The Mirage casino announces closing date to make way for guitar-shaped Hard Rock hotel

 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13424265/Mirage-casino-Las-Vegas-megaresorts-closing.html

The Pattullo Bridge saga

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-closing-two-night

The old bridge just wasn't designed for any expanded capacity. The new PB should have been designed to eventually have a 2nd deck & a provision for rapid rail transit. The new bridge should have been planned to open with a 3rd lane each way for bus & HOV. Apparently, it's better to funnel everything into 2 lanes each way. Good bike & foot paths, but no need for bus & HOV lanes at this time. WTH?

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge

Kitsilano in Vancouver, BC

Neighborhoods are always changing, sometimes gradually & sometimes quickly. There are a lot of nice old houses in Kitsilano that are worth preserving. In several cases, infill developments can occur without having to teardown the older buildings.  

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-nimby-kitsilano-2560-trafalgar-street

It seems that not enough people in the neighborhood were allowed to properly voice their concerns.

https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/2560-2580-trafalgar-st-2

https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/kitsilano.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsilano_Beach

https://www.destinationvancouver.com/vancouver/neighbourhoods/kitsilano

The city should have been providing more incentives to retain the older houses, by allowing upgrades & or additions. Over the decades, Vancouver has lost several houses, simply because of half-assed policies.

 Of course if a new owner has paid 2.5, 5 or 10 million dollars for a property, they should be able to build what they want. However, there should have been incentives to save the older houses whenever possible. An infill development can be a guesthouse, or just a separate unit to be rented out for some extra income. 

The Sixth Street Viaduct and the West 7th Street Bridge

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Street_Viaduct Los Angeles 

https://www.lusas.com/case/bridge/west_7th_street_bridge.html Fort Worth, Texas

Of course similar bridges can be seen in various cities. 

https://aecollab.com/projects/bridges/west-7th-street-bridge

https://ftwtoday.6amcity.com/66-mile-bike-trail-connects-fort-worth-dallas

https://laist.com/news/transportation/6th-street-bridge-bike-lanes-how-protective-are-they

https://www.dailynews.com/2022/07/07/sixth-street-bridge-connecting-boyle-heights-and-arts-district-over-l-a-river-is-complete/

The first fully completed new generation SkyTrain in Metro Vancouver

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-mark-v-new-generation-train-inside-interior-design

So the newest trains will only have 5 coaches. So many metros & subways today have 6, 8 or 10 car trains. The SkyTrain should have been designed to ultimately have 152.4 m or 500 long stations like the Montreal Metro. The joke that is the Canada Line, was only designed to ultimately have 2.5 car trains, not 5, let alone 10. Of course BC wouldn't plan for 8-10 car trains, because that would be indicative of properly preparing for growth. BC has shown a continual reluctance to build up to a proper size infrastructure. 

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=SkyTrain

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=SkyTrain+bridges

Vancouver Island Rail Corridor

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-island-corridor-foundation-thomas-bevan

The Island_Rail_Corridor has so much potential, but sleepy BC or backwater BC is very slow-going, as usual. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-island-rail-delay-2023-1.6778609

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/transportation-reports-and-reference/reports-studies/vancouver-island/island-rail

https://www.islandrail.ca/rail/rail-service-plans/

https://www.vicnews.com/news/petition-to-reinstate-rail-service-on-vancouver-island-headed-to-ottawa-7314120

https://tc.canada.ca/en/binder/47-vancouver-island-rail-corridor

https://www.transportaction.ca/regions/british-columbia/vancouver-island-railway-shame-or-opportunity/

https://www.change.org/p/restore-and-enhance-vancouver-island-s-railway-corridor-with-a-fund-up-to-1-billion

https://www.vicnews.com/news/vote-on-future-of-island-rail-corridor-prompts-first-nation-board-members-to-resign-111773

The Leaside Bridge and The Aurora Bridge

The 6 lane Leaside_Bridge opened on October 29, 1927. The bridge wouldn't have to be Vancouverized, or narrowed, if a bus & bike bridge was built next to it. Turning the Leaside_Bridge into a 5 or 4 lane crossing would be like taking the backward BC approach to things.

The 6 lane Aurora_Bridge opened on February 22, 1932. If a bus & bike bridge was built next to it, that would greatly improve the overall crossing area. However, some people would like to have the 6 lane bridge, Vancouverized. Funneling it into a 5 or 4 lane choke point is a BC type of approach that Washington State should avoid.

Toronto’s road construction season

 https://globalnews.ca/news/10464912/toronto-construction-season-traffic-solutions/

Driving on parts of the Gardiner that's temporarily reduced to 2 lanes each way for repairs, can give people in the GTA a sense of what it's like driving in stunted Vancouver.

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/03/19/gardiner-construction-phase-two-dufferin-strachan/

The mostly six lane Gardiner should have been designed to have had at least a 4th lane each way so that it could have been used as a bus & HOV lane.

https://bayview-news.com/2024/03/bayview-leaside-commuters-face-impact-of-2024-road-work.html/

Nothing like the Gardiner_Expressway or the Don_Valley_Parkway was ever allowed in Vancouver. That's because a clearing of houses would have been required. Thus, it's been tough enough just to have something like a 6 lane Lake_Shore_Boulevard (LSB) in Vancouver.

Kingsway_at_the_Vancouver-Burnaby boundary, is funneled into a 4 lane bottleneck. 

Hastings_Street_in_downtown_Vancouver is funneled into a 5 lane cokepoint & gets even narrower.

The Knight_Street corridor isn't all 6 lanes wide. There are a few 4 lane chokepoints. An urban 6 lane corridor is essential, because a 3rd lane each way can be a bus & HOV lane. However, the congestive Vancouver approach is to funnel everything into a 4 lane bottleneck. Fortunately, most cities have allowed enough extra space for bus & HOV lanes.

Is Toronto construction just as safe & easy as last year?

https://www.toronto.ca/news/city-of-toronto-kicks-off-busy-billion-dollar-construction-season/

Of course all the various construction projects can't be done in one year, as it can take several years or even decades.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/toronto-get-ready-for-more-traffic-delays-as-the-city-kicks-off-its-billion-dollar/article_e5069002-9b38-52d0-aba3-c09b03e720b7.html

Stanley Park Causeway and Lions Gate Bridge reopen after a fallen tree incident

 https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/05/07/stanley-park-causeway-closed-for-fallen-tree/

Perhaps the best example of Vancouverization is the 3 lane chokepoint that is the Lions-Gate-Bridge-and-roadway-through-Stanley-Park. No parallel bus-tunnel or bus-bridge, because that would actually help to efficiently move more people around.

https://globalnews.ca/news/10480945/lions-gate-bridge-closed-tree-down Especially, don't have a high capacity rapid transit rail tunnel though there, because that would go against the constrictive planning agenda of Vancouver & BC.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/lions-gate-bridge-reopens-after-downed-tree-forces-closure-1.6877368

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/fallen-tree-closes-stanley-park-causeway Bottelneck or chokpoint planning has been a crucial part of the Vancouverization agenda for generations.

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/traffic-alert-lions-gate-bridge-closed-downed-tree

Vancouver, BC is such a backward city. Fortunately, the Vancouverization mentality hasn't been adopted by most cities. 

TTC subway slow-speed zones is really affecting trains

 https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/05/07/ttc-subway-trains-slow-speed-zones/

Of course Boston has had its slow train problems as well.

https://mass.streetsblog.org/2024/02/13/the-t-fixed-dozens-of-green-line-slow-zones-so-why-is-it-still-so-slow

https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2023/09/12/mbta-red-line-slow-zones-shutdowns

https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxjekx/bostons-subway-was-running-at-half-speed-because-it-lost-paperwork

A new Toronto pedestrian bridge

 https://dailyhive.com/toronto/design-selected-toronto-keating-channel-pedestrian-bridge

Some of the Best Aquariums in the World

https://www.headout.com/blog/best-aquariums-in-the-world/

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/the-worlds-most-beautiful-aquariums

https://www.thetravel.com/bucket-list-aquariums-in-the-world/

https://worldcitiesranking.com/best-aquariums-top10/

https://aquadecorbackgrounds.com/blog/10-largest-aquariums-in-the-world/

https://tourscanner.com/blog/best-aquariums-in-the-world/

https://www.celebritycruises.com/blog/best-aquariums-in-the-world

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Aquarium

 https://www.vanaqua.org/explore/special-events/monsters-of-the-abyss

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/jessica-biel-meets-jessica-seal-vancouver-aquarium

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/animal-stories/watch-jessica-biel-meets-namesake-rescue-jessica-seal-in-vancouver-8692882

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_aquariums 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_aquarium#Public_aquariums_today

Traffic impacted in downtown Vancouver due to BMO marathons

 https://globalnews.ca/news/10475853/traffic-impacted-in-downtown-vancouver-due-to-bmo-marathons/

While such events are for a good cause, the traffic gets even more congested.

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/05/04/vancouver-marathon-road-closures/

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/road-closures-weekend-bmo-vancouver-marathon-may-2024-8678328

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/05/04/vancouver-marathon-road-closures/

Unfortunately, Vancouver planning never allowed for any bus tunnels, especially under Burrard Inlet & False Creek. All the underground train stations weren't built to easily become as long as the Montreal Metro stations, which are 152.45 m or 500 feet.  

New Museum of Anthropology at UBC

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/museum-of-anthropology-ubc-moa-reopening-june-2024-date

https://visit.ubc.ca/see-and-do/museums-and-art-galleries/museum-of-anthropology/

https://www.vancouverattractions.com/museum-of-anthropology-at-ubc

https://planning.ubc.ca/museum-anthropology-great-hall-renewal

https://www.cntraveler.com/activities/vancouver/vancouver/museum-of-anthropology-at-ubc

Canada's High Food Prices

https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/research/canada-s-food-price-report-2024.html

This is quite a problem.

https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/sites/agri-food/EN_CANADA'S%20FOOD%20PRICE%20REPORT%202024.pdf

Most people can't cut their food intake in half, just to save on food costs.

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/costco-food-prices-canada-mexico?

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/groceries-local-market-compared-loblaws

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/ca/investing/why-are-prices-so-high/

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/loblaw-ceo-addresses-boycott-message-employees

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/ca/personal-finance/food-inflation/

https://www.retailcouncil.org/truth-of-canadian-grocery-price-inflation/

https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/food-inflation-how-canada-s-grocery-prices-compares-to-other-nations-1.6425009

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/food-costs-world-canada-1.3474241