Granville Bridge, Vancouver, etc.

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

Even after 3 tries, Vancouver still couldn't quite get the Granville_Street_Bridge correct. Of course the 3rd bridge wasn't designed to have a lower deck for streetcars or tram-trains. Even though it was generally designed to be a car, truck and bus bridge, the sidewalks should have been double width and have an inner railing. If the city couldn't wait until late March, it should have had the official dedication in early March, not in crappy February 1954.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_Street_Bridge#Third_bridge_(1954) "On February 4, 1954, the current Granville Street Bridge opened to traffic after five years of planning and construction; its dedication ceremony was attended by 5,000 spectators after it had been delayed a week due to heavy snow." 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_Street_Bridge#21st_century Unfortunatly, new bike lanes and extra sidewalks couldn't be installed below the 8 lane deck. Thus, Vancouver went for strike 3 and removed 2 lanes from the bridge. The Burrard+Street+Bridge lost 2 lanes and the Cambie+Bridge lost 1 lane. A bike and foot bridge could have been built on the west side of the Burrard Bridge, then no lanes would have been removed. The Cambie Bridge already had a wide sidewalk on its east side. The west sidewalk should have been widened, then no lane would have been removed. 

The Granville+Bridge could have had 6 lanes and 2 bus lanes. Now, if there are ever 2 bus lanes, there will only be 2 general lanes each way.

Several cities around the world have bike & foot bridges and don't have to remove lanes from the existing bridges.

For a congested city to have removed 5 lanes from 3 bridges, could there even be more of a reduction of lanes Well, there are some who would like to have the LGB just for bike and foot traffic.

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

That would be OK if an 8 lane tunnel could be built near it. As its projected, the new & improved tunnel between Richmond & Delta won't be ready unto 2030. Since things move so slow in constipated, backwater BC, a First_Narrows_Tunnel might not be completed until 2040.

The Oak Street-Granville Street Corridor

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Street_(Vancouver) , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXbUb7TMj6k

The Oak+Street-Granville+Street+Corridor are both 6 lanes wide for most of their lengths. Thus, this is mostly a 12 lane street corridor and is much less disruptive than if a 10-12 lane freeway had been pushed through in the 1950s or 60s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_Street , https://storeys.com/vancouver-granville-street-entertainment-district-history-renewal-planning-program

The yellow line is set for 3 lanes each way. However, if it was moved over 1 or 2 lanes, then there could be 4 or 5 main lanes one way & 1 or 2 lanes the other way. 

The Oak+Street+Bridge+and+Granville+Street+Bridge are still part of an incomplete corridor.

An improved 8 lane Granville+Street+Bridge with double-width sidewalks could have still worked, if there had also been a wide bike & foot bridge built next to it. Then, a roughly new paralel bridge next to the 4 lane Oak+Street+Bridge could have allowed for an 8 lane crossing there. Four lanes of Granville_Street southbound over the Fraser River and 4 lanes of Oak_Street northbound.

Unfortunatly 2 lanes were removed from the Burrard+Street+Bridge (BSB), 2 lanes removed from the Granville+Street+Bridge (GSB) and 1 lane from the Cambie+Street+Bridge (CSB). That didn't have to happen if a bike bridge was built next to the BSB and the GSB. While the east side of the Cambie-Street-Bridge has a nice, wide sidewalk, there wasn't enough foresight to also have a wide sidewalk on its west side. However, that narrow sidewalk could still be built out to be nice & wide so that the CSB can be restored to 6 lanes. 

When a city & metropolitan region mostly has narrow bridges, removing lanes or not having enough is utterly foolish! Case in point... https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca Instead of 2 bus & 2 HOV lanes, everything will be initially funneled into just 2 lanes each way. https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/about/projectoverview Two nice sidewalks & 2 nice bike lanes, but no emergency lanes or bus lanes, right from the start. Its another classic BC bottleneck in the making. Since the SkyTrain doesn't run on a 24hr basis, 24hr bus lanes are essential, but that would go against the congestive planning methodology that is backwards BC.

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

The 5 or 6 lane Cambie Bridge

Unfortunatly, backwards Vancouver planning didn't allow for 2 very wide sidewalks on the Cambie_Bridge.

https://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/cambie-street-bridge-upgrades.aspx

While the current bridge is a great improvement from the previous Cambie_Bridge, there still wasn't enough interest or motivation to really have an adequate bridge. A 5 lane bridge with only 1 wide sidewalk is too half-assed. Due to Vancouver's inability to properly plan & build for the future, the once 6 lane Cambie_Bridge only has 5 lanes & still has a narrow sidewalk on its west side. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Cambie_Br_in_1986%2C_street-level_view.jpg

If this western sidewalk can ever be built out to be much wider, then the bridge could have 2 proper bike lanes, as well as 2 sidewalks. Then the bridge might have all 6 lanes again. A 6 lane bridge would make it easier to accomodate 2 bus lanes. 

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

Vancouver city council to hear recommendations for funding Cambie Street Bridge upgrade

 https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/01/18/vancouver-city-council-cambie-street-bridge-funding/

The Cambie-Street-Bridge should have been designed with very wide sidewalks so that a bike path & a walkway were on each side. Then, no lanes would have been removed, as was the case with the Burrard Street Bridge. Unfortunatly, there wasn't any concept to have wide sidewalks on the 1950s Granville Street Bridge, so now 2 lanes are removed, just like on the Burrard Bridge.

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

Cambie Street

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

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdTZn_UrHyd/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=c57bb90d-d0e1-49c2-8815-55ab204a9046&img_index=1

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

Cambie Street Bridge is in need of major seismic upgrades

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/cambie-street-bridge-vancouver-seismic-upgrade-plan

https://www.flickr.com/photos/vancouver-archives/5613443337/in/photostream There could have been 5 bridges crossing F Creek, but the backwater BC mentality kicked in. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdTZn_UrHyd/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=c57bb90d-d0e1-49c2-8815-55ab204a9046&img_index=1

https://www.flickr.com/photos/vancouver-archives/5613432237/in/photostream/

So while Vancouver gave up on building that many bridges, Portland really built a fine series of bridges.

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

Cambie Street and Bridge

 https://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/cambie-street-bridge-upgrades.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambie_Bridge#The_present_bridge

Such utter foolishness to not have wide sidewalks on both sides to accommodate bike lanes. Then the bridge wouldn't have been reduced from 6 to 5 lanes.

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

The Erasmus Bridge (1996)

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

It carries 2 tramway tracks, 4 traffic lanes, 2 cycle tracks & 2 sidewalks. It's such a nice wide bridge.

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmusbrug#Gallery

https://structurae.net/en/structures/erasmus-bridge

The Tilikum+Crossing is an equally well designed bridge. Unfortunatly, such good multimodal bridges don't seem to be allowed in BC. 

If only the Cambie+Bridge and The+North+Arm+Bridge could have been built to a similar standard...

Unfortunatly, Vancouver & BC seems to be afraid to build bridges of a similar quality to the Erasmus Bridge.

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

Calgary’s drives, roads, streets and trails

 https://canada.constructconnect.com/joc/news/infrastructure/2025/01/strategy-funding-desperately-needed-to-tackle-calgarys-deteriorating-roads

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Memorial-Drive1-Szmurlo.jpg , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Drive_(Calgary) , https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-city-of-calgary-skyline-from-memorial-drive-st-georges-bridge-lrt-30350186.html , https://www.flickr.com/photos/davebloggs007/12160068335

The C-Train is essentially a modern LRT, tram-train or an interurban connection to various parts of the city.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Calgary/comments/bkevpf/memorial_drive_year_1900 Wow, one waggon road each way back then. If it were possible in the 2020s, Vancouver would like to go back to one waggon road each way.

https://cc-production-uploads-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2025/01/Calgary-courtesy-of-City-of-CalgaryMainWEB.png This is what Cambie Street in Vancouver could have become. Especially, since the Canada embarrassment Line was only designed to have 2.5 car trains. At least there should be an express bus line along Cambie. Eventually, there still might have to be an LRT line just south of the Cambie+Street+Bridge to Richmond. It would have been better to just build the Canada embarrassment Line to eventually handle a 5, 7 & 9 car train, not a 2.5 car joke of a train. 

Sarcastically...

At least no one from Vancouver has been able to convince Winnipeg to reduce Portage_and_Main to 4 lanes or even just 2 waggon roads in width.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Portage_and_Main_as_seen_from_Portage_Ave_Eastbound.JPG Wow, 5 lanes in 1 direction is very tough to find in Vancouver. Being from Vancouver, its difficult to comprehend how so many cities around the world have such wide streets & boulavards.

https://winnipeg.citynews.ca/2023/04/25/public-insight-sought-on-future-of-winnipegs-portage-and-main This would have been such a great concept.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/portage-and-main-winnipeggers-react-1.7132404 , https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/portage-and-main-opening-to-pedestrians-approved-1.7151756

Woodward_Ave._Detroit was intended to be wide since the 1800's. It went from being a waggon road to becoming M-1_(Michigan_highway).

Market_Street_in_San_Francisco was easily 8 lanes wide, back in the day. Market_Street has wide sidewalks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_Street_(San_Francisco)#Traffic_changes Of course wide streets allow for the potential to be a multi-modal transportation corridor. 

Canal_Street,_New_Orleans is easily like 10 lanes wide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal_Street,_New_Orleans#Entertainment

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

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Paris_-_Orthophotographie_-_2018_-_Place_Charles-de-Gaulle_02.jpg/480px-Paris_-_Orthophotographie_-_2018_-_Place_Charles-de-Gaulle_02.jpg 

So far, Vancouver hasn't sent a delegation to Paris advising that The Avenue des Champs-Élysées should be turned into a width of only 2 or 4 waggon roads. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Avenue_des_Champs-%C3%89lys%C3%A9es_July_24%2C_2009_N1.jpg Several wide streets around the world were done in the horse & waggon era. Thus, wide streets weren't for cars & trucks, they were part of a symbolic bustling city.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Arc+de+Triomphe/@48.8734815,2.2946175,544m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x47e66fec70fb1d8f:0xd9b5676e112e643d!8m2!3d48.8737917!4d2.2950275!16zL20vMHp2Xw!5m1!1e2?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDExMC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Cambie Street Bridge repairs choke traffic out of downtown Vancouver

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/cambie-bridge-repairs-choke-traffic-downtown

Of course Vancouver won't build anything like the Boorloo_Bridge for bikes & pedestrians. Apparently, it's much better to take a lane away from the Cambie Bridge. 

Fortunately, the backward Vancouver mentality never made it over to Perth. Otherwise, the The_Third_Causeway bridge would have had 1 or 2 lanes removed.

With 6 lanes, The_Causeway_in_Victoria_Park, Perth provides a nice 6 lane crossing. Unlike backward Vancouver the Causeway in Perth was allowed to have 3 lanes each way. The key component is that the 3rd lane each way is for busses. In contrast, absurd Vancouver won't allow for a proper bus & bike bridge network to be built, because it would rather keep its bridges as narrow & congested as possible. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Causeway_-_Victoria_Park.JPG

It's very strange that Vancouver refused to have something like the 6 lane Causeway+Bridge in the 21st century. A 3rd lane each way for buses on the Causeway+Bridge makes so much sense in Perth. However, for stubborn Vancouver, such measures might help to improve mobility.

Apparently, Vancouver has no plans to build something like the Boorloo_Bridge or the Esplanade+Riel+Footbridge next to the Cambie & Burrard Bridges. Thus, the Cambie has lost a lane & the Burrard has lost 2 lanes. Had both bridges been allowed to retain 6 lanes, they both could have provided 2 bus lanes.

The Cushing+Bridge is a 4 lane bridge in Calgary. Thus, like the Oak Bridge & Knight Bridge in Vancouver, there was no room for 2 bus lanes on them. Unlike, backward Vancouver, Calgary was able to build a 2 lane bus bridge right next to its Cushing+Bridge.

Fortunately, the horrible transportation planning mentality of Vancouver was never adopted in Perth & Calgary. Either you have a wide enough bridge for busses, or you build bus & bike bridges to help the existing bridges.

The Norwood+Bridge in Winnipeg provides at least 6 lanes, so a couple of bus lanes isn't a problem.

Singapore built its Helix_Bridge instead of removing lanes from the other bridges.

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

Burrard Street Bridge and Granville Street Bridge and Cambie Street Bridge

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/granville-connector-bridge-pathway-design-configuration

The current Granville+Street+Bridge was built a generation after the Burrard+Street+Bridge. Both bridges should have had a lower deck for streetcars, tram-trains (LRT) and buses.  

The Cambie+Street+Bridge should have been built a couple of metres wider on its west side. Then a traffic lane didn't have to be reallocated for bikes. A slightly wider bridge would have allowed for 2 bike paths as well as 2 footpaths.

Somehow, Vancouver and BC keep doing a lot of things the wrong way.

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