Urban Tech Links: UTL
UTL is about exploring past, present and future urban technologies in science and fiction, etc...
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
More than 1,000 free parking spots will be added to several REM stations
Wow, in backwards BC, its so difficult to have places with 1000 parking spots.
Highway 99 Tunnel Program Update
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvaPpt2R69Y
A parallel bridge or tunnel should have been built decades ago.
There should have been 3 + 1 express bus lane each way, but also a temporary HOV lane each way. Then eventually, becoming 4 general lanes each way with the 5th becoming a totally separate BRT line each way.
Unfortunately, no 10 lane tunnel, just like no 10 lane bridge. Thus, whenever the 8 lane tunnel finally opens, there should be serious planning for a parallel BRT and LRT bridge or tunnel.
An extension of the YVR-Canada Line to the mall and ferry terminal would be of great benefit. However, since BC doesn't have 24hr train service, 24hr BRT can fill in the gaps.
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
West Coast Express in SW BC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlFzR5_3RWM
https://www.translink.ca/about-us/about-translink/operating-companies/west-coast-express
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_Express
| Daily ridership | 7,200 (weekdays, Q1 2026)[1] |
|---|---|
| Ridership | 1,734,200 (2025)[2] |
https://www.translink.ca/schedules-and-maps/west-coast-express
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_Express#Operation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_Express#Stations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_Express#Future_plans
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_Express#Supplementary_bus_service
HOV Lanes vs Bus Lanes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-occupancy_vehicle_lane
https://vtpi.org/tdm/tdm19.htm
A bus lane will always have more potential to move more people than a HOV lane.
https://www.drivesmartbc.ca/lanes/qa-bus-and-hov-lanes
Even if a vehicle is carrying 4-5 people in a HOV lane, a bus carrying 40-50 people is still much more efficient transportation.
https://www.liveabout.com/high-capacity-articulated-or-double-decker-2798841
https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckcars/comments/w9zja7/whenever_im_riding_the_bus_this_question_keeps/
Monday, August 24, 2026
Why Canada's Longest Runway Exists in Calgary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvPyRHaN2FE
Why Does Calgary Have FOUR Runways? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hdc1NbCMhw
The $16 billion Hudson River Tunnel project in NYC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7rngqeU2BE
How America is Building the Impossible $20B Tunnel Under the Hudson River https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZDf2eFfPC4
BRT in backwards BC
Of course Greater Vancouver really needs a big city BRT network, but unless a proper series of bus and bike bridges are built, its all just a Half-A$$ED joke of an attempt.
https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/about/projectoverview Of course the new bridge opened without any express bus lanes, especially no BRT corridor. Yet, Skytrain isn't a 24hr system, but a bus can be.
https://www.railforthevalley.com/tag/brt
Stockholm, SV
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm#Public_transportation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_Metro Unfortunatly, provincial Vancouver isn't allowed to have proper long big city type trains like in Stockholm or the Montreal Metro.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_Metro#Rolling_stock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SL_C30 , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SL_C20
Reykjavík, Iceland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reykjav%C3%ADk
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Reykjavik
The BC part of Canada has more than 10 times the population of Iceland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Region_(Iceland)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reykjav%C3%ADk#Roads Once an urban area is busy enough, there should be a 3rd or 4th lane each way, so that there can be a bus lane or express bus lane each way. Of course, a proper BRT system requires its own right of way. Thus, its usually separated from the general traffic lanes.
Reykjavík has some overpasses and a bridge that are at least 6 lanes wide.
A key overpass with four lanes each way. This already has enough space for eight lanes.
This already has the space for three lanes each way. Nine lanes with enough space for 10.
In contrast, the Knight+Street+Bridge between Vancouver and Richmond becomes a classic 2 lane each way BC bottleneck-chokepoint. Unless a parallel bus and bike bridge is built, it will remain as an inefficient crossing. A parallel bridge could have 2 express bus lanes and 2 HOV lanes, plus 2 wide bike lanes and 2 footpaths. Two truck lanes would also be good, since Greater Vancouver is supposed to be a major port region.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keflav%C3%ADk_International_Airport
There is enough space for this to be a big airport, someday.
Saturday, August 22, 2026
Philadelphia's City Hall Tower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esOvGChSrkk
Unfortunately, the L.A. City Hall isn't quite as tall, even though its a much larger city.
The 14 lane George Washington bridge vs...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH6Q8yWjYpM There are wider sections of freeways in the US, but the double deck GWB has the most lanes.
Wow, in backwards Vancouver, or almost anywhere in backwater BC, just having 2 lanes each way is tough enough. A consistent 3rd lane each way could be for busses and a 4th lane for HOVs. Given that Greater Vancouver is supposed to be a major port region, several of the bridges should also have a truck lane each way. However, there is only one bridge in backwards BC that has 5 lanes each way.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Mann_Bridge#New_bridge Unfortunatly, it wasn't designed to have a lower deck. Such a lower deck could have had 2 freight train tracks, 2 commuter train tracks and even a provision for 2 BRT lanes.
Essentially, in any proper big urban area, the bridges should not only provide at least 3 general lanes each way, but a bus and HOV lane each way. That's 5 lanes each way, plus on some crossings that are closer to port activity, there should even be a 6th lane each way. That's the case with the Sir_Leo_Hielscher_Bridges. Unfortunately, unlike Queensland, BC has been very reluctant towards bridge duplication or twinning.
https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/bus-hov-lanes-different-2918490
https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comments/1d3fixq/hov_and_bus_lanes_how_to_deter_abuse/
While Australia has Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane as its major Pacific Rim gateways, Canada just has provincial Vancouver, Victoria and Prince Rupert as port gateway cities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Leo_Hielscher_Bridges#Design
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Gateway_Bridge_aerial4.JPG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Leo_Hielscher_Bridges#Duplication A 12 lane crossing.
The Port_of_Brisbane and the Brisbane_Airport are excellent port facilities in Queensland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Brisbane#Facilities
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane_Airport#Rail Far away from the inept transportation planning in Greater Vancouver, Brisbane was able to do things correctly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport_line,_Brisbane Unfortunatly, backwards BC just can't seem to properly plan big city type infrastructure.
The YVR-Canada_Line is a total embarrassment!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Line#Stations Not 150 m, not 100 m, only a 50 m level clarence was allowed for the stations. Even the first 2 Skytrain lines only have 80 m stations, when they should have almost been twice as long.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Line#Technology Aparently, the inept planning was due to cost saving measures. Thus, instead of designing the stations to be long enough to accommodate 5 car trains, they were only designed to ultimately have 2.5 car trains. Since 2009, the Canada_Line still only has 2 car joke trains.
The Tilikum_Crossing in Portland vs the North_Arm_Bridge between Vancouver and Richmond. The Tilikum_Crossing accommodates 2 bike lanes, 2 footpaths, 2 MAX-LRT tracks, 2 articulated_bus lanes and even streetcars can cross on it. Such a fine bridge just hasn't been allowed in BC.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/NorthArmBridge.jpgHow Europe Is Building the World’s Longest Immersed Tunnel Between Denmark and Germany
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY83HGWDeAQ
The $10 Billion Tunnel That Rewrites Europe's Map | Fehmarnbelt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvjY0ihchYs
City of Vancouver outlines three preliminary Kitsilano Outdoor Pool renewal concepts
Hopefully, the VMV won't try to reduce its size like it did with the Aquatic Centre.
Friday, August 21, 2026
Surrey BC's new $2.8 Billion Hospital
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYbIWupZjjY
Even though Surrey might not be directly affected and thwarted by the VMV, the BC Mind Virus (BCMV) can still hold things back.
Vancouver PNE vs...
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-pne-fair-weekend-playland-aug-2026
At the same time that the madness of Vancouver was making the PNE smaller, the CNE was allowed to grow in size. If anything like a Vancouver Mind Virus had an influence in Toronto, the city would have become a backwards mess.
In 1981 Canada's Wonderland had just opened. But the CNE is also on. Which one do you decide to go to - the shiny new theme park or a Torontonian classic? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItiWGErRyZM
Toronto would go onto becoming as big as Chicago. However, the GTA still isn't quite as big as the overall Chicagoland Area. Vancouver is still stuck in its provincial backwater trap mentality.
Thursday, August 20, 2026
Broadway Subway SkyTrain Construction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAevWIf3LLw
Vancouver Skytrain: Commercial Drive to Lincoln Station https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PO0v_JdD1A
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Hullo Ferries surpasses 1.5 million passengers on third anniversary
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/hullo-ferries-nanaimo-vancouver-third-anniversary
Now, if only provincial, backwater Vancouver could ever have a proper big city size commuter ferry system like what Sydney and SF Bay_Area have...
Broadway–City Hall station
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadway-City_Hall_station Has a 5 car train potential.
https://thecanadaline.com/station-guides/broadway-city-hall 2.5 car train potential, but still only just 2 coaches per train.
https://thecanadaline.com/station-history/broadway-city-hall
REM operator apologizes for lack of communication during morning disruptions
At least the REM started out on a grander scale than the Skytrain. With SDO, a 4 car train could easily become 6. Then, as long as there is enough level station clearance, longer platforms should be possible.
Someday, SDO could even allow a 9 car Montreal Metro train to have 11 car trains like in NYC on the 7.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_(New_York_City_Subway_service)#Fleet 11 car trains.
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Monday, August 17, 2026
Car drives into McArthurGlen luxury store in Richmond
Buildings in BC can be designed in such a way that makes it very difficult to crash into a structure.
The Oakridge–41st Avenue Station
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/oakridge-41st-avenue-station-early-closure-construction-august-2026
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Oakridge-41st+Avenue
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canada-line-skytrain For a line of B$ to have opened in 2009 and is still only using 2 car joke trains is a pretty sad example of inept transportation infrastructure planning.
Even using the argument that it was necessary to have a watered down or scaled back the YVR-Canada+Line to save money, this line of B$ still could have been designed to eventually become a proper big city like train. As long as the 50 m stations were designed with a future level clearance of 130 m to 153 m, the underground stations could have been as long as the Montreal Metro stations, or at least as long as the underground Edmonton LRT stations.
The YVR-Canada Line since 2009
The Canada_Line opened with 2 car trains and is still running just 2 car trains. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1ouk0VifwM&t=817s
https://thecanadaline.com/station-history No reasonable attempt was made to make sure that the stations could eventually accommodate at least 5 car trains.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Line#Stations The inadequate 50 m stations can only accommodate a 2.5 car train, not a 5 car train.
https://globalnews.ca/news/5778392/canada-line-10-year-anniversary/
https://buzzer.translink.ca/2024/08/skytrains-canada-line-marks-15th-anniversary/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Line#Technology
https://www.atkinsrealis.com/en/projects/the-canada-line
https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/01/31/Canada-Line-New-Stop-Years-Making/
https://www.bb-gi.com/investment/canada-line/
Airport to Downtown Vancouver Transit Guide (Don't Take a Taxi!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bNYrJhUgu0
This $9 Train Saves You $40 at Vancouver Airport (YVR to Canada Place) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxUpww86dow
Fortunately, the REM trains in Montreal can accommodate 4 car trains, as does the Skyline_(Honolulu).
The big mistake for all 3 of the Skytrain lines was not having all of the stations to be capable of accommodating 6-8 car trains. Plus, allowing for a future level station clearance of 153 m-160 m. That would have allowed Greater Vancouver to start of with short REM & Skyline type trains, with the capability to eventually have trains as long as those on the Montreal_Metro.
Proper big city transportation infrastructure is so difficult to plan and build in backwards BC.
Sunday, August 16, 2026
The Copenhagen's metro vs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzamwVH3CXU
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_Metro , https://m.dk/en/
The Copenhagen_Metro is open for service 24 hours a day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M2_(Copenhagen_Metro)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_Airport#Metro
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lufthavnen_station
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Copenhagen_Metro_stations
https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/planning/the-metro-gdk962923
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitachi_Rail_Italy_Driverless_Metro
"The trains are 39 m (127 ft 11+3⁄8 in) long, 2.65 m (8 ft 8+3⁄8 in) wide, and weigh 52 t (51 long tons; 57 short tons). Each train consists of three articulated cars with a total of six automated, 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) wide doors, holding up to 96 seated and 204 standing passengers (300 in total)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_Metro#Trains
With Selective_door_operation technology, a 3 car train could become a 5 car train without having to lengthen the stations. People would simply access & leave the train in the middle 3 cars, but not the end cars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_door_operation#International_variations
New South Wales H set trains
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales_H_set
| Train length | 81.55 m (267 ft 6+5⁄8 in) |
|---|---|
| Car length |
|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales_H_set#Design
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Coast_Line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Trains
Example of selective door operation. The doors in the first 2 carriages are not opened, because the platform is too short for an 8-carriage OSCAR train. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_door_operation (SDO)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Selective_Door_Operation.jpg/960px-Selective_Door_Operation.jpgSaturday, August 15, 2026
Friday, August 14, 2026
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Chemtrade and North Vancouver
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Chemtrade+Electrochem+Inc.
By now, there should have been a North Boundary Road bus & bike bridge. Such a bus & bike bridge could be built in a way that isn't too disruptive to Orcas+Snow+Removal and Chemtrade+Electrochem+Inc., or any other businesses.
There should have also been a Willingdon Avenue bus & bike bride over the inlet by now. Instead, a 3 lane each way Iron Bridge is supposed to handle not only the TCH traffic, but regional traffic & truck traffic in what is supposed to be a major port region.
The Iron Bridge is so narrow, because there wasn't any serious consideration to have 2 emergency lanes, 2 wide shoulders and especially no bus or HOV lanes. Of course there should have been a parallel LRT bridge built there several decades ago, as well.
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
A look inside Broadway-City Hall Station's future Canada Line-Millennium Line interchange
It really would have been nice if the YVR-Canada Line was able to run 5 car trains by now. Unfortunately, due to inept transportation planning in the BC part of Canada, the stations were only designed to accommodate 2.5 car trains.
A 2.5 car train fits right in with a 3 lane Lion Bridge that was never augmented with parallel BRT and LRT train tunnels.
Backwards Vancouver and backwater BC, are some of the best places in the world to see inept multigenerational transportation infrastructure.
Sunday, August 9, 2026
Saturday, August 8, 2026
More bus lanes for Greater Victoria, BC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ2cYBoQXAw
https://transitapp.com/en/region/victoria-bc/bc-transit-victoria/blink-rapidbus-95
https://www.bctransit.com/blink Not simply a B-Link, its a Blink.
Several 4 lane roads and bridges in Greater Vancouver need a similar upgrade. Otherwise, just give up and only strive to have a Half-A$$ED express bus system.
Actual BRT requires its own fully separated lanes, bridges and tunnels. Unfortunately, that type of bus service in BC is still very much in the Half-A$$ED phase.
Friday, August 7, 2026
3 Ways to the JFK Airport
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG1aRLZwihA
Of course Vancouver opted to have the shortest airport train possible. The 2 car YVR-Canada+Line.
Thursday, August 6, 2026
Boston's Green Line D Branch has a lot in common with San Diego's Trolley, the first modern light rail system in the United States.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCBg2sFPtis It's also 22 years older. So...does that make it the true first modern light rail in America?
Wednesday, August 5, 2026
The office stumps of Vancouver, BC
No office tower in Vancouver has eve been permitted to have a 40th floor.
https://skyscraperpage.com/b106925/vancouver/the-stack
https://skyscraperpage.com/b63/vancouver/royal-centre
https://skyscraperpage.com/b5828/vancouver/b5
https://skyscraperpage.com/b66/vancouver/park-place
https://skyscraperpage.com/b64/vancouver/four-bentall-centre
https://skyscraperpage.com/b65/vancouver/the-scotia-tower
https://skyscraperpage.com/b98113/vancouver/the-exchange
https://skyscraperpage.com/b67/vancouver/toronto-dominion-tower-at-pacific-centre
https://skyscraperpage.com/b41476/vancouver/b6
https://skyscraperpage.com/b100729/vancouver/vancouver-centre-2
https://skyscraperpage.com/b7191/vancouver/200-granville-square
https://skyscraperpage.com/b68/vancouver/three-bentall-centre
https://skyscraperpage.com/b6162/vancouver/320-granville
https://skyscraperpage.com/b60/vancouver/harbour-centre The office floors don't even get above 28. https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/vancouver/harbour-centre/4144 If the Harbour_Centre office floors had continued right up to the base of the flag-pole, it would be equivalent to 40 stories. However, the revolving_restaurant is more equivalent to 35 floors. With the height to the tip of the antenna as being 177.1 m (581 ft), the flag could be considered to be at the equivalent of 48th floors. But there are no floors in the flag-pole.
Had the flag-pole or antenna not been built, the Harbor Centre would have been slightly shorter than the original height of the tallest Giza_pyramid.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza "Initially standing at 146.6 metres (481 feet), the Great Pyramid was the world's tallest human-made structure for more than 3,700 years." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza#Pyramidion_and_missing_tip
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=117075754&page=1
Only 2 buildings in restrictive Vancouver have been allowed to be taller than the Cairo_Tower and the Space_Needle. Only 1 building in Vancouver has been allowed to be taller than the Calgary_Tower.
Vancouver is about implementing short buildings, short trains and narrow bridges. Since the multigenerational power structure can't build a wall around the city to keep people out, the next best thing is to symbolically take a small scale approach to things. Thus, its very difficult for proper BIG city stuff to get built in backwards Vancouver.
BC is 23 times larger than Switzerland, yet it doesn't even have the population of one CH.
Despite Canada being the 2nd largest nation in overall area, it has less than half of 1% of the worlds population. Thus, Canada is but a spec of the worlds population.
Some massive transportation projects in Metro Vancouver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emSr9NLwfT4
Unfortunately, the Broadway+Subway will only open with the potential of 5 car trains, not 10.
Unfortunately, the YVR-Canada+Line wasn't even designed to have 5 car trains, only a potential of 2.5 car trains, someday.
Of course the Massey+Tunnel+replacement wasn't designed to have an LRT and a BRT section. Thus, in addition to the basic 3 lanes each way, there will only be an express bus lane.
A separate BRT section would be beneficial since BC doesn't want to run 24hr trains. Thus, when the LRT is shutdown for maintenance, a 24hr BRT line could still be running. Unfortunately, part of the BC Mind Virus is backwards thinking and inept infrastructure planning. Of course there is still no official plan to have LRT from YVR to the Tsawwassen Ferry terminal anytime soon.
Toronto's Skyline
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es-8mBA99JY
Hidden design at TD Centre, Toronto's Mid-Century Modern masterpiece https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZyrtdigyyw
Tuesday, August 4, 2026
Historic photos show Stanley Park more than 100 years ago
https://www.vmcdn.ca/f/files/via/images/historic-images/vancouverarchives/stanley-park-100-years-1920s-entrance.jpg;w=960;h=640;bgcolor=000000 A nice wide public walkway. Unfortunately, due to a lack of a proper big city vision, no 4-6 lane wide right of way was ever established through the park.
https://stanleyparkvan.com/stanley-park-van-road-stanley-park-causeway.html
The 3 lane wide option was never followed-up with a lower 3 lane tunnel. So, instead of 3 lanes each way, everything is funneled into just 3 lanes.
https://council.vancouver.ca/000203/pe3.htm Thus, no need to have a bridge designed to be strong enough to have at least two 3 lane decks.
In Vancouver and backwards BC in general, its very difficult to build infrastructure for long-range future capacity.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Stanley_Park_Labeled_Aerial_Map.png
After several generations, Stanley_Park has remained as a provincial gateway to backwater Vancouver.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Park#21st_century
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_Highway_99#Vancouver
While no one was able to stop the Horseshoe_Bay_ferry_terminal from being built, too many people still don't want Greater_Vancouver to have a proper big city train and highway link between West_Vancouver and Downtown_Vancouver.
Fortunately, the BCMV never made it to Sydney, NSW and SF, CA. Thus, their CBD or downtown has good rail and highway links.
However, it was almost like part of the Vancouver MV made it to Auckland, NZ.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland_Harbour_Bridge#Clip-ons_(1967%E2%80%931969)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland_Harbour_Bridge#Alternate_proposal A parallel bus, bike and train bridge should have been built decades ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Harbour_Crossing,_Auckland#2023_Waitemat%C4%81_Harbour_Connections_proposals
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/waitemata-harbour-connections
https://infrastructurepipeline.org/project/additional-waitemata-harbour-crossing
https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2026/05/27/build-this-brilliant-bridge
Monday, August 3, 2026
Sunday, August 2, 2026
Saturday, August 1, 2026
How Zürich fixed the commuter train problem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cvuthXbTDQ
This is the type of intercity train that could link some BC cities like Victoria with Nanaimo, Vancouver with Abbotsford & Chilliwack. Kelowna, Vernon & Penticton. Kamloops and Prince George. Prince Rupert & Kitimat with PG. Unfortunately, with the slow mindset and backwards approach to things in BC, it might not happen for a very long time.
Friday, July 31, 2026
Why Houston Is Spending $13 Billion To Fix Traffic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNDJ9CEAMYE
Why Houston Makes No Sense https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DdDoJgRGLY&t=255s
Why Houston Is Rebuilding Its Airport From Scratch youtube.com/watch?v=xjqzKFJ9fAI&pp=ugUEEgJlbg%3D%3D
Hottest days of Southern California heat wave
https://ktla.com/weather/southern-california-extreme-heat-high-surf
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/weather-news/la-heat-forecast-weekend-temperatures/3924118/
https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/los-angeles/90012/july-weather/347625 LA had 21 days that were at least 30 C.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/los-angeles/90012/august-weather/347625?year=2026
https://weather.com/en-CA/us/california/city/los-angeles/tenday
In record heat, a warming world has come to rely on Chinese air-conditioners
As the world warms up, Vancouver and Victoria still only seem to get 40 C temperatures a few days to a week out of each decade.
https://vancouver.weatherstats.ca/charts/temperature-yearly.html
https://weatherspark.com/y/476/Average-Weather-in-Vancouver-British-Columbia-Canada-Year-Round
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/06/23/multiple-heat-records-set-monday-across-b-c Its so difficult for Vancouver and Victoria to ever reach 30 C, let alone 35 C and hardly ever 40 C.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/june-weather/53286?year=2026 Vancouver only had 2 days in June that were at least 30 C.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/victoria/v8w/june-weather/47163?year=2026 Wow, Victoria actually has 3 days in June that were at least 25 C. Of course no 30 C days.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-heat-wave-august-14-2023-1.6935750 In 2023, despite a heatwave in BC, Vancouver and Victoria never reached 40 C.
Thursday, July 30, 2026
PM Carney says B.C. port expansion necessary to boost exports and independence
https://globalnews.ca/news/12003754/carney-port-of-vancouver-expansion-plans/
https://www.portvancouver.com/project/roberts-bank-terminal-2
https://www.canada.ca/en/one-canadian-economy/news/2026/07/port-of-vancouver-gateway-strategy.html
https://sustainableworldports.org/project/vancouver-fraser-port-authority-centerm-expansion-project/
https://www.portvancouver.com/business-and-projects/projects
Summer in Greater Vancouver
https://www.delta-optimist.com/highlights/vancouver-weather-edmonton-flooding-july-2026-12612951
Summer is only 3 months or about 90 days. Take the last week of May and the first week of September and you have a potential of 104 days. Unfortunately, many of those days aren't hot and dry, because a lot of warm and damp days get in the way.
According to AW, there were only 2 days in July that were at least 30 C. https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/july-weather/53286 Only 11 days in July got to at least 25 C.
There were only 2 days in June that were at least 30 C. https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/june-weather/53286?year=2026 There were only 11 June days that were at least 25 C.
Is It Always Sunny in Philadelphia? Of course not.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_Always_Sunny_in_Philadelphia
Why Philadelphia Is Weirder Than You Think https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgGOQCxOHKw
Concord Pacific tower in Metrotown now weeks away from becoming Metro Vancouver's tallest building
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
A Commercial-Broadway rental housing tower might need to be redesigned for an additional SkyTrain station platform and pedestrian bridge
It looks like dailyhive.com might be the only local media to effectively inform people about this potential transportation infrastructure blunder. Vancouver has notoriously not properly planned things for future capacity. A proper big city Commercial-Broadway_station is essential, so there should be enough clearance for another platform, when its needed. Thus, any new structure should be designed to allow for extra station space. There is just something inept about infrastructure planning in Vancouver and BC in general.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/YVRBroadwayStn.JPG/1280px-YVRBroadwayStn.JPG Platform 4 and what should be a potential platform 6 just west of it.Vancouver City Council kills Villages Plan after fierce public backlash
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-villages-plan-rejected-city-council-decision
Vancouver is a very small city in area. Indeed, Vancouver, Paris, Boston and SF, are all less than 50 square miles in city area. Despite the City of Paris being slightly smaller than the C of V, Paris has 3 times the city population. Apparently, physics is different in backwards Vancouver than it is in Paris.
Unlike provincial Vancouver, Paris is still allowed to have some wide streets and a better road system overall. Plus, with so many interconnecting train lines, its easier to get around cosmopolitan Paris.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver The city has a land area of 115.18 km2 (44.47 sq mi)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver#Geography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_Park,_British_Columbia It is located on top of Little Mountain approximately 125 metres (410 ft) above sea level
https://en-ca.topographic-map.com/map-vzkpm2/Little-Mountain Little Mountain, elevation 125 m (410 ft)
Of course L.Mt. is shorter than Montmartre , because everything has to be shorter and smaller in provincial Vancouver.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Vancouver_Regional_District 2,878.93 km2 (1,111.56 sq mi)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Mainland 36,303.31 km2 (14,016.79 sq mi)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris 105.4 km2 (40.7 sq mi)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris#Geography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montmartre It is 130 m (430 ft) high
https://www.unjourdeplusaparis.com/en/paris-insolite/plus-haut-point-de-paris it is in Montmartre that the highest point of the capital is located, culminating at 130.53 meters above sea level. That's 428.25 feet, so something in-between 428 and 430 feet above sea level.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Paris 814.2 km2 (314.4 sq mi)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Ele-de-France 12,012 km2 (4,638 sq mi)
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Will the Vancouver weather shift to hotter temperatures and more sunshine in August?
According to the AW August forecast, there won't be any 30 C days. https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/august-weather/53286?year=2026 There might only be 8 days that even get to 25 C.
The Vancouver forecast surer doesn't show any heatwave in August.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/anchorage/99501/august-weather/346835?year=2026
Perhaps Vancouver will be considered to be hot when compared to Alaska and Yukon, and that's pretty sad.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/whitehorse/y1a/august-weather/51876?year=2026
You expect summer to be short in Alaska and Yukon, but its so truncated in Vancouver, because of the fall like rainy days that cut it down the sunny days.
Monday, July 27, 2026
Trio of tallest buildings in Vancouver greenlit by city council
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sT_DGhDfKE
The project should go through as planned. However, the city should have enough leverage to make sure the company to finally follow-through with an earlier agreement to provide low cost housing.
Record-breaking-Edmonton-faces-another-storm
Its not just Vancouver having crappy fall weather in the summer.
Western Canada's tallest tower, gets green light from Vancouver City Council
There was a time when Vancouver wasn't allowed to have any building taller than the Great_Pyramid_of_Giza, then Ulm_Minster and then the Philadelphia_City_Hall.
The Harbour_Centre had to be less than a 3rd of the CN_Tower.
The stations on the first 2 SkyTrain lines are barely 2 thirds of the length of a Montreal_Metro station.
The Canada_Line only has 50 m stations compared to the 152.5 m Montreal_Metro stations.
For too long, anything that is symbolic of a proper big city was watered down or scaled back in provincial Vancouver. Indeed, Vancouver was supposed to perpetually be a half-sized city, or even a third of what a proper size city should be. The mostly narrow bridges still have no parallel express bus bridge, or BRT bridge built next to them.
If the project actually gets built as envisioned it will be taller than First_Canadian_Place in Toronto, Columbia_Center in Seattle, and a little taller than the Sydney_Tower and the U.S._Bank_Tower_(Los_Angeles). It still won't quite be as tall as Australia_108 in Melbourne or especially the Salesforce_Tower in SF.