Big upgrades coming to Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal in West Vancouver

 https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/big-upgrades-coming-to-horseshoe-bay-ferry-terminal-in-west-vancouver-10286391

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-ferries-horseshoe-bay-terminal-upgrades

Its such utter foolishness & inept planning to not have a rail rapid transit line between the Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal and downtown Vancouver, but this is backwards BC.

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Horseshoe+Bay

A Horseshoe Bay SkyTrain line to North Vancouver and Downtown Vancouver?

"A SkyTrain from downtown to Horseshoe Bay would provide a solution to the North Shore’s traffic crisis,..." https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/highlights/letter-horseshoe-bay-skytrain-north-vancouver-7753960

When the decision and implementation to put a major ferry terminal at Horseshoe_Bay in West_Vancouver was done, there didn't seem to be any sense of proper long-range urban transportation planning. It didn't matter if it was 2010 or 2020, there still seemed to be no need to build or at least an official plan for a rail rapid transit connection between the Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal, Park Royal, downtown Vancouver and YVR.

https://www.vancouversnorthshore.com/neighbourhood/horseshoe-bay

https://www.bcferries.com/routes-fares/schedules/daily/HSB-NAN

The lack of an official plan to eventually link the Horseshoe_Bay_ferry_terminal and the Tsawwassen_ferry_terminal to YVR might as well be just another science fiction story.

The Greater Victoria, Swartz_Bay_ferry_terminal should also have a long-term plan for an intercity rail link to Downtown_Victoria and connect with the Duke_Point_ferry_terminal and the Departure_Bay_ferry_terminal in Nanaimo.

For some reason, Vancouver, Victoria and BC in general, doesn't seem to want to be a leader in transportation planning & development.

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=SkyTrain-Canada+Line

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Horseshoe+Bay

Horseshoe Bay upgrades

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-ferries-passenger-booking-changes-horseshoe-bay-upgrades

Its very strange that there wasn't any proper planning to have a train connecting the Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal, YVR and the Tsawwassen+ferry+terminal.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-ferries-popular-route-busy-weekend

Unfortunatly, it was difficult enough just to have a 2 car SkyTrain-Canada+Line between Vancouver & Richmond, nevermind the Tsawwassen ferry terminal.

Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal

Why have a proper high capacity rail line connecting the Horseshoe_Bay_ferry_terminal to YVR, when so much traffic is funneled into the narrow 3 lane Lions+Gate+Bridge and the inadequate 4 lane Oak Street Bridge?

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6578199

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal

BC Government orders West Vancouver to expand community plans for more housing

 https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/province-orders-west-vancouver-to-expand-community-plans-for-more-housing-10697660

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.

Vancouver harbour sailings

 https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/travel/vancouver-cruises-top-harbour-sailings-2025-11093357  

The SeaBus and the Aqua-Bus just aren't enough, there needs to be more capacity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeaBus , https://theaquabus.com/

https://www.translink.ca/schedules-and-maps/seabus 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeaBus#Service Ideally, there should be a daytime departure every 5 minutes & 10 minutes during the evening.

https://www.translink.ca/schedules-and-maps/line/seabus/direction/0/schedule 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeaBus#History

As of 2025, there still isn't a Downtown to Deep+Cove ferry and not in 2026 either. Thus, the 6 lane Iron+Bridge will still be overloaded. Had the bridge been constructed to have very wide shoulders, there could have been an efficient bus lane each way. Instead, any bus is stuck in the almost perpetual traffic jam. A Boundary+Road Bridge could make for an excellent bus and HOV lane crossing consisting of at least 4 lanes, with a provision for a middle rail section.

Of course there is no ferry from Downtown+Vancouver to the Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal. Just like there is no train from Horseshoe+Bay to Deep+Cove and to the Tri-Cities. 

It's strange that the North-Shore didn't keep up with improving its passenger rail system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Shore_(Greater_Vancouver) , https://monova.ca/the-story-of-streetcar-153/

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Tri-Cities

Is the Tsawwassen Mills (mall) set for an expansion?

 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. 

Who controls the 3 lane Lions Gate Bridge?

 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/who-controls-the-centre-lane-on-the-lions-gate-bridge-1.7589996

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. 

The Lion Bridge and The Iron Bridge

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Lion+Bridge As of 2025, still no official plan for a train tunnel and a bus & HOV tunnel. A 3-4 track train tunnel and a 6-8 lane road tunnel would actually improve that absurd 3 lane crossing area.  

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Iron+Bridge As of 2025, still no official construction plan to add a 4 lane bus & HOV bridge, plus a 3-4 track rapid transit train bridge. 

Why a 3-4 track train tunnel or bridge? Someday, enough sensible people might realize the benefit and importance of having a train linking the Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal to YVR and to the Tsawwassen+ferry+terminal. 

Unfortunatly, when so much money was wasted on a $HIT-PIPE and a $HIT-BOX, more money was lost that could have gone towards improving transit to & from the North Shore.

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=The+Lion+Bridge+and+The+Iron+Bridge 

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Lions+Gate+Bridge

The Battle continues over Vancouver Aquatic Centre

 https://globalnews.ca/video/11480236/battle-continues-over-vancouver-aquatic-centre-renovations 

There isn't officially a Vancouver Mind Virus (VMV), but somehow through the decades, the KEEP VANCOUVER SMAL AND BACKWARDS mentality keeps manifesting.

https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/2025/10/15/aquatic-centre-25vs50m-officials-misled "This scandal exposes how Vancouver’s development approval processes can be corrupted if staff predetermine outcomes and manufacture justifications rather than conducting evidence-based analysis. If municipal staff can systematically mislead elected representatives on a project this significant—with technical evidence this clear—what other decisions have been corrupted in the past or could be corrupted in the future?"

Why have a modern full-size pool, when there can be a half size, Half-A$$ED pool? That's the VMV resurfacing again.

https://vancouversun.com/news/proposed-vancouver-aquatic-centre-seeks-height-density-relaxations "Swimmers have mounted a court petition over plans to replace the 50-metre Olympic-sized pool with one half that length"

A scaled down Vancouver+Aquatic+Centre is part of the pay more to get less mentality. One of the most obvious ways to perpetuate the BC antigrowth agenda is to go backwards and build smaller infrastructure. Where does the money go if it's not always going towards proper big city size infrastructure?

Half sized buildings, half sized trains, half sized bridges, that's the VMV & BCMV in action. 

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=SHIT-BOX 

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Lions+Gate+Bridge An absurd 3 lane bridge without a parallel bus and train tunnel to help relieve this quintessential chokepoint. 

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Canada+Line A 2 car train that should have started with 5 cars, but can only be expanded into a 2.5 car train, someday. 

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Richmond-Delta+Tunnel No provision for a train tunnel, because that would make it easier to have a line connecting YVR with the Tsawwassen+ferry+terminal. Just like there is no desire to have a train between YVR and the Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal.

This Vancouver and BC Mind Virus is horrible, because it keeps stunting the potential of BC by watering down the infrastructure.

Airport rail links

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport_rail_link 

An airport+line should always be designed with future capacity in mind.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport_rail_link#Connection_types

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport_rail_link#High-speed_rail_and_inter-city_rail

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport_rail_link#Regional_rail_and_commuter_rail

 The Canada+Line is such a sad and pathetic joke. Nevermind planning for a 10 car train linking YVR with the Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal and the Tsawwassen+ferry+terminal to YVR, BC opted for a half-assed little train. Apparently, its logical in backwards BC to not allow for future clearance to at least have a 5 car train connecting YVR with West Vancouver & Delta. It was difficult enough just to have a small 2 car train & eventually a 2.5 car train between Vancouver & Richmond. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeaTac/Airport_station While Seattle can have a 2 car short train, the SeaTac_Airport_Station was designed to accommodate a proper big city long train.

Unlike in backwards BC, the Seattle_Central_Link Airport Station has 2 tracks. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/SeaTac_light_rail_station_from_airport_parking_garage_%282010%29.jpg Most proper cities around the world plan & build big infrastructure or at least allow for future expansion clearence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeaTac/Airport_station#Station_layout

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RER_B#List_of_RER_B_stations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_Express

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_(Italian_EMU)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_International_Airport_station

https://www.bart.gov/stations/sfia  https://www.bart.gov/guide/airport/sfo    

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=airport+line

Taking a second look at a third crossing for the North Shore

 https://www.nsnews.com/opinion/eve-lazarus-taking-a-second-look-at-third-crossings-for-the-north-shore-11084045

You couldn't have a worse congestion scenario there. 

https://www.westernstandard.news/topic/lions-gate-bridge An enduring 3 lane pathetic joke of a bridge! No bus & HOV tunnel & especially no train tunnel around there.

https://www.westernstandard.news/topic/ironworkers-memorial-bridge A 6 lane crossing that should have had at least 2 emegency lanes & 2 wide shoulders for future dmand. No bus & HOV bridge & especially no train bridge around there.

No one ever stopped the Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal from being built. However, its like various people have done their damndest to make sure that no express bus lanes & no HOV lanes cross the inlet, & especially no rail rapid transit. It's so sad that the congestive planning folks keep rising to the top of the B$.

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/this-week-in-history-1967-wacky-bennett-and-tom-terrific-team-up-to-push-for-a-third-crossing

Selective Door Operation (SDO)

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_door_operation#UK_variations

SDO is a great way to add an extra car at both ends of a train. Thus, a 3 car train can become 5 & a 6 car train could become 8. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground_S7_and_S8_Stock#Features

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground_S7_and_S8_Stock#/media/File:Articulate_section_S_stock.JPG

https://www.witpress.com/elibrary/wit-transactions-on-the-built-environment/74/12046

https://www.rssb.co.uk/research-catalogue/CatalogueItem/T686

The Chicago L can run up to an 8 car train, because that's the maximum station platform length. If the L can ever have walkthrough trains, then an 8 car train could become a 10 car train with SDO.

Stubborn Vancouver & BC just can't seem to allow for proper comprehensive transportation planning. 

Unfortunately, the multibillion dollar Canada+Line wasn't designed for significant future capacity. No five car trains, just a 2.5 car joke. There was a lack of vision to connect the Horseshoe+Bay ferry+terminal with downtown Vancouver and the airport.

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Selective+Door+Operation

Metro Vancouver regional district governance review changes

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/metro-vancouver-regional-district-governance-review-changes

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/metro-vancouver-treatment-plan-audit-1.7239051 Why have a train tunnel fromWest Vancouver to Waterfront_Station in Vancouver when instead, you can put a few extra billion dollars into a North Shore shit-pipe?

"The reasons behind the escalation are the subject of duelling lawsuits between the contractor Metro Vancouver fired and the regional district, but the now $3.9 billion is five times beyond the original $700 million budget Metro set a decade ago and more than double a revised $1 billion budget from 2021.

The issue’s complexity lies in the fact that Metro Vancouver’s sewage treatment services are broken up into four sewerage areas, unlike the drinking water system that is operated as a single entity.

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The sewerage areas are: North Shore; Vancouver, which includes UBC and parts of Burnaby and Richmond; Lulu, which is most of Richmond and Fraser, which is most other Metro municipalities.

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All municipalities pay for the capital costs of new facilities, but those within each district pay a bigger share for facilities in their own district." https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/metro-vancouver-will-pay-for-north-shore-sewage-plant

https://www.nsnews.com/in-the-community/north-vancouver-district-asks-province-for-public-inquiry-on-sewage-plant-debacle-9777554 So much extra money will have to be paid out for a shit-box & a shit-pipe cost overrun. A few extra billion dollars could have easily paid for an improved Canada+Line and extension from downtown Vancouver to Park+Royal and the Horseshoe+Bay ferry terminal.

https://vancouversun.com/news/new-westminster-mayor-sides-with-metro-vancouver-in-surrey-spat Surrey wants to eventually become the biggest city in BC. That means not having similar restrictions that Vancouver, NW & Victoria have. Surrey wants to have taller buildings than restrictive Vancouver. First, it will have to rival Burnaby & Bellevue, WA and ultimately, Vaughan, Ontario. Instead of having 1 big downtown area, there will be a few town centres as well. 

While Surrey might want to have more autonomy, its still part of the Metro_Vancouver_Regional_District.

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=SHIT-BOX

Park Royal Shopping Centre

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Royal_Shopping_Centre

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Royal_Exchange

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R2_Marine_Dr

It is utterly foolish and inept to not extend an improved Canada+Line to the Park_Royal_Shopping_Centre and the Horseshoe+Bay ferry terminal.

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Park+Royal

Canada's population and its lacking infrastructure

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-x/71-607-x2018005-eng.htm

Despite being the 2nd largest nation in overall area, Canada is far off from housing just 1% of the world's population. 

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/mandate/corporate-initiatives/levels/population-growth-2014-2027.html 

There aren't enough big cities in the vastness of Canada.

It's strange that Halifax hasn't become a big city like Boston or Montreal. Since the 2020s, a lot more people work from home and there isn't always an industrial base in major urban areas. More people are retiring and like people working from home, might like living in a town of 1000-10,000 people just as easily as a city with over a 1,000,000 people. The point being, that the top 30 towns in Canada could be built up to at least a million people each. Winnipeg has yet to have a million people. Then the top 10 cities could be built up to 5-10 population regions. Greater Montreal has yet to reach the 5 million point and the Greater Toronto Area has yet to reach 10 million people like Greater Chicago or, CHICAGOLAND. The San_Francisco_Bay_Area is getting close to having 10 million people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_municipalities_in_Canada_by_population Vancouver is only the 8th most populated city.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_census_metropolitan_areas_and_agglomerations_in_Canada#List However, the Greater Vancouver Region is still the 3rd largest urban area in Canada. Yet, it's so far behind with the necessary infrastructure. Indeed, When Greater Toronto & Greater Montreal each exceeded the 3 million point, they had longer trains & wider roads. It seems that Vancouver & BC in general, have perpetually opted for a congestive planning approach.

Will Canada's Next Prime Minister be Pierre Poilievre? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dck8eZCpglc

Why is anti-immigration sentiment on the rise in Canada? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txyjmNXcWiU

https://www.norden.org/en/information/population-nordic-region

https://www.nordicstatistics.org/news/population-growth-in-the-nordics Whether its Canada or the Nordic_Countries, places with cold winters can accommodate a lot of people. However, without setting up the proper amount of infrastructure first, its utterly foolish.

Canada hasn't kept up with building enough school & hospital facilities, as well as the overall necessary  infrastructure. 

https://www.definitivehc.com/resources/healthcare-insights/top-largest-canadian-hospitals

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_General_Hospital

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foothills_Medical_Centre

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Hospital_and_Health_Sciences_Centre#Facilities

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul's_Hospital_(Vancouver) , https://helpstpauls.com/why-give/new-st-pauls-hospital

https://www.infrastructurebc.com/projects/announced-in-procurement/richmond-hospital-redevelopment-project-phase-2-3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraser_Health#Regional_hospitals 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrey_Memorial_Hospital

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Columbian_Hospital 

https://www.infrastructurebc.com/projects/projects-under-construction/burnaby-hospital-phase-2-and-bc-cancer-centre-project/

Unlike the Montreal Metro which can accommodate 9 car trains, the strained Skytrain is only running 4 new-car trains & the inept Canada Line only runs 2 car trains. The Skytrain stations should have been designed to gradually accomodate 8-10 car trains. The Montreal Metro was built with 500 foot long or 152.5m stations right from the start. Apparently, to save money, the first 2 Skytrain lines only have 80m stations & the line to Richmond only has 50m stations, not 152.5m like Montreal. 

The inadequate new Pattullo-Bridge was designed to be so narrow that there won't be any emergency lanes. There won't be any bus lanes, even though the Skytrain doesn't run 24 hours. There won't be any truck lanes, despite the region being a major port. Thus, everything is supposed to be funneled into just 2 lanes each way. https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/about/projectoverview Apparently, the bridge can eventually be upgraded, but to only 3 lanes each way. Of course there is no provision for a lower train & truck deck. This is another fine example of backward BC planning. Even if small-thinking NW only wanted 2 lanes each way for cars, there still should have been an extra 2 lanes each way so that there is a dedicated bus lane & a truck lane each way. 

2 lanes were removed from the Burrard Bridge, 1 removed from the Cambie Bridge & 2 lanes removed from the Granville Bridge. Many other cities can actually build bike bridges so they don't have to take away any traffic lanes from their bridges. 

Even the new Highway-99-Tunnel is designed to become just another BC bottleneck. There will only be 3 lanes each way & a bus-lane each way. However, there won't be any truck lanes & no emergency lanes. https://www.highway99tunnel.ca/project-overview-frt Of course there won't be any provision for a train tunnel, because the government doesn't see a good reason to connect the Delta ferry terminal with Richmond & the airport. They never bothered to have a train from Horseshoe Bay to Park Royal & downtown Vancouver either.

So while the Federal Government charges a carbon tax, Greater Vancouver is left with short trains & mostly narrow bridges. It's utterly foolish to not properly upgrade the infrastructure & build a lot of affordable housing, yet encourage a bunch of people to move into a country that hasn't kept up with building more housing stock. I thought that some of the carbon tax would help to properly upgrade the BC infrastructure, because backward BC just can't seem to even catch up to what Calgary & Seattle have. The trains in Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary & Seattle are all longer than the short Skytrains. Yet, there is more demand in Vancouver to have longer trains, due to the narrow roads & bridges. Frequent short trains arent enough, there has to be proper big city long trains.