https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqNF7hF5u3E
Is our 'addiction' to cheap foreign labour hurting young people? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV11Z437758
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Toronto and Freeway Widening: The Gift That Keeps on Giving (More Traffic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBESmfpB3vw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto#Transportation
The Real Reason Hwy 401 is the Busiest in North America https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFBQDIY3V74
More Lanes are (Still) a Bad Thing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHZwOAIect4
How Toronto Got Addicted to Cars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkO-DttA9ew
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Toronto_Area#Transportation
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Bus Lanes and Bus Rapid Transit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_lane
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport_bus_service#Express_bus_service
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_rapid_transit
Unfortunately, Greater_Vancouver is one of the worst examples of Regional_Transportation_Planning. With so many narrow bridges and a refusal to build a proper network of bus-bridges, things remain chaotic on the existing inept bridges.
The SkyTrain_(Vancouver) should have been designed to be a little like a light rail version of the Chicago_L Trains. However, instead of designing the stations to eventually accomodate 8 car trains, like the Chicago_L, the Vancouver maximum was a 6 car train of the Mark_I_fleet. Shorter railcars & shorter trains, that's the name of the congestion planning game in backward BC.
As of late 2024, the first 2 SkyTrain lines are still only running 4 & 2 car trains, not counting the original smaller coaches. The 3rd line or Canada_Line, is only running 2 car trains. All 3 lines should have been designed to eventually have 8-10 car trains, but that would be properly planning for future capacity on a multi-billion dollar system.
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Vancouver House Condominiums and Apartments
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-apartment-1480-howe-st
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/condo-vs-apartment-whats-the-difference
https://www.bankrate.com/real-estate/condo-vs-apartment/
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/ca/mortgages/difference-between-condo-and-apartment/
Monday, October 28, 2024
Why "Nobody" Lives In Upstate New York
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLs4hLIuHVY
The New York Nobody Knows About https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5rnrX5ZFYo
BC and Canada
The BC part of Canada has been engrossed by a backwater and backward mentality since its inception.
Victoria,_British_Columbia is still a sleepy backwater, while Melbourne is a mighty city in Victoria_(state), Australia. Sidney,_British_Columbia is another classic BC backwater, while Sydney is the mighty capital of NSW. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_central_business_district
Due to an extremely slow growth mandate & agenda, Greater_Victoria is a far cry from reaching the scale of Sydney and Montreal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Montreal
Victoria and SW BC are the mildest parts of Canada during the horrible winter. It just so happens that a series of various overlapping restrictions were imposed so as to hold back the scale & progress of backwater BC. Most of BC remains as a wilderness, but it's been very difficult to establish a half-dozen major cities in BC.
While Montreal is big by thwarted Vancouver's standards, Montreal is small when compared to the scale of Melbourne. Despite bing in Canada, Toronto was gradually allowed to become a proper big city. Toronto has some taller buildings than Sydney, NSW, but no 100 story towers like Melbourn & Chicago have. Toronto was eventually able to become
Why "Nobody" Lives In The VAST MAJORITY Of British Columbia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdeZV_caT78
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Saudi Arabia’s Neom megaproject
https://www.the-sun.com/news/12762755/saudi-arabia-neom-workers-dying-slaves/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neom#Controversies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neom#Abusive_work_culture
Neom is a huge project with big problems.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neom , https://www.neom.com/en-us
Damp, grey week ahead for Greater Vancouver
There are always several people who look forward to the cold & crappy fall & winter Canadian weather.
Of course, BC gets its share of cold & crappy fall & winter weather.
Australian Migration Program planning levels
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/migration-program-planning-levels
In several ways Australia will always win out over Canada, simply because Australia doesn't have to endure the carappy, cold Canadian winters.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/21/migration-numbers-australia-2023-rise
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Australia#Current_immigration_programs
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-67609963
Food of the GNAW
The_Food_of_the_Gods_(1976) is a standard GIANT mutant animals on a rampage movie.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Food_of_the_Gods_(film)#Plot
GNAW: Food_of_the_Gods_II (1989) has even larger enraged animals running rampant.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_of_the_Gods_II#Plot
R42 (New York City Subway car)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R42_(New_York_City_Subway_car)
| Train length | 2 car train: 120.4 feet (36.7 m) 4 car train: 240.8 feet (73.4 m) 6 car train: 361.2 feet (110.1 m) 8 car train: 481.6 feet (146.8 m) 10 car train: 602 feet (183 m) |
|---|---|
| Car length | 60 ft (18.29 m) |
| Width | 10 ft (3,048 mm) |
| Height | 12.08 ft (3,682 mm) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R42_(New_York_City_Subway_car)#History
Friday, October 25, 2024
320 Granville Street, Vancouver
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/320-granville-bosa-faria-flooding-dispute
It's a nice looking building, but once again, it's only a half-size figurine, or a stump.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bosa-waterfront-centre-320-granville-street-vancouver-office-tower
Unlike scenic Auckland, NZ & especially Sydney, Australia or SF, California, Vancouver continues to cut off the top 15-30 floors of any office tower development.
https://bosadevelopment.com/project/320-granville , https://320granville.com/
https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/320-Granville-St-Vancouver-BC/27653032/
https://storeys.com/vancouver-bosa-waterfront-office-complete/
No residential tower within Vancouver has been allowed to be as tall as the tallest condo tower in Seattle, Calgary, Edmonton & Toronto. Especially, Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane.
Thursday, October 24, 2024
17-Building Development Proposed In Vaughan, Ontario
https://storeys.com/behemoth-17-building-development-vaughan/
No building within the city limits of Vancouver has been allowed to rival what Vaughan & Mississauga are permitting.
Van https://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=9790 , https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=1&status=15
Vau https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=2797&status=15
Mis https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=306&status=15
New pro soccer team Vancouver Rise pitch Burnaby on stadium partnership
The new women’s professional soccer team wants Swangard Stadium as its home venue, but the facility would need improvements to meet league standards. https://www.burnabynow.com/local-news/new-pro-soccer-team-vancouver-rise-pitch-burnaby-on-stadium-partnership-9699516
It's always been difficult for backwater BC to get things up to a league standard, or especially international standards.
Appreciative transit culture in BC, etc.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canadian-transit-shout-out-reaction
People are happy whenever public transit is working reasonably well and running at an appropriate level of capacity. Unfortunatly, that's not always the case and its not the fault of the transit operators and attendants. It's the inept planning that refuses to improve bottleneck water crossings and other chokepoints. Various BC governments providing limited construction budgets and or not providing structures with built-in higher capacity capabilities.
Fortunately unlike in BC, most real cities around the world have longer trains & wide enough roads & bridges to accommodate proper bus & HOV lanes.
The goal to build one of Metro Vancouver's new tallest buildings
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/citizen-tower-anthem-properties-burnaby-metrotown-ipo
Unlike Calgary and Seattle, Vancouver won't permit any residential building to be this tall within its strictly controlled city limits. Fortunately, Burnaby, Coquitlam and Surrey will allow taller buildings.
https://www.biv.com/news/real-estate/vancouver-developer-seeks-to-raise-82m-for-metrotown-project-via-ipo-9508936 This is Business Outside of Vancouver.
https://storeys.com/anthem-properties-burnaby-66-storey-citizen-metro-king-metrotown This is like an average semi-tall building in Toronto and the GTA.
https://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/real-estate/two-more-towers-up-to-80-storeys-tall-more-rental-housing-could-be-coming-to-burnabys-brentwood-8461795 There has been an unwretten ruel in Greater Vancouver for several decades. As long as something is impressive by PG, Kamloops, Kelowna & especially Victoria standards, that's good enough for backwater BC.
https://www.burnabynow.com/local-news/burnaby-councillor-opposes-plan-for-80-storey-tower-in-burnaby-5509305 No buildings taller than 40 stories & no roads wider than 4 lanes is very symbolic of the, KEEP IT SMALL mentality of BC. Even the newer SkyTran cars still only form 4 car trains. The Canada Line only has 2 car trains.
https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?p=9875630 When the scale of things in BC have been kept back for several decades, its difficult for some people to fathom an attempt to have a taller or larger scale of developments and infrastructure.
Even the mountains just north of LA are allowed to be taller than those of (Greater_Vancouver).
Some treetop walks and viewing platforms
https://www.tremblant.ca/things-to-do/activities-products/treetop-walk
https://www.tremblantactivities.com/activities/treetop-walk/
https://www.nodestinations.com/blog/vancouver-capilano-suspension-bridge-park
https://botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/visit/greenheart-treewalk/
https://www.tourismvictoria.com/sport-tourism/sport-attraction/malahat-skywalk
https://www.attractionsvictoria.com/explore/activities/malahat-skywalk/
https://aspectengineers.com/portfolio/malahat-skywalk/
https://destinationlesstravel.com/malahat-skywalk-vancouver-island/
Queen Elizabeth Park, BC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_Park,_British_Columbia
https://vancouversbestplaces.com/city-of-vancouver/queen-elizabeth-park/
Unfortunatly, Vancouver won't permit a viewing tower there.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/queen-elizabeth-park-master-plan-vancouver-park-board
Apparently, it's much better to have the view obscured by trees. Most of BC is full of trees & mountains.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Mountain_(British_Columbia)
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Vancouver council passes motion to allow police access to traffic cameras
This is nothing new, several cities already have integrated cameras. There should be better visual data coordination between the outside & the inside of store theft & assault incidents.
Homeless campers in CRAB Park face abrupt eviction process
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/homeless-campers-in-crab-park-face-abrupt-eviction-process-1.7085156
Why wait until the spring when they can all be pushed away even before the winter?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-park-board-crab-park-closure-1.7361518
The timing of this seems rather odd and cruel.
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/10/23/vancouvers-crab-park-encampment-to-close/
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/crab-park-homeless-encampment-vancouver-closing
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Best mate of man killed in Harbour Bridge crash calls for safety improvements
The Sydney+Harbour+Bridge is a nice wide structurer with high traffic volume, but there are some safety issues.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Sydney+Harbour+Bridge
Ash-scattering pier near fishing bar gets Surrey council nod
Perhaps it's only fitting that its in clear view of the dangerous, decerped & inept Pattullo_Bridge. The very narrow PB never had enough room for a steel or proper concrete central barrier, no emergency lanes & only 1 narrow sidewalk. Of course there was no provision for a lower train & truck deck, as will also be the case with the new bridge.
https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/pattullo-bridge-history
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pattullo-bridge-5-things-you-didn-t-know-1.3564197
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/pattullo-bridge-a-loaded-gun/article700812
The old PB might not quite be the worst bridge in BC, but it sure became a fine example of inept backwater BC planning.
"Approximately 15 people have died in traffic accidents mainly due to head-on crashes on Pattullo since 1990." https://www.canadianunderwriter.ca/insurance/bc-bridge-scene-for-another-fatal-crash-1000047689/
The Pattullo_Bridge opened on November 15, 1937 and was designed without any future capacity considerations. Instead of 2 wide sidewalks, there was only 1 narrow sidepath. The bridge should have been designed to be widened in a few decades. Plus, a provision for a lower truck & LRT deck as transportation needs increased.
The incredible Sydney_Harbour_Bridge opened on 19_March_1932. Unfortunatly, the old & the new PB are classic BC bottlenecks, by design.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Sydney+Harbour+Bridge
Monday, October 21, 2024
Plan for new office building in Surrey pivots into 20-storey rental housing tower
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/century-city-holland-park-surrey-office-rental-housing-tower
Some residential towers can have some office floors and some office towers might have some residential floors. It's all about trying to be prepared for local market demand. No office tower in BC has ever been permitted to have a 40th floor, especially no 50 or 60.
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Saturday, October 19, 2024
Harbor Island, Seattle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbor_Island,_Seattle
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Aerial_view_of_Harbor_Island_in_Seattle.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Aerial_view_of_Elliot_Bay%2C_Seattle.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/West_Seattle_aerial.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Port_of_Seattle_from_Columbia_Center%2C_2022.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Seattle#Containerization
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Seattle#Into_the_21st_Century
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Seattle#Alliance_with_Tacoma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Seattle#Seattle%E2%80%93Tacoma_International_Airport
Spanish Banks and Point Grey were nearly turned into a gigantic industrial port in the 1920s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Point_Grey
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Lifeguard_Spanish_Banks.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Banks
https://www.airporthistory.org/blue-concourse/the-never-built-alternative-to-yvr
Friday, October 18, 2024
Canada's Highway 1 through the BC Interior is an Embarrassment
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canada-highway-1-bc-interior-embarassment Back in the day, just to have a waggon road there was quite an achievement. Then with the dawn of the motorcar & trucks, having 1 wagon-road each way was amazing. A minimum of 2 lanes each way with 2 emergency lanes on all main highways in BC would be an improvement. Unfortunatly, the backwater BC mentality persists through the decades & generations.
There should have already been a 6 lane Hope bypass with 2 wide shoulders & a provision for 2 Bus & HOV lanes. Another classic three lane BC bottleneck. The inept 2 lane Hope-Fraser+Bridge chokepoint is one of the best examples of BC and Canada's refusal to build proper size infrastructure where its really needed. This 3 lane joke should have been part of the 6 lane Hope bypass.
Since there is a reluctance to have a proper intercity passenger rail network in BC, there should at least be a proper intercity bus network. All the main highways should have 2 dedicated bus & HOV lanes.
A 6 lane elevated section could go right there. A nice 2 lane bridge that should have been twinned or duplicated decades ago. The same for the rail line as well. A single track and a 2 lane bridge are indicative or symbolic of the antigrowth mentality or agenda.
There is nothing wrong with higher levels of immigration for such a vast country, if the infrastructure is allowed to keep up. However, decades of an antigrowth agenda is forced to collide with immigration.
This 2 lane 1963 highway tunnel should have been twinned by the early 1990s. Now the 1960s highway infrastructure is even farther away from being adequate.
Spences+Bridge is another 2 lane wonder, with no emergency lanes and no divider.
Savona+Bridge also meets the backwater BC standard by only having 2 lanes, with no wide emergency lanes and no divider.
Metro Vancouver Housing Deficit Grows To Over 45,000 Homes
https://storeys.com/metro-vancouver-housing-deficit-fall-2024/
For several decades, multi-unit 4-5 story houses just weren't permitted to be built in Vancouver. Even the shoebox like, Vancouver special should have been allowed to have at least 3-4 levels. Plus, there should have been several 6-10 story block size apartment buildings or flats like in Paris & London. There was quite an emphasis on Vancouver stumps, especially, no 65 to 85 floor buildings like in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane & Toronto.
Very narrow bridges, which make it almost impossible to have a proper & efficient express bus & HOV network for the region. Fortunately, the backward BC mentality was never able to make it over to Australia to prevent bridge expansion or duplication.
Then even by late 2024, the first 2 SkyTrain lines only have 4 car trains of the newer coaches. The joke that is the Canada Line, still only runs 2 car trains. All 3 lines should have been designed to eventually have stations that could accommodate 8-10 car trains, but that would actually enable more people to efficiently travel around the region.
Fortunately again, this inept & horrible BC planning mentality was never able to infest & stop the Toronto Subway from having 6 car trains. However, by now, the TTC should have been running 8-10 car trains. It would have been chaos if the Montreal Metro was only running 3 car trains for the past several decades. Such an absurdity would be indicative of a, WHY EVEN BOTHER TO BUILD IT, mentality? Thats been the ongoing problem in BC since plumbing & electricity was first implemented.
Just to allow backwater BC to catch up to Alberta & Washington State would be challenging enough. Then to gradually think & plan on a scale of a Quebec & even an Ontario, might as well be just another Sci-Fi pipedream.
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Cancelled 10-lane George Massey Bridge plan was designed to enable future new SkyTrain line
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/george-massey-tunnel-bridge-replacement-skytrain-option
The tunnel option should have still included an additional section for at least something like the Edmonton_LRT.
Via Rail says trips in Ontario, Quebec may take longer after CN rule change
https://globalnews.ca/news/10817048/via-rail-ontario-quebec-corridor-slowdown-cn-rule-change
It's strange that over the past few decades, a new passenger rail corridor wasn't built.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
South of the Fraser
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024MOTI0112-001305
https://www.sfprhighway17.com/
The Fraser_Valley of BC is so lacking of infrastructure.
Highway 1 Keith Road and Mt Seymour Parkway
https://www.mcelhanney.com/project/highway-1-keith-road-mt-seymour-parkway/
The North_Shore_(Greater_Vancouver) is designed to be heavily congested.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/ironworkers-on-ramp-traffic-north-shore
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/provincial-federal-municipal-governments-launch-north-bowinn-ma
https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=214205&page=13
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=North+Shore+of+Greater+Vancouver
Rainier Square, Seattle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainier_Square_Tower 850-foot (260 m) tall, 58-story tower
https://www.nbbj.com/work/rainier-square
https://www.supremesteel.com/projects/rainier-square-tower/
https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/rainier-square/16751
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainier_Tower 41-story, 156.67 m (514.0 ft)
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Monday, October 14, 2024
Mississauga Votes Against Allowing Fourplexes
https://storeys.com/mississauga-votes-against-fourplexes/
There can be both & even all of the above. Single family homes, duplexes, multiplex, low-rise apartment blocks & mid to high-rise towers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M_City_Condominiums This is the start of taller buildings in Mississauga than what is allowed in very restrictive Vancouver.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Mississauga
Thursday, October 10, 2024
ASEAN and Canada
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASEAN
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASEAN#Economy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASEAN#Free_trade
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/asia-population/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Asia
https://globalnews.ca/news/10386750/canada-41-million-population/
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-x/71-607-x2018005-eng.htm
https://www.canadianaffair.com/blog/how-big-is-canada
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/
Neom - The Line - The Rise and Fall of Saudi Arabia's Linear City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak4on5uTaTg
Saudi Arabia is Building Neom, a Two-Kilometer Skyscraper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhU4nA3i_IQ
Saudi Arabia’s giant money pit: NEOM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XNK55tc3x8
The Egyptians are Building a Huge New Capital City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auowZtMw0uQ
Why Egypt is selling a city to UAE for $35 billion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9SGlBUMbeA
The Future Of Australian Cities
https://scenariojournal.com/article/made-in-australia/
https://theconversation.com/new-cities-its-an-idea-worth-thinking-about-for-australia-92990
https://www.indaily.com.au/opinion/2019/05/02/why-isnt-australia-planning-new-cities
Will Australia cope with the rise of mega cities? Australia 2050 (part 2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4BBpqpXRCM
Australia’s insane plan to green the Outback https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGrDOR7lBQ4
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Monday, October 7, 2024
Sunday, October 6, 2024
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Friday, October 4, 2024
First Nations could build Vancouver's new tallest towers at Rupert SkyTrain station
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/3200-east-broadway-vancouver-rupert-station-mst-aquilini
High density by a train station is always a good idea.
Thursday, October 3, 2024
How Skyscrapers are Ranked is Absurd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kLx9pXVJlw
When Chicago built the Tallest Building in the World | The story of Sears Tower https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm0dzhFeArw
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
A Bus Rapid Transit route between Park Royal and Metrotown
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-ndp-bus-rapit-transit-route-west-vancouver
Either a new bus, HOV & train bridge has to be built, or a new much wider Iron Bridge is essential.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel-De_Champlain_Bridge A nice 8 lane bridge with 2 train tracks was possible in Montreal, because its far away from the stunted infrastructure agenda of Vancouver & the backwater BC mentality. Any new Iron Bridge should be at least as wide as the New_Champlain_Bridge_in_Montreal.
Of course people from Vancouver are allowed to visit Montreal, but the backward BC mentality just isn't allowed to take over Quebec, Ontario or Alberta.
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