Why the Widest Freeway on Earth still Made Traffic Worse in Houston

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMwKgT4ZUvQ It is utterly foolish to not have enough space for a commuter train to run above, or in the middle or underneath the widest highways. 

https://kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/houstons-15-year-growth-three-charts Simply building wide roads like in Houston, L.A. and Toronto is just as bad as having mostly narrow bridges in Greater Vancouver.  

Whether its 10 lanes or 20 lanes wide, there should always be 2 dedicated bus lanes and 2 HOV lanes. While the highway will get clogged up during the day, at least the buses and trains can still get through quickly. 

The Pattullo+Bridge+replacement is only 2 lanes each way with narrow shoulders. It should have opened with enough space for 2 bus lanes and 2 HOV lanes, but that would go against the congestive urban planning mentality of BC.

The Samuel-De+Champlain+Bridge in Montreal is just as good as similar wide highway and train bridges in Seattle+and+Perth. All were possible, simply because they aren't limited by anything like the Vancouver and BC Mind Virus.

The narrow-minded Vancouver and BC approach is to try to funnel everything into just 2 or 3 lanes each way. Then there just isn't enough space to have 2 bus lanes and 2 HOV lanes. Greater Vancouver has certainly gone in the extreme opposite direction of Houston, L.A. and Toronto...

A wide Greater Houston highway has lots of space, but without 2 bus lanes and 2 HOV lanes, everything gets plugged up. In contrast, Greater Vancouver has most of its bridges and highways so damn narrow, there isn't enough space to accomodate a proper express bus and HOV network. 

This deliberate backwards BC bottleneck-chokepoint planning approach is totally absurd. 

There is no commuter train tunnel near the Lions+Gate+Bridge or even for the Massey+Tunnel+replacement. Thus, they are the best examples of BC choke-point urban planning. Despite having twice the lanes as the inept 3 lane LGB, the newer Iron+Bridge never had any emergency lanes. A bus and HOV bridge was never built next to it. Plus, no commuter train bridge. It's another fine example of BC choke-point, bottleneck planning. 

A north and south Boundary+Road bridge system would provide direct access between the North+Shore, Richmond+and+Delta, but that's what a proper big city would do. Backwards BC has quite a problem with thinking and building big. The 2 car Canada+Line is another example. Don't build it to at least have a 5 car train, just design it to only have 2.5 car trains, someday.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Houston#Transportation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_610_(Texas)#Lane_configurations There is a point when simply adding more lanes won't provide long-term improvement. However, when combined with dedicated bus and HOV lanes, other options become available. Especially, if there is rail rapid transit and commuter rail as well. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/METRORail While not as extentise as DART_rail, it still works like a tram-train. 

Of course longer streetcars or tram-trains are still slow on the actual surface street segments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Melbourne#System_upgrades 

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muni_Metro SF

Why Greater Toronto Has Several Skylines

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI9WJa9Q8dA 

Of course many large urban areas around the world have more than 1 or 2 skylines or tower clusters. 

For the longest time, no building in Vancouver or BC, was allowed to be as tall as the 1930s CIBC tower, which is now a stump.

https://www.blogto.com/city/2017/05/toronto-lost-observation-deck-commerce-court-north/

https://www.torontojourney416.com/canadian-bank-of-commerce-building/ 

https://www.25king.ca/the-history 

It wasn't until the early 1970s when stumpy, Vancouver allowed a building to be taller than the L.A. City Hall, or the Smith Tower in Seattle. 

The 1930s CIBC tower, the L.A. City Hall and the Smith Tower, would still be prominent towers in Vancouver, but stumps in their own cities. 

Despite Vancouver being divided by an inlet and a river, the city wasn't able to build a huge wall along Boundary Road. Thus, the KEEP THEM OUT agenda was a little thwarted. The various White city councils tried to do the next best thing. That was to symbolically impose various restrictions as a reluctance to think, plan and build on a BIG city scale. The time especially from 1960 to 2000 had predominantly White City Hall and its councils continually impose several overlapping restrictions. 

Since Vancouver can't control immigration or the movements of non-white people, keeping things small and backwards, means that less people will move there than to Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton. However, with a mild winter climate, more and more people want to move to backwards BC, especially small-minded Vancouver and provincial Victoria. 

In spite of immigration and Multiculturalism, Vancouver was to perpetually promote its small scale agenda. 

While the first Skytrain line can finally run 5 car trains, the stations weren't designed to become long enough to eventually accomodate 9 car trains like the big city Montreal Metro has. 

The 2nd and 3rd Skytrain lines are still only running 2 car joke trains. Running 8-10 car trains is what a proper big city would do, but not backwards Vancouver. 

Narrow bridges provides strong symbolism of the cities narrow-mindedness. When bridges are too narrow, its difficult to have a proper express or rapid bus system. The reluctance to build parallel bus and HOV bridges helps to maintain the congestive planning approach that is vancouver and the Greater Region. 

Vancouver's refusal to build parallel bike bridges has meant that 2 lanes were removed from the Burrard Bridge, 1 lane from the Cambie Bridge and 2 lanes from the Granville Bridge. 

Keeping buildings symbolically short when compared to what scenic Sydney, Auckland, SF and Seattle allow, also helps to maintain Vancouver's reluctance to enter the big and tall urban scale. In fact, the scenic setting that Vancouver is in has been used as the main excuse to continually scale the city down. Yet, several scenic cities around the world are either able to have wider bridges, wider roads, longer trains or taller buildings. 

The world is mostly composed of non-white people. Canada has less than 1% of the world's population and stubborn Vancouver symbolically remains as a small provincial backwater on the Pacific Rim. 

https://centralparktower.com.au Unlike Perth, Vancouver forbids 50 story office towers and Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne size residential towers. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/108_St_Georges_Terrace In fact, no office building in Vancouver has been permitted to have a 40th floor. However, since Burnaby and Surrey aren't under the restrictive controls of Vancouver, they will eventually allow office towers over 40 stories. 

Despite Australia having less people than Canada, Perth is allowed to have taller buildings, wider bridges and longer trains than Vancouver. Taller buildings, wider bridges and longer trains are even less likely in Halifax than whats in Brisbane or Queensland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q1_(building) To see buildings on a similar scale of what Brisbane allows, one has to get to Greater Toronto. Brisbane is allowed to have some buildings that would even be impressive in Melbourne and Sydney. 

While Montreal is allowed to have taller buildings than Vancouver, Montreal isn't allowed to have Sydney size towers. Especially not on the scale of what Melbourne and Toronto permit. 

SkyTrain's Canada Line service disruption

(service disruption ends after 14 hours) https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-canada-line-service-disruptions-january-14-2026 

For a rapid transit line that opened in 2009, on the surface, it sure wasn't designed to be an efficient high capacity line for the future. It's still just a 2 car joke of a train. Fortunately, most real cities around the world planned for not only 6 car trains, but even 8-10 car trains. 

Unfortunatly, Vancouver has been hit very hard with a multigenerational agenda of continually imposed small scale infrastructure. Vancouver has water on 3 sides, as its on a peninsula. Since the powers that be couldn't build a Boundary+Road moat or trench, the next best thing was to symbolically show the reluctance to build proper big city size infrastructure. This stunted approach to things is about symbolically holding the scale of the city back for as long as possible. 

Despite backwards Vancouver not being able to apply a castle-moat-and-drawbridge control system, the next best thing was to symbolically keep things smaller than what normal or proper big cities allow. 

Here are some of the best examples of holding the size of things back. The 3 lane joke that is the Lions+Gate+Bridge has never had a rapid transit rail tunnel and no express bus tunnel next to it. Especially, no 6 lane highway tunnel. It's a classic BC bottleneck-chokepoint, by design.

From a 3 lane joke of a bridge to a two car Canada+Line joke of a train. It met the symbolic requirement to be shorter than the LRT in Edmonton, the C Train in Calgary and the trains in Seattle and Portland. 

The+Post+building+complex could have been Vancouver's first 50 story office tower, it's not even 25 floors. It would be impressive if it were in Victoria, Kelowna, Kamloops or Prince George. That's the unfortunate thing about Vancouver, so much is done to only be impressive to small cities or towns.  

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=The+small+Westin+Bayshore+Hotel+in+Vancouver

Things have been kept so small in Vancouver throughout its history, that any big city stuff might seem overwhelming. There has been an unofficial KEEP THEM OUT mentality, but since the city cant have checkpoints, building things small symbolically demonstrates the perpetual reluctance to not allow a big city in backwater BC. 

Since Vancouver can't control Burnaby and can't stop Surrey from eventually becoming the biggest city in BC, they are able to build things on a larger scale than Vancouver.

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

The Boundary Road bridges (BRB)

Unfortunatly, there doesn't seem to be any BRB plan in place.

A North Boundary Road Bridge could provide an excellent BRT crossing between Burnaby and North+Vancouver. This would help to relieve pressure on the Iron Bridge.

https://movementyvr.ca/bby-heights-brt

The same with a South Boundary Roade Bridge with a BRT route between Vancouver and Richmond. 

Then another BRT bridge between Richmond and Delta to the ferry terminal. This could help to relieve some of the pressure on the new tunnel, because it wasn't designed to have 2 HOV lanes & no train section.

https://www.translink.ca/plans-and-projects/projects/bus-projects/rapidbus-projects 

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Boundary+Road 

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

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Richmond+and+Delta

Vancouver harbour sailings

 https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/travel/vancouver-cruises-top-harbour-sailings-2025-11093357  

The SeaBus and the Aqua-Bus just aren't enough, there needs to be more capacity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeaBus , https://theaquabus.com/

https://www.translink.ca/schedules-and-maps/seabus 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeaBus#Service Ideally, there should be a daytime departure every 5 minutes & 10 minutes during the evening.

https://www.translink.ca/schedules-and-maps/line/seabus/direction/0/schedule 

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

As of 2025, there still isn't a Downtown to Deep+Cove ferry and not in 2026 either. Thus, the 6 lane Iron+Bridge will still be overloaded. Had the bridge been constructed to have very wide shoulders, there could have been an efficient bus lane each way. Instead, any bus is stuck in the almost perpetual traffic jam. A Boundary+Road Bridge could make for an excellent bus and HOV lane crossing consisting of at least 4 lanes, with a provision for a middle rail section.

Of course there is no ferry from Downtown+Vancouver to the Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal. Just like there is no train from Horseshoe+Bay to Deep+Cove and to the Tri-Cities. 

It's strange that the North-Shore didn't keep up with improving its passenger rail system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Shore_(Greater_Vancouver) , https://monova.ca/the-story-of-streetcar-153/

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Tri-Cities

The Milizie Bridge in Italy and the Windan Bridge in W, Australia and The Cushing Bridge in Calgary, Alberta

 https://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/fotografie/schede/IMM-5w050-0000107/

It used to be like a narrow 4 lane Vancouver bridge.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdL1nsrfQlu2fehTGEprH7FGBsYGcr_TPyqucsA-EWRJdwwHCROFB-V_oTimMt3jA863q25r8g5pY83s0yOUppOM1EuVsBaGO4kc846blp-xCt8G3xQs7Srg2Ro9nPKPom-V5YOdCRm1bM/s1600/PontiMilizie-NotizAtmMarApr74-ridotto.jpg

https://milanoneisecoli.blogspot.com/2014/10/lo-scomparso-torrione-fascista-di.html

Eventually, the Ponte+Delle+Milizie was rebuilt to have 2 bus lanes as well as 4 general lanes.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ponte+Delle+Milizie

Something like the 6 lane Windan_Bridge and the double track Goongoongup_Bridge, just aren't allowed in Vancouver. The city should do something similar like the Cushing+Bridge+in+Calgary.

Unfortunatly, the backwards Vancouver approach is to take lanes away, while pretending to be building an efficient regional rapid bus network. 

The Arthur+Laing+Bridge, Oak+Street+Bridge and Knight+Street+Bridge only have 2 lanes each way in the middle and there was no provision to have 2 bus lanes. Thus, unless a 2 lane bus-bridge is built next to each of them, the regional express bus network will remain a sad BC joke.

There should also be a 6 lane Boundary+Road+Bridge crossing Burrard_Inlet and another one crossing the Fraser_River. 

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.

Half of the new five-lane Steveston interchange on Highway 99 opens to traffic

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/new-steveston-interchange-highway-99-richmond-partial-opening

https://www.highway99tunnel.ca/project-overview/

https://www.highway99tunnel.ca/current-work/

https://www.highway99tunnel.ca/project-overview-frt/

https://www.rocktoroad.com/monumental-project/

https://www.delta-optimist.com/local-news/new-fraser-river-tunnel-will-have-a-new-name-when-it-opens-8512194

https://richmondsentinel.ca/article-detail/28157/history-of-the-massey-tunnel It's sad & pathetic that when the old tunnel was designed & then opened, there was no provision to have 3 lanes each way. Thus, despite being a seaport region, cars & trucks had to be funneled into just 2 lanes each way. It would have been too forward thinking to have the tunnel augmented by a couple of parallel bridges in the area.

Now once again, there still won't be another bridge or 2 in the area. A North and a South Boundary+Road Bridge could provide a vital link over the inlet and over the river. Then a Nelson Road Bridge to Delta and the Deltaport. 

The Boundary Road corridor between North Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/boundary-road-vancouver-burnaby-shared-maintenance-history

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/driving-in-vancouver-the-worst

Boundary+Road should have had a bridge over Burrard_Inlet and over the North_Arm_of_the_Fraser_River by now. A North and South Boundary Road+Bridge could provide a good truck, bus & bike connection between the North Shore, Vancouver & Burnaby. Then between Burnaby & Richmond with a Number 8 Road Bridge. Then a Nelson Road Bridge to Delta and the Deltaport. However, such regional port city infrastructure still seems beyond what the backwater BC mentality can fathom.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/boundary-road-bridge-vancouver-burnaby-richmond An April Fools articale hightligted the absudity of Greater Vancouver ignoring or neglecting The Boundary Road corridor.

Boundary+Road has the potential to be a regional north-south axis for trucks, buses, cars & bikes, that would really enable more people & goods to efficiently get around.