https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary_Stampede
https://calgary.citynews.ca/2025/06/25/win-ride-all-day-passes-to-the-calgary-stampede/
https://dailyhive.com/calgary/early-liquor-service-calgary-stampede-2025
https://www.todocanada.ca/cne-calgary-stampede-ranked-best-10-fairs-in-north-america
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary_Stampede#Stampede_Park
TCS attracts more people than the PNE, but not quite as many people as the CNE
https://spacing.ca/toronto/2025/06/23/understanding-the-elusiveness-of-smart-cities/
While an AI run city might seem efficient on the surface, there could be a layer of totalitarianism just underneath.
Training people to bark, grunt or roll over in order to not exceed their weekly carbon credit allotment is excrement!
https://www.propellerbooks.com/posts/2014/6/4/government-is-a-computer-alphaville
An AI run technocratic city could easily turn the place into a prison.
https://arcfinity.tumblr.com/post/85900501084/weve-been-having-urban-nightmares
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/jan/29/future-cities-in-film
For a line that first opened in 1985, it took until 2025 to try to start running 5 car trains of the latest generation of rolling stock. Considering that Greater Vancouver has a narrower road network than Montreal, the SkyTrain stations should have been designed to accomodate 10 car trains.
While the Alstom_Mark_V vehicles look nice & modern, a 5 car train is a half-length reminder of how much nicer & better a 10 car train would look.
Just because the SkyTrain is considered to be a Light Rail Vehicle, there still should have been a provision to eventually have the stations to be as long as the longest ones on the Montreal Metro. The Montreal Metro has 500 foot or 152.5m long stations, which can accomodate a 9 car train. Unfortunatly, the first 2 SkyTrain lines only have 80m stations, which are just barely over half the length of the longest STM stations. https://www.stm.info/en/info/networks/metro
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Societe_de_transport_de_Montreal#Connections_to_other_transit_services
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Metro#Rolling_stock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MR-63#Design While a 3 car joke of a train was possible, a 6 & especially a 9 car train is able to efficiently move more people around.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MR-73
3 cars per trainset, operating as 6- or 9-car trains
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MR-73#Construction_and_entry_into_service
Apparently, in order to reduce construction costs, the first 2 SkyTrain lines have stations that are only 250 feet. Half the length of a 500 foot long Montreal train, but BC usually takes the half-assed option with its small-scale of infrastructure development.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyTrain_(Vancouver)#UTDC_ICTS_Mark_I_fleet "The maximum based on current station platform lengths is a six-car configuration, totalling 76.2 metres (250 ft)."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPM-10 (9 articulated cars per train)
| Train length | 152.43 m (500 ft 11⁄8 in) |
|---|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPM-10#History Approximately, a 500 foot train divided by 9 cars = 55.55 feet, or just under 17m.
Despite the SkyTrain cars not running on rubber tires, each 55 ft. coach is very close in length to the 55.6 ft Montreal Metro coaches.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovia_Metro#Vehicle "The second generation Innovia ART 200 cars are 16.7 metres (54 ft 9
1⁄2 in) long each and come in articulated pairs."
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
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/capilano-mall-redevelopment-concept-proposal-north-vancouver-ocp
https://www.realestatenorthshore.com/news/market-minute/capilano-malls-big-makeover/
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/capilano-mall-north-vancouver-redevelopment-concept-quadreal
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-aquatic-centre-redeveloping-city-council-funding-vote
Why have a big city pool when a half-sized, half-assed pool is in sync with the smallminded Vancouver mentality. It's all so fitting for a city going backwards.
https://www.seafair.org https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seafair
Vancouver, BC used to have a Sea Festival, but it got watered down & drained away. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sea-festival-files-for-bankruptcy-protection-1.545832
Fortunately, the Seattle version is still going strong.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seafair#Events
https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/seafair-return-bigger-events
https://globalnews.ca/news/11240745/danielle-smith-pitches-bc-pipeline-project/
BC has been very reluctant to bend over to receive a big pipe from Alberta.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11231011/eby-pipeline-proposals-alberta-bc/
https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/private-company-oil-pipeline-tidewater-smith
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/sobeys-toys-r-us-1154-west-brodway-vancouver-new-grocery-store
Given the planned population density increase, there needs to be more stores & other services.
1950s Toronto and 1960s Montreal were able to have 152.5m or 500 foot long TTC subway and STM metro stations. The 1970s underground Edmonton LRT stations were built to be 120m-130m long, because unlike backwards Vancouver, Edmonton planned for significant future capacity, just like Seattle would also do. Unfortunatly, backwards Vancouver only has 80m stations for the first 2 Skytrain stations. The 3rd line or the Canada (embasement) Line, only has 50m short stations. Vancouver has had generations of watered down infrastructure. Who knows where so much of the money went, because it sure didn't go towards proper big city trains & express bus bridges.
https://corporatemeetingsnetwork.ca/2025/05/01/tackling-vancouvers-hotel-shortage-crisis/
https://www.staymagazine.ca/articles/vancouvers-make-or-break-moment-for-future-events-and-tourism
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-hotel-shortage-2026-world-cup-1.7117696
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/metro-vancouver-hotel-supply-shortage-demand
https://council.vancouver.ca/20250415/documents/r1.pdf
https://storeys.com/vancouver-approves-commercial-broadway-safeway-redevelopment/
The big dispute is not having a reasonable amount of below market level housing. Of course if the towers were at least 20-30 stories taller, provided that there were several affordable units included, then the developer would have more incentive for affordable units.
https://storeys.com/broadway-commercial-safeway-may-2024/
It's stupid to only have luxury high rises or even comfortable yuppie high-end housing, when there is a lot of demand for real affordable housing. Thus, if a high-rise developer could be allowed to build higher as long as a reasonable amount of affordable housing was included in the lower floors, it could work.
However, despite being a major transportation intersection, many people are uncomfortable of Oakridge size building, especially Brentwood size towers.
https://henriquezpartners.com/projects/501-595-w-georgia_388-abbott
For several decades, Vancouver was only allowed to have tall buildings that were impressive by Victoria-Kelowna-Kamloops-Prince+George standards.
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=1&status=15 V
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?stateID=1&status=15 BC
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?countryID=1&status=15 Can
https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/2025/06/08/metro-vancouver-releases-politician-salaries-in-2024/
Why have a proper big city scale of transportation infrastructure, when so much $ can go to the managers instead? Greater Vancouver has become so inept in functioning like a proper big urban area. The region is decades behind from where several cities are at.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-overnight-closures-june
Perhaps the Pattullo+Bridge isn't the worst bridge in Canada, but it is one of the worst bridges in North America.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11213829/granville-sros An Entertainment District shouldn't be an excrete district.
Originally, it's like it was considered to be a good idea to have an open toilet and drug-den around there. Then after after several years, perhaps enough people have started to realize that one drug-den and open toilet in Vancouver is enough. Perhaps the Main & Hastings area will also eventually be cleaned up. So many people need help with getting away from the substance abuse trap & pattern and helped to find safe, adequate housing.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11211786/club-owners-howard-johnson-compensation/
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/vancouver-city-council-approves-20-043051703.html
A new arena in Surrey might not be an urgent concern today. However, whenever Surrey exceeds a million residents the arena project might be more appropriate. In the meantime, the best potential site should be set aside for when that time arrives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mveblgvwRg
HRBT Expansion Project Corridor Concept https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4rNYsSJxhM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Metro Perhaps its because of the warmer climate, but this Sydney Metro train will be longer than any metro or subway rain in Canada.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Metro#Capacity "...6-car trains running on 4-minute headways. After the addition of the Stage 2 extension to Bankstown, the stations' platforms will be configured to allow for future use of 8-car trains and the signalling system designed to allow for 2-minute headways..."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Metro#Rolling_stock
| Train length | 121.5 m (398 ft 715⁄32 in) |
|---|---|
| Car length | 20.25 m (66 ft 51⁄4 in) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Metro_Metropolis_Stock#Design_and_construction Eventually, an 8 car train could be 532 feet long. That's longer than a 500 foot or 152.5m 9 car Montreal Metro train. So far, the max on the Toronto subway are 6 car trains.
If you are from NSW & visit the BC part of Canada, you won't believe how short the train between the airport & Downtown_Vancouver is. Its a 2 car joke of a train & is a fine example of inept transportation infrastructure planning in backwards BC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Airport#Rail
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Sydney_International_Airport#Rail
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tunnels_in_Australia
Despite having a smaller population than Canada, Australia seems to have more urban highway tunnels than Canada has.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/highway-401-tunnel-study-1.7523029#
HOV lanes & express bus tunnels would help to relieve the surface route.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/401-tunnel-cost-1.7464404
A truck lane system could also speed up shipping & efficiency.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ford-carney-highway-401-tunnel
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/09/25/ontario-highway-401-doug-ford-tunnel-proposal/
It's sad that the city let this part of town go to $HIT! Apparently, there was an unofficial need to have another crappy area, in addition to Main & Hastings.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11211588/metro-vancouver-wastewater-acciona/
So much inept excrete infrastructure planning. Some of that wasted money could have gone towards a train, rapid-bus & HOV tunnel between Downtown_Vancouver & the North_Shore. Fortunately, most cities around the world aren't interested in following the inept Vancouver & backwards BC approach to urban transportation planning.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodland_Park_Zoo
https://www.citypass.com/articles/seattle/guide-woodland-park-zoo
https://www.zoo.org Since 1899. https://www.zoo.org/about
Seattle just like Calgary, has a nice Zoo within its city limits.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/remembering-dinotown-bc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinotown
While the BC facility faded away, the Alberta version is still thriving.
https://www.calgaryzoo.com/plan-your-visit/animal-zones/prehistoric-park , https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=lWXtrftSBWE&t=70s
https://newsroom.calgary.ca/dinosaurs-dancing-and-the-birth-of-a-prehistoric-park/
https://calgaryheritage.org/wp/the-calgary-zoo-past-and-present/
Then there is the Greater+Vancouver+Mezosoic+Adventure (Park), but it's quite a way east of Vancouver.
While the winter Climate_of_Vancouver is mild when compared to Edmonton, Winnipeg & Montreal, it's still cold & damp for at least half of the year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Vancouver#Temperatures
Some people do build private swimming+pools in Vancouver & SW BC, but unless they are heated & covered, it's pointless. That's because there are only a few months of the year when it's warm enough to be in an outdoor, unheated pool.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Vancouver#Rain
Summer is the best 3 months out of the 12, but even during the summer the crappy, cold & damp weather can still drop by.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Vancouver_Zoo
While the Greater+Vancouver+Zoo seems to have a lot of space for future growth, there doesn't seem to be that much there now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Vancouver_Zoo#21st_century
Unlike Perth, Seattle, Calgary & Edmonton, the Greater+Vancouver+Zoo is quite far away from the city of Vancouver.
https://604now.com/stanley-park-zoo-vancouver-british-columbia-history/
https://vancouverguardian.com/old-photographs-stanley-park-zoo/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Park#Zoo_and_Children's_Farmyard
Just another cold, crappy rainy Saturday for Vancouver.
https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/swimming-pools.aspx
While there are some outside pools, there are only a few months of the year when it's warm enough to be swilling outside.
https://activifinder.com/blog/69/best-swimming-pools-in-vancouver
While summer could and should be at least 90, or even 100 days, sometimes a quarter to a 3rd of the summer can be like autumn.
https://healthyfamilyliving.com/outdoor-pools-metro-vancouver/
https://www.yelp.ca/search?cflt=swimmingpools&find_loc=Vancouver%2C+BC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtlGzVZjf2k
There just isn't enough bricks, steel & concrete upstate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upstate_New_York
Most of New_York_State is wilderness.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_New_York_(state)
Most of the population prefers to live in NYC or the New_York_metropolitan_area, because that's where most of the people, employment, bricks, steel & concrete is.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downstate_Illinois
Most of Illinois isnt urban.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois#Geography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_metropolitan_area
Most of the population prefers to reside in Chicagoland, because that's where most of the people, employment, bricks, steel & concrete are.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/hudsons-bay-central-walk-store-leases-acquisition-agreement
If The Bay can only live on through a new owner, so be it.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/tsawwassen-mills-expansion-dining-entertainment-upgrades
https://www.destinationvancouver.com/things-to-do/tsawwassen-mills-central-walk-tsawwassen-mills-inc
https://vancouversun.com/news/bc-billionaire-mall-owner-seeks-hudsons-bay-leases
https://centralwalk.com/tsawwassen-mills/
https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/canada-projects/t/tsawwassen-mills
https://www.tsawwassenmills.com/
Its mindboggeling that there doesn't seem to be a proper regional rail transportation plan to connect Tsawwassen+Mills with the Tsawwassen+ferry+terminal, Richmond and YVR. Of course there doesn't seem to be a proper regional rail plan to connect Vancouver with the Park_Royal_Shopping_Centre and the Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal, as well.
The lack of vision to link both ferry terminals with the airport is a fine example of inept planning in BC.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/metro-vancouver-regional-district-governance-reform-deloitte-report
Why put an adequate amount of funds towards the regional transportation infrastructure, when it can be wasted on other things? That's what inept regional planning is suppose to do. Fortunately, most urban areas around the world try to avoid such a foolish approach.
There should be a 40-60 year audit to determine why Metro Vancouver doesn't have long, high capacity trains that real proper cities have.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11194788/metro-vancouver-board-changes-report/
There would also have to be an audit of the mismanagement over the past several decades to determine why Metro Vancouver doesn't have a regional network of bus & HOV bridges.
https://vancouversun.com/news/metro-vancouver-vows-change-consultants-report
https://www.nsnews.com/opinion/editorial-metro-vancouver-is-more-than-the-wastewater-boondoggle-10176971 So much extra money went towards a shit-box & a shit-pipe, that should have gone towards an express bus & high capacity train tunnel between Vancouver & Park Royal & the ferry terminal.
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/consultant-releases-damning-report-on-metro-vancouver-governance This is shit-box planning & funding at its best. Apparently, all this regional B$ was to just keep going on until enough people started to realize that something is wrong in Vancouver & BC.
Of course an express bus route from Metrotown+to+Park+Royal should have been established before the 1990s. Unfortunatly, Vancouver & BC mover very slowly towards getting various things done.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RapidBus_(TransLink)#Metrotown_to_North_Shore
https://www.nsnews.com/weatherhood-local/metro-vancouver-weather-record-breaking-heat-may-2025-10702418 I almost thought that this article was a joke at first.
After a cold, rainy & gloomy spring, there might be a chance of a nice, warm summer. Hardly hot though, when Vancouver usually has a tough time breaking 30C. Most of the spring days never even reached, let alone exceeded 20C.
https://dailyhive.com/canada/canada-cost-of-living-inheritance
https://blueprintfinancial.ca/why-no-one-can-afford-to-live-in-canada/
https://www.cannettel.com/blog/Why-living-in-Canada-is-so-expensive
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240815/dq240815b-eng.htm
https://ok.ubc.ca/about/ubco-downtown , https://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=147739
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=48&status=15
https://ok.ubc.ca/about/ubco-downtown/why-ubco-downtown/
https://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/news/article_2957e4e0-d7f1-11ee-84d4-fb12b9ae9269.html
There should be a UBC tower in or around Vancouver that's at least 65 stories.
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?stateID=1&status=15
https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/vancouver/401-west-georgia/25079 This could have been a nice slender 50 story tower, but instead its just a 22 story stump.
https://www.biv.com/news/real-estate/institutions-flirt-with-premium-offices-in-vancouver-10691979
There should have been an official plan to extend the Canada embarrassment Line to the Park+Royal+Shopping+Centre and the Horseshoe+Bay ferry terminal. Unfortunatly, Vancouver and the metropolitan region isn't a normal city with proper urban transportation planning.
While a rapid bus line connecting Metrotown+to+Park+Royal is a good idea, a rapid rail transit line between the Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal and downtown Vancouver must be considered an essential link, someday.
The region has been ineptly managed for decades. Instead of planning for proper long trains, short SkyTrain stations were built instead. Too many narrow bridges that make it difficult, if not impossible to have an efficient network of bus & HOV lanes.
While a half-assed, BC version of RapidBus can sort of work, but there needs to be a system of bus-bridges for it to be a very efficient system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RapidBus_(TransLink)#RapidBus_routes
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F55x0wipoy72f1.jpeg
Due to the multigenerational strict height limits in Vancouver, the city has been prevented from having anything as tall as the Sky_Tower_in_Auckland, which is 328 metres (1,076 ft) tall. It would only be slightly taller than the Sydney_Tower, which is 309 m (1,014 ft). Both of these cities are just as scenic, if not more so than damp Vancouver. Plus, they are in warmer climates.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/translink-ridership-statistics-2024
A longer train helps to reduce the under capacity issue. SkyTrain should be called, SHORT-TRAIN.
No matter how many bus routes, unless there is a series of bus-bridges for the region, everything gets funneled on-to mostly narrow, inadequate bridges.
Just because it's an LRT train, there still should have been a proper provision to have at least 152.5m or 500 foot long trains, like the Montreal Metro. However, a 500 ft. long train goes against the backwards, KEEP IT SMALL symbolism & mentality that permeates throughout Vancouver & backwater BC. Allowing for a proper big-city train isn't just symbolically BIG, but necessary for any city that tries to reduce congestion. Unfortunatly, Vancouver & BC keeps opting for the reduced capacity option, because it fits in with the congestive planning agenda.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/r2-rapidbus-north-shore-metrotown-burnaby-route-extension
https://aquilinidevelopment.com/community/kwasen-village
