https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFrmJMEdHCc
Chicago is Building a Skyscraper in an Abandoned Hole https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h648ZlJFtM
Saturday, October 11, 2025
Friday, October 10, 2025
Tron: Ares in little backwards Vancouver
https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/tron-ares-review-9.6933888
Unfortunatly, using special effects is the only way to make Vancouver, BC look like its a proper big city.
No bridge within the small city limits of Vancouver has been allowed to be as big or wide as the biggest in Perth, Seattle, Portland, Edmonton & Glasgow...
The Skytrain stations are shorter than train stations in Perth, Seattle, Calgary and Edmonton...
No office tower in Vancouver has been permitted to have a 40th floor. Of course, Perth, Seattle, Portland and Calgary have office towers over 40 stories.
https://hollywoodnorthbuzz.com/2025/10/tron-ares-vancouver-as-real-life-grid.html
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-landmarks-tron-ares-trailer
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/events-and-entertainment/new-tron-ares-movie-trailer-features-vancouver-sci-fi-setting-10488343 Vancouver is so smallscale, but awesome? Perhaps when compared to Victoria, Kelowna, Prince George, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, it is.
London Megaprojects: 5 Projects That Will Change the UK in 2030
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjFnH_IhEho
600 New Skyscrapers: The Shocking Transformation Of London’s Skyline By 2035 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvRCxY3bpg0
Rainbow Bridge (Tokyo)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Bridge_(Tokyo) Unfortunatly, such double deck bridges just aren't allowed in Vancouver and BC in general.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DEjugfrP3wS/?img_index=2
https://www.kanpai-japan.com/tokyo/rainbow-bridge
https://www.alamy.com/rainbow-bridge-to-rainbow-town-daiba-tokyo-japan-image921088.html Tokyo has no problems with curves and loops. Unfortunatly, the Vancouver Mind Virus (VMV) and the BC Mind Virus keeps the city and metropolitan region as a warped mess just going round in circles.
https://www.gov-online.go.jp/eng/publicity/book/hlj/html/202403/202403_02_en.html
https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20230828-132566/
https://www.tokyobybike.com/2014/08/tokyos-rainbow-bridge-by-bicycle.html
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement Will open with only 4 lanes, not 6 or 8 and no provision for a lower deck. Another fine example of BC bottleneck planning. There just isn't any interest in correcting most of the chokepoints in Greater Vancouver. A key giveaway is the lack of funding for a regional network of bus-bridges.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Arm_Bridge This should have had 2 tracks for the airport and another 2 tracks for an eventual Vancouver-Richmond & Delta extension to the ferry terminal.
.jpg)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/North_Arm_Bridge_%284378906640%29.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/North_Arm_Bridge_shot_from_SkyTrain_3622.JPG
Seattle and Perth
https://www.theurbanist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_2666.jpg Two train tracks and 8 lanes. The 4th lane each way is for HOV and buses. Just amazing when compared to backwards BC. Seattle is able to do so much more because its not affected by the BC Mind Virus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandurah_line#Kwinana_Freeway_roadworks
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1aarCsKys-/ The Vancouver mind virus never made it to Perth.
Thursday, October 9, 2025
Oakridge Park mall in Vancouver
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-oakridge-park-mall-opening While shopping online can be a great convience, going to a mall can still be a nice tactile experience. Had the horrible Covid shutdown gone on for another year, people would have been more conditioned to order things online and perhaps even have to ask AI for permission to go out anywhere.
Despite feeble attempts to the moon and Mars, most of humanity is confined to the Earth. That doesn't mean that the planet should ever become an AI run prison. However, things like a World Carbon Credit Score, a Personal Compliance Score and having to seek permission from AI to go anywhere, would be the epitome of a Sci-Fi dystopian story being imposed upon the MA$$E$.
Thus, the shopping mall and public transit should always remain as safe, open places. Eventually, mall security and transit police might be augmented with robots and AI drones.
Fortunately, the new and improved Oakridge wont be like anything out of a dystopian Sci-Fi story.
Its so creepy how the Canada Embasesment Line was designed to only have 2 car trains, with no easy expansion ability to have 4-8 car trains. Indeed, to design a 2 billion dollar line without the capability to at least have 5 car trains is a very sad joke. The stations are only designed to eventually accomodate a 2.5 car train as if to symbolise the reluctance to ever connect YVR to both ferry terminals.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakridge-41st_Avenue_station
https://www.translink.ca/news/2025/may/oakridge%20canada%20line%20station%20to%20close%20early
Oakridge–41st Avenue station
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakridge-41st_Avenue_station
It's so sad that the Canada (Embarrassment) Line stations are only an absurd 50 m, when the Montreal_Metro stations are 152.5 m or 500 feet long. A 2 car Vancouver-Richmond train just can't match the capacity of a 9 car Montreal Metro train.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Line#Stations "The five busiest stations have platforms 50 metres (160 ft) long, while the rest of the stations have 40-metre (130 ft) platforms that can be easily extended to 50 metres."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Line#Canada_Line_Hyundai_Rotem_specifications "Train length: 41 m (134 ft 6 in)"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Metro#Station_design "Platforms, 152.4 metres (500 ft) long and at least 3.8 metres (12 ft) wide..."
The Canada_Line is a total backwards BC embassesment. The argument for such short stations and trains was to save money. However, all the stations could have still been designed to be level long enough to eventually be extended to 160 m. That would be able to accomodate an 8 car train of 525 feet.
Unfortunatly, in accordance with backwards Vancouver transportation planning, the Canada (Embarrassment) Line stations are https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_station_(Edmonton)
The multigenerational backwards BC thinking always gets in the way. An initial 2 billion dollar train line should have ultimately been designed to have 10 car trains. This line should have eventually linked YVR to both ferry terminals, but that would actually be efficient long-range transportation planning.
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Monday, October 6, 2025
Edmonton vs. Vancouver, etc.
Edmonton has one tower thats taller than anything in BC. However, Burnaby and Surrey will eventually rival it. Despite more people wanting to move to Vancouver, perhaps to avoid the -20C to -30C Canadian winters. However, some people are determined to make sure that Vancouver never has any building taller than what's in Edmonton & especially Calgary & Seattle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton#Public_transit Unfortunatly, any underground train station in backwards Vancouver was designed to be shorter than the underground train stations in Edmonton & Seattle. While the trains in Vancouver can be more frequent, short stations keep the trains short and pathetic.
Despite the SkyTrain being a multibillion dollar system, the underground stations are only 80 metres on the first 2 lines. The Canada (embassament) Line only has 50 metre stations. In contrast, the Montreal Metro has 152.5 metre stations. At least the underground stations in Edmonton are in the 125 to 130 metre range and even longer in Seattle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Edmonton
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kurt-b/51118510836
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/J.W._Marriott_Edmonton_Ice_District_%26_Stantec_Tower This is taller than any current building in BC. The shorter tower would be the second tallest if it was in Vancouver.
No bridge in Vancouver is allowed to be as wide as the widest in Edmonton.
Even when the Granville+Bridge used to have 8 lanes, there were no emergency lanes and 2 narrow, uneven sidewalks. Where as the newer Quesnell+Bridge still has 8 lanes, plus 2 emergency lanes & a wide sidewalk.
Saturday, October 4, 2025
Multnomah County, Oregon and Clark County, Washington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multnomah_County,_Oregon While Portland is so tiny when compared to NYC, it still has the potential to become a big city like Seattle, someday.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_County,_Washington Vancouver, WA is basically a suburb of Portland. However, V-WA could eventually become like a smaller version of Jersey_City,_New_Jersey.
Its a case of a smaller river city next to a larger river city, that is part of a metropolitan area.
The New_York_metropolitan_area is the most densely populated and the biggest in the US.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_metropolitan_area#Geography
The Portland_metropolitan_area could potentially become as big as the Seattle_metropolitan_area, some day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_metropolitan_area#Metropolitan_statistical_area
Seattle is already a larger city than Boston. However, the Seattle_metropolitan_area still isn't quite as big as the Greater_Boston Area.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_metropolitan_area#Geography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Boston#Metropolitan_Area
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England Boston
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Northwest Seattle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Northwest#Population
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_City-Windsor_Corridor Montreal and Toronto
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary-Edmonton_Corridor No hindrence from backwards BC.
Then there is backwards Vancouver and the Lower_Mainland part of BC. Short trains and mostly narrow bridges are hindering the region, by design. The regional passenger rail and the freight rail lines all need to be properly upgraded.
Don't forget the provincial backwater that is Victoria,_British_Columbia. At least Greater_Victoria has the potential to become a major island metropolitan area, someday. There should be a 4 track passenger and freight line between Victoria and Nanaimo and even up to Comox.
Vancouver, WA and Vancouver, BC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver,_Washington "Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, the city was originally established around Fort Vancouver, a fur trading outpost, and is situated directly north of Portland, Oregon..." It is part of the Portland_metropolitan_area.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver, BC
| Gastown | (1867–1886) |
| Granville | (1870–1886) |
| City of Vancouver | (1886–present) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Vancouver
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Vancouver_Regional_District
Friday, October 3, 2025
The outlook of B.C.’s economic action plan for 2026
https://bcbusiness.ca/industries/invest-in-bc/the-outlook-b-c-s-economic-action-plan-for-2025-2026/
BC has so much red tape to resolve that Alberta & Washington State never had or had gotten rid of long ago.
The transportation infrastructure is so lacking.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Lions+Gate+Bridge A lingering sad 3 lane joke of a bridge. No interest in at least having a bus, truck and train tunnel near it.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=YVR-Canada-Line A 2 car joke of a train.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement A modernern 4 lane joke of a bridge with no emergency lanes, let alone no bus and HOV lanes. Of course there is no provision for a lower deck to accommodate trains and trucks.
Metro Vancouver slashes sewage plant cost by $3.9B but risks long-term bill
The costs of the new 'alternative plan' are expected to save money over the next 15 years but balloon several billion dollars higher after that. https://www.biv.com/news/economy-law-politics/metro-vancouver-slashes-sewage-plant-cost-by-39b-but-risks-long-term-bill-11303969
So much money down the toilet when it could have gone towards longer trains and wider bridges. Instead of having a proper regional express bus network with a series of bus bridges, busses are forced onto the mostly existing narrow bridges.
The Scotia (stump) Tower in Vancouver
https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/scotia-tower/4396 138 m / 453 ft with 35 floors
https://www.skydb.net/building/134544260/scotia-tower-vancouver Height 138 m (452 ft) Floors 35
https://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=65 452 feet https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=110142950&page=3
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=1
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=1&status=15
Despite The Scotia Tower in Vancouver opening in 1977, it's still a prominent, but small building on the skyline. The windows only go up to the 34th floor, where as the windows on the real Scotia Tower in Toronto go up to the 68th floor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotia_Tower Opened in 1977 with 34 floors, plus 2 windowless levels and at least 2 underground floors. Given its prominence on the skyline, the city would not permit it to have a 40th floor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nauru_House Melbourne 52 floors
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25_Martin_Place Sydney 67 floors
Driver crashes into LA City Hall steps and barricades himself in car
https://abc7.com/post/la-city-hall-crash-car-slams-steps/17933164/
Sometimes a person just might be having a bad day, but other times a person might want to take over a building.
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/downtown-la-city-hall-crash
If its determined after due process, that this person had malicious intent, they will be facing sever punishment.
L.A. City Hall evacuated after vehicle crashes near steps; driver in custody after standoff https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-10-03/vehicle-crashes-into-steps-of-l-a-city-hall-prompting-closure-of-surrounding-streets
Fahrenheit 451 (1953 Novel) and height limits
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451 Two decades before Ray_Bradbury would start writing what would eventually lead to his F 451 novel, LA was sort of close to imposing a 451 foot height limit. However, the LA City Hall would end up being slightly taller than 451 feet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_City_Hall "Dedication ceremonies were held on April 26, 1928. It has 32 floors and, at 454 feet (138 m) high..."
"A City Council ordinance passed in 1905 did not permit any new construction to be taller than 13 stories or 150 ft (46 m) in order to keep the city's architecture harmonious. City Hall's 454 ft (138 m) height was deemed exempt as a public building and assured that no building would surpass one third its height for over three decades until the ordinance was repealed by voter referendum in 1957." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_City_Hall#History
https://laist.com/news/entertainment/city-hall-tall 454' not 451 feet, but close nonetheless. LA didn't have to wait until 1953, because it was pondering a 450'-455 foot height restriction in the mid to late 1920s. Of course NYC and Chicago already had tall buildings in the 1920s, so perhaps LA wanted to symbolize an F-U to them by keeping buildings under 500 feet until the mid to late 1960s.
"The writing and theme within Fahrenheit 451 was explored by Bradbury in some of his previous short stories. Between 1947 and 1948, Bradbury wrote "Bright Phoenix", a short story about a librarian who confronts a "Chief Censor", who burns books. An encounter Bradbury had in 1949 with the police inspired him to write the short story "The Pedestrian" in 1951. In "The Pedestrian", a man going for a nighttime walk in his neighborhood is harassed and detained by the police. In the society of "The Pedestrian", citizens are expected to watch television as a leisurely activity, a detail that would be included in Fahrenheit 451. Elements of both "Bright Phoenix" and "The Pedestrian" would be combined into The Fireman, a novella published in Galaxy Science Fiction in 1951. Bradbury was urged by Stanley Kauffmann, an editor at Ballantine Books, to make The Fireman into a full novel. Bradbury finished the manuscript for Fahrenheit 451 in 1953, and the novel was published later that year." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451#Writing_and_development
F 451 was published in 1953, on 10-19.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13079982-fahrenheit-451
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451#Historical_and_biographical_context
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/451/summary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451#Writing_and_development
Did Metropolis_(1927_film) help to restrict the height of tall buildings in LA for several decades?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_(1927_film)#Influences
Whether the LA City Hall is 454', 453' or 452 feet, it's not exactly 451 feet, but still close enough.
https://www.latimes.com/visuals/photography/la-me-fw-archives-20190403-htmlstory.html "The 32-story, 454-foot-tall Los Angeles City Hall opened with a three-day public celebration April 26-28, 1928. Construction started in 1926."
https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/city-hall/4376 138.4 m / 454 ft
https://buildingsdb.com/CA/los-angeles/los-angeles-city-hall "The Los Angeles City Hall reaches an architectural height of 453ft (138m). It has a total of 32 floors, 28 above ground and 4 basements..."
https://www.travelinusa.us/visit-los-angeles-city-hall "At the time of construction, a regulation was in effect in the city that prohibited buildings taller than 150 feet. Los Angeles City Hall was therefore an exception and, at an impressive 32 stories and a height of 452 feet, it remained the tallest building in Los Angeles until 1964 when Union Bank Plaza opened."
https://waterandpower.org/Museum2/Los_Angeles_City_Hall_1928.html
https://www.c40.org/cities/los-angeles
By the 1970s, LA, SF, Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo, Toronto, Montreal and Paris, all had some buildings over 600 feet or even over 200 m.
https://www.c40.org/cities/vancouver
Unfortunately by the 1970s, stubborn and backwards Vancouver wanted to go in the opposite direction of most cities. Thus, a kind of censoring agenda was implemented. SF and Sydney and even Seattle, proved that a scenic city by the water can have taller buildings, wider bridges and longer trains than what little Vancouver would allow.
While there isn't any direct correlation with the F 451 story and Vancouver, BC imposing a height limit, there is something peculiar. Some people might consider that if a building is around 500 feet in height, or at least 150 m, that's in the category of starting to be a tall building.
Well, Vancouver, always looking for ways to symbolically project a watered down or scaled back city, height restrictions were at the top of the list.
Somewhere in-between the 1950s & 60s, Vancouver started to refine its height restriction mandate. Thus, as several cities in the 1970s started to allow for taller buildings, Vancouver has never allowed any office tower to have 40 floors. Perhaps an imposed 451 foot height limit would have been too obvious, so Vancouver generally had an imposed height restriction of 450 feet, with some occasional variations.
Right through the 1960s only one building in Vancouver, or anywhere in BC had a 30th floor.
The first residential building to have at least 40 floors. https://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=921 1973 https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=110144876&page=3
The first residential building to have more than 45 floors. https://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=3 2001 https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=110144876&page=6
It wouldn't be until the early 21st century before Vancouver would permit 2 buildings to rise above 600 feet. https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=110144876&page=8 , https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=110144876&page=9
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?countryID=1 Vancouver has no building that makes it onto the first page. Burnaby just barely makes it.
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=110144876&page=10 However, Vancouver has another chance to actually have some taller buildings. https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?countryID=1&status=15 Over the decades, various plans have been stopped, due to all the red tape B$ and extreme restrictions.
Vancouver has had quite a history of limiting, restricting, thwarting & censoring proper big city stuff.
Thursday, October 2, 2025
The Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites in Los Angeles
The Westin_Bonaventure_Hotel should have been twice the height. It's only a 367-foot (112 m), 33-story hotel, but it should have been at least as tall as the Westin_Peachtree_Plaza_Hotel in Atlanta or the Renaissance_Center in Detroit, or The_Stamford in Singapore.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westin_Bonaventure_Hotel#Floors_and_elevators
https://socallandmarks.com/index.php/2022/09/16/bonaventure-hotel/
https://www.sfgate.com/la/article/los-angeles-bonaventure-hotel-history-19511087.php
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-bonaventure-hotel-los-angeles-california
https://movie-locations.com/travel/la/travel-downtown-05.php
http://www.experiencingla.com/2013/02/tour-o-downtown-part-i.html
https://portmanarchitects.com/project/the-westin-bonaventure
| Number of rooms | 1,358 |
|---|---|
| Number of suites | 135 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westin_Bonaventure_Hotel#Floors_and_elevators
It would take LA a long time to have a much taller hotel tower.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Center 73 floors at 727 ft (222 m)
| Number of rooms | 1,246 |
|---|---|
| Number of suites | 52 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Center#History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westin_Peachtree_Plaza_Hotel
| Number of rooms | 1,068 |
|---|---|
| Number of suites | 40 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westin_Peachtree_Plaza_Hotel#Architectural_details
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swisshtel_The_Stamford 73 floors at 226 metres (741 ft)
| Number of rooms | 1,252 |
|---|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swisshotel_The_Stamford#History
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
A Guide on How Not to Build a Railway in Toronto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8mLZ7EE81I
This is a pretty good rival to the Canada (emebasement) Line in Vancouver. Indeed, taking far too long to construct a rail transit line is almost as bad as building short stations in Vancouver.
Vancouver’s latest international ranking — 36 on a list of 48 cities
The Vancouver Mind Virus keeps hindering the city. The Backwards BC Mentality makes sure that BC remains as a provincial backwater when compared to Ontario, Quebec and Alberta.
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C40_Cities_Climate_Leadership_Group
https://www.c40reinventingcities.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C40_Cities_Climate_Leadership_Group#History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C40_Cities_Climate_Leadership_Group#Membership
https://www.c40knowledgehub.org/s/topic/0TO1Q0000001ldhWAA/mass-public-transit?language=en_US
https://www.c40.org/cities/vancouver/
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Tall and Wide Buildings
https://www.reddit.com/r/skyscrapers/comments/1nufoeh/the_1960s_and_the_1930s
While they would be giants by little Vancouver standards, they are just average when compared to the modern big stuff around the world.
https://www.reddit.com/r/skyscrapers/comments/1nuivgm/chicago_skyline_in_the_1950s Now stumps in Chicago, but they would still be tall towers in stumpy Vancouver.
https://www.reddit.com/r/skyscrapers/comments/1ntv4x8/chicago There are plenty of Vancouver size stumps in Chicago, NYC, Toronto & Melbourne...
4th and Columbia Mixed-use Tower
https://lmnarchitects.com/project/4th-columbia-mixed-use-tower
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=27&status=15
Of course various planned buildings can go through a design change or even be cancelled.
https://www.theurbanist.org/2016/01/05/the-metro-neighborhood-a-renewed-vision-for-downtown-seattle/
Even transportation routes and technologies can change or be scrapped.
https://www.theurbanist.org/2017/08/21/map-week-sound-transits-new-system-expansion-map/
Monday, September 29, 2025
Philadelphia
https://www.reddit.com/r/skyscrapers/comments/1nttdgy/center_city_philadelphia
Philadelphia used to have stumpy restrictions almost as severe as Vancouver.
Big cuts are coming to Vancouver City Hall
While cutting out some of the fat from the budget can be good, Vancouver is still decades behind with its infrastructure. Most other cities have been able to plan and build on a larger scale, simply because they don't have the backwards Vancouver mentality to hinder them.
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Vancouver Park Board to consider extended beach hours around summer solstice
Vancouver is such a strange and backwards provincial city.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/no-fun-city-calls-to-extend-hours-at-vancouver-beaches/
For a city that claims that it doesn't have a NO FUN CITY (NFC) vibe, it occasionally keep emerging.
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/06/25/vancouver-police-english-bay-beach-sweeps-questions/
Fortunately, the mind virus that is Vancouver hasn't caught on with most cities around the world.
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/people-escorted-off-vancouver-beaches-2024-9130597
It's one thing if some people living close to the beach don't want to hear drinking parties going on until 2 or 3 AM. However, reasonably behaved people should be able to enjoy summer sunsets from a beach vantage point. Summer goes by too quickly in BC, so the best time to enjoy the beach is during the summer.
To think that there used to be a Vancouver Sea Festival. Fortunately, Vancouver was unable to get Seattle to give up on its Seafair. https://www.seafair.org/what-is-seafair
Vancouver was never able to waterdown the Calgary_Stampede. https://www.calgarystampede.com
Vancouver should be making it easier to have summer festivals, not more difficult.
Hopefully, the Vancouver Mind Virus (VMV) will never be accepted in proper cities around the world.
https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/unpermitted-african-descent-festival-aug-2025.aspx
https://vancouversbestplaces.com/events-calendar/festivals-and-events/african-descent-festival
Fortunately, the Caribana Festival is far away from backwards Vancouver.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribana#Economics_and_impact May it never be watered down or cancelled by anything like the Vancouver Mind Virus. The VMV is so horrible, don't let it take over your city.
SF and Sydney...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Sydney
_V2.jpg)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Sydney%28from_air%29_V2.jpg 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Portjackson.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Sydney_02_11_2008.JPG
SF is just as scenic as Sydney. They allow taller buildings, longer trains and wider bridges than backwater Vancouver. Unfortunatly, backwards Vancouver keeps going in the opposite direction, despite more people wanting to move to SW BC.
The longstanding argument is that since Vancouver is in a scenic setting, every excuse should be used to scale back or water down the urban prescience.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/False_Creek%2C_Vancouver_%282025%29.jpg
Fortunately, this watered down approach hasn't made it to Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, SF, LA and Seattle. Thus, all of them are able to have taller buildings, longer trains and wider bridges. The Vancouver Mind Virus (VMV) or the Backwards Vancouver Mentality (BVM) is an intertwined horrible concept.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Vancouver_Skyline_and_Mountains.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Shore_Mountains Even the San_Gabriel_Mountains are allowed to be taller than the ones near Vancouver.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Los_Angeles_with_Mount_Baldy.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_San_Antonio 10,064 ft (3,068 m)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lions_(peaks)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Mountain_(North_Shore_Mountains)
Will the Tribune East Tower in Chicago ever be built?
https://www.reddit.com/r/skyscrapers/comments/1nsu0xw/will_tribune_east_tower_chicago_be_built
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribune_East_Tower 1,442 ft (439.5 m) 113 floors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribune_Tower 1925
A 463-foot-tall (141 m), 36-floor building. Today, it's just another old Chicago size stump, but in if it was in Vancouver, it would still be an impressively tall tower.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribune_Tower#Architecture
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/07/06/tribune-tower-100-years-chicago-magnificent-mile Even a centuray later, this would be one of the tallest office towers in backwater BC.
Vancouver Art Gallery picks Canadian architects for new building
https://www.straight.com/arts/vancouver-art-gallery-picks-canadian-architects-for-new-building
For some reason, things take a long time to get done in backwards Vancouver. From the design and the construction, the project shouldn't take any more than a few years.
Vancouver buildings over 152.4 meters or 500 feet
It took a very long time for Vancouver to have its first building permitted to rise over 500 feet in height.
152.4 meters = 500 feet and 150 meters = 492.12 feet
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=1
https://www.straight.com/article-371138/vancouver/city-approves-new-policy-taller-buildings-downtown-vancouver While there are some taller resedential towers, Vancouver still has no office tower with at least a 40th floor. Portland,_Oregon has 2. Perth, WA has 2 office towers with at least 50 floors. The_Bow tower in Calgary has 60 floors, when you count all the levels. The Columbia_Center in Seattle has 80 floors in total.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Vancouver#Cityscape
450 feet is equal to about 137.16 meters and that was the height restriction imposed on Vancouver for most of its restrictive, red-tape history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Vancouver
The powers that be tried their damndest to not allow most Vancouver buildings to be taller than the Smith_Tower, Commerce_Court_North and the Los_Angeles_City_Hall until after the year 2000. Of course in 2025 those buildings are like stumps now, but would still be tall by small Vancouver standards.
https://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=6965 , https://www.smithtower.com/about/
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=27&searchname=timeline
https://beautifulwashington.com/king-county/attractions/seattle/448-sky-view-observatory.html
https://www.seattletimes.com/life/heres-a-cheap-way-to-view-seattles-skyline-coffee-at-the-starbucks-on-the-40th-floor-of-the-columbia-tower The 40th floor of an 80 story building, when you count the mechanical or plant floors as well. Perhaps some day strict Vancouver might permit an office building to have a 40th floor.
https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=1&status=15
stumps and towers
Sunday, September 28, 2025
Burnaby
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnaby
Unlike Brooklyn merging into NYC, Burnaby has remained independent of strict Vancouver.
Brooklyn, NY
https://www.reddit.com/r/skyscrapers/comments/1nsyaux/brooklyn/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Brooklyn#Tallest_buildings
While stubborn Vancouver only allows 2 buildings to be taller than the tallest in Bellevue,_Washington and nothing to rival the tallest in Vaughan, Ontario, Burnaby will.
Unlike Vancouver, Burnaby wants to even rival the tallest in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn used to be an independent city, but it eventually became part of NYC.
Saturday, September 27, 2025
New ferry proposed between Tacoma and Seattle ahead of World Cup
https://www.visitpiercecounty.com/plan/transportation/getting-to-seattle/
Of course Greater Vancouver isn't adding a regional network of ferries anytime soon. That's because it would go against the congestive planning agenda.
GO Transit, When Outdated Trains Serve a Modern City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ThQ6K-cHE
https://www.gotransit.com/en/find-a-station/un/routes-departures
https://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our-destinations/stations/ontario/toronto
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Station_(Toronto) , https://torontounion.ca
https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/visitor-toronto/path-torontos-downtown-pedestrian-walkway
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_station_(TTC) , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txjv6k9e6gA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Station_(Toronto)#Site_location
Unlike Toronto, the Chicago_Union_Station is far away from the lakeshore.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Union_Station#Connections
Friday, September 26, 2025
The TRUTH About LA's Downfall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwxqW0IBUgg
Unfortunatly, red tape and overlapping B$ regulations can hinder any city.
Los Angeles - What It's Really Like Now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSF9Ab3z1yU
THE TRUTH ABOUT LOS ANGELES TODAY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1ecECQ8gsw
Despite its various problems, L.A. continues to be an international draw for people.
L.A. will always have better year round weather than rainy Vancouver or Seattle.
Toronto Royal York Hotel vs. The Hotel Vancouver
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairmont_Royal_York
When you live in stumpy Vancouver for several decades, its always amazing to see how much wider the buildings are allowed to be in other cities.
https://torontopics.me/2016/08/29/fairmont-royal-york-hotel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairmont_Royal_York#Location "Opened on 11 June 1929, the Châteauesque-styled building is 124 metres (407 ft) tall, and contains 28 floors."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairmont_Royal_York#Design 1363 rooms
https://www.thefairmontroyalyork.com , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairmont_Hotels_%26_Resorts#Properties
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Vancouver
"Opened in May 1939, the Châteauesque-styled building is considered one of Canada's grand railway hotels. The hotel stands 112.47-metre-tall (369.0 ft), and contains 17 floors."
.jpg)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/The_Fairmont_Hotel_Vancouver_%2842914562450%29.jpg Had the entier block been reseverd for future hotel space, a 65 story tower could have eventually been built, beside the first phase.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Vancouver#Design
https://www.straight.com/living/experience-magic-of-autumn-at-fairmont-hotel-vancouver
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/CN_Tower_observation_level_2023d.jpg Toronto like most real cities, is able to set aside enough space to go wider. Narrow-minded Vancouver just keeps going the other way by continually watering the scale of things down.
The Hotel Vancouver could have been designed with future expansion in mind to its south. The Royal York had enough space to eventually add a wing to the east side of the building.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=BC+Hotels
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=The+Hotel+Vancouver
Thursday, September 25, 2025
The Staten Island Railway in New York City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFuSP7okBUI
A ride down the entire length of the Staten Island Railway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZZV_rSocck
NYC
Vancouver's River District
https://vancouversun.com/news/developer-wesgroup-cancels-project-vancouver-river-district
https://vancouversbestplaces.com/city-of-vancouver/river-district-vancouver/
https://govancity.com/neighbourhoods/river-district/
https://wesgroup.ca/river-district/
Riverside living is very popular around the world. Urban industrial areas are still important land uses as well.
Unfortunatly, the Kent Avenue streetcar, interurban or tram-train was discontinued in the 1950s.
It seemed like such a good idea in the 1950s, remove the streetcars and tram-trains.
https://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/interurbanmap_web.jpg
With several narrow streets and mostly narrow bridges, having a comprehensive regional rail system is imperative.
https://buzzer.translink.ca/2009/03/a-short-history-of-interurbans-in-the-lower-mainland
https://montecristomagazine.com/community/vancouvers-forgotten-streetcars#gsc.tab=0
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=The+East+Kent+Avenue+Greenway
The 4 lane Pattullo Bridge replacement is expected to open by Christmas
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/09/25/new-pattullo-bridge-to-open-by-christmas-bc-government
Not 8, not 6, just another 4 lane BC funnel chokepoint. Officially, NW isn't against bus and HOV lanes, they just weren't part of the new bridge design. Of course there was no provision for a lower deck, because that would go against the congestion planning mentality. This new bridge not only should have had 2 bus lanes, but 2 wide emergency lanes or shoulders as well. Even if it can eventually have 6 lanes, there still won't be any wide emergency lanes or HOV lanes.
This BC bottleneck planning mentality is so bad for transportation. So much of backwards BC is about doing things that are impressive to the Yukon or Labrador. Not Quebec, Ontario and Alberta.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge In 1800s BC, having the width of 2 wagon roads would be amazing.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement In the 2020s, having 2 wagon roads each way is still amazing.
There seems to be an unwritten rule that whenever possible, no bridge system in BC should be as wide as the widest in Fort+McMurray,+AB or Edmonton,+AB.
https://www.canambridges.com/projects/athabasca-river-bridge
Most Albertans have no idea of what it would be like to be under something like a BC Mind Virus.
The same goes for Southern Quebec and Southern Ontario.
https://www.canambridges.com/projects/ile-des-soeurs-bypass-bridge/
Alberta, Ontario & Quebec would collapse or implode, if they had to do things the backwards BC way.
https://www.canambridges.com/projects/new-champlain-bridge-corridor-project/
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement
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