Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Metro and Subway. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Metro and Subway. Sort by date Show all posts

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Some Urban Trains

Fortunately, Toronto & Montreal had enough vision to plan & build 152.45m or 500 foot long subway & metro stations. Even Edmonton & Seattle have much longer underground train stations than the Vancouver-Richmond train or the YVR Canada+Line. The Vancouver C-Line is a fine example of congestive & inept planning and should be studied all around the world as a warning. It could be called the, FINANCIAL DRAINAGE LINE, or the, CATHETER LINE. That's because the ridiculous 50m stations aren't even quite a 3rd of the length of the 152.5m Montreal Metro trains & stations. Thus, it will be difficult to lengthen these very short stations.   

It's one thing if the C+Line was started off with absurdly, short 2.5 car trains, but at least the stations were already built to gradually accomodate 5 car trains, plus still have extra clearance for even 5 more coaches. That would have been a reasonable attempt of planning for future capacity, but that's something BC just isn't that good at. The stations should have been designed to be ultimately accomodate 10 car trains, not some quarter-length joke. 

Eventually, three 20m coaches could be linked together. Then an extra 20m coach at both ends of each 3 car, 60m train. While a five car, 100m train would seem too long for 50m, inadequate BC stations, a walkthrough train makes it a possibility. That and Selective_door_operation makes a 5 car train quite possible. 

It is very sad that the backward BC mentality never properly envisioned a 10 car train to provide a high capacity link between the Tsawwassen_ferry_terminalBridgeport_station & the YVR-Airport_stationDowntown_VancouverPark_Royal_Exchange and the Horseshoe_Bay_ferry_terminal. Only a properly functioning metropolitan region can do something like that. The Greater Vancouver Region just isn't at that level yet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-train

"The operation of the Central Circle is similar to the S-Train systems in Germany and other countries."




"The line is operated by 33 Siemens ES2G Lastochka trains..."
Russians aren't afraid to use good German technology.
I wish that they would allow some of that German tech in BC but BC still strives to maintain and keep things at a smaller scale. 

The Moscow Circle Line is a much more recent development than the one in London. 

"Since the beginning, platforms have been at least 155 metres (509 ft) long to accommodate eight-car trains. The only exceptions are on the Filyovskaya LineVystavochnayaMezhdunarodnayaStudencheskayaKutuzovskayaFiliBagrationovskayaFilyovsky Park and Pionerskaya, which only allows six-car trains..."  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Metro#Rolling_stock 

There is suppose to be secret deeper level subway around Moscow.

Of course when severe flooding occurs, the subways are among the first things to be affected.




How in the hell is the 3rd SkyTrain line constructed to have such small stations, in-spite of increasing future demand? 


No city has spent billions of dollars just to have 2 car trains, except Vancouver & Richmond.

Apparently, the 50 m platforms are only long enough to accommodate 2.5 car trains as capacity demand increases. http://www.railforthevalley.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Canada-Rail-213-e14082980653651.jpg

Sure, in the early years, Montreal could run a little 3 car train, but their Metro stations were designed to accommodate a 9 car train during the very busy times & 6 car trains for intermediate demand. 

So the BC inept planning process never allowed for a future demand of at least 152.5 m or 500 foot long stations & platforms. Instead, they designed the max potential to be only 50m or 164 feet. That's pathetic & only adds to the deliberate bottleneck planning approach that backwards BC aspires to. 


As long as a line above ground & especially underground, has level sections of 500, 600 or 700 feet, then full length stations can be constructed.
When BC planers only allowed for a 50m or 164 foot level section for each Catheter Line, 




If a system starts out with little trains but has designed the ability to triple or quadruple the length of the station platforms, then its just a matter of building that future extension right from the start or at some point later on. 

Chicago & BART can still run ridiculous 4 car trains but the capacity to run 10 car trains was built in right from the start.

SYDNEY and its metro
Not only does Sydney have much longer trains & platforms, they are double level trains! Its like BC has made sure that it must never match the capacity that NSW & New_England has allowed for.

TOP 10 of the most beautiful trains in Japan

V-BC strives to perpetually be one of the most stunted or underbuilt major cities on the planet. 




Friday, April 11, 2025

Metro Vancouver defers $1.1Billion in spending

 https://www.biv.com/news/economy-law-politics/metro-vancouver-defers-11b-in-spending-warns-of-tighter-water-use-10507478

So much money has be wasted over the years and a good part of it should have gone towards proper regional transportation planning & development.

https://globalnews.ca/news/11123828/metro-vancouver-cost-savings/

Crucial funds that could have gone towards a train tunnel by the LGB and the new D Island Tunnel. 

https://vancouversun.com/news/metro-vancouver-board-begins-spending-review

A regional network of bus-bridges still isn't part of any official transit plan. Apparently, its better to just funnel buses onto the existing narrow bridges in the region.

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/02/21/metro-vancouver-regional-district-22m-budget-cuts

Despite most of the bridges being too narrow & inefficient for public transit, the SkyTrain was deliberately built to have stations that are much shorter than the Montreal Metro & TTC Subway stations.  

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/metro-vancouver-governance-review-provincial-government-1.7447724

BC has such a reluctant mentality towards thinking big. Thus, a chokepoint or congestive planning mentality has been firmly entrenched.

https://www.coastalfront.ca/read/metro-vancouver-freezes-staff-travel-amid-outrage-over-spending-and-tax-hike

Long trains & bridges wide enough to properly accommodate bus lanes & HOV lanes would actually help to reduce transportation congestion. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/metro-vancouver-public-engagement-2025-budget-nswwtp-1.7308921

Who knows where all the billions of dollars went over the past several decades, because not enough funds went towards a proper level of transportation infrastructure.

https://metrovancouver.org/about-us/budgets-and-financial-plans

Of course Greater Vancouver was one of the first urban regions to get rid of its streetcars & interurban tram-trains & it will likely be to be one of the last cities to bring them back.


https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Metro+Vancouver

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Montreal Metro

 https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/montreal-metro

It would have been total chaos if the Montreal_Metro (MM) only had 80m stations, just like on the first 2 SkyTrain lines. An absolute disaster if it only had 50m stations like on the very underbuilt Canada Line. Unfortunatly, Vancouver took the watered down approach, decades after what Montreal did right.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Metro#Rolling_stock

When starting in the 1960s, the MM could have 3 & 6 car trains and a 9 car train during busy times, in recent decades, it's just 6 and 9 car trains.

Streetcars and trams, along with buses, can help any Metro train or Subway system. Unlike Montreal and Vancouver, cities like Melbourne, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, SF and New Orleans, retained some of their tram or streetcar lines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPM-10 

articulated cars per train

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPM-10#Specifications

Of course a good urban transportation network keeps evolving and the REM trains are a nice addition. The REM trains should eventually be at least as long as those on the Sydney Subway.



https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Montreal+Metro

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=REM+Train

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

Friday, May 3, 2024

The Rebuilt Museum of Anthropology, but no train to UBC yet

 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


The UBC Subway Saga.

Some people are just as easily opposed to something like the-bloor-danforth-subway as they are with an expressway. That's especially the case in backwards Vancouver.

https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-there-are-cons-not-just-pros-for-a-subway-to-ubc

Fortunately, many other cities have been able to get a train to their main university campus much faster than slow-moving Vancouver is attempting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_2_Bloor-Danforth#Frequency The TTC Subway should have been able to run 10 car trains by now. Even an 8 car train would be a little better than a 6 car train. However, a 6 car train is only 138m or 450 feet long. A 9 car Montreal Metro train is about 152.5m or 500 feet long. 

Of course the first 2 Skytrain lines only have 80m stations & the Canada embarrassment Line only has a level clearance for 50m stations. There should have been a proper oversight committee to make sure that the trains could ultimately be 10 cars long. At least have stations that could accommodate a 5 car train, not a 2.5 car joke of a train.

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

https://spacing.ca/toronto/2015/10/06/interchange-not-interchange-spadina-vs-st-george

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George_station

https://transportation.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/Subway-Map.pdf


A tour of Berri-UQAM metro station in Montreal, Canada https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Suxkz8oc8vs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGill_station , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peel_station_(Montreal_Metro)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_station_(Calgary) 1987

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_station_(Edmonton) 1992

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Washington_station 2016


https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=UBC-Broadway+Corridor

Friday, April 19, 2024

The 4 Lane Bridge

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Bridge_(Seattle) WA 

https://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/bridges-stairs-and-other-structures/bridges/university-bridge-planning-study

https://www.seattlebikeblog.com/2023/08/04/north-u-bridge-project-is-a-huge-opportunity-for-a-safer-and-better-connected-u-district-survey/

https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/article/100-years-University-Bridge-UW-Seattle-ship-canal-14067372.php

https://www.historylink.org/File/20389

The 2 level, 12 lane Ship_Canal_Bridge is right next to it.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Ship_canal_bridge_and_downtown_skyline%2C_2000.jpg




The north end of the Montlake_Bridge is close to the University_of_Washington_station. The 380-foot-long (120 m) station_layout is almost as long as any underground LRT station in Edmonton. In contrast, the first 2 lines of the Vancouver Skytrain only have only 80 m stations. The 3rd line is a joke that is the Canada Line. It was only designed to have 50 m stations. The Montreal Metro & TTC Subway were designed to have 152 m. Unlike Seattle & Edmonton & especially Montreal & Toronto, building for longer trains isn't a problem. That's because they don't have anything like a backward BC mentality or a water it down, because its Vancouver, approach to things. Being from Vancouver, it's always amazing to see what other cities are able to do, simply because they don't take a backwater BC approach to things.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont_Bridge_(Seattle)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballard_Bridge (Seattle)


MONTREAL

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Bizard_Bridge Even a backwater part of Montreal will get an upgrade from a 3 lane joke to a 4 lane bridge with wider sidewalks. https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/bridge-construction-causing-travel-nightmare-for-ile-bizard-residents-1.6564161

https://www.westislandtoday.com/post/the-construction-of-l-%C3%AEle-bizard-s-bridge-is-well-underway

  • Expanding to 4 traffic lanes, 1 more than the existing bridge   
  • Building a wider two-way bike path and sidewalk   
  • Complete redevelopment of the road, water and sewer mains and street lighting system   
  • Refurbishing electrical networks and wiring 

https://montreal.ca/en/articles/building-new-bridge-pont-jacques-bizard-26379 Fortunatly, no one from Metro Vancouver was able to stop this Greater Montreal improvement. The backward BC mentality is terrible. It would be devastating if Quebec had ever started to emulate the BC approach to things.

https://globalnews.ca/news/10180724/new-jacques-bizard-bridge-west-island-traffic Unfortunatly, the new bridge won't have a couple of bus-lanes. https://www.ebcinc.com/en/2022/04/05/new-jacques-bizard-bridge A 6 lane bridge would have allowed for that. Perhaps a parallel bus-bridge might eventually be built there, someday. That's what Calgary eventually did with the the+Cushing+Bridge upgrade.

Friday, March 13, 2026

The Dunsmuir Tunnel in Downtown Vancouver, SkyTrain service to be reduced on weekends until June

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/downtown-vancouver-skytrain-service-delays-weekends Had the old railway tunnel been originally designed to be double tracked, it could have been converted into a double level, 4 track LRT tunnel, instead of a 2 track LRT tunnel.

Ideally, if a subway or metro line doesn't have 4 tracks, 3 would be the next best thing. Then, 2 tracks could always remain operational while the 3rd is being repaired. For the most part, Skytrain is just a double track system. Unfortunately, the YVR-Canada Line is even single tracked at the end of the line in YVR and in downtown Richmond. 

The Canada Line should have been the 1st phase of an eventual south extension to Delta and the BC ferry terminal. Plus, a north extension from Waterfront_station_in Vancouver to Lonsdale_Quay and the ferry terminal. This would be a vital link between Canada_Line and the two regional ferry terminals. Unfortunately, Vancouver and BC are about maintaining congestion and transportation inefficiency.

Perhaps someday, if Vancouver is ever allowed to function like a proper big city, the Dunsmuir_Tunnel could be extended under Stanley Park and the 1st Narrows to Park Royal and to the ferry terminal. However, what's more likely to happen is that after the Dunsmuir_Tunnel reaches Waterfront_station, the line will continue east. 

https://evelazarus.com/the-dunsmuir-tunnel 

https://buzzer.translink.ca/2022/04/new-tunnel-technology-will-transform-your-skytrain-trip/ 

https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/construction-progress-photo-of-cpr-dunsmuir-tunnel-10 

https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/construction-progress-photo-of-cpr-dunsmuir-tunnel-9

Monday, February 24, 2025

Watered-down Vancouver and BC

Auckland & Seattle and especially Sydney and SF are very scenic cities. Yet, none of them has taken a watered-down approach to the extent that Vancouver has. Indeed, a mandate to thwart, restrict & limit things, has been part of the water-down Vancouver agenda for generations. This watered-down approach or agenda, has become a clever way to hold back all kinds of infrastructure in the Metro_Vancouver_Regional_District. The mentality to keep things small & backwards is all part of the horrible symbolic desire to not build for a big future. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Vancouver_Regional_District#Geography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Vancouver_Regional_District#Regional_planning Not planning to have trains as long as the Montreal Metro or the Toronto Subway, was an utterly foolish and inept decision. However, it makes sense from a congestive planning perspective.

In the meantime, a short train system can still work efficiently. Thus, there is no good reason as to why the SkyTrain can't be upgrades to the same level as the 24hr Copenhagen_Metro. However, BC is so stubborn & isolated with its approach to things, it would be quite a challenge to get to the standard of the Copenhagen_Metro, but it should be possible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_Metro#Route Eventually, backwards Vancouver will require proper long trains like on the Stockholm_Metro and the Montreal_Metro

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_Metro#Rolling_stock

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Metro#Models

Not planning & building a regional network of express bus and HOV bridges, was also foolish and inept decision. However, that also makes sense from a congestive planning perspective. Indeed, bottleneck or chokepoint planning is something that commuters don't like, but BC urban planners seem to perpetuate it every year. Of course the lack of infrastructure funding is also a big problem.

Unfortunatly, with Greater Vancouver having such an anti-bridge mentality, it makes it difficult to have a proper regional Bus_Rapid_Transit network. Yet officially, the region isn't against having a proper BRT network. Funneling busses onto the same narrow bridges with cars & trucks is idiotic. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_transport#Environmental_impact

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Sydney Metro

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Metro Perhaps its because of the warmer climate, but this Sydney Metro train will be longer than any metro or subway rain in Canada. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Metro#Capacity "...6-car trains running on 4-minute headwaysAfter the addition of the Stage 2 extension to Bankstown, the stations' platforms will be configured to allow for future use of 8-car trains and the signalling system designed to allow for 2-minute headways..."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Metro#Rolling_stock

Train length121.5 m (398 ft 7+1532 in)
Car length20.25 m (66 ft 5+14 in)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Metro_Metropolis_Stock#Design_and_construction Eventually, an 8 car train could be 532 feet long. That's longer than a 500 foot or 152.5m 9 car Montreal Metro train. So far, the max on the Toronto subway are 6 car trains.

If you are from NSW & visit the BC part of Canada, you won't believe how short the train between the airport & Downtown_Vancouver is. Its a 2 car joke of a train & is a fine example of inept transportation infrastructure planning in backwards BC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Airport#Rail

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Sydney_International_Airport#Rail

Saturday, April 19, 2025

The narrow bridges of Vancouver, Canada

https://montecristomagazine.com/community/forgotten-bridges-vancouver

The LGB just wasn't designed with any future capacity in mind. 

History of the Lions Gate Bridge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHqi7Kijedw 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lions_Gate_Bridge#History

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Lions_Gate.jpg 

The inadequate 3 lane LGB is currently the most narrow road bridge in backwards & stubborn Vancouver. It's been in that category since the removal of the 2 lane Fraser Street Bridge in the 1970s. There was a refusal to twin the absurdly narrow LGB between the 1950s & 1970s. By the 1980s there should have been a subway tunnel and an 8 lane tunnel. Then two of the lanes could have been for buses. Georgia+Street is 7 lanes wide as it gets closer to Stanley Park. Thus, the main part of a tunnel through the park could have provided 3 general lanes each way & a bus lane each way. Instead, the 7 lanes of the westernmost part of Georgia Street are funneled into a 3 lane causeway & a 3 lane bridge. The LGB would be fantastic as just a bike & foot crossing, with train, bus & road tunnels well beneath & beside it.    

The Burrard_Bridge, BB or  BSB opened with 6 lanes, but now it only has 4 lanes. There are 2 bike lanes & 2 sidewalks. Had a parallel bike-bridge been built, the BB could have still had 6 lanes. While the BB has a lower level provision for streetcars or tram-trains, Vancouver did its damndest to phase out streetcars well before the 1960s. 

The Ironworkers_Memorial_Bridge has 6 lanes, but should also have had 2 wide shoulders & 2 very wide sidewalks. Unfortunatly, there was no provision for a lower deck, as is also the case with all of the other Vancouver  bridges. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironworkers_Memorial_Second_Narrows_Crossing

Any replacement of the inadequate Ironworkers+Memorial+Bridge should be on the scale of what Perth, Seattle and Montreal have done.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_Street_Bridge#Third_bridge_(1954)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=vPSdF0jRTC4 The Granville-Bridge or GSB is the widest bridge in the city limits. It opened with 8 lanes, but is being transformed into a 6 lane bridge with 2 bike lanes & 2 sidewalks. Had there been a paralel bike & foot bride, the GSB could have still been 8 lanes wide. Then there could have been 2 exclusive bus lanes.

https://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/granville-bridge-connector.aspx

The Oak Street Bridge should have been 8 lanes wide, with 2 wide sidewalks.

The Knight+Street+Bridge should have been 8 lanes with 2 wide sidewalks. Instead, its a 4 lane chokepoint.

The Arthur+Laing+Bridge should have been at least 6 lanes with 2 proper bike lanes & 2 sidewalks.

If the Cambie_Street_Bridge had 2 very wide sidewalks, then its likely that it would still have 6 lanes instead of 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambie_Bridge#The_present_bridge

Unfortunatly, bottleneck or chokepoint planning is part of the Vancouver & BC mentality.

Of course BC & the Metro+Vancouver Region just hasn't put enough funds and effort towards proper big-city planning & infrastructure development. 

If Perth+and+Seattle had to conform to the extremely restrictive Vancouver approach to things, those cities would be in a perpetual state of chaos. Fortunately, nothing like the BC Mind Virus has ever reached WA.


https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Oak+Street+and+Granville+Street

Monday, November 17, 2025

Broadway Subway Construction as of November 2025

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uot7oIA9-ZE The station platforms will be 80m, which can only accomodate a 5 car train.

Unfortunatly, even if this segment had 500' or 152.4m long stations like the Montreal Metro, the rest of the first 2 lines only have 80m stations. Thus, 80m is only about 52% of the length of a Montreal Metro station, which can accomodate 9 car trains. It's taken until 2025 for the SkyTrain to gradually start running 5 car trains. In theory, if two Vancouver 80m trains run at twice the frequency as one 152m Montreal Metro train, a similar capacity could be attained. 

However, in the long run, it would have been much more cost effective to have the first 2 SkyTrain lines stations already roughed out to 152m, or a least have enough level clearance to eventually become twice the length. But that's what a proper big city would do, something that Vancouver is against.   

Even as an initial cost saving measure, the YVR-Canada Line should have opened with 100m stations, instead of the inadequate 50m joke. Then it could immediately accomodate 5 car trains. The station platforms should have had enough level clearance to eventually accommodate a 160m long train consisting of 8 cars reaching both ferry terminals. Of course there seems to be no plan to connect YVR to both ferry terminals.

Its very difficult for BC cities to allow proper big city size infrastructure, because that would symbolize a pro growth initiative. Since the world is mostly composed of non-white people, a slow growth agenda became a clever way to symbolically demonstrate a refusal to build big. BC is multicultural, but Canada has less than 1% of the worlds population. Even in the 2020s, BC still retains some of its colonial outpost mentality. Just keep things small and backwards and try to remain a backwater for as long as possible. 

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

BC Ferries efficiently connecting Vancouver and Nanaimo, Victoria and Delta

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-transit-summer

All 4 cities should have been much better connected by now.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-ferries-outdoor-pet-areas-tsawwassen-swartz-bay-route

Of course there wasn't any serious long term planning for the YVR C+Line to connect the Tsawwassen_ferry_terminal with the Horseshoe_Bay_ferry_terminal.

Indeed, unlike the Montreal Metro & the Toronto Subway being designed to have 152.5 m or 500 foot long stations, the Canada+Line was only designed to have 50 m stations. The ridiculously short sighted YVR Canada-Line should have been designed to have 160 m long stations & provide a high capacity connection between West_Vancouver and Delta. Eight 20 m coaches sure would have made for a nice long train, instead of the 50 m joke that is the Canada Line.

There should have been an LRT connection between provincial Victoria & backwater Nanaimo by now. Something like the Coast_Tram or especially the CTrain.

Another LRT line connecting Victoria with the Swartz_Bay_ferry_terminal should have been in place for several years already. 

Of course a train connecting the Tsawwassen_ferry_terminal to the YVR-Canada-Line would make too much sense, thus it's been ignored for so long.

Mor regular connections between the Horseshoe_Bay_ferry_terminal and the Departure_Bay_ferry_terminal would greatly improve things.

There is just something about backwards BC that causes it to be so slow & half-assed about getting things done.


https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=SkyTrain-Canada+Line

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=North+Shore-Metrotown+SkyTrain+Line

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=YVR-Canada+Line

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

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Some Vancouver ‘view cones’ could be scrapped under proposed review

 https://globalnews.ca/news/9990941/vancouver-view-cone-review

Toronto, Calgary & Edmonton are allowed to build taller than what's in Montreal. Of course stubborn watered down Vancouver is an exception.

Vancouver & BC was unable to build a wall or generate a forcefield around it like something out of STAR TREK. Thus, a stunted approach was implemented, which was all about slowing down the influx of people. Vancouver doesn't have the authority to restrict Canadian immigration or restrict people from moving into the region from other parts of Canada.  

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-view-cones-review-housing-impacts-motion

At a certain point, the BC part of Canada will be forced to put more money into proper size infrastructure.

https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/protecting-vancouvers-views.aspx This has been such an ingenious way to hold the city back. So much of BC is mountainous wilderness that will never be blocked out.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-view-cone-restrictions-policies

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouvers-shrinking-skyline Fortunatly, Vancouver doesn't have control over the entire region, so the demand for taller buildings is still possible in the surrounding area.

So many urban restrictions were put into Vancouver during the 1970s, 80s and 90s by a mostly White power structure. In theory, if a city & urban area is continually stunted like Greater Vancouver, then less people will be likely to move there. Calgary & Seattle were never under anything like the extreme Vancouver limitations. Thus, those cities have much taller buildings, wider roads & bridges & any of their underground train stations are much longer than what Vancouver has ever built. The Toronto Subway & the Montreal Metro have stations that are at least 152m or about 500 feet, when stunted Vancouver only built 50m to 80m Skytrain stations.

If Vancouver was ever allowed to become a big city & region like SydneySan_Francisco & Montreal, that would mean accommodating more people of color. It's not that the predominantly White power structure of the 1970s, 80s and 90s officially had a, KEEP THEM OUT agenda, but any slow growth initiative can certainly slow down the influx of people & the local economy. 

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-tower-building-shadowing-solar-access

Indeed, by continually promoting a half size approach to such stunted infrastructure, it shows a reluctance towards accommodating more people. As it so happens, most of the people on the planet aren't of European descent. Thus, anly slow growth initiative is a very clever way to, KEEP PEOPLE OUT. Unfortunately, even if there is finally enough people that want Vancouver & other parts of BC to have big cities, there is quite a tangled mess of laws, ordinances & restrictions that would have to be changed.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/larwill-park-office-towers-vancouver-concept

One would think that especially for a region such as Greater Vancouver with so many narrow roads & streets, there should have been a metro on the scale of what Montreal has. But so much about Vancouver & BC is about congestive planning.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/translink-2017-kevin-desmond-canada-line-built-skytrain Why build 152m long stations linke in Montreal & Toronto when you can build absurd 50m stations? This is a fine example of the reluctance to build without allowing for future expansion. Don't think like a big city or urban region where a train could eventually reach the ferry terminals. It's much better to take the congestion approach.


https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=building+shadowing+policies

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=SkyTrain-Canada+Line

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Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Metrorail in Miami-Dade County

http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2012/12/13/new-metrorail-cars-1.php

If Metro Vancouver had opted for a modern big city train, IE something like the elevated Metrorail_in_Miami-Dade_County, better future capacity would have already been built in.

http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2014/01/28/miami-getting-shafted-on-money-for-trains.php

Just because SkyTrain is considered LRT, the stations could have & should have been designed to eventually be 153m or just over 500 feet in length. Thus, the original little SkyTrain cars should have been able to form an 8 car train, with a provision for 10 & 12 car trains. Not just 2, 4 or 6 little car trains. That would have been slightly longer than a 4 car Miami_Metrorail_train, which is 300 feet. 

http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2013/09/17/-all-aboard-florida-wants.php 

http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2013/05/08/miamis-downtown-train-station-breaking-ground-this-year.php

"The cars are semi-permanently attached in married pairs, and joined up to form 4-car trains, which is the normal train length, although 6-car trains are also possible." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrorail_(Miami-Dade_County)#Rolling_stock

 "The cars are 75 feet (23 m) long, 10 feet (3.0 m) wide and have a top design speed of over 70 mph (110 km/h)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrorail_(Miami-Dade_County)#Former_fleet

A 6 car train would be 450 feet, the same length as a TTC subway train. A 9 car Montreal Metro train is 500 feet long.
trains

Friday, May 1, 2009

The PATH and BART


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Although SF isn't an island like Manhattan is, the SF Bay needed an underwater BART tunnel as much as NY&NJ needed its PATH tunnels under the Hudson River.
While the forerunner of PATH was up & running by 1908, BART didn't start until 1974.
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{BART began regular passenger service on September 11, 1972, reporting more than 100,000 passengers in its first five days of operations.} http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Bay_Area_Rapid_Transit#Operation
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As BART opened on September 11, the M2 part of the Istanbul Metro commenced on that date.
{Construction of the Istanbul Metro, also known as the M2, began on September 11, 1992, but faced many challenges due to the numerous archaeological sites that were discovered during the drilling process, which slowed down or fully stopped the construction of many stations. Taking into account the seismic activity in Istanbul, the entire subway network was built with the cut-and-cover method to withstand an earthquake of up to 9.0 on the Richter magnitude scale.}
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The Marmaray Tunnel is on the scale of the BART Transbay_Tube.

Monday, August 19, 2024

The Monorail vs. the Subway

 Why Monorails Are A Bad Idea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f__nhlHC1g A monorail is OK to go from one end of a line to the other. However, having several branches and junctions can be quite problematic.

 How Los Angeles Rejected the Monorail https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piF7adQyXCk 

 How Seattle Rejected the Monorail https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVQ-2lcBOjI A long double track monorail line might have worked for Seattle. However, conventional rail is still much more practical.

Why Tokyo's Metro Is Profitable and New York City’s Isn’t https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdJwAUdvlik

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4YFFtTEUQc The Broadway subway in Vancouver, BC.

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

The BC carbon tax and the lack of proper big city infrastructure

The British_Columbia_carbon_tax doesn't seem to have greatly improved the transportation infrastructure for Vancouver, as it's the largest city and urban area in BC. It's very strange that the Greater Vancouver Metropolitan Region is still so far behind with its infrastructure, when compared to several other urban areas around the world. 

https://www.taxpayer.com/newsroom/b.c.-carbon-tax-not-reducing-emissions-as-promised

The first 2 Skytrain lines only have stations that are barely half the length of a Montreal Metro train. Indeed, the Montreal Metro & the Toronto Subway built most of their stations to be 152.5m or 500 ft long, not the 80m & 50m joke that is Skytrain. All of the Skytrain lines should have been designed to eventually accomodate 8-10 car trains. Despite Vancouver & backward BC not taking a big city planning approach, there is a potential remedy, in the form of Selective_door_operation technology. This would allow for the potential of 7 car trains with only the middle 5 cars accessing the short station platforms. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_carbon_tax#Effects

The Canada embarrassment Line was only designed to ultimately just have 2.5 car trains, not 5 & certainly not 8-10 car trains. The first significant challenge would be to adapt the extremely short stations to accommodate 3 car trains. Then again with Selective_door_operation, the middle 3 cars of a 5 car train could access the station. 

https://institute.smartprosperity.ca/content/just-facts-please-true-story-how-bc-s-carbon-tax-working

Most bridges in BC are so narrow that it's almost impossible to have a proper regional express bus network.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/climate-change/clean-economy/carbon-tax

It's as if somehow not enough funds went towards The+Pattullo+Bridge+replacement. Despite having some good bike lanes & sidewalks on both sides of the bridge, when it opens it will be too narrow to accomodate 2 bus & HOV lanes. Thus, cars, trucks & busses will all have to squeeze into just 2 lanes each way. There didn't even seem to be any proper communication & planning to ensure that there would be 2 emergency lanes. So good luck in trying to get ambulances across what is supposed to be a major regional crossing. There is no provision for a lower deck, which could allow for rapid rail transit & extra truck & bus lanes. Thus, this new PB bridge is one of the best examples of the symbolic resistance in BC to build proper infrastructure that can accommodate future demand.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/sales-taxes/motor-fuel-carbon-tax

The 3 lane Lions+Gate+Bridge just might be the best example of congestive planning in modern human civilization. At least the Benjamin_Franklin_Bridge in Philadelphia has 7 lanes & 2 train tracks. The Sydney_Harbour_Bridge has 8 lanes & 2 train tracks. Homer_M._Hadley_Memorial_Bridge in Seattle is part of an 8 lane crossing with 2 LRT tracks. The 10 lane Narrows_Bridge_(Perth) also has 2 train tracks. The San_Francisco-Oakland_Bay_Bridge has 10 lanes with 10 car BART trains running under the SF Bay.

https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-carbon-tax-drama/

https://www.pembina.org/pub/bc-carbon-tax

https://cleanenergycanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Carbon-Tax-Fact-Sheet.pdf


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