Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Stubborn BC. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Stubborn BC. Sort by date Show all posts

Thursday, March 20, 2025

The Typical Vancouver Size Stump Building

 Given that most proper big cities around the world are permitted to build much taller & wider buildings than what is allowed in strict & stubborn Vancouver, BC, a curious thing has happened over the decades. When a tall tower is built in another city, next to it will be a Vancouver size stump of a building. However, the Vancouver stump isn't always part of the complex, The Vancouver Size Stump might be across the street or a block or so away. Yet, such a stumpy building can provide an excellent example of the larger scale that most big cities are allowed to exist upon. 

The Royal_Banck_Centre_in_Vancouver, B.C. The windows only go up to the 36th floor, but there are 3 more levels above that. It's only 475 feet in height and equivalent to 39 floors..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Centre_(Vancouver) "The skyscraper stands at just under 145m tall and 37 storeys. Royal Centre was the tallest building in Vancouver upon completion in 1973..."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Canadian_Place The windows go up to 72 stories, plus a few levels above that. The BMO tower in Toronto is about twice the height of the RBC in Vancouver. The 32 story BMO tower in Vancouver is a stump when compared to the 72 story BMO tower in TO.

The Scotia_Tower in Vancouver, stands at 138 m or 35 storeys tall and completed in 1977. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Scotia_Tower_Vancouver The windows only go up to 34, but there are a few levels above that. The Toronto version has its windows go right to the 68th floor. Its twice the height & twice the width as the stump in backwater Vancouver.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotia_Plaza 275 m (902 ft) with 68 floors.

A Vancouver Size stump in tall Toronto.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_Tower It's a 36 storey 146 m (479 ft) tower in the First Canadian Place complex of TorontoOntario, Canada. Due to the strict zoning restrictions in Vancouver, its difficult to even have an office building with 36 floors.

A Vancouver Size Stump in Perth, WA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_Tower,_Perth It's a 40-storey skyscraper in PerthWestern Australia. Completed in 1992, the 146-metre (479 ft). Stubborn Vancouver just won't permit any office building to have a 40th floor. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Perth_skyline_from_KS1%2C_November_2017.jpg The former AMP has become a stump in Perth, yet in Vancouver, it would still be a predominant tower. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/140_St_Georges_Terrace "140 St Georges Terrace is a 30-storey skyscraper in Perth, Western Australia. Opened in 1975, the 131-metre (430 ft) tower was known as the AMP Building..."

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Elizabeth_Quay_February_2016_%28cropped%29.jpg/640px-Elizabeth_Quay_February_2016_%28cropped%29.jpg The former AMP is a good example the stump size building that stubborn Vancouver wants to hold onto. 





Vancouver is a very tiny part of the BC land area. Even in the Greater Vancouver Region, Vancouver is a small component. Thus, while stubborn Vancouver wants to keep its stumpy agenda, other BC cities are more accepting of allowing significantly taller structures. https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?stateID=1&status=15


Sunday, May 3, 2026

Just mostly more stumps or some real Towers in Vancouver?

 https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/2026/05/02/opinion-the-yiyby-critique-bilsker 

https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/the-stack/35667 Only 38 floors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Centre_(Vancouver) Just 37 stories. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Center Seattle's tallest has 76 stories. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_Canal_Bridge 12 lanes consisting of three 4 lane sections.

Mostly short buildings, short trains and narrow bridges are all part of the imposed symbolism to keep Vancouver small and backwards. 

While Seattle had its first 50 story office tower in 1969 and Calgary in 1984, stubborn Vancouver still won't permit any office tower to have a 40th floor. 

A 30-35 story office tower would be impressive if it was in Victoria, Kelowna, Kamloops and Prince George. However, what's impressive in backwards Vancouver & backwater BC isn't impressive in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Washington State, Victoria State, NSW, Queensland & WA... 

Stumpy buildings, short trains and narrow bridges makes for the Vancouver trifecta of B$ city planning.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fort+McMurray,+AB 10 lanes. Only the TCH bridge between Surrey and Coquitlam in BC has been allowed to have as many lanes as this. Some people still wish that everything could have remained funneled into just 2 or 3 lanes each way.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Quesnell+Bridge 8 lanes in Edmonton. 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hwy.+2A+Red+Deer+City+Centre+Bridge 6 lanes.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Calgary,+AB 10 lanes.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Calgary,+AB 8 lanes.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lethbridge,+AB It has 6 lanes. Being from backwards Vancouver, its amazing that this 6 lane bridge wasn't funneled into just 2 lanes each way. That's what happened with the Knight_Street_Bridge.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hwy.+2A+Red+Deer+City+Centre+Bridge As a 5 lane TCH crossing, it only has 1 less lane than the 6 lane Iron Bridge in congested, backwards Vancouver. Since Alberta isn't under anything like the imposed BC restrictions, this crossing will likely be eventually upgraded to have 6 lanes, plus 2 wide emergency lanes & 2 wide shoulders that could provide 4 lanes each way, some day. 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Winnipeg,+MB A TCH bridge with 9 lanes, because no one from narrow-minded Vancouver was able to get them to narrow this crossing. The TCH Iron Bridge in Vancouver just has 6 lanes. No bus and LRT bridge has ever been built next to it, so far.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Winnipeg,+MB A 6 lane crossing. 

As of 2026, congested Vancouver only allows 2 bridges to have 6 lanes. A total of 5 lanes were removed from 3 Vancouver bridges. Had Vancouver built a series of proper bus and bike bridges, no lanes would have been removed. 

Despite NW trying to be one of the smallest cities in BC, Surrey is set to become the biggest city in BC. Fortunately, small NW & backwards Vancouver can't stop that from happening. However, narrowminded NW was able to force a narrower new bridge to Surrey. 

This bridge-replacement is one of the best examples of BC bottleneck-chokepoint planning today.

McBride_Blvd. and Royal_Ave_in_New_Westminster are mostly 4 lane corridors.

King_George_Boulevard and Scott_Road both are at least 4 lanes wide. One might think that the new bridge should have had 10 lanes, or at least 8 lanes, because two 4 lane boulevards, a 4 lane avenue and a 4 lane road, are all funneled into a bridge that opened with only 2 lanes each way. The old bridge that it replaced was also a 4 lane crossing. A congestive approach to transportation planning is the name of the game in backwards B.C.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/Stalewasem_Bridge_%282026-03%29.jpg/960px-Stalewasem_Bridge_%282026-03%29.jpg 
At the very least, this new 4 lane bridge should have had enough room for 2 wide emergency lanes, 2 wide shoulders and especially, 2 bus lanes. There should have been a provision for a lower deck for LRT, bus and truck lanes, given that this is supposed to be a seaport region.

The narrowmindedness planning by Greater Vancouver to still have mostly narrow crossings, has made it very difficult to implement a proper regional express bus network, let alone BRT. 

The first 2 Skytrain lines only have station lengths that can barely accommodate the new 5 car trains. The YVR Line or the C Line, has stations than can only accommodate a 2.5 car train, some day. Given that the Skytrain network is a multibillion dollar transit system, all of the stations should have been designed to gradually accommodate 8-10 car trains, but that's what a proper big city would do. 

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/05/02/expo-86-40-years-later-the-memories-live-on 

Four decades later and Greater Vancouver remains so far behind with the scale of its infrastructure.

Friday, June 5, 2026

2 out of 3 is bad, but 4 bridges?

 Apparently, 2 of the 3 Skytrain bridges were never designed to also accommodate bikes.

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/North+Arm+Bridge/@49.2028331,-123.1189681,1005m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m14!1m7!3m6!1s0x548675f84f6c0721:0xbea3ccce242f45a8!2sMarpole+Bridge!8m2!3d49.1995219!4d-123.1268811!16zL20vMGZqMjYx!3m5!1s0x548675e222b072f3:0x1f4afd8a052e9fba!8m2!3d49.2030206!4d-123.1176091!16zL20vMGc1anZj?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDYwMy4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D 

Unfortunately, all 3 Skytrain bridges weren't designed to have any express bus lanes, never mind any for a proper rapid bus network.

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Middle+Arm+Bridge/@49.1956263,-123.1347899,597m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x548675e70cc6d0d1:0x203a51fa759dab7e!8m2!3d49.1957207!4d-123.1351442!16zL20vMGdna3px?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDYwMy4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D   

In the 1980s, once it was revealed that Skytrain wouldn't be providing a 24 hour service, there wasn't a serious effort to convince the public of the importance of having a 24 hour regional express bus network. Transportation redundancy is difficult to grasp in backwards BC.

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Marpole+Bridge/@49.2048651,-122.8949547,729m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m7!3m6!1s0x548675f84f6c0721:0xbea3ccce242f45a8!4b1!8m2!3d49.1995219!4d-123.1268811!16zL20vMGZqMjYx?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDYwMy4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D 

All 3 of there's transportation bridges should have had enough future space for at least a 3rd track. Upon opening, each bridge should have had 2 bus lanes that also could be for emergency vehicles. Each bridge should have had 2 bike lanes and 2 sidewalks. 



https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Marpole+Bridge/@49.1996678,-123.1276435,848m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x548675f84f6c0721:0xbea3ccce242f45a8!8m2!3d49.1995219!4d-123.1268811!16zL20vMGZqMjYx?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDYwMy4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D This was allowed to fall apart and eventually catch fire. It was never doubletracked and the interurban trams were phased out by the 1950s. Yet, most of the highways and general road system in SW BC cities are just 2 lanes each way. It was as if there was no need to have a 3rd lane for trucks and a 4th or 5th lane for buses & HOVs. 

https://stevestonheritage.ca/2024/06/21/marpole-cp-rail-bridge

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

The transportation infrastructure was set up for congestion, right from the start. Having a short Skytrain & small stations might have made economic sense in its initial phase. However, there was a failure to not design it to eventually become a proper big-city size train with much longer stations.



https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Stubborn+BC

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Urban Tech Links .:. UTL

UTL - Personal observations of the urban world from a backwards Vancouver and backwater BC perspective. Indeed, it's always amazing to see what so many other cities can do, simply because they don't have anything like a Vancouver, Victoria & BC mentality to hold them back.

The Greater_Tokyo_Area is the most populated urban region on the planet.
https://wikimedia.org/Sand_Island_and_Honolulu.jpg Honolulu hasn't permitted any buildings to be as tall as what is in Miami, LA or SF. Indeed, Honolulu, has avoided having a Singapore or especially a HK size skyline. So far, no building has been allowed to be as tall as the Custom_House_Tower in Boston or the Smith_Tower in Seattle. Indeed, no buildings are even allowed to be as tall as the Los_Angeles_City_Hall at 453 feet or 138m.
https://wikimedia.org/Perth_airport.JPG No building in Vancouver is allowed to be as tall as the 2 tallest in Perth & Calgary.
Honolulu and 
Perth, WA are in such nice climate zones. They are a couple of the most isolated major cities on the planet. 
In some ways, Australia has been able to surpass Canada, despite it having a smaller land area & less population than Canada. Unlike Montreal & especially Vancouver, Perth & especially Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane, have allowed several taller buildings than what is allowed in Montreal & Vancouver. 
However, Honolulu's_tallest_buildings still haven't been permitted to even be as tall as the 2 tallest in the Giza_pyramid_complex in Cairo, Egypt

Urban Tech Links is a basic blog about referencing tall buildings & urban technology in various cities in general. Thus, it's mostly just a list of various urban and tech links. It's also about comparing various cities & infrastructure.
Some cities like to have narrow bridges, short trains & small buildings, like Vancouver, while many others cities reach for the sky
There is a point when a lot of major cities start to permit buildings to be taller than the 2 tallest pyramids in Egypt. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_pyramids 
Paris & London, NYC & Chicago, Tokyo & Seoul...  


The BC part of Canada has tried to keep its infrastructure as small as possible for as long as possible.
It wasn't until the 1970s when strict & stubborn Vancouver started to allow for some buildings to be almost as tall as the 2 tallest Egyptian pyramids. https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=105524651&offset=50 

1973 Royal_Centre_(Vancouver) not quite as tall as .:.
1977 Harbour_Centre not counting the flagpole, its still shorter than the original height of the tallest Egyptian pyramid.
2001 One_Wall_Centre, not including its spire, was the first building in Vancouver & BC to be taller than the tallest pyramid in Egypt

For most of Vancouver's history, the city refused to permit any building to be taller than the pyramid on top of the 496' Custom_House_Tower in Boston, the 462' Smith_Tower in Seattle, the 453' Los_Angeles_City_Hall. Of course today they are all just like stumps. 481' and 471' are the original heights of the 2 tallest in the Giza_pyramid_complex.
https://wikimedia.org/Pyramids_of_the_Giza_Necropolis.jpg
https://wikimedia.org/Kheops-Pyramid.jpg
"Initially standing at 146.6 metres (481 feet), the Great Pyramid was the world's tallest human-made structure for more than 3,800 years. Over time, most of the smooth white limestone casing was removed, which lowered the pyramid's height to the current 138.5 metres (454.4 ft)" 
HeightOriginal: 146.6 m (481 ft) or 280 cubits
Current: 138.5 m (454 ft)
HeightCurrently: 136.4 metres (448 ft)
Original: 143.5 m (471 ft; 274 cu)

"The 1997 study noted that the opportunities for buildings significantly exceeding existing permitted heights were limited. There were a total of five sites where buildings exceeding the 450 foot height limit are possible and two sites in the northwest corner of the Central Business District where heights up to 400 feet (exceeding the 300 foot limit) could be considered." https://council.vancouver.ca/20030515/pe2.htm

Indeed, it's tough to believe that for the longest time, any building in the BC part of Canada had to be considerably shorter than the Washington_Monument in DC or the Philadelphia_City_Hall.

Then Vancouver wouldn't permit any building to be as tall as the Cairo_Tower
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_Tower "At 187 m (614 ft), it was the tallest structure in Egypt for 37 years until 1998..."
2016 was when a Hotel-Condo was allowed to be slightly taller than the Cairo-Tower

The Cairo_Flagpole is the world's tallest flagpole, at 201.952 m (662 ft 7 in) tall. No building in Vancouver is allowed to be as tall.
The Living_Shangri-La tower is close, but not quite.
Of course Vancouver, BC & even Canada can't stop Egypt from building big & tall.
{The origin of Al-Qahirah is said to come from the appearance of the planet Mars during the foundation of the City of Cairo. The planet Mars, which in Greek was called Ares, was associated with ruin or destruction and was called Al Najm Al Qahir in Arabic. Al Najm Al Qahir is transliterated as "the destroyer star [planet]".} http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo#Etymology


https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-cairo-washington-dc Washinton, DC made sure that going into the 20th century, it was going to have mostly low rise buildings like Paris & London or Berlin. However, the Greater Paris Region would eventually allow some tall buildings in certain areas. London even moreso. Yet, Greater London & Metropolitan Paris, certainly have allowed some tall buildings. 

Vancouver has been under a multigenerational set of restrictions as well as a small thinking & planning agenda. Part of this might be attributed to a backwater BC mentality. However, some parts of Greater Vancouver are allowed to build on a grander scale.

Edmonton, Seattle, Portland & eventually Calgary will all have underground train stations longer than what's in Vancouver. Yet, Vancouver could have really benefited from having proper big city long stations. Most of the regions bridges are so narrow that its difficult to have a proper bus lane & HOV lane system. But Vancouver & BC are all about inefficiency. Things might eventually improve if enough people someday start to see the growing gap between what most cities allow vs. stubborn Vancouver.

https://metropolisfilm.fandom.com/wiki/Joh_Frederson

Alphaville is one of the best cautionary stories about the AI run, totalitarian smart-city scenario. 

THX_1138 is the quintessential movie about AI & machines running an underground totalitarian city. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/THX_1138#Plot

Logan's_Run is another interesting totalitarian smart-city movie. 

Blade_Runner is one of the best urban Sci-Fi movies ever made.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner#Plot

Jacque_Fresco is one of many people throughout history with their own perspectives on civilization. https://www.forbes.com/2007/10/13/jacque-fresco-prediction-tech-future07-cx_1015fresco.html?sh=4107813c607f Some interesting ideas, but perhaps with a utopian angle.


http://www.city-data.com/forum/religion-spirituality/845605-humans-originate-mars.html,
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/marte/esp_marte_14.htm,
http://mars-earth.com/earthpage.htm

http://fusionanomaly.net/orion.htmlhttp://fusionanomaly.net/bladerunner.html,
http://vigilantcitizen.com/hidden-knowledge/connection-between-sirius-and-human-history

More about, UDLhttps://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=urban

https://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/9/11/3318910/nasa-scientist-believes-we-could-all-be-in-a-video-game
Civilization_(computer_game)


The Universe seems to be a vast Multi-channel of space & time that originated from a central point of energy. But what or who started this Big_Bang of cosmic information? Its like a cosmic projection program running inside an immense planetarium. The energy of nature or part of a creators plan. Thus either nature or a conscious creator has set up a cosmic matrix of space & time. Humans are just beginning to try to understand how an intelligent force of creation set this all up. Computer models factor into the study of reality & VR helps to illustrate different phases & parts of the universe.
-
-


The Hundredth_monkey_effect isn't supposed to be true, but in backwards Vancouver & backwater BC, it does seem to be happening. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundredth_monkey_effect#History
Almost everything in Vancouver is like a watered down knockoff. So many people from different backgrounds keep wanting to hold Vancouver back. The NO FUN CITY mentality keeps emerging, but that's just part of the phenomenon.


This reference blog is of a non profit nature.  


Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Why is Metro Vancouver Creating a New Downtown?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybMhTlj-l5s 

Unlike Seattle and Calgary, Vancouver has no office towers over 50 stories. There aren't even any 40 story office towers in BC. Vancouver is firmly against permitting any office tower from having a 40th floor. However, Vancouver cant stop Burnaby and especially Surrey from having an office tower over 40 stories. While a 50 story office tower anywhere in backwater BC still seems unlikely, Burnaby and Surrey will likely be the first 2 cities in BC to have at least a 45 story office tower. 

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/50-storey-tower-community-hub-edmonds-burnaby 

So far, stubborn and strict Vancouver has only permitted 2 buildings to be taller than the tallest in Bellevue,_Washington

Vancouver has only permitted one building to be taller than the tallest in Vaughan, Ontario.

https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/cg-tower/32139 

Since Burnaby and Surrey aren't under the backwards and thwarting restrictions that Vancouver has, Burnaby and eventually Surrey, will have taller buildings than stumpy Vancouver. Indeed, Burnaby already has some buildings taller than Downtown_Bellevue. Surrey will eventually have some buildings taller than the Vaughan_Metropolitan_Centre.          

Vancouver will continue to limit the height of its buildings for as long as possible. Vancouver won't allow a bus and train tunnel near the lion Bridge, let alone a 6 lane highway tunnel. Despite the Iron Bridge needing a parallel bus bridge and a Skytrain bridge, progress remains at a snail's pace. There still seems to be no interest in building a bus bridge next to the Oak and Knight Bridges. A city on the moon and Mars might happen before stubborn Vancouver ever builds a new Fraser Street bus & bike bridge. Not only should there be a Boundary Road Bridge to Richmond, but at least a Boundary bus & bike bridge to the North Vancouver.  

Its like backwards BC keeps hoping that by symbolically refusing to build up proper big city size transportation infrastructure, people will stay away. However, its only because no one has been able to effectively challenge the bottleneck-chokepoint mentality, that not much has been done.

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

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

Thursday, December 4, 2025

The Bus and Bike Bridge Concept

The Bus and Bike Bridge Concept isn't officially banned in Vancouver or BC in general. It just hasn't been as important as it is in other cities. 

Of course it would be Calgary, not stubborn Vancouver that would have an improved Cushing+Bridge crossing. While the main 4 lane bridge could easily be just like a narrow BC bridge, it's the parallel crossing that takes it above and beyond backwards Vancouver. There is a 2 lane bus bridge with a wide bike & footpath. 

Since so many bridges in backwards BC are mostly narrow, a parallel Bus and Bike Bridge would be a huge improvement.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Inglewood+Bicycle+Pump+Track  

Not just Greater Vancouver, but several cities in BC could really benefit from having parallel bus+and+bike+bridges.


https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=bus+and+bike+bridge

Saturday, July 12, 2025

Vancouver's forgotten streetcars and interurban trams

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/transportation-old/interurban-streetcar-hydrogen-rail-line-fraser-valley-bc-1942783

Fortunately, Toronto, NO, SF and Melbourne never got rid of all their streetcar and tram lines.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/downtown-vancouver-false-creek-streetcar-route-map

While backwards Vancouver wanted to be among the first cities to get rid of them, Vancouver will likely be one of the last cities to bring them back.

https://viewpointvancouver.ca/2021/04/06/a-bump-in-the-road-kits-points-hidden-streetcar-line/

Atlanta, SD, LA, Edmonton, Calgary, Seattle & Portland brought back some of their trollies in the form of modern LRT or tram-trains.

https://montecristomagazine.com/community/vancouvers-forgotten-streetcars

The sad irony is that Vancouver, Burnaby & NW really could have benefitted from following the Toronto, SF and Melbourne examples. 

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/history/last-ride-oak-streetcar-vancouver-1937040

https://www.facebook.com/groups/128486813979056/posts/1968090176685368

 https://maps.nicholsonroad.com/bcer/

https://humantransit.org/2010/02/vancouver-the-almost-perfect-grid.html

There used too be a streetcar route along Robson St., Denman St. & Davie St. A revived version of this could provide a nice downtown transit loop. However, that would go against the backwards mentality of Vancouver. Fortunately, the Stubborn+Vancouver mentality never made it to Atlanta & Dallas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Streetcar#Downtown_Loop_route_funded

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

Unfortunatly, Vancouver & BC are all about congestive planning.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/2026-fifa-world-cup-vancouver-1.7559067

With less than a year to go, its impossible to revive any streetcar lines, because that can take 5-10 years. There isn't even a network of regional bus bridges. Such inept transportation planning means that busses have to squeeze onto bridges that are mostly just 2 lanes each way. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-rising-costs-fifa-2026-world-cup-1.7573669

Despite the first SkyTrain line opening in 1985, it took until 2025 to start having5 car trains. The 2nd & 3rd lines are still only running 2 car trains.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/vancouver-short-on-hotel-rooms-silent-on-safety-costs-for-2026-world-cup/

Of course the city is decades behind in keeping up with having enough hotel rooms.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-hotel-shortage-2026-world-cup-1.7117696

https://vancouverfwc26.ca 

https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026/articles/vancouver-host-seven-matches-canada-stadium-bc-place


https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Trams-Trains+and+Streetcars

Saturday, November 18, 2023

The Lions Gate Bridge and a First Narrows Tunnel

 https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/5-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-lions-gate-bridge-6614814

The LGB is a crossing so narrow that it should have only been a foot & bike bridge by now.

The inept Lions+Gate+Bridge should have had an 8 lane tunnel under it several decades ago.

Georgia_Street through most of the downtown is 6 lanes wide, but as you get closer to Stanley Park, its 7 lanes wide. Thus, an 8 lane First_Narrows tunnel could have easily been constructed. 

https://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/west-georgia-complete-street.aspx 

While the likelihood of Georgia_Street feeding into the Georgia_Viaduct & then connecting East Vancouver & Burnaby with a freeway is not possible, Georgia_Street could still feed into a Stanley Park tunnel.

There would be no need for a freeway through the downtown, as a tunnel would simply provide a high capacity crossing. 3 lanes each way, plus a bus & HOV lane each way & even a provision for rapid rail transit. Essentially, an extension of the Canada (embassament) Line. 

https://globalnews.ca/news/1946543/government-says-lions-gate-bridge-will-not-close-to-cars-come-2030/

The stubborn city & region chooses to continually do nothing with the First Narrows LION crossing. However, at least some serious planning has started for the Second_Narrows IRON Bridge upgrade or replacement. 

The Lion & the Iron bridges have been quintessential BC bottlenecks for generations. There really should have been bus & train tunnels and bridges built next to them several decades ago. Despite the region having 2 ferry terminals, there seems to be a reluctance with having the Canada (embarrassment) Line linking both of the ferry terminals. To do so would actually help to reduce congestion, bus backwater BC seems to be against relieving urban transportation congestion.


https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=The+Lion+Bridge+and+The+Iron+Bridge

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

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Georgia+Street

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

Thursday, March 28, 2024

BC Government housing near Nanaimo Station in E. Vancouver

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/3805-3919-nanaimo-street-vancouver-coromandel-bc-government-housing

Proper big planning should have been implemented at least a few decades ago. Now people have finally been bought out so that denser housing can be put in.

https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/grandview-woodland-community-plan.aspx

The Broadway Station area remains a constipated mess. Stubborn people refuse to accept or be bought out, because NIMBY is the perpetual way to be in BC. Nevermind a magnificent 80 story tower, even 40 floors is too much for this constipated part of Vancouver.

https://www.burnabynow.com/local-news/two-more-towers-up-to-80-storeys-tall-more-rental-housing-could-be-coming-to-burnabys-brentwood-8461795

The intersection of 2 Skytrain lines, but no Brentwood size towers. 

The trench or cut at Commercial_and_Broadway could easily be covered over, so that big towers can go up. However, the constipated NIMBYs refuse to receive an urban enema & be pushed out. They don't want growth, because that means more non-white people in their neighborhood. But as long as they don't set up a bunch of KEEP THEM OUT signs, their agenda remains strong. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial%E2%80%93Broadway_station

https://www.translink.ca/schedules-and-maps/station/commercial-broadway/map

Vancouver & the metropolitan region remains very stunted when compared to Toronto & Montreal. At least Burnaby, Coquitlam & Surrey are starting to allow a larger scale.

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

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 

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Oak+Street+Bridge OSB

Friday, May 1, 2026

Should the Vancouver Whitecaps revive the Gastown waterfront stadium concept instead of pursuing Hastings Racecourse?

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-whitecaps-gastown-railyard-waterfront-stadium 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mls-commissioner-vancouver-whitecaps-new-stadium-1.7594905

https://www.facebook.com/groups/831329483640398/posts/25294271920252814/ 

https://theprovince.com/sports/soccer/mls/vancouver-whitecaps/mls-misrepresenting-whitecaps-stadium-availability-bc-place


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington_Regional_Stadium  "It was built on reclaimed railway land..." 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/CentrePort_and_Westpac_Stadium%2C_Wellington_NZ.jpg/960px-CentrePort_and_Westpac_Stadium%2C_Wellington_NZ.jpg 

These were both possible, because they are far away from any influence from the Vancouver Mind Virus (VMV).

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

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9c/Capetown_stadium.JPG/960px-Capetown_stadium.JPG 


Despite Lumen_Field in Seattle being relatively close to BC, no VMV has seemed to have reached there.  

Unlike with BC_Place Stadium, Lumen_Field works well for soccer and American Football arrangements.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumen_Field#Soccer 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Aerial_of_Qwest_Field_and_downtown_skyline%2C_2002.jpg/960px-Aerial_of_Qwest_Field_and_downtown_skyline%2C_2002.jpg

Accomplishing things in stubborn Vancouver, BC is just more difficult than in many other cities around the world.

=======================================

Could Honolulu Develop Like Tokyo or HK?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxkjJ2TNkY4 

No way. First, H. County would have to allow Singapore size buildings and infrastructure. Then, HK size stuff, before even getting close to something like a little Tokyo. Right now, H. isn't even allowed to have buildings as tall as what San Diego has.