Monday, August 31, 2015

The Regional George Massey Tunnel Replacement Project

Of course someday, the Massey+Tunnel+replacement should have a regional rail crossing with extra bus or HOV lanes. 

While it's important to have a train to Coquitlam, it's also important to have a train to the Delta ferry terminal.





Its pitiful that there is no rail bridge between Richmond and Delta to provide an efficient link between YVR and the ferry terminal. 

https://sfb.nathanpachal.com/search/label/Transportation Its very strange that there doesn't seem to a plan to link YVR with the 2 regional ferry terminals.

https://sfb.nathanpachal.com/search/label/Interurban%20Maps Its sad that instead of improving regional rail tranportaion during the 1950s, 60s and 70s, backwards BC went the other way. Then the 1980s Skytrain had stations that were barely more than half the length of a 152.4 m Montreal Metro station. The YVR Line opened in 2009 and wasn't even built with 80m stations, only enough level clearance for 50m stations.  


The Oakridge Centre intersection




Tokyo

http://skyscrapercenter.com/city/tokyo

https://darylvsworld.wordpress.com/2014/12/06/skytrain-technology-declared-for-60km-outer-belt-metro-in-tokyo/

http://skyscrapercenter.com/cities


V-T-M


https://i0.wp.com/buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/toronto.jpg ,
https://darylvsworld.wordpress.com/2015/02/23/referendum-myths-translink-exec-pay
http://www.sfu.ca/geog/geog351fall07/Group03/history.html

http://theecoreport.com/metro-vancouver-to-have-canadas-longest-transit-system
https://metrobabel.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/new-mark-iii-skytrains-coming-soon
http://bbscalemodels.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/IMG_6898-1.jpg ,
http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2015/06/sleek-looking-longer-skytrain-trains-arriving-this-year

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyTrain_rolling_stock#Bombardier_ART_Mark_III_train_fleet_.28future.29

Thursday, August 20, 2015

B line

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2013/03/mayor-robertson-ubc-broadway-subway-would-canada-line-ridership/

Why is the Canada (embarrassment) Line built the way it is?

Despite its high cost, the C+Line or YVR-Line was designed to have shorter stations than the underground stations in Edmonton & Seattle. Even shorter than the ground level stations in Calgary & Portland. Considering that a Montreal Metro station is 152.5m or 500 feet in length, the absurd C Line stations are only 50m. 

A one third size train still could have been designed for proper future capacity expansion. Unfortunatly, this joke of a train was only designed to have 2 coaches & eventually 2.5 car trains, not 5 & certainly not 10. Because that's what a proper big city would do.

The light rail train bridge to Richmond wasn't designed to have any bus lanes, just 1 bike lane. No proper bus & HOV lane bridge has been built next to the narrow Knight+Street+Bridge , Oak+Street+Bridge , or Arthur+Laing+Bridge. By now, all 3 road bridges should have had 4 lane bus & HOV bridges next to them. Indeed, each bridge should have had 2 bus & 2 HOV lanes beside them by now. But why do that when everything can be crammed into just 2 lanes each way. Combine that with no breakdown lanes or wide shoulders & you have classic BC bottleneck planning. Since the C Line isn't running 24 hours, there should have been a 24 hour express bus to the airport on 2 dedicated lanes on the C Line bridge. That would have made it possible to always have an airport express bus, especially when the C Line is only running 2 car trains.

It's all such a sad joke that should be laughed at all over the world. It's also symbolic of the refusal to properly think & build big in backwards BC. Its like a whole lot of money was never efficiently or properly put into the regional infrastructure over the course of several generations. Any serious big city airport+line should be designed for significant future capacity. 




BC trams...


http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/interurbanmap_web.jpg ,
http://buzzer.translink.ca/2009/03/a-short-history-of-interurbans-in-the-lower-mainland



http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2015/06/100-year-old-vancouver-map-online/

Friday, August 14, 2015

housing-market-risk-high-in-toronto-winnipeg-and-regina-cmhc-says

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/housing-market-risk-high-in-toronto-winnipeg-and-regina-cmhc-says-1.3189981


"After a trying search, Jacob Butula has finally found a place to rent in Vancouver. But the apartment on the top floor of a house is far from ideal. Only a sheet separates his room from the living room that he will soon share with three roommates.
One roommate has promised to build him a makeshift wooden wall to replace the sheet. But it still means everyone living there will have easy access to his room.
"I hope I can trust these people with my stuff when I'm gone because they can just pull the wood [wall] aside and enter my room if they feel like it," says the 30-year-old Butula
"It's a sacrifice I'm making for affordable rent," he adds, as he moves to Vancouver to finish a master's degree in counselling psychology and complete his practicum.
For now, he believes a temporary wall may be as good as it gets with his $750 a month rent limit." http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/rental-woes-prices-jump-vacancy-shrinks-for-vancouver-toronto-1.3186886