Showing posts sorted by date for query Metro Vancouver. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query Metro Vancouver. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Monday, June 8, 2026

The Unusual transportation approaches used in Vancouver

 https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/history/5-of-a-kind-unusual-modes-of-transportation-used-or-nearly-used-in-vancouver-12388220 

Vancouver is such an unusual and backwards city with its inefficient and congestive approach towards transportation infrastructure.

Getting rid of the streetcars and interurban trams was utterly foolish! Fortunately, such MADNE$$ wasn't adopted in Melbourne, SF, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia and New Orleans. 

Just because a no freeways mandate was chosen for Vancouver, the streets should have been kept wide enough for busses as well as other vehicles. 

https://movementyvr.ca/the-case-of-vancouvers-nine-missing-bus-lanes

Despite most of the Vancouver bridges being too narrow, some bridge lanes were removed, because the city wasn't interested in building parallel bike bridges. 

Since most of the bridges are so narrow, there isn't enough room for proper express bus lanes. Of course the city isn't interested in building parallel bus bridges next to the narrow bridges. 

Since Vancouver is supposed to be a major, properly functioning city in Western Canada, the city should have pressed the designers of the first 2 Skytrain lines to make sure that all of the 80 m stations could gradually be extended to 152.5 m, the same as the 500 foot long Montreal Metro stations and trains.

Unlike the first 2 Skytrain lines, the Canada Line was only designed to ultimately have 50 m stations and trains. A 2 billion dollar line to YVR could have been designed in such a way that would have allowed it to look and function like a proper big-city passenger train. 

A commuter train to the North Shore keeps taking a long time to be finalized.

https://northshoreconnects.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BIRT-Benefits-Assessment_Final.pdf

Think small and build backwards, or not at all. 

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Burnaby 2050 sets the city’s long game

 https://www.straight.com/burnaby/burnaby-2050-sets-citys-long-game 

While Burnaby is smaller in area and population compared to Vancouver, its a lot bigger than tiny NW.

https://www.straight.com/burnaby/how-burnaby-approached-public-engagement-in-creating-its-latest-plan 

Unlike Vancouver, Burnaby can build taller than Vancouver, because it isn't bound by Vancouver's imposed height restrictions.

https://www.straight.com/burnaby/what-burnaby-builds-next-depends-on-urban-design-getting-it-right 

Unlike Vancouver, Burnaby has more than just a few kilometers of freeway going through it. The highway right of way was acquired when Burnaby was still mostly undeveloped. That's the same case for Richmond, Delta, Surrey, Langley & Abbotsford. 

https://www.straight.com/burnaby/in-defense-of-burnaby-middle-child-of-metro-vancouver 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_Highway_1#Lower_Mainland_section There should eventually be an elevated, high-capacity interregional commuter train along BC_Highway_1. However, BC takes a very slow approach towards dealing with congestion and mobility.

Monday, June 1, 2026

Metro Vancouver weather for early June

 https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/metro-vancouver-weather-hot-temps-rainfall-june-2026-12359663

Metro Vancouver faces new water restrictions

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/water-restrictions-metro-vancouver 

Its not like there is a shortage of rain during the fall and winter. Its a lack of not building more reservoirs to store the rainwater and to use more lakes in SW BC.

Saturday, May 23, 2026

Metro Vancouver expects to move to Stage 3 water restrictions in June

The regional district says this year's snowpack is well below normal, and hasn't been this low since 2015 https://vancouversun.com/news/metro-vancouver-tage-3-water-restrictions-june-2026 

Two 3rds or even 75% of the year is overloaded with so much rain. Thus, its not a case of not enough rain in Vancouver, there just seems to be a lack of interest in creating more freshwater reservoirs. 

https://globalnews.ca/news/11861063/metro-vancouver-stage-3-water-restrictions-june/

Friday, May 22, 2026

Canada Line station platforms being extended for interchange hub with Broadway Subway

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canada-line-broadway-city-hall-station-platform-extension-millennium-line-interchange Fortunatly, the planning for the TTC Subway, Montreal Metro & Edmonton LRT, all have much longer stations than what backwards Vancouver settled for. 

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-canada-line-rebuilding

Once all of the YVR-Canada Line stations have 50-metre-long platforms, it will become quite apparent that the long-range planning for 5 car trains wasn't seriously considered. The 50 m stations will only be long enough for a 2.5 car joke of a train. 

However, there is a potential to work around this particular manifestation of the Vancouver Mind Virus. Selective_door_operation can allow for longer trains, despite the ridiculous short Vancouver stations. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_door_operation#International_variations


There is such a problem with Vancouver and BC in general of not properly planning for future transportation infrastructure expansion. 

https://www.railforthevalley.com/latest-news/zweisystem/the-skytrain-lobby-get-over-it/

Thursday, May 21, 2026

The new Capstan Station recorded SkyTrain's fourth-lowest ridership after one year

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-capstan-station-ridership-canada-line 

Wow, this picture almost makes it look like its a big-city train station and not just a 2 car train joke. The CLine should have opened with 5-6 car trains, or at least 3 car trains. Any station can have the potential of becoming more popular, especially when there are more residential and business structures close to it. 

The Can-Line could really benefit from Selective+Door+Operation, which would allow for longer trains.


How Copenhagen built a metro for free https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzamwVH3CXU&t=8s At least this could run 3 car trains right from when it started.

Sunday, May 17, 2026

The Broadway Subway-Mount Pleasant to Broadway City Hall

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z64SisMwIuY 

Another illogical lane reduction project. Broadway was for the most part, always 6 lanes, 7, if you count the turning lane at major intersections. The train isn't a 24 hour service, so its important to always have 1 bus lane each way, especially if the train is shut down for an occasional emergency. Then there still should be 2 general lanes each way, because this isn't supposed to be a small town street or avenue. 

This, combined with so many 4 lane bridges, ensures that BC bottleneck-chokepoint planning remains firmly entrenched. 

A 5 car Vancouver train is expected to do the job of a 9 car Montreal Metro train. That's because a short Vancouver train can run a little more frequently than a 9 car Montreal Metro train, during even the most busy times of the day. Of course many proper cities have long big-city trains, because they aren't under anything like small thinking Vancouver, or a backwater BC mentality.

The standard short trains, narrow bridges & narrow streets and short buildings, are all part of holding the scale of Vancouver back. Apparently, if you can't build a wall around Vancouver, the next best thing is to continually plan and build symbolically for a provincial backwater of a city. 


https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Selective+Door+Operation

Oakridge Park and Mall

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Kwx7SctJ4 

Somehow the people around Broadway Station weren't able to stop this. Well, the Oakridge Station area is becoming its own town centre in that part of provincial Vancouver. Yet, the Broadway & Commercial area is already a big transportation intersection.

Despite the C-Line still only running 2 car joke trains, there is a potential to have 3 car trains. That's still pretty sad when the 50 m stations should have been built to eventually accommodate 5-6 car trains. Unfortunately, the planners never seriously considered to have a future level station clearance of 100-120 m. In contrast, the Montreal Metro has 152.5 m stations and can accommodate 9 car trains. The Vancouver Mind Virus (VMV) has always prevented the city from thinking on a big scale. 


https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Oakridge+Park+Mall 

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Selective+Door+Operation

Saturday, May 9, 2026

Metro Vancouver’s 4-minute meeting nets members more than $500

 https://globalnews.ca/news/11841417/metro-vancouver-three-minute-meeting-members-pay-500-dollars/

Apparently, its better to waste money on overpaid managers, rather than putting it towards bus and train bridges and improved highways overall. 


10 Lane Narrows Bridge in Perth Australia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6mVXcX-4h4 

Monday, April 27, 2026

Old Pattullo Bridge and its Still Narrow Replacement

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_mNfn4zjcI 

Even in the 1930s there should have been some type of a big city vision, but with NW being so small and Surrey being so out of the way, this part of BC was on the urban periphery. Apparently, there was no concept of an emergency lane on the Pattullo Bridge. Still, in addition to the 2 narrow lanes each way, there should have been 2 lane for horses and wagons. Then, by the 1950s the PB could have had 3 wide lanes each way, pulse a strong traffic divider. Instead, the narrow PB was stuck with only two lanes each way, no safety divider and only 1 narrow sidewalk.

For most of its history, NW just saw it self as a provincial backwater. The lack of a big city vision in the early 1900s meant that it never bothered to absorb what would become the Tri-Cities. For most of its history, Surrey never considered that it could eventually become the largest city in BC. Of course now that has changed.

Despite being so small, NW has become a Metro Vancouver regional transit hub, because of the New_Westminster_station

Scott_Road_station is a transit hub for the South_Westminster area.

Surrey and NW really should have had a proper big city size bridge.

This is how the new road configuration could have gone for what should have been a 10 lane bridge, not another 4 lane BC joke. Even if it can eventually have 6 lanes, there is no provision for a lower deck for trains and busses.

This shows how existing key roads could have linked into a 10 lane bridge, all without having to widen the surrounding roads. Thus, no need for any major land expropriation.

2 lanes from Royal Avenue onto the new bridge and 2 lanes from the bridge onto Royal Avenue in New+Westminster.   

One lane onto and one lane off linking the bridge to the South_Fraser_Perimeter_Road in Surrey.

2 lanes onto McBride boulevard and 2 lanes onto the bridge from McBride in New+Westminster.  

From Columbia_Street_in New_Westminster, 1 lane onto the bridge, as well as 1 lane off the bridge

2 lanes from King_George_Boulevard onto the new bridge and 2 lanes from the bridge onto KGB in Surrey

2 lanes from Scott Road onto the new bridge and 2 lanes from the bridge onto Scott_Rd in Surrey.  

Things weren't properly explained to the public as to how important a wide big city bridge could have been possible and without having to widen the roads connecting to it.

Unfortunately, all of this is being funneled into just 2 lanes each way. Its as if someone symbolically wanted the new bridge to open without any bus and HOV lanes. That's how BC bottleneck and chokepoint planning works. 


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

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

Some day, the BC Lower_Mainland should be planned and developed to function more like a proper big urban area. 


https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Metro Vancouver Regional District

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/metro-vancouver-regional-district-awareness-service-survey 

Perhaps some day it might be elevated to something like a county status.

Friday, April 17, 2026

Eight more Mark V trains are now in service on SkyTrain's Expo Line

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-mark-v-trains-incoming-arrivals-april-2026 

While the Montreal Metro can run 9 car trains and Auckland is planning to eventually have 9 car trains, the 1st Skytrain line can only run 5 car trains. The 2nd and 3rd Skytrain lines are still only running 2 car joke trains.

Combine that with mostly narrow regional bridges, and BC is clearly maintaining its congestive transportation agenda.

Ironworkers Memorial Bridge is Metro Vancouver's most congested crossing

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/ironworkers-memorial-metro-vancouver-bridge-traffic-volumes 

Had the-bridge been designed with 2 wide emergency lanes and 2 wide shoulders, things could have been gradually modified and improved. The Iron Bridge could have become an 8 lane crossing for general traffic, plus having 2 express bus or rapid bus lanes. 

https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/ironworkers-bridge-the-most-congested-in-metro-vancouver-report-finds-12148809

Unlike the Queensboro_Bridge in NYC, or the Benjamin_Franklin_Bridge and the Sydney_Harbour_Bridge, this bridge wasn't designed with future rail rapid transit in mind.  



https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Ironworkers+Memorial+Bridge