It really would have been nice if the YVR-Canada Line was able to run 5 car trains by now. Unfortunately, due to inept transportation planning in the BC part of Canada, the stations were only designed to accommodate 2.5 car trains.
A 2.5 car train fits right in with a 3 lane Lion Bridge that was never augmented with parallel BRT and LRT train tunnels.
Backwards Vancouver and backwater BC, are some of the best places in the world to see inept multigenerational transportation infrastructure.
https://www.vmcdn.ca/f/files/via/images/historic-images/vancouverarchives/stanley-park-100-years-1920s-entrance.jpg;w=960;h=640;bgcolor=000000 A nice wide public walkway. Unfortunately, due to a lack of a proper big city vision, no 4-6 lane wide right of way was ever established through the park.
https://stanleyparkvan.com/stanley-park-van-road-stanley-park-causeway.html
The 3 lane wide option was never followed-up with a lower 3 lane tunnel. So, instead of 3 lanes each way, everything is funneled into just 3 lanes.
https://council.vancouver.ca/000203/pe3.htm Thus, no need to have a bridge designed to be strong enough to have at least two 3 lane decks.
In Vancouver and backwards BC in general, its very difficult to build infrastructure for long-range future capacity.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Stanley_Park_Labeled_Aerial_Map.png
After several generations, Stanley_Park has remained as a provincial gateway to backwater Vancouver.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Park#21st_century
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_Highway_99#Vancouver
While no one was able to stop the Horseshoe_Bay_ferry_terminal from being built, too many people still don't want Greater_Vancouver to have a proper big city train and highway link between West_Vancouver and Downtown_Vancouver.
Fortunately, the BCMV never made it to Sydney, NSW and SF, CA. Thus, their CBD or downtown has good rail and highway links.
However, it was almost like part of the Vancouver MV made it to Auckland, NZ.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland_Harbour_Bridge#Clip-ons_(1967%E2%80%931969)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland_Harbour_Bridge#Alternate_proposal A parallel bus, bike and train bridge should have been built decades ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Harbour_Crossing,_Auckland#2023_Waitemat%C4%81_Harbour_Connections_proposals
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/waitemata-harbour-connections
https://infrastructurepipeline.org/project/additional-waitemata-harbour-crossing
https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2026/05/27/build-this-brilliant-bridge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJtotvMq2ls
The Lion+Bridge will likely still not have an express bus and LRT tunnel near it. The+Iron+Bridge still might not have a proper BRT and LRT bridge next to it. The OSB and the KSB will likely not have a bus and bike bridge built beside them. There will still likely be no new Fraser Street Bridge for bikes and buses. No Boundary Road bridges to provide a direct link between the North Shore and Richmond for buses, trucks and bikes.
While the first 2 Skytrain lines will have 5 car trains, the stunted YVR-Canada Line will only have 2.5 car trains. Vancouver still might not permit any office tower to have a 40th floor, but might allow some residential towers to be on a Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane & Toronto scale.
However, BIG city thinking and planning in Vancouver has always been so difficult. Boston, SF and the City of Paris are ridiculously small cities like Vancouver with all 3 having a land area of less than 50 sq. mi. or 129.5 sq. km. Yet, Boston, SF and especially the City of Paris, have all been able to fit so much more into the same general space. That's because they aren't bound by anything like the inept and extreme Vancouver type restrictions.
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/06/26/wastewater-plant-review-team-appointed/
How could a project run several billions of dollars overbudget? It was as if there wasn't any proper oversight with the project. A few of those lost billions could have gone towards a bus and train tunnel near the Lion Bridge (LGB). And, a bus and LRT bridge beside the Iron Bridge.
There are always allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement around the world. However, the Greater Vancouver Region has been stuck with several watered down versions of what should be proper BIG city size infrastructure.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/plaza-of-nations-expo-86-flag-poles-fifa-world-cup-vancouver
Four decades later, The+Lion+Bridge+and+The+Iron+Bridge still have no bus and train crossings next to them.
Time in backwater BC doesn't matter, the old bridge just had 4 lanes and the new bridge will only have two lanes each way for quite a while. Of course no bus and HOV lanes, no wide emergency lanes and no wide shoulders. That would go against the BC bottleneck-chokepoint planning mentality. Just like an absurd 2 car train for the Canada Line and a 3 lane Lion Bridge with no bus and train tunnels to help it.
Apparently, narrow bridges and short trains are better for backwards BC.
That's the BC Mind Virus (BCMV) at work once again.
https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comments/1tfsdxg/long_lost_days One of the few major streets within Vancouver to be at least 6 lanes wide. However, with curb lane parking it just becomes another 4 lane corridor in BC.
https://www.vancouverarchives.ca/wp-content/uploads/cropped-a9b22bf7-d985-4372-9650-7a51afbe5f94-2010-006.161-2-3.jpg This part of Granville used to have 6 lanes. The 1970s mall reduced it to just 2 lanes, causing an instant bus bottleneck-chokepoint. A 4 lane compromise still would have allowed for wider sidewalks. A 4 lane transit mall could have allowed for a constant passing lane when another bus has stopped. It was as if someone didn't want to have an efficient bus corridor for express buses, as well as local busses. When a local bus stops on a 2 lane street, its impossible for an express bus to pass, especially when there is a stopped bus on the other lane, also preventing any express bus to pass.
Several cities around the world still have wide streets, boulevards and avenues with 8-10 lanes. If Vancouver had allowed some 8 lane wide streets, 2 curb parking lanes would still provide 6 traffic lanes. Then, if 2 lanes were for buses, there would still be 2 lanes each way for general traffic.
The public and then the planning department (after being pressured) were firmly against having freeways within the city limits during the 1960s and 70s. However, there still should have been enough logic to allow for wider streets so that it would be easier and more efficient to have a bus lane each way.
As of 2026, no bridge within the Vancouver city limits has 8 lanes and only two bridges have 6 lanes. One has 5 lanes and then there are four 4 lane bridges and the 3 lane Lion Bridge joke.
All of the Vancouver bridges are so narrow that there was no provision for any future bus lanes. Plus, 2 bridges each had 2 lanes removed that could have been used for buses. Congestive transportation planning is the name of the game for backwards Vancouver. If there ever was a city that needs a series of bus bridges, it would be stubborn Vancouver.
Even the Greater Vancouver region is lacking in having a series of bus bridges, especially since the Skytrain isn't a 24 hour system.
https://www.vancouverarchives.ca/2011/04/18/how-did-harland-bartholomews-ideas-shape-vancouver
https://archive.org/details/vancplanincgen00vanc The Bartholomew Plan published in 1928.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/vancouver-archives/albums/72157626484421302/
https://globalcivic.org/harland-bartholomew/
https://www.urbanstudio.sala.ubc.ca/2010/lectures/Sept21_presentations/2_TheBasics.pdf
https://samsullivan.ca/taking-a-closer-look-at-the-legacy-of-harland-bartholomew-and-his-plan-for-vancouver-2 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIuAk1TIKHo
Its one thing to build a line with stations that are only a 3rd of the length of a Montreal Metro station, but to no not properly allow for enough future level clearance is so inept.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_door_operation#International_variations
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-canada-line-rebuilding
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canada-line-skytrain This and the 3 lane Lion Bridge should get an award for the blatant symbolism of not wanting to build proper big-city infrastructure in backwards BC.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/ironworkers-memorial-bridge-lane-closures-vancouver
Unfortunatly, when this bridge was designed, there was no serious consideration to have 2 wide emergency lanes and 2 wide shoulders. Then, the Iron Bridge could have gradually been adapted to accommodate 2 bus lanes and 2 HOV lanes. At the very least, a bus, HOV and commuter train bridge should have been built next to the inadequate Iron Bridge back in the 20th century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironworkers_Memorial_Second_Narrows_Crossing Opened August 25, 1960
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_Street_Bridge Opened February 4, 1954 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/View_of_downtown_Vancouver_from_the_Granville_Street_Bridge.JPG/960px-View_of_downtown_Vancouver_from_the_Granville_Street_Bridge.JPG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Street_Bridge Opened June 29, 1957 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Oak_Street_Bridge.jpg/960px-Oak_Street_Bridge.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_Street_Bridge Opened January 15, 1974 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Knight_Street_Bridge.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Laing_Bridge Opened 27 August 1975
https://evelazarus.com/third-crossing-here-we-go-again Somehow, Vancouver just never got around to building a bus and train tunnel or bridge in between the Lion Bridge and the Iron Bridge. Since Skytrain doesn't run 24 hours, there needs to be 24 hour bus lanes.
https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=11273 Some day, the Lion Bridge could become a nice bus and bike bridge, if a highway tunnel could ever be built under the park and beside the LGB.
Unfortunately, the Vancouver Mind Virus (VMV) keeps getting in the way of progress. Just look at how short the Canada Line trains are.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Shore_(Greater_Vancouver)
Is North Vancouver the most livable city in Canada? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX89qkSRBvg
https://www.vancouversnorthshore.com
Unfortunatly, there still isn't a commuter train from the airport to the H Bay ferry terminal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Shore_(Greater_Vancouver)#Access
There isn't even a train tunnel or a bus bridge between Downtown_Vancouver and the North Shore. Inept regional planning has been very slow to build rapid rail transit, or even a proper rapid bus bridge over the Inlet. An inadequate 3 lane Lion Bridge is so narrow that some people have living rooms or swimming pools wider than it. The 6 lane Iron Bridge that's so narrow, there isn't enough room for emergency lanes and no space for HOV lanes. Any attempt of a rapid bus will still have to be funneled into the inadequate single deck crossing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CN_Tower
.jpg/960px-A_look_downtown_(759827996).jpg)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Canadian_Place The BMO. Unlike Chicago, Toronto has no 100 story office towers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentall_Centre_(Vancouver)#Three_Bentall_Centre A 32 story BC office stump.
Being from small Vancouver, its amazing that Canada even has one megacity. Toronto is certainly a big city on a lakeshore like Chicago is. Montreal isn't allowed to have buildings as tall as Melbourne, let alone NYC. Montreal has allowed only one office tower to be over 50 floors and a few residential towers in the 60s.
Calgary has more 50+ story office towers than Denver and Perth. No 40 story office tower exists in BC. The office section of the Harbour_Centre doesn't even have a 30th floor and the revolving restaurant is closer to being like 35 floors up. However, with the overall building being 481 feet, it would be equivalent to 40 floors, if the windows went right up to the top. The flagpole has no windows, but the flag would be like the equivalent of being 48 floors up.
Not just Toronto & Montreal, but Edmonton and Seattle have longer underground train stations than backwards, congested Vancouver.
The Iron+Bridge, Oak+Street+Bridge, Knight+Street+Bridge & the Arthur+Laing+Bridge should all have a bus+and+bike bridge built next to them. The extremely inadequate Lion+Bridge should have already had a bus and train tunnel close to it.
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
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Lion+Bridge As of 2025, still no official plan for a train tunnel and a bus & HOV tunnel. A 3-4 track train tunnel and a 6-8 lane road tunnel would actually improve that absurd 3 lane crossing area.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Iron+Bridge As of 2025, still no official construction plan to add a 4 lane bus & HOV bridge, plus a 3-4 track rapid transit train bridge.
Why a 3-4 track train tunnel or bridge? Someday, enough sensible people might realize the benefit and importance of having a train linking the Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal to YVR and to the Tsawwassen+ferry+terminal.
Unfortunately, when so much money was wasted on a $HIT-PIPE and a $HIT-BOX, more money was lost that could have gone towards improving transit to & from the North Shore.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=The+Lion+Bridge+and+The+Iron+Bridge
The LGB has to be the worst or at least one of the worst traffic bottlenecks & chokepoints on the planet. Over the course of the past several decades, there should have been a bus and HOV tunnel and then a train tunnel close to the alignment of the LGB.
Seven lanes of Georgia+Street funneled into a 3 lane LGB is nuts! The LGB is already a nice bike bridge, with sidewalks, but it should also be a bus bridge. That would be possible if a proper big city tunnel was built. An eight-lane-tunnel would really help the LGB.
Of course in both cases, the Lion Bridge was never expanded, twinned or duplicated & the M Tunnel (H-99) wasn't replace with a 10 lane bridge. Unfortunatly, no serious consideration for rail rapid transit was considered for both crossings. It was as if the regional & BC governments just didn't think it was that important to have a train from the Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal and the Park+Royal+Shopping+Centre to Vancouver-International-Airport. Just like not having a train from the Tsawwassen+ferry+terminal and Tsawwassen+Mills to the airport.
Despite Richmond,_British_Columbia having YVR, its as if no one really considered that Richmond should be a major intermodal transportation hub. Proper Transportation Planning has always been lacking in backwards BC.
https://www.theprogress.com/news/province-receives-business-case-for-new-massey-crossing-1911335
https://www.highway99tunnel.ca While an 8 lane tunnel is a good start as the first phase, eventually there will have to be a train, bus & bike bridge (or tunnel) next to it.
https://www.highway99tunnel.ca/project-overview-frt Then the H-99 tunnel could be 3 lanes each way with the 4th as a HOV lane. A new parallel bridge (or tunnel) could then have 2 rapid bus lanes, as well as 2 wide sidewalks & 2 wide bike-lanes. Extra width could allow for eventually 2 tracks, 2 HOV lanes, in addition to the 2 bus lanes. That would enable the H-99 tunnel to ultimately have 4 general lanes each way in a later phase. Of course it would have been better to do things correct right from the start, but that goes against the backwards BC mentality.
Its so sad that there was never a proper big city vision to have an airport+train connect to both ferry terminals.
By the 1920s, Montreal, Toronto, Melbourne, Sydney, SF & LA, all knew that they were going to be major cities. Unfortunatly in the 2020s, Vancouver is still stuck with a 3 lane Lion Bridge and a Canada embarrassment Line with only 50m stations. The Montreal Metro has 152.5m stations. Most real cities by now would have at least built a 4 lane bus & HOV tunnel & a commuter train tunnel near the LGB.
Despite being a cost cutting measure, the Canada embasement Line still should have had the provision to eventually have 10 car trains. Unfortunatly, the underbuilt line between Vancouver & Richmond wasn't even designed to have 5 car trains. Indeed, the joke that is the C Line has stations designed to only have 2.5 car trains, someday. The first 2 SkyTrain lines only have 80m stations, which can just barely accomodate a 5 car train.
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.
Using the limited funds and low capacity argument is excrement! It's only because of inept urban planning that the Canada+Line is such a transportation embarrassment & sad joke since 2009. Several other cities around the world are able to think big, they plan & build in a long-term way. Thus, if there are only enough funds to build a 2.5 car train, the stations could have been designed to eventually accomodate 5 car trains as demand increases. Plus, all the stations should have been designed with enough clearance to gradually be long enough for 10 car trains.
An ultimate capacity of 10 car trains connecting both ferry terminals with the airport & downtown Vancouver, would really have been properly planning for the future. 10 car trains running every 2 minutes during the busiest times of the day would efficiently allow a lot people to get around. Unfortunatly, it will be challenging enough just to eventually have 5 car trains.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canada-line-skytrain
The absurdity to design the stations to only handle 2.5 car trains is a sad joke. The ultimate capacity of two 20m cars with a 10m filler car is so inadequate & pathetic, but this is the BC part of Canada. This backwards & backwater thinking must be challenged.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-future-station-locations
With some modifications, three 20m cars could form a 60m train, despite the absurd platforms only having a clearance for 50m. A 60m walkthrough train makes this possible, its just that the doors at either end wouldn't reach the short station platform. Selective_door_operation could enable the Canada Line to go from a 2 car & 2.5 car joke, to a 3 car & ultimately, a 5 car train. That's still a far cry from cities with 10 car trains running every 2 minutes. However, a 5 car train running every minute could make all the difference for Greater Vancouver.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/what-you-need-to-know-north-shore-wastewater-treatment-plant-1.7235368# Aparently, there is enough money to overpay for a $HIT-PIPE and a $HIT-BOX, but not enough funds to build a proper high capacity train over a couple of decades.
The Canada_Line opened in 2009 with its short 2 car trains & in 2025, there still aren't any 2.5 car trains. By now, it really should have been running 5 car trains, connecting the 2 ferry terminals & the airport. Fortunately, most real cities are able to do proper long range planning for their infrastructure, unlike backwards Vancouver.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyTrain_(Vancouver)_rolling_stock#Canada_Line_fleet
Any serious airport+train should be envisioned as more than just a 2 car joke. While a 3 car train might be a little better, a 4 car train should be the minimum. Then, having the stations already long enough to accomodate 6 car trains, with enough clearance for eventually 8-10 car trains. A 2 car joke of a train is almost as bad as the 3 lane Lion Bridge.
There should have been enough informed people to not only make sure that the C+Line was properly designed, but that the whole Greater Vancouver Region had proper planning measures for future transportation infrastructure capacity. Unfortunatly, backwards BC has been under a multi-generational backwater agenda.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_L._Macdonald_Bridge , https://www.google.com/maps/place/Angus+L.+Macdonald+Bridge/@44.6643611,-63.5847599,265m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x4b4513bbd026ebc5:0xcd90670d5a4a675b!2sHalifax+Regional+Municipality,+NS!3b1!8m2!3d44.8857087!4d-63.1005273!16zL20vMDM2azBz!3m5!1s0x4b5a2160af03fd89:0x8025000ffacdc8de!8m2!3d44.6645517!4d-63.5839728!16s%2Fg%2F11ck63t_40?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDEyMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lions_Gate_Bridge , https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lions+Gate+Bridge/@49.315061,-123.1446245,1133m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x548673f143a94fb3:0xbb9196ea9b81f38b!2sVancouver,+BC!3b1!8m2!3d49.2827291!4d-123.1207375!16zL20vMDgwaDI!3m5!1s0x548671e4314afbf5:0x3e51e1a4f59d56fa!8m2!3d49.315048!4d-123.1390072!16zL20vMDJkZ25i?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDEyMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Street_Bridge , https://www.google.com/maps/place/Johnson+Street+Bridge/@48.4281926,-123.373651,380m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x548f738bddb06171:0x38e8f3741ebb48ed!2sVictoria,+BC!3b1!8m2!3d48.4284207!4d-123.3656444!16zL20vMDd5cHQ!3m5!1s0x548f749c9ec2d143:0x5a83be27f477e403!8m2!3d48.4282598!4d-123.3721465!16zL20vMDQzMThs!5m1!1e2?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDEyMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
The Lion+Bridge should be renamed the Onion Bridge, because it causes so many people to cry in frustration. Why not at least have a bus, HOV & train tunnel there? Unfortunately, that would go against the congestive planning mentality that is Vancouver & backwards BC.
There is North_Vancouver_(city) and then there is North_Vancouver_(district_municipality).
https://dailyhive.com/canada/canada-most-liveable-cities-ranking-2024
As long as you have everything you need on the North Shore, you are fine. Otherwise, you will be punished for using the inadequate The+Lion+Bridge+and+The+Iron+Bridge.
https://www.upperlonsdale.ca/blog/87130/north-vancouver-ranked-1-in-canada
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/article-canada-most-livable-city-north-vancouver/
Unfortunatly, transportation planners haven't seen a need to link Horseshoe Bay and Park Royal with downtown Vancouver. Indeed, a direct LRT connection from the North_Shore_of Greater_Vancouver to YVR might as well be part of a Sci-Fi story. However, multigenerational congestive planning in Vancouver is a harsh reality.
A 3 lane Lion Bridge never had any bus tunnels & especially an LRT line built far under it. The bridge is too narrow to accommodate one, let alone 2 proper bus lanes. This is the finest in BC bottleneck stagnation planning.
The Iron_Bridge was built too narrow for an urban TCH crossing. Unfortunatly, no one planned or designed it to eventually have a lower deck for buses, trains & trucks.
https://www.cnv.org/streets-transportation/travel-options/transit A bus and truck bridge should have been built next to the Iron Bridge, decades ago. Why do that, when you can cram everything into just 3 lanes each way?
https://www.translink.ca/plans-and-projects/projects/rapid-transit-projects/bus-rapid-transit
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/north-shore-skytrain-burrard-inlet-rapid-transit-brt-lrt-study
https://www.burnabynow.com/local-news/opinion-lrt-remains-the-best-option-for-north-shore-rapid-transit-9643033 Of course a train would be able to move many more people efficiently.
https://www.nsnews.com/opinion-lrt-remains-the-best-option-for-north-shore-rapid-transit-9643033
Ambleside,_West_Vancouver should certainly be a SkyTrain stop along the way. N. Vancouver has always had very limited transportation options. Several decades ago when the decision was made to put a BC ferry terminal in W. Vancouver, there didn't seem to be a proper long-term bus & truck bridge or tunnel & even a rail rapid transit crossing. The 3 lane Lion Bridge is too narrow for any express bus lanes & the region foolishly refused to build a bus & truck tunnel for what is supposed to be a major port city. The Iron Bridge should have been designed to be wide enough to accomodate 2 bus-lanes & 2 truck lanes. Instead, everything is funneled into 3 lanes each way with no emergency lanes. Thus, if there is a stall or a crash, the busses & trucks get jammed up with all the other traffic.
Living on the North_Shore_of_Greater_Vancouver can be nice, but you are punished when you go into the City of Vancouver or visa-versa. A train crossing would certainly improve things.
Cost of Living in Vancouver (UPDATED) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWRTM1TY58A
