Line 5 Eglinton is officially open
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb4EhJpIdm4 Just like Edmonton, Calgary and Seattle, the Eglinton Crosstown LRT is able to have longer stations than what congested Vancouver has.
Showing posts sorted by date for query Edmonton LRT. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query Edmonton LRT. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Monday, February 9, 2026
After more than 15 years, Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown LRT finally opens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDy4t0vCQ_c
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Finch LRT shut down all day due to “weather conditions.”
https://toronto.citynews.ca/video/2026/01/15/finch-lrt-shut-down-all-day-due-to-weather-conditions It should have been a proper subway line, protected from the crappy snow & ice. In contrast, Edmonton & Calgary are mostly surface lines and can usually run through the terrible winter conditions.
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/01/15/line-6-finch-west-lrt-delays-snowstorm-ttc-updates/
https://www.ttc.ca/riding-the-ttc/Line-6-Finch-West
Wednesday, January 14, 2026
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.
Mild Victoria, BC
Victoria has been a provincial backwater for most of its history. Despite being in a mild winter setting, it's so small when compared to Edmonton, Winnipeg, Quebec City and Halifax.
https://www.onevictoriaplace.ca
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=37&status=15
While Edmonton was eventually allowed to have a tall building, even by Toronto, Calgary and Montreal standards, Victoria was always supposed to have shorter buildings than Winnipeg, Quebec City and Halifax. That's part of the KEEP THINGS SMALL mentality on V. Island.
Victoria should have had its first LRT line by now, but that might improve urban mobility. Eventually, Victoria and Nanaimo will merge into one linear urban area. Eventually, the Comox_Valley_Regional_District will have over 100,000 people, the Regional_District_of_Nanaimo will have over 200,000 people, the Cowichan_Valley_Regional_District will exceed 100,000 people and the Capital_Regional_District will have over 450,000 people.
Of course there doesn't seem to be any big regional scale planning from Sooke to Courtenay. Perhaps the island's urban planners will wait until there is 800,000 and over a million residents on the island.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Island#Demographics
So, as more people discover that Victoria and Vancouver are the mildest winter cities in Canada, more people just might want to move there. Especially, when Canadian Snowbirds don't feel as comfortable with Florida, Texas & California.
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Toronto’s $13 billion Eglinton Crosstown Line
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVQ8CbZK7Mo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_5_Eglinton
So, what should have been a proper high capacity subway ends up being a little like an Edmonton LRT line.
https://www.metrolinx.com/en/projects-and-programs/eglinton-crosstown-lrt/what-were-building
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
'Insufficient evidence' to conclude city building inspectors taking bribes in Vancouver
Allegations remain as allegations.
However, in an unrelated matter, there was a case of total $HIT-BOX mismanagement and excrement. Billions of dollars wasted in a $HIT-PIPE DREAM. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/metro-vancouver-board-votes-to-pause-nswwtp-review-until-legal-dispute-settled-1.7594512
Then there is the case as to why the Canada+Line+is+so+under-built. Apparently, as a rushed and inept cost saving measure, the Canada+Line wouldn't have 152.4m long stations like the Montreal Metro or even the Edmonton LRT stations, which range from 125m to 130m. Despite its 2 billion dollar cost the Canada-Line wasn't designed with that much future capacity in mind. The ridiculously short 50m stations should have been roughed out or level for at least 100m, if not even 160m. That would have allowed for future 5-8 car trains.
Ultimately, as a long-term, high capacity link between YVR and the 2 main ferry terminals, the stations should have had a 200m level clearance. That would have allowed for ten, 20m car trains. Unfortunatly, no provision for a 10 car train, not even a 5 car train, just an absurd 2.5 car short train, someday.
$HIT-BOX mismanagement and opting for short trains is such careless urban infrastructure planning.
The BC Mind Virus is such a horrible thing, but it officially doesn't exist. Yet, the crappy approach to things endures.
Thursday, October 16, 2025
Seattle Link light Rail
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_light_rail Seattle was wise just like Edmonton to have long underground train stations. Unfortunatly, Vancouver always seems to opt for the congestive planning approach.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_light_rail#Lines Of course an all underground or all elevated line would be better than on the street. Thus, this is like a modern streetcar or a tram-train.
Why free public transport doesn't fix traffic (and what does) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6md7gny4pY
Edmonton LRT and Calgary C Train
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Edmonton+LRT While Edmonton had a good head start over Calgary, they understood even back in the 1970s to build their underground stations to be at least 125 m.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Calgary+C+Train Fortunately, Calgary will follow the Edmonton example to have underground stations that are longer than what foolish Vancouver has.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=LRT
Monday, October 13, 2025
Majority polled in Calgary and Edmonton are unhappy with the pace of population growth
If you are visiting Vancouver or Victoria from Calgary or Edmonton, you will be shocked as to how narrow most of the bridges are in Greater Vancouver and Victoria. Edmonton was wise in the 1970s to have 125 m long underground LRT stations. Foolish Vancouver opted to only have 80 m stations on its first 2 lines and an absurd 50 m for the 3rd line.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Line_(Calgary) , https://www.calgary.ca/green-line.html
https://www.calgarytransit.com/plans---projects/lrt/green-line.html
https://engage.calgary.ca/greenline/UndergroundStations Fortunatly, any underground stations in Calgary will be closer in length to that of the Edmonton LRT and not backwards Vancouver.
https://www.railjournal.com/regions/north-america/tunnel-preferred-for-calgary-lrt-green-line/
https://www.calgary.ca/green-line/stations.html
The main roads and bridges in urban parts of Alberta are allowed to be wider than their counterparts in backwards BC. So while people in the urban parts of Alberta are concerned or even angry about rapid growth, at least Alberta can easily build more urban infrastructure. That's because Albertal isn't affect by the (unofficial) BC Mind Virus (BCMV).
A timely example is a new bridge between Surrey & NW. Despite Surrey being expected to become the largest city in BC, the new bridge will only open with 4 lanes. No 3rd or 4th lane each way for busses, HOVs and trucks. Thus, all the road traffic at either end is funneled into just 2 lanes each way. Plus, there are no breakdown or emergency lane, just like the old bridge.
While this new bridge can eventually be widened to 6 lanes, there is no provision for a lower deck for LRT, busses and trucks. Despite SW BC being a seaport area, trucks are funneled onto mostly narrow bridges. There has been a lack of interest to build bus bridges next to almost all of the bridges in Greater Vancouver. Yet, there is a Half-A$$ED attempt to have a better regional express bus network. This regional Rapid Bus attempt will always be a joke, unless a series of bus bridges are built. The Half-A$$ED approach is to try to have bus lanes on 4 to 6 lane bridges. Designating 2 bus lanes would reduce the narrow bridges to only 1 or 2 lanes each way for general traffic in what is suppose to be a major seaport and urban area.
Most of the worlds population is non-white and for a big part of the history of BC, there has been a refusal to build up bigtime infrastructure for everyone. While some Albertains might wish that there was a wall built around their province or a force-field like out of Star Trek, BC is almost pretending like there is. Thus, the keep things small and backwards mentality.
Several decades ago, BC implemented a symbolic slow-growth approach. Despite BC not having any control over immigration, or trying to establish an internal passport & checkpoint system, to KEEP PEOPLE OUT, it opted for the next best thing. Stunt or scale back the urban infrastructure to project a strong symbolic reluctance to growth and thinking big.
When you realize how much larger things are allowed to be in Alberta, Washington State and even Western Australia & compare them to watered down BC, you see quite a difference. Despite BC & Canada in general, being multicultural, BCs cities keep finding ways to water the scale of things down. Canada has yet to have even 1% of the world's population, despite its size.
While there are good arguments to occasionally slowdown immigration, that can eventually become problematic, just like too much immigration. Even in the 2020s, some people in the former White colonial parts of the world still wish that Canada & Australia, etc., could be a White Man's paradise. However, that seems so impractical on a planet that mostly has a non white population.
https://humanrights.ca/story/chinese-head-tax-and-chinese-exclusion-act
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chinese-head-tax-in-canada
https://royalalbertamuseum.ca/blog/chinese-head-tax-george-yees-story
https://www.musee-mccord-stewart.ca/en/blog/chinese-exclusion-act/
https://parks.canada.ca/culture/designation/evenement-event/exclusion-chinois-chinese
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/asian-heritage-month/important-events.html
https://stanleyparkvan.com/stanley-park-van-monument-komagata-maru.html
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2022/10/05/vancouver-komagata-maru-memorial
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/01/30/vancouver-komagata-maru-memorial-vandalism/
Even if Alberta were to eventually become its own country, it would be extremely unlikely that it could ever impose a White Man's Paradise Agenda. The same could be stated for backwards BC. However, something very peculiar has been happening in BC for several generations.
Several BC cities and municipalities play off each other with various slow-growth agendas. Vancouver being one of the most restrictive & backwards on the the planet. Somehow the legitimate anti freeway fears of the 1960s & 70s didn't get the city & region to still build a series of bus & HOV bridges. Plus, a long-term, high capacity urban rail system.
While Montreal planned for 152.4 m stations to accomodate 9 car trains, backwards Vancouver only built 80 m Skytrain stations for the first 2 lines. Then to top that, was a plan to build a line to Richmond with only enough level clearance for 50 m stations. The 1st line only started to run 5 car trains in 2025. Eventually, the 2nd line will also have 5 car trains. However, the line to the airport was deliberately designed not to have 5 car trains. Just a Half-A$$ED 2.5 car train, someday. WTH?
For Greater Vancouver to mostly have narrow bridges, one would think the all the stations could ultimately be at least as long as a Montreal Metro train station. Indeed, Greater Vancouver should have built for 10 car trains, but will only have 5 car trains on the 1st two lines & a 2.5 car joke of a train on the 3rd line. As of 2025, the 2nd & 3rd lines are still only running 2 car trains. Such a great way to symbolically show the resistance to eventually link YVR to both of the main BC ferry terminals.
The inadequate 3 lane Lion Bridge still has no bus & HOV tunnels near it. Urban parts of Australia never seemed to have a similar reluctance to build tunnels as does backwards Vancouver. Tunnels for Montreal & Seattle aren't a problem either. At least BC is slated to have a new and improved tunnel by 2030, that's only a couple of generations late.
Oh, if only people would stop moving to BC, especially Vancouver & Victoria. Well, that's not the case, its just that various BC cities want to only build urban infrastructure that is inadequate. Despite the frustrations that some people have in Alberta, at lest wider bridges, longer trains & taller buildings are allowed there. This watering things down in BC approach is symbolically indicative to refuse to properly build for a growing population.
Surrey should have already had at least 1 hospital the size of VGH. At least Surrey like Burnaby, can build up taller in what is still mostly a mountain wilderness province.
BC is a long way from New England & Southern Quebec. The restrictive urban planning measures in Greater Vancouver keep preventing it from becoming a proper big metropolitan area like Greater Boston and Montreal.
Calgary and Edmonton each should have hand an airport+line by now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Line_(MBTA) Calgary will have its own version of a Green Line, eventually. https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Calgary+Green+Line
Saturday, July 12, 2025
Vancouver's forgotten streetcars and interurban trams
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.
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://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Trams-Trains+and+Streetcars
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
15 minute SkyTrain service in Surrey this summer due to track replacement work
For a line that first opened in 1985, it took until 2025 to try to start running 5 car trains of the latest generation of rolling stock. Considering that Greater Vancouver has a narrower road network than Montreal, the SkyTrain stations should have been designed to accomodate 10 car trains.
While the Alstom_Mark_V vehicles look nice & modern, a 5 car train is a half-length reminder of how much nicer & better a 10 car train would look.
Just because the SkyTrain is considered to be a Light Rail Vehicle, there still should have been a provision to eventually have the stations to be as long as the longest ones on the Montreal Metro. The Montreal Metro has 500 foot or 152.5m long stations, which can accomodate a 9 car train. Unfortunatly, the first 2 SkyTrain lines only have 80m stations, which are just barely over half the length of the longest STM stations. https://www.stm.info/en/info/networks/metro
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Societe_de_transport_de_Montreal#Connections_to_other_transit_services
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Metro#Rolling_stock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MR-63#Design While a 3 car joke of a train was possible, a 6 & especially a 9 car train is able to efficiently move more people around.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MR-73
3 cars per trainset, operating as 6- or 9-car trains
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MR-73#Construction_and_entry_into_service
Apparently, in order to reduce construction costs, the first 2 SkyTrain lines have stations that are only 250 feet. Half the length of a 500 foot long Montreal train, but BC usually takes the half-assed option with its small-scale of infrastructure development.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyTrain_(Vancouver)#UTDC_ICTS_Mark_I_fleet "The maximum based on current station platform lengths is a six-car configuration, totalling 76.2 metres (250 ft)."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPM-10 (9 articulated cars per train)
| Train length | 152.43 m (500 ft 11⁄8 in) |
|---|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPM-10#History Approximately, a 500 foot train divided by 9 cars = 55.55 feet, or just under 17m.
Despite the SkyTrain cars not running on rubber tires, each 55 ft. coach is very close in length to the 55.6 ft Montreal Metro coaches.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovia_Metro#Vehicle "The second generation Innovia ART 200 cars are 16.7 metres (54 ft 9
1⁄2 in) long each and come in articulated pairs."While the Mark 5 cars are about 55 feet, the C Line cars are almost 66 feet. Of course just like the first 2 lines, the C Line was also designed to not have 10 car stations, not even 5 car long stations. Since there was a real push to reduce construction costs, the stations only have a clearance to eventually accomodate a 2.5 car train.
Thus, as a a further step backwards, the 3rd line had to even be much shorter than the 152.5m Montreal Metro stations. Despite being another cost-cutting measure, the C Line could have & should have had all of its stations designed with future level clearance to eventually be at least 3 times longer than the absurd 50m.
"The Hyundai Rotem cars are 3 metres (9 ft 101⁄8 in) in width and 20 metres (65 ft 73⁄8 in) in length..."
While the multi-billion dollar line wasn't designed to have 10 or even 5 car trains, this 2.5 car joke of a train must be corrected.
Selective_door_operation (SDO) can enable trains that are longer than the 50m C Line platforms. So instead of just two 20m cars or a 20+10+20m, three 20m cars could stop at the absurd 50m stations. While the design limitations make it almost impossible to extend the ridiculous 50m platforms, even a 5-10m extension can make a significant difference. A 3 car walkthrough train would only be 60m, but that would form the middle key section of a 5 car train with SDO. That could be done by having an extra 20m car at either end of a 60m train. In theory, the middle 3 coaches would have direct contact with the absurd 50m platforms. SDO can allow a 100m train to use a 50m station. People going past more than a few stations would be advised to move to the very end cars of a 5 car train. Then work their way to the middle 3 cars to access their desired station.
Just because the first phase of the C Line was designed to only have a 2.5 car train, the stations should have already been long enough to accomodate a 5 car train. Then, with significant future capacity in mind, there still could have been enough level clearance built to ultimately have 10 car trains.
SDO could also be used on the first 2 SkyTrain lines. Once 5 car trains become common, then planning for 7 car trains could be possible with SDO. While the C Line just doesn't have much level clearance to go beyond a 50m station, the first 2 SkyTrain lines could potentially have longer platforms to accomodate a 7 car train. Then with SDO, a 9 car train could be possible.
Of course the whole SkyTrain system should have been designed to have 8-10 car long stations, right from the start. Fortunately, anything like the backwards BC planning mentality never reached & prevented the Edmonton LRT from having longer strations. Especially, Toronto & Montreal & even Seattle, SF & LA.
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Vancouver never properly planned for High Density Mass Transit like Toronto and Montreal did
1950s Toronto and 1960s Montreal were able to have 152.5m or 500 foot long TTC subway and STM metro stations. The 1970s underground Edmonton LRT stations were built to be 120m-130m long, because unlike backwards Vancouver, Edmonton planned for significant future capacity, just like Seattle would also do. Unfortunatly, backwards Vancouver only has 80m stations for the first 2 Skytrain stations. The 3rd line or the Canada (embasement) Line, only has 50m short stations. Vancouver has had generations of watered down infrastructure. Who knows where so much of the money went, because it sure didn't go towards proper big city trains & express bus bridges.
Friday, May 16, 2025
Edmonton's high level bridge streetcar
https://exploreedmonton.com/attractions-and-experiences/high-level-bridge-streetcar
Even though it's a small attempt, Edmonton was able to reactivate a portion of its old streetcar system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Level_Bridge_Streetcar
https://www.edmontonstreetcars.ca/about/history
https://www.edmontonstreetcars.ca/highlevelbridge
"It was designed from the outset to accommodate rail, streetcar, two-way automobile, and pedestrian traffic.[2] The original bridge design included three tracks on the upper deck: The middle track was for CPR trains, and the two outer tracks were for streetcars." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Level_Bridge_(Edmonton)
The High_Level_Bridge opened in 1913 & had 1 heavy rail track in the middle & a streetcar track on either side. Even by 2013, backwards Vancouver didn't have a triple track railway bridge within its city limits. Indeed, by 2025, its been tough enough to have a double track freight train bridge & a double track commuter rail bridge within the Greater Vancouver Region. Fortunately, the SkyTrain is at least double tracked, except for the end of the line in Richmond.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Level_Bridge_(Edmonton)#Modifications
Vancouver was one of the first cities to get rid of them and will likely be one of the last cities to bring them back. Things are more possible in Alberta, simply because its a separate jurisdiction & mentality than backwater BC.
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Edmonton Light Rail Transit (LRT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton_LRT#History Unlike what backwards Vancouver would end up doing, Edmonton understood the importance of having long underground stations, right from the start.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Line#Stations If you are from Edmonton or Seattle, you will be immediately surprised as to how short & small the underground Vancouver train stations are.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_station_(Edmonton) 1978
"The underground station has a 129-metre-long (423 ft) centre loading platform that can accommodate two five-car LRT trains at the same time, with one train on each side of the platform. At just under 8 m wide (26 ft), the underground platform is narrow by current Edmonton LRT design guidelines." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_station_(Edmonton)#Station_layout
Yet, this is big by narrowminded Vancouver & BC standards. Despite Vancouver having its own version of cold & crappy weather, there just isn't the same concept or desire to have a network of elevated & especially, underground corridors like what Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Dallas & Houston have.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_station_(Edmonton) 1978
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay/Enterprise_Square_station 1983 Being from wattered down Vancouver, it's hard to fathom a 130m long underground station in Edmonton, but Albertal doesn't have anything like a backwards BC mentality to contend with. The first 2 SkyTrain lines were designed to only have 80m stations. The 3rd line to Richmond & YVR, was only designed to have 50m stations. While this initially might have made sense as a cost saving measure, it will cost so much more to eventually try to lengthen these short stations. Thus, all the stations should have been designed to eventually be at least 153m, or just over 500 feet.
"The station has a 130-metre-long (430 ft) centre loading platform that can accommodate two five-car LRT trains at the same time, with one train on each side of the platform." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay/Enterprise_Square_station#Station_layout
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_station_(Edmonton) 1983
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Centre_station 1989
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_station_(Edmonton) 1992 It remains to be scene if Vancouver might have a UBC station by 2032. While geology & climate can vary between cities, the laws of physics in the BC part of Canada isn't supposed to be different. Yet, it takes a long time to get things done in backwater BC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Line#Stations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_North_American_light_rail_systems
The Valley LRT Line in Edmonton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Line_(Edmonton)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Line_(Edmonton)#Valley_Line_Southeast
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_station_(Edmonton) A nice, long underground train station with a surface line connecting station above it.
https://majorprojects.alberta.ca/details/Valley-Line-West-LRT/3692
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Line_(Edmonton)#Valley_Line_West_(under_construction)
Edmonton to test patience of west-end motorists with accelerated LRT construction
https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/keith-gerein-west-edmonton-lrt-construction
https://globalnews.ca/news/11014951/valley-line-west-lrt-stony-plain-road-construction-pace/
https://www.edmonton.ca/projects_plans/transit/valley-line-west
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Line_(Edmonton)#Valley_Line_West_(under_construction)
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Hobart, Tasmania
The University+of+Tasmania seems to have been Vancoverized, in terms of its 1 lane each way streets.
Hobart is much smaller than Vancouver, BC. Yet, it has more lanes on a total of 3 crossing over the River_Derwent_(Tasmania). Burrard Inlet in Greater Vancouver only has 2 bridges.
Fortunately, Hobart has the 5 lane Tasman+Bridge, the 4 lane Bowen+Bridge and the 2 lane Midland+Hwy+Bridge. That's a total of 11 lanes.
In contrast, Burrard_Inlet-Port_of_Vancouver only has the 6 lane Iron+Workers+Memorial+Bridge and the inadequate 3 lane Lions+Gate+Bridge. Only 9 lanes for the old port area of the region. While a multigenerational moratorium on any new harbor bridges made sense from an anti-freeway perspective, something essential was neglected. As of the end of 2024, no bus-bridge or bus-tunnel was ever built across the harbor. There is only a single freight train track, so of course there was never a truck-bridge or a truck-tunnel built. Even at the dawn of 2025, a SkyTrain or LRT crossing still only seems like a pipedream.
Greater Hobart isn't just the state capital, its the main city on the island of Tasmania, which has less than 65% of a million people. Greater_Vancouver is getting close to 3 million people, yet the infrastructure is so inadequate.
Anyone visiting Vancouver from the big 4 cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane & Perth might be surprised to see shorter trains & smaller buildings & narrower bridges & highways. Those 4 cities, just like Toronto, Montreal, Calgary & Edmonton, are allowed to exist on a larger scale than extremely restrictive Vancouver. Indeed, its as if rainy Vancouver must continually water things down.
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Calgary vs. Edmonton
https://dailyhive.com/calgary/alberta-calgary-edmonton-real-estate-buy-homes
Calgary has a lot more tall buildings.
https://www.calgary.com/blog/calgary-vs-edmonton-ab
Edmonton has a cool downtown LRT subway.
Of course having the tallest skyscrapers & the longest subway stations in Western_Canada doesn't matter to a lot of people.
If you are from Calgary & visit Vancouver, you will be surprised as to how small most of the buildings are in Vancouver. If you are visiting from Edmonton, you will be surprised to see how much shorter the underground SkyTrain stations are when compared to the downtown LRT subway in Edmonton.
If you are from Edmonton, you will be surprised to see how small backwater Victoria, BC is, despite it being in a mild winter climate. Edmonton isn't just a mighty provincial Capital, it's almost on the same urban scale as Perth, WA. That's despite Edmonton being in a very cold winter climate zone.
Fortunately, BC was never able to gobble up Alberta, or strongly influence it. BC stopped a huge destination mall from being built in the 1980s. However, BC wasn't able to stop the West_Edmonton_Mall from being built.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Edmonton_Mall#West_Edmonton_Mall_Transit_Centre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Line_(Edmonton)#Valley_Line_West_(under_construction)
.svg/630px-ETS_LRT_System_(long-term).svg.png)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/ETS_LRT_System_%28long-term%29.svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton_LRT#Overview_of_planned_lines
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Edmonton
Thursday, November 14, 2024
The Oakridge-41st Avenue Stations' expansion
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-oakridge-41st-avenue-station-upgrade-design-renderings
Despite the absurd cost-cutting measures, the Canada+Line still could have been designed & built to eventually have 152m long stations, like the Montreal Metro. However, Vancouver & BC are all about inadequate or congestive infrastructure. Planning for a future high capacity train line goes against the backward BC mentality. Thus, all of the underground train stations are shorter than those in Edmonton, Seattle, Toronto & Montreal. Having proper big city long stations isn't a problem for real cities, but Vancouver wants to be more like a false front or a movie set.
https://thecanadaline.com/station-guides/oakridge-41st
LA & SF have their versions of a C-Train or an Edmonton LRT, but they also have proper big city size subway stations & trains.
The entire SkyTrain-and-Canada+Line should have been built with a provision to eventually have 172m long stations, or at least 152m. While the elevated stations could somewhat be lengthened, it's much more difficult & costly for the underground stations. Had they already been roughed out, it would have just been a matter of eventually completing them.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Oakridge-41st+Avenue The edge of the ridiculousley short train platform. This joke of a train really should have been designed to eventually accomodate 8-10 car trains. However, that would go against the multi-generational, KEEP THINGS SMALL OR BACKWARDS IN BC mentality. Apparently, even having 4-6 car trains would be too symbolic of recognizing urban transportation growth in backwater BC. Thus, a 2 car joke of a train, which can eventually become a 2.5 car train, was decided to be enough.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Oakridge-41st+Avenue At least some of the absurdly short underground stations are level enough to potentially be doubled in length, but not tripled.
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
BRT
BRT can be very effective, if it has its own lanes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_rapid_transit
https://www.lightrailnow.org/facts/fa_brt.htm
https://www.metrolinx.com/en/projects-and-programs/queen-st-hwy-7-brt/what-were-building
https://coderedto.com/subway-vs-lrt
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/comparing-bus-rapid-transit-light-rail-which-superior-kumbhar-m-eng
https://steergroup.com/insights/news/lrt-versus-brt-which-better-option
https://andrewknack.ca/blog/lrt-brt-edmonton
https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/brt-vs-lrt.32259
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