Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Is Tsawwassen Mills is one of Metro Vancouver's worst urban planning mistakes?

http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/tsawwassen-mills-worst-urban-planning-metro-vancouver

Instead of having a train between the ferry terminal, the mall and YVR, Delta remains underserved by public transit, as well as inadequate roads. Had there been better urban transportation planning, Tsawwassen+Mills could have been an easy stop in-between the Delta ferry terminal and Richmond and the airport. 

Greater Vancouver & BC continually opt for under capacity transportation choices. It's like there has been an unofficial, multi decade agenda to encourage congestive planning. Fortunately, most urban regions around the world refuse to follow the backwards BC approach to things.

skytrain-metrotown-station-escalators

http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-metrotown-station-escalators

Some Urban Trains

Fortunately, Toronto & Montreal had enough vision to plan & build 152.45m or 500 foot long subway & metro stations. Even Edmonton & Seattle have much longer underground train stations than the Vancouver-Richmond train or the YVR Canada+Line. The Vancouver C-Line is a fine example of congestive & inept planning and should be studied all around the world as a warning. It could be called the, FINANCIAL DRAINAGE LINE, or the, CATHETER LINE. That's because the ridiculous 50m stations aren't even quite a 3rd of the length of the 152.5m Montreal Metro trains & stations. Thus, it will be difficult to lengthen these very short stations.   

It's one thing if the C+Line was started off with absurdly, short 2.5 car trains, but at least the stations were already built to gradually accomodate 5 car trains, plus still have extra clearance for even 5 more coaches. That would have been a reasonable attempt of planning for future capacity, but that's something BC just isn't that good at. The stations should have been designed to be ultimately accomodate 10 car trains, not some quarter-length joke. 

Eventually, three 20m coaches could be linked together. Then an extra 20m coach at both ends of each 3 car, 60m train. While a five car, 100m train would seem too long for 50m, inadequate BC stations, a walkthrough train makes it a possibility. That and Selective_door_operation makes a 5 car train quite possible. 

It is very sad that the backward BC mentality never properly envisioned a 10 car train to provide a high capacity link between the Tsawwassen_ferry_terminalBridgeport_station & the YVR-Airport_stationDowntown_VancouverPark_Royal_Exchange and the Horseshoe_Bay_ferry_terminal. Only a properly functioning metropolitan region can do something like that. The Greater Vancouver Region just isn't at that level yet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-train

"The operation of the Central Circle is similar to the S-Train systems in Germany and other countries."




"The line is operated by 33 Siemens ES2G Lastochka trains..."
Russians aren't afraid to use good German technology.
I wish that they would allow some of that German tech in BC but BC still strives to maintain and keep things at a smaller scale. 

The Moscow Circle Line is a much more recent development than the one in London. 

"Since the beginning, platforms have been at least 155 metres (509 ft) long to accommodate eight-car trains. The only exceptions are on the Filyovskaya LineVystavochnayaMezhdunarodnayaStudencheskayaKutuzovskayaFiliBagrationovskayaFilyovsky Park and Pionerskaya, which only allows six-car trains..."  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Metro#Rolling_stock 

There is suppose to be secret deeper level subway around Moscow.

Of course when severe flooding occurs, the subways are among the first things to be affected.




How in the hell is the 3rd SkyTrain line constructed to have such small stations, in-spite of increasing future demand? 


No city has spent billions of dollars just to have 2 car trains, except Vancouver & Richmond.

Apparently, the 50 m platforms are only long enough to accommodate 2.5 car trains as capacity demand increases. http://www.railforthevalley.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Canada-Rail-213-e14082980653651.jpg

Sure, in the early years, Montreal could run a little 3 car train, but their Metro stations were designed to accommodate a 9 car train during the very busy times & 6 car trains for intermediate demand. 

So the BC inept planning process never allowed for a future demand of at least 152.5 m or 500 foot long stations & platforms. Instead, they designed the max potential to be only 50m or 164 feet. That's pathetic & only adds to the deliberate bottleneck planning approach that backwards BC aspires to. 


As long as a line above ground & especially underground, has level sections of 500, 600 or 700 feet, then full length stations can be constructed.
When BC planers only allowed for a 50m or 164 foot level section for each Catheter Line, 




If a system starts out with little trains but has designed the ability to triple or quadruple the length of the station platforms, then its just a matter of building that future extension right from the start or at some point later on. 

Chicago & BART can still run ridiculous 4 car trains but the capacity to run 10 car trains was built in right from the start.

SYDNEY and its metro
Not only does Sydney have much longer trains & platforms, they are double level trains! Its like BC has made sure that it must never match the capacity that NSW & New_England has allowed for.

TOP 10 of the most beautiful trains in Japan

V-BC strives to perpetually be one of the most stunted or underbuilt major cities on the planet. 




king kong movies

http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/813565-king-kong-movies#/slide/1

http://www.monkeysfightingrobots.com/hot-movie-opinion-king-kong-1976-is-better-than-king-kong-2005

WTC
https://hubpages.com/entertainment/King-Kong-1976-Is-A-Major-Television-Movie-Event-And-Other-Wonders-Of-The-World

https://mostlyfilm.com/2014/04/17/king-kong-the-stolen-god ,

http://reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.ca/2012/07/cult-movie-review-king-kong-1976.html

http://www.lostinthemovies.com/2011/09/just-because-you-are-character-still.html

http://reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.ca/2015/04/memory-bank-king-kong-craze-of-1976.html

Monday, March 20, 2017

New York City Subway



New York City Subway HD EXCLUSIVE: Bombardier R62A 7 Train Roundtrip Railfan (Express and Local)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2zJMrgdtJI

R42 Z Train RFW Footage - Jamaica Center-Broad Street [Skip Stop Express] (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2qDYWyVYok

The Abandoned 1904 City Hall Subway Station
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrKlp1ApzEw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWBst5b27oI

Dubai Metro


Dubai Metro celebrates 5th anniversary. The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority look back at the successful launch of the Dubai Metro, celebrate five years of first-class service and share a glimpse into the future of the Dubai Metro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rWGhyLaiX4

Melbourne Trams


Published on Mar 11, 2015
Route 96 is the busiest tram line in Melbourne. Filmed on the 8th of March 2015 this shows first hand how busy the line actually gets, especially through the City! Bombardier E Class Tram 6010 was the vehicle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POzqFlAzJGc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_6AhPIIabw

The Brussels Tram


The Brussels premetro- and tramline 3 connects the stop Esplanade (on the borders of Neder-Over-Heembeek, Laken / Laeken and Strombeek-Bever) with the stop Churchill in Ukkel/Uccle. The line was temporarily disbanded, but returned in service on 30 June 2008. The colour of the line is lime-green.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmRUGsWF3fA

[HKTC] Trams


Tram: ShauKeiWan to Kennedy Town in HongKong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTV97MafhtI

Japanese Tram Nagasaki


The Nagasaki Electric Tramway is a tram system in Nagasaki city, Japan. It has five lines totaling 11.5 km. This movie is the main line "Route 1" from Shokakuji-Shita to Akasako via Nagasaki-ekimae [JR Nagasaki Station] in 2012. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGhmu7Jjkuc

Oslo metro


Cabview Line 3 east-west / Oslo metro / Oslo T-bane 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNGc4IVW7eA

BART and MTA...


https://www.bart.gov/tickets/calculator


https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/transit/fares-passes
https://www.sfmta.com/maps/muni-metro-map

https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/transit/routes-stops

https://www.sfmta.com/maps/muni-owl-service-map-1-5-am

https://www.sfmta.com/maps

BART info and data


Published on Jan 19, 2017
BART's Warm Springs station was supposed to be completed by 2014. By mid 2016 the station was finally finished but a series of delays has kept the station from opening. This video gives you a look at the inside of the station and some insight into some of the problems plaguing the station.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX4cvAE8J18

The first phase of the BART Silicon Valley expansion plan is ahead of schedule, under budget and just got a new federal grant. Kiet Do reports. (10/11/16)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbvY6zJqJiE

High-speed rail and sustainability / Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmXXyd9KQhs

The Next 40 Years: BART's Plan to Keep the Bay Area Moving
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kEFjMxM4cU

BART must shut down for a few hours every night for mandated inspections and critical maintenance work but there's no replacement for actually seeing what happens during the race till dawn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3JlRbLnLFE&feature=youtu.be

BART has the oldest fleet in the nation. It needs state and federal support to keep one of the Bay Area's most important public transportation systems in a state of good repair.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKBhIo_rAeE since 1972


BART looks to replace its aging fleet of rail cars with the fleet of the future. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o6hjJJwQ5U



https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=BART

San Francisco MUNI...

https://www.sfmta.com/projects-planning/projects/central-subway-project

http://sf-planning.org/transportation-planning

https://www.bart.gov/guide/faq#late_night

https://www.bart.gov/guide/faq


http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/san-francisco-ca/94103/march-weather/347629

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Channeling-Steve-Jobs-Apple-seeks-design-perfection-new-spaceship-campus

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4198560/Channeling-Steve-Jobs-Apple-seeks-design-perfection-new-spaceship-campus.html

An Earlier Version for Bank of America Plaza in Dallas


"Bank of America Plaza’s original plans not only included a twin tower, but called for Tower 2 to have gold-tinted windows — and a purple argon outline at night. Without a doubt, minds would have been blown after seeing 900 vertical feet of green argon and purple argon, in addition to Reunion Tower’s “dancing” lights and the new LED systems on the Omni hotel and Hunt Oil Tower. Original plans also called for two-story pyramid caps on each tower, but those were nixed by the FAA because of downtown’s proximity to Love Field."
http://www.dallasing.com/dallas-twin-towers-bank-of-america-plaza-cityplace-centre/
http://www.dallasnews.com/business/business/2015/04/14/dallas-green-building-turns-30-with-a-storied-past-to-match-its-height





Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Texas...


http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1269139

Cityplace Tower (Dallas)



 




Fountain Place Dallas original twin towers concept

http://www.dallasing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/fountain-place-dallas-twin-towers.jpg

Original twin towers plan for Bank of America Plaza in Dallas

"Original plans for the development, initially called Dallas Main Center, called for two 72-story towers, a 600-room hotel, and a parking garage." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_America_Plaza_(Dallas)#Design