Vancouver's former Olympic Line streetcar

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-olympic-line-streetcar-future

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Downtown_Historic_Railway#Olympic_Line

Fortunately, the Vancouver mentality of anti-streetcars and trams was never adopted in Seattle, Portland, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto, Melbourne, SF & N.O...

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

https://kumtuks.ca/streetcars-and-metro-vancouver/

https://vancouversun.com/news/this-week-in-history-1890-vancouver-gets-cutting-edge-with-an-electric-streetcar-and-light-system Unfortunatly, over the course of several generations, Vancouver keeps doing the wrong thing, especially with urban transportation planning. 

https://digitize.library.ubc.ca/digitizers-blog/streetcars-before-buses-british-columbia-electric-railway/

https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/bcbooks/1.0376526#p6z-8r0f: Greater Victoria could have been a prper big citties like Seattle or Sydney Australia. Greater Vancouver could have been on the scale of a Montreal by now. 

https://monova.ca/the-story-of-streetcar-153

https://westendvancouver.wordpress.com/historical-background/streetcars/

https://spacing.ca/vancouver/2013/06/18/vancouver-transit-the-era-of-street-cars1/

https://buzzer.translink.ca/2017/04/from-rails-to-rubber-a-look-back-at-the-regions-transition-from-streetcars-to-buses

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=streetcars+and+trams

Trams and Streetcars

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhQxNHrD6fA

https://www.railforthevalley.com/latest-news/zweisystem/tram-streetcar-lrt-why-the-confusion

https://digitize.library.ubc.ca/digitizers-blog/streetcars-before-buses-british-columbia-electric-railway

Call it a lack of vision or a lack of proper urban transportation planning. There were just too many key people who never wanted Vancouver to be on a similar scale as Melbourne, Toronto and SF.

https://kumtuks.ca/streetcars-and-metro-vancouver

https://spacing.ca/vancouver/2013/06/18/vancouver-transit-the-era-of-street-cars1

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

Granville Street Bridge

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

One might think that the 1950s Granville_Street_Bridge (GSB) was built with a lot of future capacity in mind.

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

At least the bridge started out with 8 lanes, but narrow sidewalks. In order to put in 2 good sidewalks & 2 bike lanes, 2 traffic lanes had to be removed. At least with 6 lanes, the GS Bridge can still eventually have 2 bus lanes. However, had the original sidewalks been tripled in width, the bridge could have still had 8 lanes. 6 general lanes & 2 bus lanes. 

https://granvilleisland.com/news/transportation-updates-on-granville-bridge-city-of-vancouver

Unfortunatly, the Granville+Street+Bridge wasn't designed to have a lower deck for future streetcars or tram-trains, because it didn't seem necessary back in the 1950s. Of course Vancouver & the region never built a series of wide freeways & expressways, so retaining the streetcars & interurban trains would have been a good idea.

Fortunately, the backward Vancouver mentality wasn't able to convince Melbourne to give up on its trams. Imagine if Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, New Orléans & especially SF gave up on having their streetcars. 

Now Vancouver stands to be one of the last major cities & urban areas to bring back the streetcars or tram-trains in the form of modern LRT vehicles.

Express bus lanes or rapid bus right of ways can be very good, but a LRV is also a very good transit mode that's in-between a subway or an urban metro train line.

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

Playland and the PNE

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/playland-weekend-opening-wild-mouse

https://kumtuks.ca/streetcars-and-metro-vancouver/

https://scoutmagazine.ca/how-to-find-the-old-streetcar-scars-of-east-van/

https://buzzer.translink.ca/2017/04/from-rails-to-rubber-a-look-back-at-the-regions-transition-from-streetcars-to-buses/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/256850977796478/posts/3032980890183459/

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

https://stephenrees.blog/2008/03/11/vancouver-to-rebuild-granville-island-streetcar-route/

https://stephenrees.blog/2010/01/15/sneak-preview-inside-the-olympic-line-%E2%80%93-vancouver%E2%80%99s-2010-streetcar/

https://stephenrees.blog/2010/03/22/vancouver-says-goodbye-to-olympic-streetcar/

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-olympic-line-streetcar-future

https://buzzer.translink.ca/2015/08/a-history-of-the-14-hastings-in-vancouver-an-interview-with-planner-peter-klitz-about-the-iconic-bus-route/

While backwards Vancouver was so quick to get rid of its streetcars & tram-trains, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, New Orleans, SF, Portland, Seattle & especially Melbourne, retained or revived some of their lines.

https://transittoronto.ca/archives/weblog/2024/08/14-lets_go_--.shtml 

Robson Street plaza construction digs up historic streetcar tracks

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bute-robson-plaza-historic-streetcar-tracks-construction

https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/robson-line-streetcar-at-english-bay

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

https://westendvancouver.wordpress.com/historical-background/streetcars/

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

https://scoutmagazine.ca/how-to-find-the-old-streetcar-scars-of-east-van/

https://kumtuks.ca/streetcars-and-metro-vancouver/

https://www.facebook.com/VancouverCivicRailway/photos

https://digitize.library.ubc.ca/digitizers-blog/streetcars-before-buses-british-columbia-electric-railway/

Vancouver used to have special electric sightseeing streetcars

 https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/history/photos-vancouver-electric-sightseeing-streetcars-11079520

The city and greater region have made damn sure that it's almost impossible to ever bring them back. It's all part of the PAY MORE & GET LE$$ mentality.

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

The Old Streetcar Lines of Greater Vancouver

https://kumtuks.ca/streetcars-and-metro-vancouver/

https://evelazarus.com/bring-back-the-streetcar/

 https://scoutmagazine.ca/how-to-find-the-old-streetcar-scars-of-east-van/

https://www.facebook.com/VancouverCivicRailway/photos

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

https://www.reddit.com/r/TransitDiagrams/comments/11ie2tt/oc_city_of_vancouvers_longproposed_streetcar/#lightbox

https://stephenrees.blog/2012/04/11/is-it-time-to-bring-back-the-streetcar-to-vancouver/

https://digitize.library.ubc.ca/digitizers-blog/streetcars-before-buses-british-columbia-electric-railway/

https://thetyee.ca/News/2010/10/01/Streetcars/

https://council.vancouver.ca/990323/tt1.htm

https://evelazarus.com/the-train-that-ran-down-hastings-street/

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_streetcars_at_the_Corner_of_Hastings_and_Main,_Vancouver.jpg

Streetcars, Trams and Trains

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KC_Streetcar ,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Kansas_City#/media/File:KC_Streetcar_(26813012241).jpg ,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City,_Missouri#Public_transportation


trains & transit

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=streetcars+and+trams

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

The Tilikum Crossing in Portland, Oregon

The Tilikum_Crossing is quite a fine transportation bridge for Portland. Unlike in Vancouver, BC, the Tilikum_Crossing meant that no lanes were reduced from the surrounding bridges.

Carries	TriMet MAX light rail and buses; Portland Streetcar Loop Service; bicycles and pedestrians

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilikum_Crossing#Design

https://trimet.org/tilikum

Unlike Portland & so many cities, V-BC & the metropolitan region refuses to build something like the Tilikum_Crossing_for_bicycles. The six lane Burrard_Bridge was reduced to 4 lanes in order to accomodate 2 bicycle_lanes. The Burrard_Bridge was designed to accommodate a lower level for streetcars, but never followed through with it. Vancouver-BC became one of the first cities to get rid of streetcars or trams & will likely be one of the last to bring them back. Fortunately, the Vancouver mentality was unable to stop the revival of the Seattle & Portland_Streetcar. Melbourne, Toronto, SF, Boston & New Orleans never totally got rid of their streetcars like backward V-BC.

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Tilikum+Crossing

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

Trams-Trains and Streetcars

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sGHqsD0DRM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra7a9IY6Jnc trams

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=streetcars+and+trams

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

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 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

How Bike Lanes have affected Vancouver's urban infrastructure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvkifuIjq9I The BSB was a 6 lane crossing that even had a provision for a lower deck intended for streetcars. Eventually, 2 lanes were removed & the lower deck was never completed. However, Vancouver was unable to prevent Seattle & Portland from reviving some of their streetcar routes.

The problem isn't bike lanes, it's the lack of interest to build a proper regional network of bus & bike bridges. Thus, if a proper bike bridge was built next to the Burrard+Street+Bridge, then 2 of its 6 lanes could have been for buses or at least HOV lanes. The lower deck could have still been for streetcars or tram-trains going between Vancouver & Richmond. The irony of backwards Vancouver is that it was one of the first cities to get rid of its streetcars & will likely be one of the last to bring them back.

The Fraser River Tunnel Project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWhHJWKa6CQ Unfortunatly, this will still be a chokepoint or congested crossing.

Of course the new Richmond-Delta+Tunnel wasn't designed to be part of a rail link between the airport and the ferry terminal. There should have been 2 HOV lanes, as well as 2 bus lanes, but that would be a big-city 10 lane crossing. Instead, just an 8 lane tunnel with no train component. Eventually, a train and HOV bridge or tunnel will have to be built next to it. 

At least the first SkyTrain line can now have 5 car trains. However, the 2 car joke of a train still exists between Vancouver & Coquitlam, as well as between Vancouver & Richmond. The Montreal Metro can have 9 car trains and BART in SF can have 10 car trains. Such things are possible because they don't have a congestive BC panning mentality.

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Bike+Lanes

A proposed car-free transformation of the Granville Entertainment District

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/granville-strip-entertainment-district-master-plan-vancouver-proposal

This was supposed to be a surface transit mall, but now there is a desire to just have it as a pedestrian mall.

https://storeys.com/vancouver-granville-street-entertainment-district-history-renewal-planning-program/

Granville_Mall should have been designed to eventually have an underground bus, streetcar or tram-train level, several decades ago. The current GSB should have been modified to have a lower transit deck. Unfortunatly, each version of the GSB wasn't designed to have a lower deck. 

The First Granville Bridge: 1889-1909:

Just getting a basic bridge across the creek was challenging enough. Thus, there was no reason for the-first-Granville-Bridge to have a provision for a lower level for such a provincial backwater.

The Second Granville Bridge: 1909-1954:

The 21st century was too far away for backwards Vancouver to think big, so the 2nd Granville-Street-Bridge was also designed with no provision for a lower deck & wider sidewalks.

The Third Granville Bridge: 1954 – Present"

The 3rd Granville-Bridge also had no provision for a lower deck for public transit in the 1950s. Since it was intended to be an expressway bridge for a cancelled city freeway plan, there was no need to have wide sidewalks and a lower-deck for streetcars or tram-trains. Unfortunatly, no one seriously considered that the 2nd Granville-Bridge should have been kept as a streetcar or bus and bike crossing, with widened sidewalks. Indeed, the two bridges could have worked well together.

https://placesthatmatter.ca/location/granville-st-bridge 3 strikes & this Vancouver bridge is out, not quite. The reconfigured GSB loses 2 lanes, but gets 2 bike lanes & wider sidewalks. Unfortunatly, still no lower deck for a potentially revived streetcar line. Vancouver was one of the first cities to get rid of its streetcars in the 1950s and will be one of the last cities to revive them. Of course Seattle & Portland would reinstate some of their streetcars long before slow-moving Vancouver ever will. 

Streetcars and Trams, etc.

http://www.streetcar.org/difference.html

Streetcars+and+trams can make a big difference in transportation options.

http://autos.ca.msn.com/specials/road-trip-guide/the-worlds-best-streetcar-rides

http://www.streetcar.org/fline-history.html,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/milantram/14099772888

http://www.streetcar.org/museums-in-motion,
http://www.streetcar.org/streetcars/live.html

https://www.flickr.com/photos/milantram/14154808638/in/photostream,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/milantram/14485791565

https://www.flickr.com/photos/milantram

Pacific National Exhibition (PNE)

The Pacific_National_Exhibition, which is in Hastings+Park, should have been much bigger and better by now, but this is watered down Vancouver. https://www.pne.ca/hastings-park-access , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastings_Park

https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/pacific-national-exhibition-pne

https://www.pne.ca/about-us/history-legacy 

Generations ago, one could take a streetcar to the PNE. Of course it's still possible at the CNE.

https://vancouversun.com/news/this-week-in-history-1890-vancouver-gets-cutting-edge-with-an-electric-streetcar-and-light-system 

https://montecristomagazine.com/community/vancouvers-forgotten-streetcars#gsc.tab=0

https://kumtuks.ca/streetcars-and-metro-vancouver/

https://macleans.ca/culture/i-started-working-at-the-pacific-national-exhibition-when-i-was-12-it-was-a-wild-ride/

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/history/brief-history-of-pne-playland-1935285 

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pne-history-photos-vancouver  

https://604now.com/history-pne-vancouver-bc/ 

https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/heres-how-many-people-attended-the-pne-this-year (2024)

https://vancouversun.com/news/pne-draws-nearly-638000-people-the-highest-since-the-pandemic

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pne-fair-attendance-2024

https://www.chronicallyvintage.com/2014/08/a-vintage-photo-filled-look-at-history.html

https://evelazarus.com/the-pne-then-and-now 

https://www.echostories.com/backstory/pne-anniversary-book/

Unfortunatly, it hasn't always been a fun place.

https://hastingspark1942.ca/

https://hastingspark1942.ca/buildings-overview/

https://hastingspark1942.ca/history/momiji-gardens/

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

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Hastings+Community+Park+and+Hastings+Park

Streetcars and Trams = LRV

 https://forum.trains.com/t/differentiation-streetcar-tram-from-lrv/263079

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

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

Montreal-is-officially-getting-a-new-pink-line-streetcar-between-2-boroughs

 https://www.mtlblog.com/montreal/montreal-is-officially-getting-a-new-pink-line-streetcar-between-2-boroughs

Of course Montreal would be able to bring back some streetcars before slow Vancouver, because Quebec doesn't have a backwater BC mentality.

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

https://transitmap.net/montreal-streetcars-1893

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

Victoria was the third city in Canada with streetcars

 https://www.reddit.com/r/VictoriaBC/comments/ad2dl9/victoria_was_the_third_city_in_canada_with/

Unfortunatly, like backwards Vancouver, they also got rid of their streetcars.

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

https://evelazarus.com/the-train-that-ran-down-hastings-street/

Grater Vancouver railways

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Downtown_Historic_Railway#Proposed_future_service

http://bcer.trams.bc.ca/maps.html  

https://digitize.library.ubc.ca/digitizers-blog/streetcars-before-buses-british-columbia-electric-railway/

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/history/did-you-know-that-north-vancouver-has-a-90-year-old-subway-1949239

https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/uploads/r/null/8/5/c/85c952a6177e1ee3a232e53e5c1469d7099016a501bafd290c9a85a09c136d0e/deaab9ca-54ab-48f1-b9b1-2cdefe077ee8-MAP417.jpg?token=736782525599c0263613932401b533a36aa0933f3bfd4454a8bf11b28cb928a4

https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/pacific-coast-branch-canadian-railroad-historical-association-railroad-map-of-greater-vancouver-british-columbia

https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/railroads?places=1657755&sort=alphabetic&listLimit=50&sortDir=asc

https://www.nsnews.com/in-the-community/time-traveller-the-lonsdale-subway-3112664

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/history/did-you-know-that-north-vancouver-has-a-90-year-old-subway-1949239

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/history/streetcars-in-the-forest-see-what-kitsilanos-busiest-street-looked-like-a-century-ago-photos-5013431

First Nation could buy Central 1 Credit Union office building next to Senakw

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/central-1-credit-union-headquarters-building-1441-creekside-drive-vancouver-senawk-squamish-nation

It should be replace with a big black, blue or sandy tower, becoming the tallest in the city. Unfortunatly, the lower deck of the BB, which was intended for streetcars, was never completed. Of course backwards Vancouver would be one of the first cities to get rid of its streetcars & tram-trains & will likely be one of the last to ever bring them back.