://www.phl.org/getting-around/public-transportation
https://www.reddit.com/r/transit/comments/1gf0pz3/why_isnt_the_septa_airport_line_rapid_transit/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_International_Airport#Ground_transportation
Friday, May 29, 2026
Future Skyline Ranking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8o2z_F3h00
The world’s skylines are rising https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8o2z_F3h00
Train testing now underway for the Broadway Subway Project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-T6puGKQKc
The Broadway Subway is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Vancouver's history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6XTDLz-POk
First train now rolling on Broadway Subway for active testing ahead of late 2027 opening
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/broadway-subway-millennium-line-skytrain-extension-train-testing
Nothing like testing with trains from the 1980s in the 2020s.
The Houston Galleria and Galleria Dallas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Galleria
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galleria_Dallas
Texas is a place where thinking BIG has been going strong for almost a century.
By the year 1900, NYC had to start thinking and building on a big-city scale, simply out of necessity.
https://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/03/11/nyc-big-apple
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Apple
In contrast, backwater BC has a tough time keeping up with Alberta and Washington State. Especially with Ontario and Quebec. BC is 75% mountainous and has a seawater barrier on its west side. Still, its almost as if some people would like to have a wall around BC, or even a forcefield like out of Star Trek.
Keeping things small and backwards in BC whenever possible seems to be part of a multigenerational symbolic agenda.
Its as if there is something like a BC Mind Virus (BCMV).
Texas has more people than Australia and California has more people than Canada. Despite its overall size, Canada has less than 1% of the worlds population.
Singapore is on an island that's smaller than all of NYC or Chicago, even. Yet, it has proper big-city trains, bridges, roads and buildings.
Is Vancouver's airport ready for its busiest summer yet?
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/yvr-vancouver-airport-busiest-summer
There are only 2 runways that can handle a 747 and the largest Airbus, Seattle has 3 big-city runways.
Oakridge Park Mall and Station
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_0SyNwWEwA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDSuu9hzVpM
https://thecanadaline.com/station-history/oakridge-41st
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Oakridge+Park+Mall
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Selective+Door+Operation
Thursday, May 28, 2026
The Park at Oakridge Park Mall
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/oakridge-park-mall-rooftop-public-park-opens-photos
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/05/28/new-oakridge-mall-development-opens
https://thecanadaline.com/station-history/oakridge-41st
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Oakridge+Park+Mall
Could Skytrain be the Perfect Metro system?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUXSomjE1OU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP4RUBp1Ucw history
All of the stations should have been designed to be at least 80 m with the potential to gradually have 160 m long platforms.
A look inside the new Oakridge Park
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/oakridge-park-mall-vancouver-completion-opening-photos
There should have been at least 5 car trains stopping at all the stations by now. Unfortunately, because of backwards Vancouver and backwater BC planning standards, the Canada Line stations are only level and long enough to accommodate a 2.5 car joke of a train.
https://thecanadaline.com/station-history/oakridge-41st
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Oakridge+Park+Mall
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Senakw's first completed tower
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/senakw-rental-housing-rents-rates-first-tower-completion-photos
These towers should have been taller, because they aren't supposed to be under Vancouver's very restrictive height limitations.
So far, no residential tower in Vancouver has been permitted to be as tall as the 222.3 m (729 ft) Telus_Sky Tower in Calgary, or the 250.9 m (823 ft) Stantec_Tower in Edmonton. Then especially, the 850-foot (260 m) Rainier_Square_Tower in Seattle. The former Living_Shangri-La (Park Hyatt) is the tallest within Vancouver's city limits at 200.86 m (659 ft).
Vancouver has yet to ever permit an office tower to have a 40th floor.
Monday, May 25, 2026
TransLink to run temporary Downtown Vancouver circular bus route during FIFA World Cup
Makes sense since the city never planned for a downtown train loop like Chicago, Toronto and other proper cities did generations ago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Circle Stdney
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Loop#Metro_Tunnel Melbourne
There should be a permanent downtown bus loop or circle. It could run along Robson to Burrard, then along Davie to Denman and then back to Robson. Every 3-5 minutes during the day and every 5-10 minutes at night. Unfortunately, that would go against the backwards planning mentality of provincial Vancouver.
Vancouver Folk Music Festival unveils full schedule for its 49th summer
Amazing, that the NO FUN VANCOUVER Mind Virus hasn't cancelled this.
Canada Day by the Bay returns to White Rock waterfront July 1
https://www.whiterockcity.ca/364/Canada-Day-by-the-Bay
Vancouver was almost not going to have any July fireworks, but now it still might be able to have a 1 night special.
https://604now.com/cancelled-events-vancouver-2026 Fortunatly, backwards Vancouver doesn't have the power to stop White Rock, or any other city in BC from having such celebrations.
At least Vancouver looks like it will have 1 night of summer fireworks, but none on December 31.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-summer-fireworks-2026-planning-english-bay-park-board
New Westminster business community concerned 3 months after stal̕É™w̓asÉ™m Bridge opened
BC bottleneck-chokepoint planning is out of control. This new bridge not only should have had 2 wide emergency lanes, 2 wide shoulders and especially 2 bus lanes, since the Skytrain isn't a 24 hour system. Congestive transportation planning is absurd and of no benefit to anyone. However, as a symbolic demonstration of a reluctance towards proper big-city infrastructure, its right on the mark for backwards BC. Of course the bridge wasn't designed for a future lower deck, because properly planning for the future is very difficult in backwater BC.
https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/about/projectoverview/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stal%CC%95%C9%99w%CC%93as%C9%99m_Bridge
Another classic crappy fall day in May for Vancouver
According to AW, it only got to 15C, not 25C. https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/may-weather/53286
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/april-weather/53286?year=2026 At least April had 17 days that were 15C or better and only 3 of them were at least 20C.
That's because today is fall weather day in May for Vancouver. There might only be 15 days this May that were at least 20C in Vancouver. Only 3 days that were at least 25C. Then that's it, from the start of June to the end of August are the 3 fastest months in Vancouver. Usually, the crappie rainy weather will try to reduce some of the dry summer days. While the 1st week in September might still look and feel like summer, usually, 10-15 days into the month your lucky just to have spring like weather. Then next thing you know, its October with cold, but not frosty nights. Then from November to March is the real cold, damp and ugly weather. Not much better in Seattle, no wonder Grunge Music got its start there.
Vancouver school set to open already over-capacity
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/05/24/vancouver-school-set-to-open-is-already-over-capacity/
Almost any big & medium size building in Vancouver should be designed with the possibility of adding more floors in the future. But that would be a little like designing bridges to eventually accommodate a couple of bus lanes, or even LRT. Thinking big and applying big-city planning in backwards BC is always difficult.
Sunday, May 24, 2026
Toronto - Canada’s World-Class City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHVS8_Bi7mc
Toronto is approaching a Chicago level of scale. However, Toronto has yet to have its first 100 story office tower. The BMO tower has 72 floors. Provincial Vancouver still won't permit any 40 story office towers. While the GTA is easily at 7 million, the Chicagoland Area is at least up to 10 million.
The GTA and Greater Montreal, combined with Chicagoland still doesn't quite match the Greater NYC Area, AKA: The Tristate Metropolitan Area of over 23 million people.
Saturday, May 23, 2026
The Riverview Bridge or New Pattullo Bridge or stal̕É™w̓asÉ™m Bridge?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dwmw0UYT_8
The NW-Surrey Bridge and there should be a couple more.
Construction means stal̕É™w̓asÉ™m Bridge closures this weekend and next
Time in backwater BC doesn't matter, the old bridge just had 4 lanes and the new bridge will only have two lanes each way for quite a while. Of course no bus and HOV lanes, no wide emergency lanes and no wide shoulders. That would go against the BC bottleneck-chokepoint planning mentality. Just like an absurd 2 car train for the Canada Line and a 3 lane Lion Bridge with no bus and train tunnels to help it.
Apparently, narrow bridges and short trains are better for backwards BC.
That's the BC Mind Virus (BCMV) at work once again.
Automatic Selective Door Operation (ASDO) for Trains
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdH5d1ZthmM
Selective+Door+Operation can be a great short-term option towards a long-term problem.
https://www.eke-electronics.com/automatic-selective-door-operation-asdo
https://petardsrailsolutions.com/rail-solutions/automatic-selective-door-operation
https://www.reddit.com/r/transit/comments/orvvzh/how_to_save_money_on_platform_extensions_use
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_door_operation#International_variations
A weekend washout for the GTA
No matter how much rain in TO, there is always more of it in Vancouver. It shouldn't be fall in May. However, when Toronto finally gets summer, its summer for more than just a few months. Unfortunately, summer in Vancouver always seems so short, just like its short trains and short buildings. Even shorter-swimming-pools. One hopes that from June 1st to September 1st, Vancouver will have constant 25-30C days. Unfortunately, the dam rain sometimes kicks in to reduce the number of sunny summer days. Then by 2nd week of September, summer is fading & you're lucky to have spring like days.
The Gardiner Expressway
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/gardiner-expressway-construction-time-halved-1.7615052
https://www.blogto.com/city/2025/04/gardiner-expressway-construction-time-lapse-toronto/
https://www.gftinc.com/project/gardiner-expressway-section-5-detailed-design/
https://www.grascan.com/projects/new-ramp-construction/
https://undergardinerprp.ca/ https://thebentway.ca/
https://torontolife.com/city/admire-gardiner-expressway-not-tear/
Traffic Bottlenecks and Chokepoints
https://www.tomtom.com/traffic-index/ranking
https://www.reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/1jzsjt2/toronto_is_no_longer_one_the_world_most_congested/
https://www.detrack.com/blog/cities-with-the-worst-traffic/
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/cities-with-the-worst-traffic.html
https://landline.media/bottleneck-hell-study-examines-costly-traffic-issue/
https://truckingresearch.org/2026/02/top-100-truck-bottlenecks-2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_congestion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_congestion#Countermeasures
Metro Vancouver expects to move to Stage 3 water restrictions in June
The regional district says this year's snowpack is well below normal, and hasn't been this low since 2015 https://vancouversun.com/news/metro-vancouver-tage-3-water-restrictions-june-2026
Two 3rds or even 75% of the year is overloaded with so much rain. Thus, its not a case of not enough rain in Vancouver, there just seems to be a lack of interest in creating more freshwater reservoirs.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11861063/metro-vancouver-stage-3-water-restrictions-june/
Metro Vancouver’s budgets and financial plans
https://metrovancouver.org/about-us/budgets-and-financial-plans
https://metrovancouver.org/about-us/Documents/financial-plan-2025-2029.pdf
https://metrovancouver.org/services/liquid-waste/north-shore-wastewater-treatment-plant-project
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Vancouver_Regional_District#Regional_planning
Significant events in the history of Asian communities in Canada
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/asian-heritage-month/important-events.html
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chinese-head-tax-in-canada
https://humanrights.ca/story/chinese-head-tax-and-chinese-exclusion-act
https://bcanuntoldhistory.knowledge.ca/1880/the-chinese-head-tax
Komagata Maru Remembrance Day
https://voiceonline.com/premier-eby-on-komagata-maru-remembrance-day/
https://vancouver.ca/people-programs/guru-nanak-jahaz-remembrance-day.aspx
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/komagata-maru
https://www.canada.ca/en/parks-canada/news/2016/08/the-komagata-maru-incident-of-1914.html
Friday, May 22, 2026
550 Madison Avenue, NYC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/550_Madison_Avenue This building has almost become a stump when compared to the much taller towers.
https://buildingsdb.com/NY/new-york/550-madison-avenue/
https://www.archdaily.com/611169/ad-classics-at-and-t-building-philip-johnson-and-john-burgee
https://www.lera.com/sony-building This would be the 2nd tallest building if it was in Vancouver, in overall height.
https://www.archiweb.cz/en/b/at-t-building-sony-plaza
https://paulpiazzaarchitect.com/home/2014/09/20/the-sony-tower/
https://www.reddit.com/r/ReplicaBuildings/comments/17d39eg/550_madison_att_building_1984_nyc/
Cambie Street Bridge seismic upgrade
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/cambie-street-bridge-seismic-upgrade-federal-funding
Unless the west sidewalk is widened, or a parallel bike bridge is constructed, the C bridge will still be missing a lane & remain with 5, instead of 6 when it opened in the 1980s.
Canada Line station platforms being extended for interchange hub with Broadway Subway
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canada-line-broadway-city-hall-station-platform-extension-millennium-line-interchange Fortunatly, the planning for the TTC Subway, Montreal Metro & Edmonton LRT, all have much longer stations than what backwards Vancouver settled for.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-canada-line-rebuilding
Once all of the YVR-Canada Line stations have 50-metre-long platforms, it will become quite apparent that the long-range planning for 5 car trains wasn't seriously considered. The 50 m stations will only be long enough for a 2.5 car joke of a train.
However, there is a potential to work around this particular manifestation of the Vancouver Mind Virus. Selective_door_operation can allow for longer trains, despite the ridiculous short Vancouver stations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_door_operation#International_variations
There is such a problem with Vancouver and BC in general of not properly planning for future transportation infrastructure expansion.
https://www.railforthevalley.com/latest-news/zweisystem/the-skytrain-lobby-get-over-it/
Telus Boot Tower or just another office stump in BC?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJqr-6j3yww This would be an impressive building if it was in Victoria, Kelowna, Kamloops or Prince George. Even in Lethbridge and Spokane, but not in Calgary or Seattle. That's because they been allowed to be proper big cities.
Its not even 25 stories, just like the Post office complex, but if it had at least 50 floors it would have been quite an impressive office tower for BC.
https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comments/1jav5f9/burnaby_approves_bc_tel_boot_redevelopment_5/ Acording to this rendering, the main part of the Telus boot stump will still be around. Its only a smaller part of its base that will face demolition.
https://www.jarmanrealestate.com/burnaby-telus-boot-redevelopment/
Burnaby or Surrey will likely have the first office tower in BC that's at least 45 stories in the next few years. Vancouver won't permit any office tower to have a 40th floor.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/3696-kingsway-vancouver-telus-rental-housing-tower Across the street, not a 50, only a 25 story residential stump.
Boundary Road should have already had an express bus service and eventually a rapid bus route connecting Burnaby to North Vancouver and Richmond. Unfortunately, Vancouver still doesn't seem interested in having a B.Rd. bridge to NV and Richmond, even if it would improve on regional transportation.
Thursday, May 21, 2026
Vancouver's Mark 1 SkyTrain History
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHzj0vDg13U
Unfortunately, the stations were only designed to accommodate 6 short cars on an 80 m platform. Eventually, even with the longer cars, Selective+Door+Operation will be necessary to allow for longer trains.
The new Capstan Station recorded SkyTrain's fourth-lowest ridership after one year
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-capstan-station-ridership-canada-line
Wow, this picture almost makes it look like its a big-city train station and not just a 2 car train joke. The CLine should have opened with 5-6 car trains, or at least 3 car trains. Any station can have the potential of becoming more popular, especially when there are more residential and business structures close to it.
The Can-Line could really benefit from Selective+Door+Operation, which would allow for longer trains.
How Copenhagen built a metro for free https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzamwVH3CXU&t=8s At least this could run 3 car trains right from when it started.
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
29-storey tower with Marriott hotel and rental housing approved for Yaletown
Never mind it being under 50 or 40 stories, it won't even have 30 floors.
Allegedly impaired driver arrested after crashing through Nanaimo sushi restaurant
https://nanaimobulletin.com/2026/05/19/car-crashes-into-sushi-restaurant-in-downtown-nanaimo/
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/05/19/vehicle-crashes-into-downtown-nanaimo-restaurant/
https://www.reddit.com/r/nanaimo/comments/1thubmm/car_crashes_into_sushi_restaurant_in_downtown/
While side streets and regional major streets don't unusually have protective side barriers, bridges should, along with having a traffic divider.
George Washington Bridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Bridge
https://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/en/george-washington-bridge/history.html , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPVRdR4EKSY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Bridge#Planning
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Bridge#Decks The upper level opened on October 25, 1931 - Although the lower level was part of the original plans for the bridge, it did not open until August 29, 1962.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Bridge#Road_connections
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Bridge#Non-motorized_access
https://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/en/george-washington-bridge.html
Truck stuck under overpass on George Washington Bridge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw5pNZQQ3tU
Monday, May 18, 2026
Long lost traffic lanes of Greater Vancouver
https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comments/1tfsdxg/long_lost_days One of the few major streets within Vancouver to be at least 6 lanes wide. However, with curb lane parking it just becomes another 4 lane corridor in BC.
https://www.vancouverarchives.ca/wp-content/uploads/cropped-a9b22bf7-d985-4372-9650-7a51afbe5f94-2010-006.161-2-3.jpg This part of Granville used to have 6 lanes. The 1970s mall reduced it to just 2 lanes, causing an instant bus bottleneck-chokepoint. A 4 lane compromise still would have allowed for wider sidewalks. A 4 lane transit mall could have allowed for a constant passing lane when another bus has stopped. It was as if someone didn't want to have an efficient bus corridor for express buses, as well as local busses. When a local bus stops on a 2 lane street, its impossible for an express bus to pass, especially when there is a stopped bus on the other lane, also preventing any express bus to pass.
Several cities around the world still have wide streets, boulevards and avenues with 8-10 lanes. If Vancouver had allowed some 8 lane wide streets, 2 curb parking lanes would still provide 6 traffic lanes. Then, if 2 lanes were for buses, there would still be 2 lanes each way for general traffic.
The public and then the planning department (after being pressured) were firmly against having freeways within the city limits during the 1960s and 70s. However, there still should have been enough logic to allow for wider streets so that it would be easier and more efficient to have a bus lane each way.
As of 2026, no bridge within the Vancouver city limits has 8 lanes and only two bridges have 6 lanes. One has 5 lanes and then there are four 4 lane bridges and the 3 lane Lion Bridge joke.
All of the Vancouver bridges are so narrow that there was no provision for any future bus lanes. Plus, 2 bridges each had 2 lanes removed that could have been used for buses. Congestive transportation planning is the name of the game for backwards Vancouver. If there ever was a city that needs a series of bus bridges, it would be stubborn Vancouver.
Even the Greater Vancouver region is lacking in having a series of bus bridges, especially since the Skytrain isn't a 24 hour system.
https://www.vancouverarchives.ca/2011/04/18/how-did-harland-bartholomews-ideas-shape-vancouver
https://archive.org/details/vancplanincgen00vanc The Bartholomew Plan published in 1928.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/vancouver-archives/albums/72157626484421302/
https://globalcivic.org/harland-bartholomew/
https://www.urbanstudio.sala.ubc.ca/2010/lectures/Sept21_presentations/2_TheBasics.pdf
https://samsullivan.ca/taking-a-closer-look-at-the-legacy-of-harland-bartholomew-and-his-plan-for-vancouver-2 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIuAk1TIKHo
Sunday, May 17, 2026
The Broadway Subway-Mount Pleasant to Broadway City Hall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z64SisMwIuY
Another illogical lane reduction project. Broadway was for the most part, always 6 lanes, 7, if you count the turning lane at major intersections. The train isn't a 24 hour service, so its important to always have 1 bus lane each way, especially if the train is shut down for an occasional emergency. Then there still should be 2 general lanes each way, because this isn't supposed to be a small town street or avenue.
This, combined with so many 4 lane bridges, ensures that BC bottleneck-chokepoint planning remains firmly entrenched.
A 5 car Vancouver train is expected to do the job of a 9 car Montreal Metro train. That's because a short Vancouver train can run a little more frequently than a 9 car Montreal Metro train, during even the most busy times of the day. Of course many proper cities have long big-city trains, because they aren't under anything like small thinking Vancouver, or a backwater BC mentality.
The standard short trains, narrow bridges & narrow streets and short buildings, are all part of holding the scale of Vancouver back. Apparently, if you can't build a wall around Vancouver, the next best thing is to continually plan and build symbolically for a provincial backwater of a city.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Selective+Door+Operation
Mississauga, Ontario
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30914mndSjw
One would expect that Vancouver imposed height limits to never have anything as tall as in Toronto. However, Vancouver wont permit
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=306 m
Oakridge Park and Mall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Kwx7SctJ4
Somehow the people around Broadway Station weren't able to stop this. Well, the Oakridge Station area is becoming its own town centre in that part of provincial Vancouver. Yet, the Broadway & Commercial area is already a big transportation intersection.
Despite the C-Line still only running 2 car joke trains, there is a potential to have 3 car trains. That's still pretty sad when the 50 m stations should have been built to eventually accommodate 5-6 car trains. Unfortunately, the planners never seriously considered to have a future level station clearance of 100-120 m. In contrast, the Montreal Metro has 152.5 m stations and can accommodate 9 car trains. The Vancouver Mind Virus (VMV) has always prevented the city from thinking on a big scale.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Oakridge+Park+Mall
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Selective+Door+Operation
Friday, May 15, 2026
Vancouver’s NEW Mark V SkyTrain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXNDGm8u364
Many proper big cities have 10 car trains. Its taken slow Vancouver just to start having 5 car trains.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Selective+Door+Operation
Granville Bridge death was preventable, advocates say
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/05/14/granville-bridge-death-was-preventable-say-advocates/
While the Granville+Bridge needs to have a higher fence like the Burrard+Bridge, there is another remaining pending danger.
There is no central safety barrier to prevent head-on collisions. Whether a person becomes disoriented, or actually wants to crash into traffic from the opposite direction, there is no traffic divider.
The sidewalks could have been made a little wider in a way that there still could have been enough space for a traffic divider.
https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comments/1td85mt/iio_investigates_womans_death_after_ninehour/
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Granville+Bridge Was 8 lanes, now 6, but with 2 bike lanes and wider sidewalks.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Burrard+Bridge Was 6 lanes, now 4, but with 2 bike lanes & already good sidewalks.
Unfortunately, both bridges have no middle safety barrier to prevent head-on collisions, despite their recent modifications.
The Pattullo+Bridge was too narrow to ever have a traffic divider. Fortunately, its 4 lane replacement does have a central divider.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Knight+Street+Bridge Only 4 lanes in the middle, but has a traffic safety barrier. The KSB really needs a bus and bike bridge next to it.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Oak+Street+Bridge A traffic divider was eventually installed, but the narrow bridge was never designed to have 2 emergency lanes, or 2 wide shoulders. There especially was no consideration to have 2 bus lanes on the OSB. Since there is no 24 hour train service to the airport, there should be a parallel bus and bike bridge.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Arthur+Laing+Bridge While it does have a traffic divider, there are no wide emergency lanes or wide shoulders. There isn't even enough space for 2 bus lanes. Thus, a bus and bike bridge really should be built next to it.
Briiliant Lady cruise ship
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brilliant_Lady Length 277 m (908 ft 10 in)
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/brilliant-lady-virgin-voyages-canada-place-cruise-ship-vancouver
https://www.cntraveler.com/ships/virgin-voyages/brilliant-lady
https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/tag/canada-place-terminal/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Voyages#Current_fleet
https://www.reddit.com/r/VirginVoyages/comments/1rk8emf/brilliant_lady_cruise_a_complete_review/