https://globalnews.ca/news/10534589/translink-funding-fiscal-cliff-road-infrastructure/
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/05/30/translink-on-fiscal-cliff/
Friday, May 31, 2024
transportation-service-cuts-loom-if-funding-can-t-be-found-for-programs-translink-BC
Thursday, May 30, 2024
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
Is it Time to Stop Building Highways?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN5EJDmPQ04 Some people would like to go back to the horse & carriage days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za56H2BGamQ (induced demand) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wlld3Z9wRc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S76lKWeU_xc LA
It's not about going back to the horse & waggon, but using highways & roads more efficiently. Thus, there is still a need to have good roads, bridges & tunnels.
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Toronto's MA$$IVE Transit Transformation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufgQdU5DUI8
How Toronto Got Addicted to Cars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkO-DttA9ew
Surrey mayor disappointed by delays to Pattullo Bridge replacement
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/05/28/locke-unhappy-with-delays-to-pattullo/
Of course a bridge with at least 2 bus & HOV lanes, plus 3 general lanes each way should have been built decades ago. Apparently, its better to cram everything into just 2 lanes each way & not have a couple of emergency lanes. That way its even more likely to jam up the new bridge. Even if it open with 3 lanes each way, there should have also still been a couple of emergency lanes as well as 2 bus lanes. However, that would go against the BC bottleneck planning agenda.
NW like Vancouver can't stop Surrey from growing into the largest city in backward BC.
https://www.surrey.ca/news-events/news/statement-mayor-pattullo-bridge
https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/construction/current-works
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge A 4 lane bottleneck of conjestion.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement Still, a 4 lane chokepoint.
Vancouver wants to decarbonize its large buildings. Some owners may not be able to afford it
New law requires large-building owners to report emissions, with plans to reduce greenhouse gas limits by 2040
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-bylaw-decarbonize-buildings-1.7206506
New replacement of Pattullo Bridge with only four lanes is too small for growing Surrey
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-replacement-crossing-capacity-small
Indeed, why build a bridge with 2 bus lanes & 2 HOV lanes & even 2 emergency lanes? Just cram everything into only 2 lanes each way. This is the epitome of BC bottleneck planning. It's also another symbolic example to water down the scale of the infrastructure. Building big & wide is indicative of planning for growth, but BC has been under a multigenerational slow growth agenda.
Bus & HOV lanes and even wide emergency lanes should be standard on any new bridge in Greater Vancouver. A 4 lane bridge is just another sad BC joke. Make sure that the bridge isn't designed to accommodate a future deck for LRT, because Surrey & NW won't ever need another rapid transit crossing. Properly planning for growth means thinking big, but this is small minded backwater BC.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement
Five of Ontario's top 10 worst roads are located in the Greater Toronto Area
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/five-of-ontario-s-top-10-worst-roads-are-located-in-the-toronto-area-1.6903196 Of course its a good idea to make sure that the roads & streets are as smooth as possible.
The Greater_Toronto_Area is gradually becoming a vast urban region like the Chicago_metropolitan_area. So many more modes of transit must be provided for the GTA. IE, trains, HOV, bus & bike lanes.
https://www.insauga.com/one-of-ontarios-worst-roads-is-among-the-busiest-streets-in-mississauga
Being from the BC Lower_Mainland, it's hard to believe that Canada's GTA is on its way to becoming like another Chicagoland. But then I always remember that Ontario, like Quebec & Alberta aren't under anything like the BC mentality & all of its restrictions.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/worst-roads-ontario-2024-1.7215979
In effect, the Burlington_Bay_James_N._Allan_Skyway went from a BC like 4 lane bridge to an 8 lane Ontario crossing in the mid 1980s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlington_Bay_James_N._Allan_Skyway#1985_twin_bridge
https://burlingtontraffic.ca/qew-burlington-bay-james-n-allan-skyway The 4th lane each way could eventually become a bus & HOV_lane.
The 4 lane Burlington_Canal_Lift_Bridge is more like a narrow Vancouver bridge. Just 2 lanes each way with no space for an emergency lane or bus & HOV lane. That's why the Burlington_Bay_James_N._Allan_Skyway crossing is still better than any bridge within the Vancouver city limits. The skyway crossing combined with the lift bridge, provides 12 lanes, because the emergency lanes usually aren't counted. Just imagine if all that was funneled into a 4 lane Vancouver bridge. Fortunately, the backward BC bottleneck mentality has never taken over Ontario.
While Oak Street in Vancouver has 6 lanes, the Oak_Street_Bridge was only designed to have 4 lanes. Thus, it's a fine example of the BC mentality and the multigenerational Vancouverization agenda. Vancouverization is all about watering things down & creating bottlenecks or chokepoints.
The narrow 4 lane bridge should have been designed with a provision to eventually be at least 8 lanes wide. 3 lanes each way, plus a bus & HOV lane each way, but that would conflict with the narrow mindedness of Vancouver. It's sad that at least a bus & bike bridge wasn't built next to it, but that would conflict with the BC bottleneck planning approach to things.
https://images.drivebc.ca/bchighwaycam/pub/html/www/70.html A 6 lane street funneled into a 4 lane bridge. WTH?
The Oak_Street_Bridge really should have been opened as a 10 lane bridge. Yet, Oak_Street has only 6 lanes. A 10 lane OSB could have not only allowed for 3 lanes each way, but a bus & HOV_lane each way. Then the 5th lane each way could have been an emergency lane.
At the very least, a HOV, bus & bike bridge should be built next to the OSB. However, the multi generational backward BC mentality just doesn't care.
The 4 lane joke that is the George_Massey_Tunnel, should have had a HOV, bus & bike bridge built next to it several decades ago. But that would have actually created better mobility & less congestion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Massey_Tunnel#Replacement Of course just like with the old tunnel, the new tunnel won't have a provision for LRT & emergency lanes. Thus, a LRT bridge would eventually have to be built next to it. Apparently, having a train from the Tsawwassen_ferry_terminal to the airport still doesn't make sense. That's just the backward BC way.
If you are from Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, the Pacific NW, Australia or just about anywhere, the watered down BC infrastructure will surprise you.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=old+and+new+narrow+bridges
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=bus+and+bike+bridges
The North Shore-Metrotown SkyTrain Plan
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/north-shore-skytrain-burrard-inlet-rapid-transit-brt-lrt-study
The North+Shore has been neglected for generations.
https://www.cnv.org/Streets-Transportation/Transportation-Planning/North-Shore-Transit-Plan
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/north-shore-city-councils-rapid-transit-translink-approval-plan
The Arbutus Greenway
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/arbutus-greenway-public-street-vancouver
The streetcar line was decommissioned in the 1950s. Perhaps a modern tram-train or LRV, might be built there before the 2050s. The 2 coach Canada Line is such a sad joke. It's barely a train as some streetcar & tram trains are longer, but not faster.
https://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/arbutus-greenway.aspx
https://www.letsgobiking.net/beginner/143-arbutus-greenway/
https://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/explore-the-arbutus-greenway.aspx
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/british-columbia/arbutus-greenway
https://www.translink.ca/plans-and-projects/projects/rapid-transit-projects/skytrain-expansion-program/skytrain-fleet-expansion All the SkyTrain stations should have been designed to eventually be able to accomodate 8-10 car trains.
Monday, May 27, 2024
The big TO and Canada in general
Of course big cities & nations change over the decades & sometimes people just leave. However, there are various reasons overall that might cause people to move away. A country can be progressive & advance its living standards. However, when a country no longer listens to its citizens & newcomers, that's indicative of a stubborn and restrictive agenda. An agenda that seems to be the opposite of what the people want.
Why are so many immigrants leaving Canada? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBDlcxyZ4fo CTV
WHY People are Fleeing Canada as Fast as They Can... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B_crKgV3rs
Why are so many people LEAVING Canada lately? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pVKJt1Uh9E
Why No One Wants To Live In Canada Anymore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDzme7W7Fy8
Is Canada Is Becoming a Dystopian Nightmare? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChKwUpWNMSQ
Why Are People Leaving Canada? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kohSD5unJ3Q
Why are many Canadians deciding to live abroad? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWkOq60kP10
Cost of living and Software Engineer Salaries in Canada https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqyRp6pAwu8
Canada sees drop in citizen applications from permanent residents | BBC News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3SFZdZFHxs
Sunday, May 26, 2024
The Pattullo Bridge replacement now delayed by 1 year
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-construction-opening-delay-2025
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pattullo-bridge-delays-1.7215198
https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/construction/current-works/
The new PB should open with 6 lanes with a provision to have at least 8 lanes. A 4th lane each way could be a nice bus & HOV corridor. But once again, everything will be funneled into a 4 lane BC bottleneck.
https://globalnews.ca/news/10523439/broadway-subway-pattullo-bridge-delay/
Since the Skytrain isn't open 24hrs, 2 bus lanes should have been part of the bridge right from the start. Its sad that the multigenerational BC mentality never allowed for a much wider SkyBridge. Fortunately, Oregon was able to build their fantastic Tilikum_Crossing, because it doesn't have anything like the BC mentality to thwart it.
Of course the Skybridge was never designed to have bus & bike lanes, but that's something Portland would eventually do. The extremely narrow SkyBridge should have been designed to not only have 2 bike lanes, but 2 bus & 2 HOV lanes to take some of the pressure off the old PB, as well as its replacement. But that would conflict with the narrow minded, multigenerational backward BC mentality.
After all these decades, backward BC still wants to make sure that there is no provision for a streetcar or a tram-train between Surrey & NW. That's despite Surrey eventually becoming the largest city in BC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skybridge_(TransLink) The narrow minded BC joke of a transit bridge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilikum_Crossing Perhaps, the most amazing bridge in Oregon. https://trimet.org/tilikum
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement
Edmonton vs. Vancouver, BC
https://versus.com/en/edmonton-vs-vancouver
In some ways you can win in Alberta & in some ways win in BC. It all depends upon what you want or what you can afford & if you like -25C for a few months of the year.
Saturday, May 25, 2024
The need to protect Alberta's affordability advantage
Don't ever allow the BC mentality to takeover Alberta. If Alberta was under anything like the BC restrictions, Alberta would have collapsed years ago.
Being from the BC part of Canada, it's always amazing to see what Alberta & Washington_(state) are allowed to do, simply because they have no backward BC mentality to contend with.
Saskatchewan has the potential to become like a smaller Alberta, as long as it isn't taken over by anything like the BC mentality.
Seattle and Vancouver, BC
Seattle is about the size of Burnaby, NW & Vancouver, combined.
https://www.movingwaldo.com/where-to-live/seattle-vs-vancouver-where-should-i-live/
https://versus.com/en/seattle-vs-vancouver
https://www.globe-gazers.com/vancouver-vs-seattle/
Friday, May 24, 2024
Victoria, BC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria,_British_Columbia It's taken a long time just to reach a population of 100K.
Greater_Victoria eventually obtained a population of 400K.
The Capital_Regional_District has around 415K in 2021.
https://www.citypopulation.de/en/canada/britishcolumbia/admin/5917__capital 439,950 Population [2022] – Estimate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Island#Demographics
Of course in Australia, Victoria_(state) is a mighty place, far from the provincial backwater BC mentality.
Prince George, BC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_George,_British_Columbia
While Edmonton has easily surpassed a million people, PG has been struggling just to have 100K people.
The Calgary–Edmonton Corridor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary-Edmonton_Corridor
Area 38,323.18 km2 (14,796.66 sq mi)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary-Edmonton_Corridor#Growth 3,230,150 as of 2021.
Calgary-Edmonton Commuter_Train_Corridor , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQQG2CTW_Cg RM Transit
More Canadians are choosing to move to Red Deer and Alberta, in general
https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/local-news/more-canadians-are-choosing-to-move-to-red-deer-7363004
Red_Deer,_Alberta is a nice place for those who want to live in-between Calgary & Edmonton. Perhaps some day Red+Deer might become like a smaller Edmonton or Calgary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Deer,_Alberta#Infrastructure
The Riverlands+Pedestrian+Bridge is great for those that don't want to cross the river on one of the regular road bridges.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-population-records-2023-to-2024-data-1.7157110
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Monday, May 20, 2024
A millennial moved from Australia to Canada for her career.
She said the people in Vancouver are welcoming, but the cost of living is high. https://www.businessinsider.com/moving-from-sydney-australia-to-canada-pros-cons-2024-5
Friday, May 17, 2024
Canada is seeing one of the worst standard-of-living declines in 40 years
https://dailyhive.com/canada/canada-worst-standard-of-living-declines-four-decades
Ontario and Quebec have been long established areas of growth and there is always room for improvement. Alberta and BC have the potential to be the western counterpart.
A Calgary to Edmonton line would make a lot of sense. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQQG2CTW_Cg
Thursday, May 16, 2024
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Golden Glades bike-pedestrian bridge
https://www.miamitodaynews.com/2024/05/14/golden-glades-getting-17-million-bike-pedestrian-bridge
Whether its crossing over several highways lanes, or its crossing over water, a bike & footpath bridge can really improve mobility.
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
The Pattullo Bridge saga
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-closing-two-night
The old bridge just wasn't designed for any expanded capacity. The new PB should have been designed to eventually have a 2nd deck & a provision for rapid rail transit. The new bridge should have been planned to open with a 3rd lane each way for bus & HOV. Apparently, it's better to funnel everything into 2 lanes each way. Good bike & foot paths, but no need for bus & HOV lanes at this time. WTH?
Kitsilano in Vancouver, BC
Neighborhoods are always changing, sometimes gradually & sometimes quickly. There are a lot of nice old houses in Kitsilano that are worth preserving. In several cases, infill developments can occur without having to teardown the older buildings.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-nimby-kitsilano-2560-trafalgar-street
It seems that not enough people in the neighborhood were allowed to properly voice their concerns.
https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/2560-2580-trafalgar-st-2
https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/kitsilano.aspx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsilano_Beach
https://www.destinationvancouver.com/vancouver/neighbourhoods/kitsilano
The city should have been providing more incentives to retain the older houses, by allowing upgrades & or additions. Over the decades, Vancouver has lost several houses, simply because of half-assed policies.
Of course if a new owner has paid 2.5, 5 or 10 million dollars for a property, they should be able to build what they want. However, there should have been incentives to save the older houses whenever possible. An infill development can be a guesthouse, or just a separate unit to be rented out for some extra income.
Monday, May 13, 2024
The Sixth Street Viaduct and the West 7th Street Bridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Street_Viaduct Los Angeles
https://www.lusas.com/case/bridge/west_7th_street_bridge.html Fort Worth, Texas
Of course similar bridges can be seen in various cities.
https://aecollab.com/projects/bridges/west-7th-street-bridge
https://ftwtoday.6amcity.com/66-mile-bike-trail-connects-fort-worth-dallas
https://laist.com/news/transportation/6th-street-bridge-bike-lanes-how-protective-are-they
Thursday, May 9, 2024
The first fully completed new generation SkyTrain in Metro Vancouver
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-mark-v-new-generation-train-inside-interior-design
So the newest trains will only have 5 coaches. So many metros & subways today have 6, 8 or 10 car trains. The SkyTrain should have been designed to ultimately have 152.4 m or 500 long stations like the Montreal Metro. The joke that is the Canada Line, was only designed to ultimately have 2.5 car trains, not 5, let alone 10. Of course BC wouldn't plan for 8-10 car trains, because that would be indicative of properly preparing for growth. BC has shown a continual reluctance to build up to a proper size infrastructure.
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Vancouver Island Rail Corridor
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-island-corridor-foundation-thomas-bevan
The Island_Rail_Corridor has so much potential, but sleepy BC or backwater BC is very slow-going, as usual. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-island-rail-delay-2023-1.6778609
https://www.islandrail.ca/rail/rail-service-plans/
https://tc.canada.ca/en/binder/47-vancouver-island-rail-corridor
The Leaside Bridge and The Aurora Bridge
The 6 lane Leaside_Bridge opened on October 29, 1927. The bridge wouldn't have to be Vancouverized, or narrowed, if a bus & bike bridge was built next to it. Turning the Leaside_Bridge into a 5 or 4 lane crossing would be like taking the backward BC approach to things.
The 6 lane Aurora_Bridge opened on February 22, 1932. If a bus & bike bridge was built next to it, that would greatly improve the overall crossing area. However, some people would like to have the 6 lane bridge, Vancouverized. Funneling it into a 5 or 4 lane choke point is a BC type of approach that Washington State should avoid.
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Toronto’s road construction season
https://globalnews.ca/news/10464912/toronto-construction-season-traffic-solutions/
Driving on parts of the Gardiner that's temporarily reduced to 2 lanes each way for repairs, can give people in the GTA a sense of what it's like driving in stunted Vancouver.
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/03/19/gardiner-construction-phase-two-dufferin-strachan/
The mostly six lane Gardiner should have been designed to have had at least a 4th lane each way so that it could have been used as a bus & HOV lane.
https://bayview-news.com/2024/03/bayview-leaside-commuters-face-impact-of-2024-road-work.html/
Nothing like the Gardiner_Expressway or the Don_Valley_Parkway was ever allowed in Vancouver. That's because a clearing of houses would have been required. Thus, it's been tough enough just to have something like a 6 lane Lake_Shore_Boulevard (LSB) in Vancouver.
Kingsway_at_the_Vancouver-Burnaby boundary, is funneled into a 4 lane bottleneck just east of Boundary+Road.
Hastings_Street_in_downtown_Vancouver is funneled into a 5 lane cokepoint & gets even narrower.
The Knight_Street-Clark Drive corridor isn't always 6 lanes wide. There are a few 4 lane chokepoints. An urban 6 lane corridor is essential, because a 3rd lane each way can become a bus & HOV lane. However, the congestive Vancouver approach is to funnel everything into a 4 lane bottleneck. Fortunately, most cities have allowed enough extra space for bus & HOV lanes on a roadbed that's more than 2 lanes each way.
Is Toronto construction just as safe & easy as last year?
https://www.toronto.ca/news/city-of-toronto-kicks-off-busy-billion-dollar-construction-season/
Of course all the various construction projects can't be done in one year, as it can take several years or even decades.
Whenever possible express bus & HOV lanes can enable more people to move around. However, if the highway is only a 2-4 lane waggon road, its almost impossible to have proper express bus & HOV lanes on those sections.
Stanley Park Causeway and Lions Gate Bridge reopen after a fallen tree incident
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/05/07/stanley-park-causeway-closed-for-fallen-tree/
Perhaps the best example of Vancouverization is the 3 lane chokepoint that is the Lions-Gate-Bridge-and-roadway-through-Stanley-Park. No parallel bus-tunnel or bus-bridge, because that would actually help to efficiently move more people around.
https://globalnews.ca/news/10480945/lions-gate-bridge-closed-tree-down Especially, don't have a high capacity rapid transit rail tunnel though there, because that would go against the constrictive planning agenda of Vancouver & BC.
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/lions-gate-bridge-reopens-after-downed-tree-forces-closure-1.6877368
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/fallen-tree-closes-stanley-park-causeway Bottelneck or chokpoint planning has been a crucial part of the Vancouverization agenda for generations.
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/traffic-alert-lions-gate-bridge-closed-downed-tree
Vancouver, BC is such a backward city. Fortunately, the Vancouverization mentality hasn't been adopted by most cities.
TTC subway slow-speed zones is really affecting trains
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/05/07/ttc-subway-trains-slow-speed-zones/
Of course Boston has had its slow train problems as well.
https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2023/09/12/mbta-red-line-slow-zones-shutdowns
Monday, May 6, 2024
Sunday, May 5, 2024
Some of the Best Aquariums in the World
https://www.headout.com/blog/best-aquariums-in-the-world/
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/the-worlds-most-beautiful-aquariums
https://www.thetravel.com/bucket-list-aquariums-in-the-world/
https://worldcitiesranking.com/best-aquariums-top10/
https://aquadecorbackgrounds.com/blog/10-largest-aquariums-in-the-world/
https://tourscanner.com/blog/best-aquariums-in-the-world/
https://www.celebritycruises.com/blog/best-aquariums-in-the-world
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Aquarium
https://www.vanaqua.org/explore/special-events/monsters-of-the-abyss
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/jessica-biel-meets-jessica-seal-vancouver-aquarium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_aquariums
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_aquarium#Public_aquariums_today
Traffic impacts in downtown Vancouver due to marathons and other events
https://globalnews.ca/news/10475853/traffic-impacted-in-downtown-vancouver-due-to-bmo-marathons/
While such events are for a good cause, the traffic gets even more congested.
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/05/04/vancouver-marathon-road-closures/
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/05/04/vancouver-marathon-road-closures/
Unfortunately, Vancouver city planning never allowed for any bus tunnels or bridges, especially under/over Burrard Inlet, False Creek & the Fraser River. All the underground train stations weren't built to easily become as long as the Montreal Metro stations, which are 152.45 m or 500 feet.
Vancouver & the Metropolitan Region have done so many things wrong. The train stations are too short & most of the bridges are so narrow, there is no room for bus & HOV lanes. By now, there should have been a regional network of rapid bus & HOV bridges, because most of the existing bridges have just 2 lanes each way.
How To Build A City | SEATTLE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MN6AXC4Z7k
Seattle, Perth, Calgary & Edmonton have been able to do so much more, because they don't have to contend with anything like the backwards mentality of Vancouver & BC.
Friday, May 3, 2024
The Rebuilt Museum of Anthropology, but no train to UBC yet
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/museum-of-anthropology-ubc-moa-reopening-june-2024-date
https://visit.ubc.ca/see-and-do/museums-and-art-galleries/museum-of-anthropology/
https://www.vancouverattractions.com/museum-of-anthropology-at-ubc
https://planning.ubc.ca/museum-anthropology-great-hall-renewal
https://www.cntraveler.com/activities/vancouver/vancouver/museum-of-anthropology-at-ubc
The SkyTrain to UBC Subway Saga.
Some people are just as easily opposed to something like the-bloor-danforth-subway as they are with an expressway. That's especially the case in backwards Vancouver.
Fortunately, many other cities have been able to get a train to their main university campus much faster than slow-moving Vancouver is attempting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_2_Bloor-Danforth#Frequency The TTC Subway should have been able to run 10 car trains by now. Even an 8 car train would be a little better than a 6 car train. However, a 6 car train is only 138m or 450 feet long. A 9 car Montreal Metro train is about 152.5m or 500 feet long.
Of course the first 2 Skytrain lines only have 80m stations & the Canada embarrassment Line only has a level clearance for 50m stations. There should have been a proper oversight committee to make sure that the trains could ultimately be 10 cars long. At least have stations that could accommodate a 5 car train, not a 2.5 car joke of a train.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spadina_station
https://spacing.ca/toronto/2015/10/06/interchange-not-interchange-spadina-vs-st-george
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George_station
https://transportation.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/Subway-Map.pdf
A tour of Berri-UQAM metro station in Montreal, Canada https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Suxkz8oc8vs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGill_station , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peel_station_(Montreal_Metro)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_station_(Calgary) 1987
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_station_(Edmonton) 1992
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Washington_station 2016
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=UBC-Broadway+Corridor
Canada's High Food Prices
https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/research/canada-s-food-price-report-2024.html
This is quite a problem.
Most people can't cut their food intake in half, just to save on food costs.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/costco-food-prices-canada-mexico?
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/groceries-local-market-compared-loblaws
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/ca/investing/why-are-prices-so-high/
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/loblaw-ceo-addresses-boycott-message-employees
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/ca/personal-finance/food-inflation/
https://www.retailcouncil.org/truth-of-canadian-grocery-price-inflation/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/food-costs-world-canada-1.3474241
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Evergreen Point Floating Bridge in Seattle vs. W.R. Bennett Bridge in Kelowna
The Evergreen_Point_Floating_Bridge in Seattle has 6 lanes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen_Point_Floating_Bridge#Public_transportation
The William_R._Bennett_Bridge in Kelowna should have been designed to eventually have 6 lanes, plus 2 bus lanes, with a long-term provision for 2 Tram-Train or LRT tracks.
The sidewalk could be reconfigured into a 6th lane, but only if a bus, bike & train bridge was built next to it. Thus, this remains as another incomplete BC transportation crossing. A parallel bus & bike bridge would also have 2 footpaths & even 2 HOV lanes. Eventually, there should be something like a CTrain or G:link connecting Vernon, KELOWNA and Penticton. Unfortunatly, BC seems to want to excel in congestion planning.
https://www.drivebc.ca/mobile/pub/webcams/id/149.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_R._Bennett_Bridge#Construction_budget
https://www.google.com/maps/place/William+R.+Bennett+Brg
Somehow Australia is able to put more funding into building better infrastructure.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Evergreen+Point+Floating+Bridge
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Friday, April 26, 2024
A little house in Toronto
https://www.blogto.com/real-estate-toronto/2024/04/little-house-toronto
It's quite rare to find something that is smaller in Toronto than in Vancouver.
A partial subway closure on TTC Line 2 could last 'a few days' after a fire
There can always be better redundancy by having enough parallel bus routes.
So whenever a train line is out of service, the number of buses can be quickly increased.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ttc-subway-kipling-jane-closure-1.7185757
Is Greater Vancouver too noisy?
https://spacing.ca/vancouver/2024/04/15/noise-the-invisible-pollutant/
Cities are meant to be big & bustling places. Most of BC is a wilderness that is ever unlikely to be inhabited, just like Canada overal.
Vancouver-Surrey is the only region in BC with over 2 million people.
Victoria-Nanaimo is the only part of Vancouver Island with a potential of surpassing half a million people.
The Greater Kelowna area is the only inland part of BC with a potential to surpass a quarter of a million people.
Switzerland can fit into BC 23 times, yet BC doesn't even have the population of one CH.
Toronto's Eglinton-crosstown-west-extension-breakthrough
https://www.blogto.com/city/2024/04/eglinton-crosstown-west-extension-breakthrough-completion/
Some things might take a while in Toronto to get done, but in Vancouver you might have to wait until you have grey hair.
https://www.metrolinx.com/en/projects-and-programs/eglinton-crosstown-west-extension
https://www.infrastructureontario.ca/en/what-we-do/projectssearch/eglinton-crosstown-west-extension/
SkyTrain Expo Line changes kick in this weekend in Surrey
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-expo-line-surrey-station-closure
No 10 car trains, not even 9 like what the Montreal Metro has. It's been tough enough just to get the first 2 Skytrain lines to handle 5 car trains. The Canada Line, a pathetic 3rd line can ultimately only handle 2.5 car trains.
Short trains & narrow bridges are always great examples of congestive planning in Greater Vancouver.
SUPERMAN and LOIS Wrap Party in Vancouver
https://hollywoodnorthbuzz.com/2024/04/superman-lois-wrap-party-in-vancouver-up-up-away.html
As one production wraps up, another is underway.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/cambie-bridge-closure-april-26
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Sunshine 60: Tokyo's haunted skyscraper
https://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/sunshine-60-tokyo-skyscraper
The Sunshine 60 Tower has an interesting history.
https://medium.com/@movingjapan5/haunted-places-you-definitely-shouldnt-visit-in-tokyo-d7c01e7eb1bd
https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/haunted/articles/top-10-most-haunted-places
https://www.travelandleisure.com/holiday-travel/most-haunted-places-in-the-world
https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/most-haunted-places-in-the-world
https://www.celebritycruises.com/blog/haunted-places-to-visit
VIA West57 in NYC
https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/skyscraper/via-west57-bjarke-ingels-group-big
At only 450 feet, it's just another stump of a building in NYC, but it's a very nice looking building. Of course for most of Vancouver's history & BC in general, no building was allowed to be built taller than it, until recent years.
Even the Harbour_Centre wasn't allowed to be that much taller than the 481 foot Pyramid in Cairo. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/geometry/height.html
"It originally stood about 482 feet (147 meters) tall, but erosion and the removal of most of the polished limestone casing stones—which made the structure smooth and caused it to gleam in the sunlight—have lowered the pyramid’s height to 449 feet (137 meters)." https://www.britannica.com/place/Great-Pyramid-of-Giza
"Initially standing at 146.6 metres (481 feet), the Great Pyramid was the world's tallest human-made structure for more than 3,800 years. Over time, most of the smooth white limestone casing was removed, which lowered the pyramid's height to the current 138.5 metres (454.4 ft)..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Vancouver_Lookout%2C_Harbour_Centre.jpg
Vancouver Centre 2 office tower, or is it just another stump?
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-centre-ii-office-tower-tenants
The Scotia_Plaza in Toronto is double the height & twice the width than the stump in Vancouver.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/geometry/height.html VC Towers 1 & 2 weren't allowed to be taller than the original height of the Great_Pyramid_of_Giza in Cairo, Egypt either.
Vancouver Centre Tower 2 is definitely shorter than the Pyramid_of_Khafre.
A lot of cities have tall office towers, but Vancouver won't permit any to have 40 floors, nevermind 50, 60 or 70. Today, office towers might have to be designed to potentially be repurposed, as the need for office space declines.
In many cases, a 60 story residential tower might be the height equivalent of a 45-50 story office tower. That's because office floors are usually higher than residential floors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Vancouver
It's interesting that Vancouver & BC chose to use some Egyptian pyramid symbolism.
https://globalnews.ca/news/4627676/bc-liberals-new-brand
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/here-s-what-the-bc-liberal-party-may-change-its-name-to-1.6086133
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-election-2017-bc-liberals-different-federal-liberals
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Park_Board 3 mountains that look a lot like pyramids.
Egypt eventually had to allow structures to be taller than their classic pyramids. However, it wasn't until the 1970s when the BC part of Canada would ever so slightly, allow some buildings to be taller than the great pyramid. Fortunately, most real major cities around the world don't have to adhere to anything like the strict Vancouver type height restrictions & other limitations. Even the mountains just north of Vancouver are shorter than the mountains that are north of LA.
The Cairo_Tower was the first Egyptian building allowed to exceed the height of the Great_Pyramid_of_Giza.
| Architectural | 187 m (613.5 ft) |
|---|---|
| Antenna spire | 187 m (613.5 ft) |
| Roof | 160 m (524.9 ft) |
| Top floor | 143 m (469.2 ft) |
| Observatory | 143 m (469.2 ft) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_Tower It opened in 1961.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/Transamerica_Pyramid_Tower.jpg
The_Shard in London.
It was was quite a long time before another building in SF was allowed to be taller than the 1972 era Transamerica_Pyramid.
A few other pyramidal towers would eventually rival the height of the Transamerica_Pyramid.
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Sapphire by the Gardens in Melbourne
https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/sapphire-by-the-gardens/27866
https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/case-studies/a10088-project-in-depthsapphire-by-the-gardens/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Melbourne#Overall
A Vintage luxury car lifted into Vancouver's Butterfly building
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vintage-luxury-car-butterfly-building
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/millionaire-turns-heads-hoisting-car-into-39m-melbourne-penthouse/news-story/2a70430b94355b8f263e21bb11387e1d Of course Melbourne is a real city like Toronto & San Fransisco. Those tram or streetcar cities have something very cool about them. They along with, Sydney & Brisbane or Singapore were never thwarted, stunted or especially, Vancouverized.
https://www.motor1.com/news/667598/mclaren-senna-lifted-57-stories-39m-apartment-cant-be-driven
https://www.forbes.com.au/life/cars/melbourne-millionaire-cranes-mclaren-into-57th-floor-penthouse/
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Sapphire+by+the+Gardens+in+Melbourne
Monday, April 22, 2024
New 57th Avenue bus route and Canada Line station in Vancouver
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/mla-south-vancouver-new-57th-avenue-bus-route-canada-line-stations
The multibillion dollar Canada+Line is one of the best examples of the Greater_Vancouver areas reluctance to build propersize big city infrastructure. Perhaps starting out with a 2 or 3 car train joke could have worked for a while. However, all the stations should have been designed to eventually accomodate 8-10 car trains.
It's so strange that the extremely underbuilt SkyTrain-Canada_Line was never envisioned to eventually reach the Tsawwassen_ferry_terminal. Just like the Canada_Line should have gradually reached to the Horseshoe_Bay_ferry_terminal. However, that would conflict with the, Keep Vancouver Small agenda, which is part of the overall Backwater BC mentality.
Unfortunately, the Canada_Line is like the middle section of an incomplete route. Even if the lack of funding was the main excuse, there is still no excuse not to have long range plans linking it to the Horseshoe_Bay_ferry_terminal and the Tsawwassen_ferry_terminal.
The Canada+Line is a fine example of the lack of vision not only for Vancouver & Richmond, but BC & Canada in general. Indeed, with all the extreme building limitations & restrictions, it's just another case of congestive planning in BC.
Public transit in Vancouver, Canada
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/free-bus-service-translink-bc-transit-earth-day
The cities refusal to build bus bridges next to all the narrow bridges just continues through the years.
The SkyTrain was deliberately designed to have much shorter stations than the Montreal Metro, apparently just to save money. Yet, Greater Vancouver would benefit strongly by having 152.5 m or 500 foot long trains. Even if the budget wasn't there to build long stations for long trains, the stations still could have been designed to be 152.5 m.
It's like Greater Vancouver wants to perpetually be one of the worlds best examples of congestive planning or bottleneck planning.
Saturday, April 20, 2024
At least 35 towers with about 7,000 rental homes now proposed in the Broadway Plan area of Vancouver
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/broadway-plan-vancouver-rental-housing-tower-proposals
Montreal & Seattle have both grown into 4 million + metropolitan regions. They have longer trains for more capacity, wider bridges & taller buildings than what is allowed in Vancouver. Over the past several decades, Vancouver kept putting in more restrictions & red tape as a sort of, HOLD BACK THE CITY agenda. Thus, keeping things as small and backward as possible in Vancouver helps to maintain the small city symbolism & mentality. This symbolism is meant to be a constant reminder of the reluctance to build up a proper level of infrastructure.
On a larger scale, Canada is still nowhere of close to containing 1% of the world's population. It's a simple formula, allow a small amount of refugees or migrants in every year, but have a main focus of bringing in a wealthier & highly skilled demographic. Most of the world's human population consists of non-white people. Thus, if ever a KEEP CANADA SMALL, IT'S GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT mentality is firmly established, it's just another variation of the KEEP THEM OUT AGENDA.
Such an agenda should be challenged. Especially, when several other countries are able to contain more people on less land area. The old colonial mentality was partially about reducing the influx of non-white people & limiting their rights.
Luxury housing isn't the problem, it's the lack of building more affordable housing that is the problem. If developers are willing to have some mixed income housing projects on some sights, then they should be granted permission to build the more profitable taller Toronto, Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane size towers.
However, the KEEP VANCOUVER SMALL & BACKWARDS agenda has been so firmly entrenched for several decades. It's part of the larger, KEEP THEM OUT agenda. There has been such a slow growth agenda in BC throughout its history. This BC agenda never seemed to catch on with Alberta & Washington State.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Brisbane%2C+Sydney%2C+Melbourne+and+Toronto
Robson Street site acquired for redevelopment into two rental housing towers
There is still such a small-minded mentality to only build what's impressive to Kamloops & Prince George, not Melbourne & Toronto. The smalltown planning & zoning agenda that is Vancouver continues to perpetuate this.
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