https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/10/22/bc-election-why-are-both-main-parties-unprepared/
Backwards BC has been unprepared for generations. Regardless of who is in power, most of the bridges remain narrow and the trains are kept short.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
No country is losing faith in homeownership as much as Canada is
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canada-homeownership-losing-faith
The problem isn't with the stock of multimillion dollar homes, it that not enough affordable housing still hasn't been built.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Can the B.C.'s housing crisis be solved by continually building more homes?
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-vancouver-real-estate-housing-construction-policies-opinion
Despite its overall area, Canada doesn't have 1% of the worlds population, not even half of 1 %.
Armed road rage incident in Vancouver sparks police response
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-road-rage-bb-gun-police
Will cities eventually have AI drones patrolling over the streets? It could certainly help, but its also another level of general surveillance.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Columbia Center in Seattle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Center Almost 80 floors in Seattle. Vancouver still won't permit any office tower to have a 40th floor.
https://columbiacenterseattle.com
An impressive building scale, even if it was in NYC, Chicago, L.A., Atlanta, Miami, Houston, Dallas or S.F.
Columbia centre stumps in Vancouver, BC
https://modtraveler.net/places/columbia-centre-2 Not even 30 floors.
https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/2025/11/24/1111w-hastings-office-to-hotel-conversion-dp/
Perhaps its on an impressive scale if it were in PR, PG, Kamloops, Kelowna or Victoria, BC.
The promise of extending SkyTrain to Newton
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-conservatives-skytrain-newton-extension-election-promise
A Skytrain branch to Newton would be a good thing, but BC has a problem with getting enough funding to build proper big city size infrastructure. When things are finally built in BC, the trains are short and most of the bridges are still too narrow.
As usual, Greater Vancouver has been very slow to improve on a regional express bus network. A regional BRT system is still so Half-A$$ED, because there hasn't been a series of proper bus-bridges built over the decades.
Stalled Downtown Vancouver office tower project pivots to 295-room hotel
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/619-west-hastings-street-vancouver-hotel-office-revised-project
https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/619-675-w-hastings-st
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/619-685-west-hastings-street-vancouver-rbc-building
https://www.urbanyvr.com/royal-bank-tower-to-be-joined-by-sleek-new-addition/
https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/601-west-hastings/46241
B.C. judge rules Abbotsford killers' Charter rights were breached
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-judge-abbotsford-homicide-faint-hope-9.7387506
Its so unfortunate and tragic that they weren't able to call police, or even have an emergency help button that they could press. Some people might not only have a guard dog, but a special personal security drone on their house.
Monday, October 19, 2026
B.C. judge says parole rules for multiple murderers unconstitutional
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/10/19/bc-judge-says-parole-rules-for-murderers-unconstitutional/
Even if the defense can argue that the home invaders only wanted to rob them, something doesn't make sense. If the objective was to rob a house at night when the occupants were in bed, but then the thugs thought that it was necessary to tie them up, that might be considered to be a form of torture, especially during such a traumatic situation. Then, instead of just tying them up and leave, they thought that it was necessary to tape up an elderly mans face until he sufficated. Then it was also necessary to stab the tied up elderly woman.
So, somehow this is just supposed to be just a botched robbery and not cold blooded murder. Are hoodlums, thugs and robbers to expect that if a victim dies during the commission of a crime like a home invasion, they can still expect to eventually be out on parole someday?
Hopefully, enough family survivors and friends of such victims can get the law changed. To invade and rob people in their own home and then kill them, but not expect to get a life sentence is absurd.
In some countries such criminals are executed, but in Canada they can expect to be on parole even after committing cold blooded murder.
Doug McCallum's victory in Surrey
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/surrey-doug-mccallum-mayor-2026-voters
Unlike Québec, Ontario and Alberta, BC has no individual city with at least a million people. However, the Greater_Vancouver Metropolitan Regional_District has over 2.6 million people and the BC Lower_Mainland has over 3 million residents.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/metro-vancouver-civic-election-mayoral-winners-results-2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_census_metropolitan_areas_and_agglomerations_in_Canada#List
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Doug McCallum dethrones Brenda Locke and reclaims position as Surrey’s mayor
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/doug-mccallum-elected-surrey-mayor-2026-election
Surrey is still set to become the biggest city in BC and Vancouver can't stop it. However, provincial NW stopped Surrey from having a new 6 lane bridge. The stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge should have opened with 2 bus lanes and 2 emergency lanes, or at least 2 wide shoulders. Instead, the stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge only opened with 2 general lanes each way, with no provision for LRT and BRT on a lower deck.
Friday, October 16, 2026
The future of Vancouver views
https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/2026/10/15/supertall-holborn-towers-and-view-protection/
There has been a long running concern by some about allowing big city infrastructure in backwater Vancouver. Things have been scaled back in Vancouver for so long that some people just can't fathom the potential of big city stuff.
https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/screenshot00606.jpg
The windows of the stumpy Scotiabank Tower in provincial Vancouver only go up to the 34th floor. The Scotiabank Tower in Toronto is twice as wide and the windows go up to 68th floor. The BMO in Vancouver has 32 floors while the BMO tower in Toronto has 72 floors.
Thursday, October 15, 2026
Things to make Vancouver a better bike functioning city
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1LtBKE7yY8
There should be a few bike bridges across the Fraser River.
Everyone has their own list of things to make a city better.
A bus and LRT tunnel should be built near the extremely narrow LGB.
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
B.C. Court blocks demolition of Vancouver Aquatic Centre until Nov 3 (after civic election)
https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/tag/vancouver-aquatic-centre-2
The go backwards mentality really wants to have a 25 m pool, because a 50 m pool is big city infrastructure. Just like a 3 lane Lion Bridge, which still has no bus and LRT tunnel next to it. Of course Vancouver just had to have the shortest train in Canada and is still only running a 2 car joke of a train between Richmond, YVR and downtown Vancouver.
A 25 m pool, a 3 lane bridge and a 2 car train, are all fine examples of the KEEP VANCOUVER SMALL AND BACKWARDS MENTALITY. Classic stunted infrastructure thats right in line with the Vancouver Mind Virus VMV
Appeal court pauses Vancouver Aquatic Centre demolition until early November
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-aquatic-centre-demolition-pause-bc-appeal-court-decision
BC is 23 ties the size of Switzerland, but has less population. Greater Vancouver and especially the Lower Mainland of BC has the potential to be a properly planned big urban area. Despite the city of Vancouver having a slightly smaller area than Boston and SF, the size or scale of things in Vancouver are still significantly small than what's in Boston and SF. The city of Paris is only slightly smaller than the area of Vancouver, yet Paris has been able to have longer trains, wider roads and taller buildings.
Unfortunately, the VMV with its propensity to keep things small, hold things back, or just take a backwards approach, is trying to prevent a new big city version of the Vancouver+Aquatic+Centre. While a 25 m pool might be impressive for PR, PG, Kamloops, Kelowna and Victoria, Vancouver should always have at least a 50 m pool complex, especially in the growing downtown area.
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Vancouver Since Expo 86 and Brisbane since Expo 88
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_86 The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication
Vancouver has remained a transportation infrastructure joke since Expo_86 and even long before the fair. Brisbane actually has long trains running to their airport. Brisbane is allowed to have wider bridges and taller buildings than provincial Vancouver.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia#Cities
Unlike watered down Vancouver before after Expo 86, Brisbane was allowed to become a proper big city after its World_Expo_88.
Brisbane is a major port city on the Pacific Rim. Thus, it has a lot of big city type infrastructure. Unfortunately, for western Canada, Vancouver is still stuck with mostly narrow roads, short trains and single freight train bridges and tracks, when they should be at least double tracked.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Expo_88#The_Fair
Closures on stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge to impact traffic this weekend for construction
Another classic 4 lane BC bottleneck-chokepoint. No bus lanes, no emergency lanes and no provision for an extra deck to accommodate an LRT crossing.
Monday, October 12, 2026
Friday, October 9, 2026
Second crossing debate resurfaces in Central Okanagan during B.C. election campaign
Its not that BC infrastructure planners can't design big and wide bridges, they just aren't designed with proper future capacity in mind.
https://www.drivebc.ca/cameras/149?pan=-119.5019%2C49.881309999999985&zoom=13.5
Thursday, October 8, 2026
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Old Pattullo Bridge arches to come down this Thanksgiving weekend
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/old-pattullo-bridge-arch-deconstruction-process-october-2026
Over a century ago, there was no concept of having bus lanes across a Fraser River bridge between NW and Surrey.
Even with the new bridge, there aren't 2 dedicated bus lanes. That's despite the Skytrain not being a 24hr system. So, busses have to be funneled into only 2 crowded lanes each way. Its been that way since the late 1930s on the old bridge, as well as the new bridge.
Apparently, in the 1930s, there just wasn't any big city vision to build a significantly wider bridge to better handle the future traffic in the 1960s & 70s. The new bridge should have been built in the 1980s or 90s.
Now, little NW is still stuck with a narrow 4 lane bridge that doesn't even have 2 wide emergency lanes, or 2 wide shoulders, & especially no bus lanes.
"A couple of Pacific Stage Lines buses can be seen at the BCER bus terminal." https://archives.newwestcity.ca/Results.aspx?AC=NEXT_RECORD&XC=/Results.aspx&BU=http%3A%2F%2Farchives.newwestcity.ca%2Fsearch.aspx&GI=&TN=internet&SN=AUTO80&SE=555&RN=8&MR=100&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&XP=&RF=WebStartDate&EF=&DF=WebFull&RL=0&EL=0&DL=0&NP=255&ID=&MF=GENERICENGWPMSG.INI&DT=&ST=0&IR=4702&NR=0&NB=0&SV=0&SS=0&BG=&FG=&QS=
https://www.surreyhistory.ca/pacificstage.html
Even the old Port_Mann_Bridge wasn't designed to have 2 bus lanes, just 2 lanes each way with no emergency lanes, or wide shoulders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Mann_Bridge#Original_bridge Once a 5th lane was squeezed onto the narrow bridge, a parallel 5 lane bridge should have been built. Plus, an extra 2 lane section for express buses and a lower deck provision for future LRT.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Mann_Bridge#Opposition_to_twinning_plan Unlike in Australia, bridge duplication or twinning is culturally difficult in backwards BC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Mann_Bridge#New_bridge While the new bridge has 10 lanes and can eventually accommodate an LRT line, there should have been a provision for 2 express bus lanes. That's because there is no 24 hour LRT service in Greater Vancouver.
When a train is shutdown for the night, or there is an emergency that stops service, there should always be a high capacity, or rapid bus route in place.
Its very difficult to have a proper regional express bus network in Greater Vancouver. Especially, a proper regional BRT system. That's because most of the bridges are so narrow there isn't enough space for 2 bus lanes.
Since LRT and subways can't cover the entire urban area, the region also needs to have an extensive network of express buses and BRT lines. That can only be accomplished in Greater Vancouver by having a series of bus-bridges.
https://movementyvr.ca/what-even-is-a-brt
10 Longest Trains ever seen in Fiction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufzDeoIu6_U
Unfortunately, the Canada Line isn't short-train fiction. Its actually a rapid transit line with only 2 car trains, with only a capacity increase of eventually running 2.5 car trains. Its very strange not to build a rapid transit line with stations that can at least accommodate 5 car trains, not a 2.5 car joke of a train. Two billion dollars just to build a 2 car train that's been running since 2009.
Backwards BC always has a problem with building transportation infrastructure with significant future capacity.
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Monday, October 5, 2026
Canadians react to Florida’s plan to place property tax burden on them
https://dailyhive.com/canada/canadians-react-florida-property-tax-plan
Perhaps its a block out Canada initiative.
In turn, Canada blocks out most of the worlds population. Despite having the 2ns largest national area, Canada has less than 0.005% of the worlds population. Perhaps someday Canada might have 1% of the worlds population.
Sunday, October 4, 2026
Saturday, October 3, 2026
Silicon Valley's Airport Just Got Its Biggest Shot | Thanks To SFO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJGVLs7DBgE
NYC-NJ has a few major airports, so why not the Bay Area?
Queensborough Bridge in BC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensborough_Bridge
The Queensborough+Bridge in NW should have opened with 3 lanes each way, with 2 wide shoulders, or 2 wide emergency lanes. It became the main bridge and link between NW and Richmond and then eventually, a link to Delta. Thus, the Queensborough+Bridge should have been designed to ultimately have 8 lanes.
There is still enough space just east of the Queensborough+Bridge for there to be a 4 lane northbound bridge. Thus, two 4 lane bridges would allow for 3 general lanes each way, plus the 4th being an express or BRT lane & route between NW and YVR.
Since there is no direct express bus route between NW, Richmond & YVR, an improved Highway_91A and Highway_91 would be of great regional benefit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensborough,_New_Westminster
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Westminster
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Queensborough+Bridge+in+BC
The E.K.-Queensboro Bridge in NY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsvxf78TiV8
https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/queensboro-bridge.shtml
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensboro_Bridge 8 lanes (4 upper, 4 lower)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensboro_Bridge#Levels
- 1 lane for pedestrians
- 1 lane for bicycles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensboro_Bridge#2000s_to_present
Friday, October 2, 2026
Thursday, October 1, 2026
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