https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sicamous-ferry-1.7604855
Monday, August 11, 2025
Seattle's 90-degree heat wave on Monday and Tuesday
https://www.fox13seattle.com/weather/seattle-90s-heatwave
Wow, a 2 day heat wave. Some places are at least 90 F or 32 C for a 2 week stretch or even 2 months. It's so tough for Vancouver to get over 32 C or 90 F, but it does occasionally happen.
https://mynorthwest.com/pacific-northwest-weather/heatwave-weather/4120160
Sunday, August 10, 2025
BC Conservatives support third North Shore crossing to ease 'endless traffic gridlock'
https://www.westernstandard.news/news/exclusive-bc-conservatives-support-third-north-shore-crossing-to-ease-endless-traffic-gridlock/66766 This shouldn't just be a BC Con. issue, because this has been neglected for several decades.
While the North Shore $HIT BOX fiasco is relatively new, generations have come & gone without sufficient funds going towards proper big city infrastructure. Who knows where all the money went?
If only there was a proper oversight committee to make sure that Greater Vancouver was putting enough funds towards proper urban infrastructure.
Saturday, August 9, 2025
Why Northern Japan Is Forced To Stay Empty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn4Bdh6gNmY
Hokkaido is a little like a smaller version of Siberia or Alaska.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokkaido
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapporo While Sapporo is a typical big city, most of the island is rural or wilderness.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapporo#Transport
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seikan_Tunnel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokkaido_Shinkansen
Friday, August 8, 2025
North East Link Tunnels - The Big Build Victoria, Australia
https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/news/north-east-link/tbms-resume-digging-victorias-longest-road-tunnels
https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/north-east-link/design/north-east-link-tunnels/map
https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/metro-tunnel
https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/suburban-rail-loop London has the Circle Line, Chicago has its elevated loop, Toronto has an underground loop, so it makes sense that Melbourne would also have a train loop.
https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/news/suburban-rail-loop/faster-easier-journeys-with-srl-east Melbourne like most real cities, have an extensive regional road system, but having a good regional rail network might even be more important & beneficial. https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/suburban-rail-loop/about/project-benefits
Unfortunately, Greater Vancouver is still lacking with its transportation infrastructure.
https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/regional-rail-revival
https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/roads
https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/library/west-gate-tunnel-project/maps
L.A. and Melbourne in the 1960s really started to plan on a big scale. Of course Vancouver went in the opposite direction.
https://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/maps/1968_final_proposed_transit_master_plan_concept_map.jpg , https://cityplanning.tumblr.com/post/24841307901/past-visions-of-l-a-s-transportation-future
https://transitmap.net/1969-melbourne-plan , https://images.theconversation.com/files/303673/original/file-20191126-112489-1mpon3i.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip , https://theconversation.com/50-years-on-from-the-melbourne-transportation-plan-what-can-we-learn-from-its-legacy-127721
Canada weather
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/canada-weather
https://weather.gc.ca/data/wxoimages/wocanmap0_e.jpg , https://weather.gc.ca/canada_e.html
Overall, as parts of the world heats up, most of Canada remains as a place where you can avoid 45, 40 or even 35 C summers. Unfortunatly, winter always returns and by late February many people are fed up with it.
Montreal
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/montreal/h3a/august-weather/2-56186_1_al Montreal still might have 9 or 10 days that are at least 30 C.
Toronto weather
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/toronto/m5h/august-weather/55488
So, Toronto still might have some 30 C days in August.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/toronto/m5h/july-weather/55488?year=2025 According to AW, Toronto only had 6 days that were at least 30 C. Some places around the world would be happy to have 6 days under 30 C, but without the humidity.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/toronto/m5h/june-weather/55488?year=2025 Wow, Toronto actually had a couple of days in the mid 30s in June.
Temperatures to climb up to 30 C during a sunny streak in Metro Vancouver
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/city/ca/british-columbia/vancouver/monthly?m=8&a=2025
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/august-weather/53286 Perhaps some upper 20s, but it's tough for Vancouver to reach 30 C , especially 35 or 40 C. However, some parts of Greater Vancouver might reach 30 C.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/july-weather/53286?year=2025 There were only 2 days that were 30 C in July in Vancouver.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/june-weather/53286?year=2025 Vancouver had no 25 C days in June.
Thursday, August 7, 2025
YVR-Canada Line
https://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/transportation/public-transportation
Even if the excuse of a limited budget is used at the time, the YVR-Canada-Line should have been designed with at least roughed-in 100 m stations, right from the start, with enough clearance to eventually become 160 m.
https://thecanadaline.com/station-guides/yvr-airport
Its like there was no concept to eventually connect both ferry terminals with the YVR-Canada-Line.
https://www.translink.ca/schedules-and-maps/skytrain?page=1#canada-line
Indeed, the YVR-Canada-Line should have been envisioned to be a long-range high capacity rapid transit corridor. A 40-50 m joke of a train can't do the job of a 150-160 m train.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canada-line-skytrain
Short trains and mostly narrow bridges are a multigenerational way of life that was planned for SW BC.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/north-shore-burrard-inlet-vancouver-third-crossing-bridge
Who knows where so much of the money went, because it sure didn't go towards proper big city size infrastructure.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytrain-future-station-locations
If ever some serious improvements can be made to the Canada+Line, it should be renamed, the YVR-Canada-Line or SkyTrain-Canada+Line. With some proper upgrades it could almost become like a proper airport+line.
Toronto Pearson International Airport Train
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Pearson_International_Airport#Train
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nippon_Sharyo_DMU
| Car length | 85 ft (25.91 m) |
|---|
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/UP_at_Bloor.jpg While a 2 car joke of a train is only about 170 ft or 52 m, a 3 car train is about 255 ft or 78 m. Unfortunatly, the embarrassingly short train to YVR was only designed to have 164 ft or 50 m stations. The YVR-Canada-Line was deliberately constructed to not allow for enough clearance to eventually double the length of each station. Thus, any underground station can't be extended from the absurd 50 m to 100 m.
Depending upon the busy and general demand times there are three-car and two-car train sets.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Pearson_Terminal_1_station
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pearson_Express#Rolling_stock
"Seven trains comprise the fleet of Union Pearson Express (UP Express), grouped into 4 three-car and 3 two-car train sets (for a total of 18 cars)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nippon_Sharyo_DMU#Union_Pearson_Express
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_rail_transit_in_Canada#Existing_systems
Heat and humidity set to return to the GTA starting Friday
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2025/08/07/toronto-weather-gta-heat-humidity
While Toronto & especially Montreal, can have cold winters, they're always set to have hot summers. In contrast, Vancouver sort-of has a summer that's more like spring or fall at times.
New gates at the Montreal Trudeau airport probably won’t have ‘significant’ environmental impact
https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/article1084656.html
Handling of environmental-impact consultation for Trudeau airport expansion is ‘scandalous,’ activist says https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/article1058167.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9seau_express_m%C3%A9tropolitain#Stations
https://rem.info/en/airport , https://rem.info/en/map
https://rem.info/en/travelling/stations/yul-aeroport-montreal-trudeau Length of each platform: 80 m
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/montreal-rem-vancouver-skytrain-comparison Montreal built a Metro with 152.5 m stations & a commuter rail system, then eventually the REM.
Vancouver & BC should have designed the SkyTrain to initially have all of its stations at 100 m with the capability to be expanded to at least 155 m. Unfortunatly, the first 2 lines only have 80 m stations & the YVR-Canada-Line only has 50 m stations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_rail_transit_in_Canada#Existing_systems
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Vancouver fourth most expensive city worldwide
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/08/06/vancouver-fourth-most-expensive-city-worldwide-report
You always pay more for less. Short, congest trains and mostly narrow and congested bridges, because that's all part of the pay more for LE$$ agenda in backwards BC.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-impossibly-unaffordable-housing-market
Victoria sur le Parc
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_sur_le_parc
https://www.guidehabitation.ca/fr/9606/victoria-sur-le-parc/
https://forum.agoramtl.com/t/victoria-sur-le-parc-58-etages-2024/174
https://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=115682
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=109775715&page=22
https://dailyhive.com/montreal/tallest-building-montreal-victoria-sur-le-parc
https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=232780&page=2
900 Saint-Jacques Montréal
https://chevaliermorales.com/projets/900-saint-jacques
https://www.architexgroup.com/projects.asp?id=84
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/900_Saint-Jacques
https://imtl.org/image.php?id=23855 , https://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=107840
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=109775715&page=24
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Notable impacts that the FIFA World Cup will have on Vancouver
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/fifa-vancouver-impacts-aug-2025
The lack of proper urban planning is astounding. The Canada+Line should have connected YVR with both ferry terminals by now. None of the regional bridges have had bus and HOV lane bridges built next to them.
Monday, August 4, 2025
Sunday, August 3, 2025
Friday, August 1, 2025
The B intersection
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaverton,_Oregon , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaverton,_Oregon#Transportation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookline,_Massachusetts , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookline,_Massachusetts#Transportation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burbank,_California , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burbank,_California#Transit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlington,_Ontario , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlington,_Ontario#Public_Transit
The Burnaby Mountain Gondola Saga
https://www.translink.ca/plans-and-projects/projects/rapid-transit-projects/burnaby-mountain-gondola
While winter is only a few crappy months out of the year, SW BC still gets cold, damp & depressing.
https://www.burnaby.ca/our-city/projects/burnaby-mountain-gondola
Special mountain climbing busses, or in this case, a big hill known as Burnaby Mountain always needs good hill climbing busses during the winter.
https://vancouversun.com/news/translink-100-buses-winter-tires
A gondola would really improve transportation there.
https://the-peak.ca/2024/10/what-grinds-our-gears-winter-commutes-to-burnaby-mountain
https://www.sfu.ca/gondola.html
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/sfu-top-universities-global-rankings There should be a crappy winter transportation award for SFU.
https://www.sfu.ca/srs/announcements/archive/be-prepared-for-winter-on-burnaby-mountain.html
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/sfu-burnaby-mountain-gondola-translink-delays
https://buzzer.translink.ca/2022/11/shuttle-buses-during-snow-days-explained/
Two weeks in February 2025 almost had 24hr freezing. One week in January 2024 had a week of almost 24hr freezing. Almost, because some of the days actually might have gotten to 1 or 2C, but the nights were always freezing. Nothing melts under such horrible conditions.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/translink-plans-winter-2017-2018-1.4385226 Unfortunatly, the #0 Not in Service is common during the winter.
Of course winter in Australia is mild when compared to Canada. Most of Canada has winters with -5C days and -10C nights. Some parts get the -10C days & the -20C overnight option & anything colder than that, you might as well just give up.
It's amazing that Australia doesn't have 14 million more people than Canada, but it's the other way around. http://www.bom.gov.au/places/
Thursday, July 31, 2025
August forecast for Vancouver
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-august-forecast
Wow, there still might be about a dozen days that are at least 25 C. Most places won't even call anything a heatwave until its at least 30 C, some might even say 35 C.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/august-weather/53286
Unfortunatly, by September there might not even be 10 days reaching 20C. Usually, by the last week of September, that's it for Vancouver having any days at or above 21 C or 70 F until mid or late April.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/september-weather/53286?year=2025
By October, Vancouver is hard-pressed to even have one 20 C day.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/october-weather/53286?year=2025
It took until the 3rd week of April for Vancouver to have its first day of at least 20 C.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/april-weather/53286?year=2025
From late September to late April is 7 months without a 21 C or 70 F day in Vancouver.
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
HWY 99 northbound offramp to Steveston HWY in Richmond reopens
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/07/29/steveston-nb-offramp-closed-hwy-99-richmond
The H-99 corridor is such a transportation joke. No bus and train tunnels were ever built next to the LGB. The narrow tunnel between Richmond & Delta won't have any bus lanes until 2030 & still no train bridge or tunnel between YVR & the ferry terminal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_Highway_99#Route_description
https://www.richmond-news.com/search?search=on&q=George+Massey+Tunnel
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Richmond+and+Delta
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Delta+Transportation
Major mixed-use residential, commercial, and industrial expansion of Marine Gateway
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/marine-gateway-phase-2-vancouver-pci-rezoning-application-proposal
Marine+Gateway area has the Marine_Drive_station, which all links with Bridgeport+Station , Capstan+Station , Aberdeen Station , Lansdowne+Station and Richmond-Brighouse.
Unfortunately, being backwards BC and not Oregon, there was no vision to design the North_Arm_Bridge to be as good as something like the Tilikum_Crossing in Portland.
https://structurae.net/en/structures/north-arm-bridge
The Tilikum_Crossing isn't just a bus and bike bridge, it's a MAX-LRT and streetcar bridge.
Of course the Middle_Arm_Bridge between YVR and the main part of Richmond has no bike or bus lanes.
Monday, July 28, 2025
Saturday, July 26, 2025
New pedestrian and cycling upgrade to Granville Bridge opens to public
Once again Vancouver gets its wrong, at least the Burrard Bridge is a better example, despite the loss of 2 lanes..
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/granville-connector-bridge-walking-cycling-pathways-open-complete
For a bridge that was 8 lanes wide with 2 narrow sidewalks, there should have been a bike lane & a wide sidewalk on both sides. The decision was to have 2 bike lanes on the west side of the bridge with a wider, uneven sidewalk & a slightly wider sidewalk on the east side of the bridge.
Metro Vancouver Regional District delays review of North Shore wastewater treatment plant project until legal battle resolved
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/north-shore-wastewater-treatment-plant-project-review-delayed
So much money has been wasted that could have otherwise have gone towards a train & bus bridge or a tunnel across the inlet.
The+Ironworkers-Bridge will still have to be upgraded or rebuilt and it should be on the scale of the New Samuel-De_Champlain_Bridge. The New_Champlain_Bridge_in Montreal has 4 lanes each way, plus 2 train tracks. More things are possible in Montreal and Quebec, simply because they don't have anything like Vancouver's restrictions & the backwards BC B$ mentality to thwart them.
https://www.samueldechamplainbridge.ca/traffic-and-detours/
https://www.samueldechamplainbridge.ca/pedestrians-and-cyclists/
https://www.arup.com/projects/samuel-de-champlain-bridge-corridor/
Friday, July 25, 2025
Who controls the 3 lane Lions Gate Bridge?
The LGB has to be the worst or at least one of the worst traffic bottlenecks & chokepoints on the planet. Over the course of the past several decades, there should have been a bus and HOV tunnel and then a train tunnel close to the alignment of the LGB.
Seven lanes of Georgia+Street funneled into a 3 lane LGB is nuts! The LGB is already a nice bike bridge, with sidewalks, but it should also be a bus bridge. That would be possible if a proper big city tunnel was built. An eight-lane-tunnel would really help the LGB.
Of course in both cases, the Lion Bridge was never expanded, twinned or duplicated & the M Tunnel (H-99) wasn't replace with a 10 lane bridge. Unfortunatly, no serious consideration for rail rapid transit was considered for both crossings. It was as if the regional & BC governments just didn't think it was that important to have a train from the Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal and the Park+Royal+Shopping+Centre to Vancouver-International-Airport. Just like not having a train from the Tsawwassen+ferry+terminal and Tsawwassen+Mills to the airport.
Despite Richmond,_British_Columbia having YVR, its as if no one really considered that Richmond should be a major intermodal transportation hub. Proper Transportation Planning has always been lacking in backwards BC.
https://www.theprogress.com/news/province-receives-business-case-for-new-massey-crossing-1911335
https://www.highway99tunnel.ca While an 8 lane tunnel is a good start as the first phase, eventually there will have to be a train, bus & bike bridge (or tunnel) next to it.
https://www.highway99tunnel.ca/project-overview-frt Then the H-99 tunnel could be 3 lanes each way with the 4th as a HOV lane. A new parallel bridge (or tunnel) could then have 2 rapid bus lanes, as well as 2 wide sidewalks & 2 wide bike-lanes. Extra width could allow for eventually 2 tracks, 2 HOV lanes, in addition to the 2 bus lanes. That would enable the H-99 tunnel to ultimately have 4 general lanes each way in a later phase. Of course it would have been better to do things correct right from the start, but that goes against the backwards BC mentality.
Its so sad that there was never a proper big city vision to have an airport+train connect to both ferry terminals.
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.
Australia's housing crisis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia
https://www.fresheconomicthinking.com/p/australias-housing-crisis-was-just
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5wlevy647o
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/population-clock-pyramid Still under 28 million in mid 2025.
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/housing-affordability
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-01/home-values-hit-record-highs-june-property-prices/105477426
https://population.gov.au/population-topics/topic-population
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia#Cities
Canada's rising home prices and rents
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canada-immigration-home-price-rent-increase-impact
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area#Countries_and_dependencies_by_area Despite Canada being the 2nd largest country in overal area, it has less than 1% of the world's population.
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710000901 Still less than 42 million in mid 2025.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada#Demographics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_City-Windsor_Corridor
Four lanes or 6? MLA comments reignite Pattullo Bridge debate
Two bike lanes & 2 sidewalks are great, but the government really tipped their hand with this. Despite the SkyTrain not running 24hrs, the new bridge won't open with any bus lanes & no HOV lanes. Despite Greater Vancouver being a port region, there won't be any dedicated truck lanes & worst of all, no emergency or breakdown lanes.
Since there was such a push to only have 2 lanes each way, the new bridge still should have opened with 2 wide emergency lanes & 2 wide breakdown lanes. Thats 6 lanes already in place, with a provision to eventually add 2 more. However, that would go against the congestive planning agenda that is Greater Vancouver & backwards BC.
It's one thing to say or pretend to support bus & HOV lanes, but opening this new bridge without such additional lanes all fits in with the congestive planning agenda. Just like a 5 car SkyTrain squeezed into an 80 m station, is a far cry from a 9 car Montreal Metro train with 152.5 m stations. Thinking, planning & building big in BC goes against the congestive planning agenda.
Symbolism is very important in backwards BC. Thus, half-size infrastructure is one of the best ways to demonstrate an ongoing reluctance to accommodate growth & efficiency. There have been several decades, even generations where funding has only created half-size & HALF-A$$ED infrastructure. So the big question is, where did so much of the money go, when BC still needs proper size infrastructure?
This multigenerational backwards BC mind Virus is horrible!
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge 4 narrow lanes & a narrow sidwalk.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement 4 wide lanes with a central divider, pulse 2 sidewalks & 2 bike lanes.
Thursday, July 24, 2025
Traffic is so bad that the North Shore is contemplating its transportation future, again
https://globalnews.ca/news/11302770/north-shore-traffic-museum/
A bus and train tunnel should have been constructed almost directly under the Lions+Gate+Bridge several decades ago, at the very least.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/north-vancouver-lane-change-1.7336664
https://viewpointvancouver.ca/2016/08/30/north-shore-congestion-another-view
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Vancouver mayor wants to unlock ‘exceptional’ industrial areas for housing
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/07/23/vancouver-mayor-industrial-lands-housing
"As of last July, Vancouver’s population was 756,008, after adding 23,790 people in 2023-24." https://vancouversun.com/news/population-booms-langford-surrey-metro-vancouver 2025
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/metro-vancouver-population-three-million-1.7449282
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/metro-vancouver-population-growth-three-million
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710000901
Not so accurate.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/canadian-cities/vancouver Aproimatley 688,000 in 2025.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/massachusetts/boston 639,000
https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/california/san-francisco 767,968
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
City of Burnaby switches to height-based building policies, abandoning density limits
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/burnaby-height-based-development-framework
Fortunately, Vancouver can't stunt and stump Burnaby anymore than it could with Parramatta, NSW. Vancouver is trying its darndest to prevent any buildings from rising above 200 m. Unlike Vancouver, Burnaby doesn't try to look for any excuse to hold its city back.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=building+shadowing+policies
Kits Pool ruling leaves people frustrated
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/kits-pool-decision-vancouver
More overlapping rules, more permits required and more regulations to maintain and enforce the B$ bureaucracy of backwards Vancouver. Officially, Vancouver isn't supposed to be a NO FUN CITY. However, various people through the years like to perpetuate the NO FUN mentality.
The City of Lougheed and The Amazing Brentwood vs. Parramatta Square
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_City_of_Lougheed
https://thecityoflougheed.com/rental/city-vision
https://www.urbanyvr.com/city-of-lougheed-burnaby/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_Brentwood
https://www.urbanyvr.com/the-amazing-brentwood-photo-tour/
https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/6-8-parramatta-square/31473
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parramatta
| Height | |
|---|---|
| Roof | 225.45 m (740 ft)[1] |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 57 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6_%26_8_Parramatta_Square
https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/complex/2699
https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/city/parramatta
The City of Lougheed and The Amazing Brentwood have no office towers over 55 stories. A 50 story office tower in BC still remains as Science Fiction concept. Indeed, Vancouver still won't permit any office tower to even have a 40th floor.
Monday, July 21, 2025
Trams and Streetcars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhQxNHrD6fA
https://www.railforthevalley.com/latest-news/zweisystem/tram-streetcar-lrt-why-the-confusion
Call it a lack of vision or a lack of proper urban transportation planning. There were just too many key people who never wanted Vancouver to be on a similar scale as Melbourne, Toronto and SF.
https://kumtuks.ca/streetcars-and-metro-vancouver
https://spacing.ca/vancouver/2013/06/18/vancouver-transit-the-era-of-street-cars1
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Trams-Trains+and+Streetcars
Saturday, July 19, 2025
No-swimming advisories for 9 Metro Vancouver beaches likely to last all weekend
https://globalnews.ca/news/11294472/vancouver-e-coli-beaches/
https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/kitsilano-beach.aspx
So far there hasn't been any momentum to rename Kits Beach into $HIT$ Beach.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/video/2025/07/19/e-coli-halts-swimming-at-metro-vancouver-beaches/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/e-coli-vancouver-beaches-july-18-1.7589185
Fortunately, Australia, Hawaii, California & Florida realize that crappy beaches are bad for residents & tourism.
https://www.vch.ca/en/service/public-beach-water-quality#overview
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsilano_Beach
https://www.destinationvancouver.com/inspirations/beaches
It's so much easier for several other cities to do things better than backwards Vancouver.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Metro+Vancouver+beaches
Friday, July 18, 2025
The Waterfront SkyTrain Station stench
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/waterfront-station-vancouver-stench-smells
This, along with the E.coli beaches could be a part of a crappy Vancouver marketing opportunity.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Metro+Vancouver+beaches
Several Metro Vancouver beaches closed to swimming due to E. coli
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/metro-vancouver-beaches-e-coli-1.7588222
https://www.vch.ca/en/service/public-beach-water-quality
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset_Beach_(Vancouver)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Beach_(Vancouver)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Beach
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsilano_Beach
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho_Beach
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Banks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Bay,_Vancouver
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wreck_Beach , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wreck_Beach#Swimming_and_ocean_water_quality
Its imarapartive that an urban beach be reasonably clean, especially the water.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alki_Point,_Seattle , https://visitseattle.org/neighborhoods/west-seattle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bondi_Beach
https://thecapetownblog.com/best-beaches , https://www.go2africa.com/african-travel-blog/cape-towns-best-beaches
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coney_Island , https://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/beaches/3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copacabana,_Rio_de_Janeiro
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/best-beaches-in-france , https://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2016-07-27/the-best-beaches-in-france
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Mile,_Durban
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Beach,_Florida , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Beach_(Miami_Beach) , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_Isles_Beach,_Florida
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Monica_State_Beach , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Monica,_California#Climate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfers_Paradise,_Queensland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadbeach,_Queensland
Waikīkī beach https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waik%C4%ABk%C4%AB ,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waik%C4%ABk%C4%AB#Water_quality ,
https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/25/us/hawaii-waikiki-beach-closed-sewage/index.html
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Metro+Vancouver+beaches
Thursday, July 17, 2025
Ice given access to Medicaid data in move critics call a privacy betrayal
Officials let Ice access health data to locate migrants, alarming experts who warn of civil rights and health risks https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/17/ice-access-medicaid-data-personal-information
No-swimming advisories at several Metro Vancouver beaches due to E. coli (WTH?)
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6835823
https://globalnews.ca/news/11293631/metro-vancouver-beaches-closed-ecoli/
https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/no-swimming-at-5-metro-vancouver-beaches-due-to-e-coli/
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-beaches-ecoli-advisories-july-2025
https://www.vch.ca/en/service/public-beach-water-quality
There really should be a concerted effort to clean this situation up. This isn't good for the residents or for the tourists.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Metro+Vancouver+beaches
ICE Is Moving Immigrants Arrested On The US Mainland To Honolulu
https://www.civilbeat.org/2025/07/ice-moving-immigrants-arrested-mainland-to-honolulu/
As the world becomes more digitized, various countries could take more of a rounding-up approach towards undocumented people & illegal residents and visitors. While wearable_technology could be useful to better identify and monitor the human herd, it could easily become like something out of a dystopian Sci-Fi story.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wearable_technology#Use_in_surveillance
A more interconnected world means that most people will be almost instantaneous trackable.
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Monday, July 14, 2025
Anarchy in Europe...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPqSFuz9HSo
The objective of any thriving nation or region is to mostly attract upper and middle income people who can bring more wealth and skills into a country. Unlike Australia & Canada, the US had a tremendous amount of immigration in the 1800s & 1900s to really grow their country. Today, Texas has more people than Australia & California has more people than Canada.
Today, if there are too many refugees and migrants and not more of a much higher percentage of upper & middle income people, there will be a tremendous strain & overload on the system. An effective formula needs to be established for each nation or region to accommodate refugees and migrants, vs. those in a higher income bracket.
Multiculturalism should be a blend of one being able to celebrate their culture within the larger context of diversity.
The Calgary Stampede narrowly misses attendance record
https://globalnews.ca/news/11288191/2025-calgary-stampede-attendance/
https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-stampede-2025-close-breaking-attendance-record
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary_Stampede#Stampede_Park
CS vs. TCS, it's the same place.
The situation at Kits Pool
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-kits-pool-covid-concerns
As a backwards city so full of its own multigenerational B$, red-tape & so many hoops & hurdles, Vancouver continues to crawl along.
Construction starts on new Listel Hotel and rental housing tower on Robson Street
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/listel-hotel-vancouver-robson-street-redevelopment-construction
As a small-minded city, Vancouver just hasn't had the same interest or motivation to encourage or allow big & tall hotels to be built.
https://www.biv.com/news/real-estate/vancouver-needs-10k-more-hotel-rooms-says-report-10508458
Proper big cities that really want to capitalize on tourism will allow hotels with 1000, 2000 or even 4000 rooms.
https://vancouversun.com/news/vancouver-major-hotel-policy-overhaul-room-shortage
It's been very difficult for Vancouver to have a single tower hotel with at least 700 rooms.
https://storeys.com/vancouver-hotel-development-policy-changes/
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.
Skyline (Honolulu) Rapid Transit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyline_(Honolulu) Only 4 car trains? At least it's not a 2 - 2.5 car joke of a train that is the Canada embarrassment Line in backwards Vancouver.
Fortunately, it's a walkthrough train and with SDO, it could eventually become a 6 car train, if there is ever a need to increase capacity by 50%.
https://honolulutransit.org/about/route-map , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wq3THzQZr0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyline_(Honolulu)#Rolling_stock
https://www.honolulu.gov/dts/skyline/home/
Hawaii's $10BN Railway Nightmare Explained https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xnrhm1KcB4
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Selective+Door+Operation
Saturday, July 12, 2025
Vancouver's forgotten streetcars and interurban trams
Fortunately, Toronto, NO, SF and Melbourne never got rid of all their streetcar and tram lines.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/downtown-vancouver-false-creek-streetcar-route-map
While backwards Vancouver wanted to be among the first cities to get rid of them, Vancouver will likely be one of the last cities to bring them back.
https://viewpointvancouver.ca/2021/04/06/a-bump-in-the-road-kits-points-hidden-streetcar-line/
Atlanta, SD, LA, Edmonton, Calgary, Seattle & Portland brought back some of their trollies in the form of modern LRT or tram-trains.
https://montecristomagazine.com/community/vancouvers-forgotten-streetcars
The sad irony is that Vancouver, Burnaby & NW really could have benefitted from following the Toronto, SF and Melbourne examples.
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/history/last-ride-oak-streetcar-vancouver-1937040
https://www.facebook.com/groups/128486813979056/posts/1968090176685368
https://maps.nicholsonroad.com/bcer/
https://humantransit.org/2010/02/vancouver-the-almost-perfect-grid.html
There used too be a streetcar route along Robson St., Denman St. & Davie St. A revived version of this could provide a nice downtown transit loop. However, that would go against the backwards mentality of Vancouver. Fortunately, the Vancouver mentality never made it to Atlanta & Dallas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Streetcar#Downtown_Loop_route_funded
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Streetcar
Unfortunatly, Vancouver & BC are all about congestive planning.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/2026-fifa-world-cup-vancouver-1.7559067
With less than a year to go, its impossible to revive any streetcar lines, because that can take 5-10 years. There isn't even a network of regional bus bridges. Such inept transportation planning means that busses have to squeeze onto bridges that are mostly just 2 lanes each way.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-rising-costs-fifa-2026-world-cup-1.7573669
Despite the first SkyTrain line opening in 1985, it took until 2025 to start having5 car trains. The 2nd & 3rd lines are still only running 2 car trains.
Of course the city is decades behind in keeping up with having enough hotel rooms.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-hotel-shortage-2026-world-cup-1.7117696
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Trams-Trains+and+Streetcars
The best beaches in Vancouver, BC
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/best-beaches-vancouver
Summer is so damn short in Vancouver. Only June, July & August are usually the hottest months, because by the 2nd week of September things start to cool down.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/june-weather/53286?year=2025 There were only 5 days in June that got above 25C.
https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/kitsilano-beach.aspx
https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/beaches.aspx
https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/parks-gardens-and-beaches.aspx
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/july-weather/53286 Wow, there might actually be one day in July that could reach or exceed 30C.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/august-weather/53286?year=2025 No 30C days in the August forecast.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/september-weather/53286?year=2025 No 25C days are in the September forecast. Then, for the 2nd half of the month it will be tough enough just to reach 20C.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v6c/may-weather/53286?year=2025 Back in May, only one day got above 25C.
Hot weather kept bypassing Vancouver and went up to Alaska & Yukon.
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.
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