https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/burnaby-brentwood-pedestrian-cyclist-overpass-proposal Not just in backwards Vancouver, but throughout the Greater Vancouver Region, is a lacking of bike and foot bridges. Of course there also needs to be a regional network of bus and HOV bridges. So many of the existing bridges are too damn narrow.
UTL is about exploring past, present and future urban technologies in science and fiction, etc...
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Monday, December 29, 2025
No fireworks in downtown Vancouver for New Year's Eve or the rest of 2026
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-fireworks-2026-new-years-eve-nye
While Vancouver hasn't been able to get most other cities across Canada and around the world to stop, ban or cancel their NY Eve fireworks, strange Vancouver will retain this part of its NO FUN CITY mentality and agenda.
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/fireworks-banned-halloween-vancouver-fire-department-9726922 Why just ban them in October and January, when you can ban them throughout the year?
https://www.ehnewspaper.ca/articles/third-year-of-vancouvers-fireworks-ban
For some strange reason, backwards Vancouver hasn't been able to get other cities around the world to adopt the same bizarre idiosyncrasies.
Officially, there isn't supposed to be a Vancouver+Mind+Virus, but the backwards city is so stunted and strange. Other cities in a scenic setting such as Sydney, Auckland, San_Francisco and Seattle are able to have wider bridges in or close to their city centers.
Despite warm and scenic Honolulu having some very short bridges, they are still wider than what extremely restrictive Vancouver allows. These two short bridges in Honolulu provide 4 lanes each way. Thus, they form an 8 lane crossing and they aren't even part of a freeway.
There is also a very short 6 lane bridge in Honolulu. In addition to its 6 lanes, there is a turning lane and a one lane wide median, which makes it equivalent to being 8 lanes wide. Plus, there are 2 wide sidewalks, which are wider than the original sidewalks on the Granville Bridge in Vancouver. In other words, no bridge in Vancouver is allowed to be as wide as it. Despite regional population growth, the Granville Bridge was reduced from 8 lanes to 6 lanes.
Considering how Vancouver has such a narrow road system, one would think that a regional network of bus and bike bridges would be essential. Of course the backwards city and greater urban region is too cheap to fund such infrastructure and rather opted for a congestive transportation approach.
In contrast, The+Helix+Bridge in Singapore is fine example of what backwards Vancouver refuses to build. No lanes had to be removed from the 6 lane Bayfront+Bridge or the 10 lane Benjamin+Sheares+Bridge. Stubborn Vancouver could really benefit from something like the Helix Bridge.
While Vancouver went backwards after Expo 86, Brisbane really took of after Expo 88. The Kangaroo_Point_Green_Bridge, Goodwill_Bridge, Kurilpa_Bridge, Jack_Pesch_Bridge and the Go_Between_Bridge are all great examples of what strange Vancouver refuses to build. What's really amazing from a backwater Vancouver perspective is that those bike and foot bridges in Brisbane never required any lanes to be removed from the cities road bridges.
In comparison, Vancouver removed 2 lanes from the Burrard Bridge, 1 lane from the Cambie Bridge and 2 lanes from the Granville Bridge. If urban planning in Vancouver was wise and the city never got rid of its trams or streetcars, perhaps something like the Tilikum_Crossing could have been built across False_Creek.
Thursday, December 4, 2025
The Bus and Bike Bridge Concept
The Bus and Bike Bridge Concept isn't officially banned in Vancouver or BC in general. It just hasn't been as important as it is in other cities.
Of course it would be Calgary, not stubborn Vancouver that would have an improved Cushing+Bridge crossing. While the main 4 lane bridge could easily be just like a narrow BC bridge, it's the parallel crossing that takes it above and beyond backwards Vancouver. There is a 2 lane bus bridge with a wide bike & footpath.
Since so many bridges in backwards BC are mostly narrow, a parallel Bus and Bike Bridge would be a huge improvement.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Inglewood+Bicycle+Pump+Track
Not just Greater Vancouver, but several cities in BC could really benefit from having parallel bus+and+bike+bridges.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=bus+and+bike+bridge
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Pattullo to partially close for three nights as 4 lane replacement bridge opening draws near
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-closures-replacement-opening
No matter how much NW wants to be one of the smallest cities in backwards BC, it can't stop Surrey from eventually being the biggest city in what should be bustling BC. The SkyBridge was deliberately designed to not have any HOV or truck lanes. The narrow SkyBridge wasn't even designed to eventually become a bus and bike bridge. Just a train bridge without even any sidewalks. It really should have been given an award for one of the worlds best examples of inept urban infrastructure.
It's like the SkyBridge (1990) was designed to be the first part of the new inadequate crossings between NW and Surry.
Indeed, just like its 1937 predecessor, the Pattullo_Bridge_replacement will open with only for lanes, but at least it will have 2 bike lanes and 2 sidewalks. The Pattullo_Bridge_replacement should have opened with 6 lanes and 2 wide shoulders or emergency lanes, but that would go against funneling everything into just 2 lanes each way. No emergency lanes or wide shoulders helps to reduce emergency vehicle inefficiency. No bus & HOV lanes helps to increase transportation congestion. Despite being a seaport region, there aren't any truck lanes. Perhaps the best feature of all is than the bridge wasn't designed to eventually have a lower deck for trains and trucks.
Multibillion dollar bridges can be designed with future widening capabilities, or at least having a provision for a lower deck. Unfortunatly, it's very difficult for BC to design prober big city size transportation infrastructure.
Saturday, November 22, 2025
Some Canada Mega-projects Under Construction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwsOVZ-j7hg
Oakridge_Park is on a much smaller scale than Metrotown, Brentwood and Lougheed. It will especially be on a much smaller scale than Parramatta in NSW.
Unfortunatly, the Oakridge-41st_Avenue_station was only designed to have 50m platforms, when it should have been at least 100m. Thus, the utter foolishness has meant that instead of allowing for a future level station clearance to accomodate 5 car trains, the Canada (embassament) Line was only designed to just have 2.5 car trains. While its extremely short stations might have been disguised as a cost saving measurer, there didn't seem to be any key people onboard to make sure that it could eventually become a proper big city train line. Its sad that a line which opened in 2009 is still only running 2 car trains. While the 2.5 car configuration is still a joke of a train, at least half of an extra coach-length is better than nothing. Plus, there should have been extra cars ordered by now so at least during the very busy times the trains could be operating at 1 minute headways. Unfortunatly, this goes against the Vancouver & BC congestion planning mentality.
Despite being built several years after the Sydney_Harbour_Bridge, the joke that is the Pattullo_Bridge was designed to only have 4 narrow lanes & only 1 sidewalk. Of course the replacement_bridge will only open with 2 lanes each way. It was as if someone really wanted to make sure that there won't be 2 bus lanes and no HOV lanes when the bridge opens. While the new bridge is designed to be expanded from a 4 lane joke to eventually having 6 lanes, it still won't be wide enough to accomodate 2 HOV lanes as well as 2 bus lanes. Of course the new bridge won't have any emergency lanes, just like the old bridge. However, it will have 2 bike lanes and 2 sidewalks. https://www.globalhighways.com/news/pattullo-bridge-completion-end-year Its only fitting that in backwards BC this new bridge wouldn't be designed to eventually have a lower deck to accomodate 2 bus lanes and 2 LRT tracks.
If the planners were afraid to symbolically have a wide bridge between NW and Surrey, the old Pattullo_Bridge should have been designed to eventually have a lower deck for trams, trucks and busses. Even when the SkyBridge between NW and Surrey opened in 1990, it wasn't designed to have any bus lanes or emergency vehicle lanes and especially, no bike and footpaths.
Is Vancouver the best city in North America? (2019) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8dmVUrNt38
One of the biggest mistakes in Vancouver & SW BC is to have short trains combined with mostly narrow bridges. Thus, the region doesn't get to have long, high capacity trains and there isn't a proper regional network of bus-bridges. The refusal to twin most of the bridges means that it's almost impossible to have a proper and efficient regional network of rapid-bus and HOV lanes.
While Montreal built the REM to augment their long-train Metro system, Vancouver should have allowed for enough clearance to eventually have 500 foot long trains. 80m-50m Skytrain stations are going to become inadequate, when there should have been a 152.4m provision so that the trains could eventually become as long as the ones on the Montreal Metro.
Is Regional Rail in the Future of British Columbia? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PeIOVy6fFc
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Bus, Bike and Footbridges
https://www.tbtechno.com/en/portfolios/pergola-viaduct-of1-4b-bus-hov-lanes/
https://stvinc.com/project/verrazzano-narrows-bridge-bushov-lane-implementation-design/
https://seattletransitblog.com/2025/01/29/wsdot-hov-overview/
https://bikeportland.org/2017/05/11/is-it-time-for-more-bus-only-lanes-in-portland-228020
https://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/bus-network-improvements.aspx
https://ipvdelft.com/bicycle-bridges/
https://www.arch2o.com/10-amazing-bridges-passageways-bikes/
https://hansonthebike.com/2017/07/11/dutch-bike-bridges/
https://www.curbed.com/2021/04/brooklyn-bridge-bike-lane-narrow.html
https://www.benesch.com/project/43rd-street-pedestrian-bridge/
https://surfarchitecture.com/a-new-suspended-pedestrian-bridge-over-the-water-in-toronto
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/581364-longest-enclosed-pedestrian-bridge
https://www.conteches.com/bridges-structures/truss-and-girders/continental-pedestrian-bridge/
Sunday, October 26, 2025
All cables and final steel girders now installed for new Pattullo Bridge
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-construction-milestone-cables-deck Unlike the old, inadequate bridge, which only has 4 narrow lanes and just 1 sidewalk, this will have 2 sidewalks and 2 bike lanes. Unfortunatly, there won't be any bus or HOV lanes. Thus, all the traffic will be funneled into just 2 lanes each way. Of course there won't be any emergency lanes or breakdown lanes, so this is another quintessential BC bottleneck by design. At least a provision for a lower deck would have provided some hope. While this bridge can eventually be widened to 6 lanes, there seems to be no serious consideration for there to be bus and HOV lanes. So it will end up like the overloaded 6 lane Iron Bridge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyBridge_(TransLink) No bike lanes and sidewalks and it wasn't built wide enough to eventually accomodate 3-4 tracks and 2 bus lanes. There is just something about backwards BC that makes it so obtuse and inept.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Westminster_Bridge Still, only a single track bridge for freight and passenger trains.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/New_Westminster_Swing_Bridge.jpg/960px-New_Westminster_Swing_Bridge.jpg This old single track bridge should have been double tracked on a lower deck and have at least 4 lanes on an upper deck. Then when the first 4 lane Pattullo Bridge opened, it might not have been quite as overloaded in its later decades.In order for this joke of a river railway crossing to be properly upgraded and efficient is for there to be at least a new double track bridge.
NW should have really had something like its own version of the Steel_Bridge in Portland.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Amtrak_talgo_train_crossing_steel_bridge.jpg/960px-Amtrak_talgo_train_crossing_steel_bridge.jpg Fortunatly, Portland didn't have a provincial backwater mentality like NW. Thus, they could build a lot more bridges. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/SteelBridgePano1.jpg/960px-SteelBridgePano1.jpg MAX light rail on the upper deck and Amtrack and freight trains on the lower deck. Fortunately, Oregon is far enough away from ever catching the BC Mind Virus. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Aerial_view_of_Willamette_River_crossings_in_Portland%2C_February_2018.JPG So many nice bridges in Portland.https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Fraser_River%2C_Surrey_-_panoramio_%281%29.jpg/960px-Fraser_River%2C_Surrey_-_panoramio_%281%29.jpgTuesday, October 14, 2025
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Gentala Arasy Pedestrian Bridge
Another nice type of bridge that would be great in Vancouver, but isn't allowed.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=6381435988563389&set=p.6381435988563389&type=3
Vancouver, Burnaby and NW all should have have at least 1 of this type of bridge.
https://www.indonesia-tourism.com/forum/showthread.php?52240-Gentala-Arasy-Bridge-Jambi
Why build a few bridges like this in Vancouver when lanes can be removed from the existing bridges?
https://elements.envato.com/moving-drone-footage-gentala-arasy-pedestrian-brid-WXCLQPZ
Pedestrian bridges are great, but bus, bike & foot bridges are even better.
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Bike and Pedestrian Bridges
https://www.cnv.org/streets-transportation/transportation-projects/casano-loutet-overpass
https://www.fastepp.com/portfolio/kingsway-pedestrian-bridge/
https://www.burnabynow.com/local-news/burnaby-planning-for-pedestrian-bridge-over-highway-1-3099072
https://vancouverbikeguide.com/top-five-vancouver-cycling-bridges A regional network of foot, bike & bus bridges would help to reduce the strain on the mostly narrow bridges of Greater Vancouver.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pedestrian-and-bike-bridge-proposed-for-false-creek-1.800643 Unfortunatley, this never happened. Apparently, it was better to remove 2 lanes from the Burrard Street Bridge instead.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/granville-connector-bridge-walking-cycling-pathways
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=bike+and+pedestrian+bridges
Friday, July 25, 2025
Granville Bridge's new wide, safe pathways for walking and cycling now open
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/granville-connector-bridge-walking-cycling-pathways-open-complete
Its OK, but it could have been better.
Had there been a nice bike & foot bridge built next to it, the Granville Bridge could have had 3 general lanes each way & the 4th as a bus lane. Just like the Burrard Bridge should have had a bike & foot bridge next to it. Then, the BB could have had 2 bus lanes as well as 4 general lanes. Taking lanes away is absurd for a city that already has such a narrow road system. Yet, a proper regional bus & bike bridge system wasn't implemented.
It seems that the public wasn't properly informed decades ago that Greater Vancouver wasn't going to have a 24hr train system. All the more important for the GV Region to have a network of bus & bike bridges. Several the regional bridges are so narrow that there isn't enough room to accomodate 2 bus lanes & 2 HOV lanes.
Monday, July 14, 2025
Vancouver could become a better cycling city, but the metropolitan region lacks a proper network of bus and bike bridges
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-cycling-city
Removing traffic lanes from bridges doesn't improve things as much as constructing a series of bike, bus & HOV bridges would.
Friday, July 11, 2025
How Bike Lanes have affected Vancouver's urban infrastructure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvkifuIjq9I The BSB was a 6 lane crossing that even had a provision for a lower deck intended for streetcars. Eventually, 2 lanes were removed & the lower deck was never completed. However, Vancouver was unable to prevent Seattle & Portland from reviving some of their streetcar routes.
The problem isn't bike lanes, it's the lack of interest to build a proper regional network of bus & bike bridges. Thus, if a proper bike bridge was built next to the Burrard+Street+Bridge, then 2 of its 6 lanes could have been for buses or at least HOV lanes. The lower deck could have still been for streetcars or tram-trains going between Vancouver & Richmond. The irony of backwards Vancouver is that it was one of the first cities to get rid of its streetcars & will likely be one of the last to bring them back.
The Fraser River Tunnel Project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWhHJWKa6CQ Unfortunatly, this will still be a chokepoint or congested crossing.
Of course the new Richmond-Delta+Tunnel wasn't designed to be part of a rail link between the airport and the ferry terminal. There should have been 2 HOV lanes, as well as 2 bus lanes, but that would be a big-city 10 lane crossing. Instead, just an 8 lane tunnel with no train component. Eventually, a train and HOV bridge or tunnel will have to be built next to it.
At least the first SkyTrain line can now have 5 car trains. However, the 2 car joke of a train still exists between Vancouver & Coquitlam, as well as between Vancouver & Richmond. The Montreal Metro can have 9 car trains and BART in SF can have 10 car trains. Such things are possible because they don't have a congestive BC panning mentality.
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
TransLink buys Fraser River waterfront property for Vancouver bus depot use
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/translink-vancouver-transit-centre-bus-depot-acquisition-expansion
Of course there still seems to be no plan to build a bus and bike bridge next to the Arthur+Laing+Bridge.
Unfortunatly, the embarrassment that is the Canada+Line wasn't designed to eventually have 10 car trains, not even 5. It's stations can only accommodate a ridiculous 2.5 car train, some day. Thus, any bridge to and near the airport should be augmented with a bus and bike bridge. Especially since the C Line isn't open 24 hours. Apparently, it's better to just cram everything into the ridiculously narrow 4 lane bridges.
Saturday, June 21, 2025
The Pattullo Bridge replacement project
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-new-indigenous-renaming-art
While it's great to have a new name for the new bridge, there should have been a few more bridges between Surrey, NW, Coquitlam & Port Coquitlam.
https://604now.com/pattullo-bridge-new-indigenous-name
Another lost opportunity for backwards BC. This new bridge should have opened with 6 lanes, plus have at least 2 wide shoulders for future capacity. Then there could have been 2 HOV lanes, as well as 4 general lanes. There also should have been a lower deck for something similar to what the Tilikum_Crossing has. https://trimet.org/tilikum
Such a lower deck not only could have provided 2 sidewalks & 2 bike paths, but a provision for 2 streetcar or tram-train tracks and even 2 separated SkyTrain tracks. Instead, all the traffic will be crammed into just 2 lanes each way with no bus & no HOV lanes & especially no breakdown lanes. In the future, the existing 2 track Skybridge between Surrey & NW might not be adequate. People from all over the world should study the BC bottleneck planning mentality & avoid such bad planning at all costs.
It is foolish for the most urban part of BC to not have wide or double deck bridges. Unfortunatly, this new 4 lane bridge wasn't designed to have 2 bus & 2 HOV lanes & no provision for at least 2 train tracks. At least it will have more than 1 sidewalk & 1 more lane than the LGB and even a safety divider.
Despite Surrey eventually becoming the most populous city in backwater BC, no 2 track train bridge like the Tilikum has been allowed to be built in backwards BC. https://trimet.org/tilikum/#about
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Why is Metro Vancouver Creating a New Downtown?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybMhTlj-l5s
Unlike Seattle and Calgary, Vancouver has no office towers over 50 stories. There aren't even any 40 story office towers in BC. Vancouver is firmly against permitting any office tower from having a 40th floor. However, Vancouver cant stop Burnaby and especially Surrey from having an office tower over 40 stories. While a 50 story office tower anywhere in backwater BC still seems unlikely, Burnaby and Surrey will likely be the first 2 cities in BC to have at least a 45 story office tower.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/50-storey-tower-community-hub-edmonds-burnaby
So far, stubborn and strict Vancouver has only permitted 2 buildings to be taller than the tallest in Bellevue,_Washington.
Vancouver has only permitted one building to be taller than the tallest in Vaughan, Ontario.
https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/cg-tower/32139
Since Burnaby and Surrey aren't under the backwards and thwarting restrictions that Vancouver has, Burnaby and eventually Surrey, will have taller buildings than stumpy Vancouver. Indeed, Burnaby already has some buildings taller than Downtown_Bellevue. Surrey will eventually have some buildings taller than the Vaughan_Metropolitan_Centre.
Vancouver will continue to limit the height of its buildings for as long as possible. Vancouver won't allow a bus and train tunnel near the lion Bridge, let alone a 6 lane highway tunnel. Despite the Iron Bridge needing a parallel bus bridge and a Skytrain bridge, progress remains at a snail's pace. There still seems to be no interest in building a bus bridge next to the Oak and Knight Bridges. A city on the moon and Mars might happen before stubborn Vancouver ever builds a new Fraser Street bus & bike bridge. Not only should there be a Boundary Road Bridge to Richmond, but at least a Boundary bus & bike bridge to the North Vancouver.
Its like backwards BC keeps hoping that by symbolically refusing to build up proper big city size transportation infrastructure, people will stay away. However, its only because no one has been able to effectively challenge the bottleneck-chokepoint mentality, that not much has been done.
Sunday, April 20, 2025
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
Saturday, April 19, 2025
The narrow bridges of Vancouver, Canada
https://montecristomagazine.com/community/forgotten-bridges-vancouver
The LGB just wasn't designed with any future capacity in mind.
History of the Lions Gate Bridge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHqi7Kijedw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lions_Gate_Bridge#History
The inadequate 3 lane LGB is currently the most narrow road bridge in backwards & stubborn Vancouver. It's been in that category since the removal of the 2 lane Fraser Street Bridge in the 1970s. There was a refusal to twin the absurdly narrow LGB between the 1950s & 1970s. By the 1980s there should have been a subway tunnel and an 8 lane tunnel. Then two of the lanes could have been for buses. Georgia+Street is 7 lanes wide as it gets closer to Stanley Park. Thus, the main part of a tunnel through the park could have provided 3 general lanes each way & a bus lane each way. Instead, the 7 lanes of the westernmost part of Georgia Street are funneled into a 3 lane causeway & a 3 lane bridge. The LGB would be fantastic as just a bike & foot crossing, with train, bus & road tunnels well beneath & beside it.
The Burrard_Bridge, BB or BSB opened with 6 lanes, but now it only has 4 lanes. There are 2 bike lanes & 2 sidewalks. Had a parallel bike-bridge been built, the BB could have still had 6 lanes. While the BB has a lower level provision for streetcars or tram-trains, Vancouver did its damndest to phase out streetcars well before the 1960s.
The Ironworkers_Memorial_Bridge has 6 lanes, but should also have had 2 wide shoulders & 2 very wide sidewalks. Unfortunatly, there was no provision for a lower deck, as is also the case with all of the other Vancouver bridges. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironworkers_Memorial_Second_Narrows_Crossing
Any replacement of the inadequate Ironworkers+Memorial+Bridge should be on the scale of what Perth, Seattle and Montreal have done.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_Street_Bridge#Third_bridge_(1954)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=vPSdF0jRTC4 The Granville-Bridge or GSB is the widest bridge in the city limits. It opened with 8 lanes, but is being transformed into a 6 lane bridge with 2 bike lanes & 2 sidewalks. Had there been a paralel bike & foot bride, the GSB could have still been 8 lanes wide. Then there could have been 2 exclusive bus lanes.
https://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/granville-bridge-connector.aspx
The Oak Street Bridge should have been 8 lanes wide, with 2 wide sidewalks.
The Knight+Street+Bridge should have been 8 lanes with 2 wide sidewalks. Instead, its a 4 lane chokepoint.
The Arthur+Laing+Bridge should have been at least 6 lanes with 2 proper bike lanes & 2 sidewalks.
If the Cambie_Street_Bridge had 2 very wide sidewalks, then its likely that it would still have 6 lanes instead of 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambie_Bridge#The_present_bridge
Unfortunatly, bottleneck or chokepoint planning is part of the Vancouver & BC mentality.
Of course BC & the Metro+Vancouver Region just hasn't put enough funds and effort towards proper big-city planning & infrastructure development.
If Perth+and+Seattle had to conform to the extremely restrictive Vancouver approach to things, those cities would be in a perpetual state of chaos. Fortunately, nothing like the BC Mind Virus has ever reached WA.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Oak+Street+and+Granville+Street
Thursday, April 3, 2025
The inadequate Arthur Laing Bridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Laing_Bridge Another fine example of how Vancouver doesn't allow for proper big city infrastructure planning. The ALB has no sidewalks, no proper bike lanes, & especially, no bus lanes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Laing_Bridge#Since_opening
Unless the bridge can slightly be widened on each side, safe & properly separated bike lanes will be unlikely.
https://bikehub.ca/about-us/news/arthur-laing-bridge-bike-lane-widening
- Arthur Laing Bridge (Richmond-Vancouver): As there are no sidewalks on the bridge, cyclists ride on the shoulders of the roadway. Northbound cyclists can get to the bridge via Russ Baker Way or an off-street pathway that can be accessed from the Airport Station bus loop or from the Airport Connector bridge.
https://www.richmond.ca/parks-recreation/parks-trails-cycling/cycling/cycling_maps.htm
https://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/transportation/bicycles-and-cycling
https://evelazarus.com/?s=the+Arthur+Laing+Bridge
This bridge & the Knight+Street+Bridge & the Queensborough_Bridge are so narrow, that there should be bus & bike bridges built next to each of them.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Arthur+Laing+Bridge
From the old and inadequate Fraser Street Bridge to the inadequate KSB
Somewhere in between 1950 & 1960, the old Fraser_Street_Bridge (FSB) should have been replaced with a new 4 lane bridge, with 2 very wide sidewalks for bikes & a future provision for 2 bus lanes. Vancouver needs a street and transit connection with No. 5 Rd. in Richmond. Unfortunatly, backwards Vancouver has always been a city without a proper big city transportation vision.
https://evelazarus.com/the-fraser-street-swing-span-bridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraser_Street_Bridge_(1894)#Provincial_government_headache
https://search.nbca.unbc.ca/index.php/fraser-st-road-bridge-in-vancouver-bc-1 In the late 1800s, just being able to have a bridge roadway width of 2 wagon-roads in backwater BC was amazing. Then, decades & even several generations later, any BC bridge that could provide 2 wagon-roads each way was even more amazing.
https://structurae.net/en/structures/fraser-avenue-street-bridge
As usual, Vancouver & BC lost & messed up an opportunity to have 2 great new bridges.
https://structurae.net/en/structures/knight-street-bridge (KSB)
https://evelazarus.com/the-knight-street-bridge-part-2
Once again, the lack of a proper big city vision resulted in the inadequate design for the 4 lane Knight+Street+Bridge (KSB). However, it makes sense from a bottleneck congestive planing mentality. Despite Vancouver being part of what is suppose to be a major port region and in need of proper transportation corridors, the Knight_Street_Bridge is a classic chokepoint.
Just because the Knight_Street_Bridge started out as a 4 lane joke, there immediately should have been 2 wide shoulders, which could have eventually become 2 extra bus lanes. Plus, there should have been a future provision to add 2 HOV lanes. Two wide sidewalks & 2 wide bike lanes. However, that would go against the congestive planning mentality of Vancouver & BC.
Indeed, by deliberately planning the KSB to be a 4 lane chokepoint and not building a new Fraser+Street+Bridge, there clearly was no interest to have proper dedicated bus lanes in that part of the Greater Vancouver Region. With so many inadequate, narrow bridges, there should be bus & HOV lane bridges to help improve regional transportation.
A regional express bus system or a rapid bus network requires dedicated lanes. The LGB should have 2 bus lanes & 2 HOV lanes in a tunnel near it. The Iron Bridge, OSB & KSB, all should have a 4 lane bus & HOV bridge next to them. That would allow for a rapid bus lane each way & a HOV lane each way.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=old+and+new+narrow+bridges

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