Three dead, one injured in crash on Pattullo Bridge

 https://vancouversun.com/news/three-dead-in-crash-pattullo-bridge

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/02/15/new-westminster-surrey-pattullo-bridge-fatal-crash/

https://www.castanet.net/news/BC/533640/Three-killed-one-seriously-injured-in-crash-on-Metro-Vancouver-bridge

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pattullo-bridge-crash-closed-1.7460474

https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/3-dead-1-hospitalized-with-life-threatening-injuries-after-major-crash-on-metro-vancouver-bridge/

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-fatal-crash-february-2025

https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca Fortunately, the replacement bridge will have a central safety divider.

https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/about/projectoverview Unfortunatly, the new bridge will open with only 4 lanes & no provision for a lower deck. However, there will be 2 bike & 2 footpaths. Despite being what is supposed to be a major port region, there are no truck lanes. Since Skytrain isn't a 24hr system & the Skybridge wasn't designed to have 2 bus lanes open at least during track maintenance, the new bridge should have had 2 bus lanes. Instead, cars, trucks & busses will all be funneled into only 2 lanes each way. So just like with the first bridge, BC bottleneck planning wins out.

https://www.highway99tunnel.ca While its several decades behind schedule, an 8 lane crossing is at least on the horizon.

https://www.highway99tunnel.ca/project-overview-frt Unfortunatly, in accordance with backwards BC infrastructure planning, there is no provision for a train tunnel or a bridge to Delta & especially the Tsawwassen_ferry_terminal. That seems to fit right in with not having a train from Waterfront_station to Park_Royal_Shopping_Centre and the Horseshoe_Bay_ferry_terminal. 

Until the stations on the first 2 Skytrain lines are lengthened, they will be stuck with 5 car trains. Proper long-range planning should have allowed for 8-10 car trains. The joke that is the Canada Line, should have had stations that could initially handle 4-5 car trains, with a provision to eventually accommodate 8-10 car trains. The existing ridiculously short stations can only handle 2.5 car trains. WTH? 

This unofficial congestive BC planning initiative is a multigenerational ME$$! Aparenty, narrow bridges & no regional bus bridges & short trains, can adequately move people around in a region of over 3 million people. Fortunately, when greater Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Sydney, Melbourn, Seattle & especially the SFBA all surpassed having 3 million people, they weren't bound by anything like the backwater BC mentality.

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

The Pattullo Bridge replacement now delayed by 1 year

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-construction-opening-delay-2025

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pattullo-bridge-delays-1.7215198

https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/construction/current-works/

The new PB should open with 6 lanes with a provision to have at least 8 lanes. A 4th lane each way could be a nice bus & HOV corridor. But once again, everything will be funneled into a 4 lane BC bottleneck.

https://www.surreynowleader.com/local-news/pattullo-bridge-replacement-delayed-again-now-projected-to-open-in-2025-7364978

https://globalnews.ca/news/10523439/broadway-subway-pattullo-bridge-delay/

Since the Skytrain isn't open 24hrs, 2 bus lanes should have been part of the bridge right from the start. Its sad that the multigenerational BC mentality never allowed for a much wider SkyBridge. Fortunately, Oregon was able to build their fantastic Tilikum_Crossing, because it doesn't have anything like the BC mentality to thwart it. 

Of course the Skybridge was never designed to have bus & bike lanes, but that's something Portland would eventually do. The extremely narrow SkyBridge should have been designed to not only have 2 bike lanes, but 2 bus & 2 HOV lanes to take some of the pressure off the old PB, as well as its replacement. But that would conflict with the narrow minded, multigenerational backward BC mentality.

After all these decades, backward BC still wants to make sure that there is no provision for a streetcar or a tram-train between Surrey & NW. That's despite Surrey eventually becoming the largest city in BC. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skybridge_(TransLink) The narrow minded BC joke of a transit bridge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilikum_Crossing Perhaps, the most amazing bridge in Oregon. https://trimet.org/tilikum

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement

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

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=NW

Old and new narrow bridges in BC

The New_Westminster_Bridge opened in 1904 and in typical backwater BC style, it was too narrow to do the job, right from the start. Not only should the bridge have been double-tracked, there should have been at least a 2 lane upper deck. At least having a provision for 2 tracks and more than just a 1 lane wagon road. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Fraser_River_Bridge%2C_New_Westminster%2C_BC.jpg

https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=britishcolumbia/newwestminsterrailwaybridge/

http://archives.newwestcity.ca/Results.aspx Thats all you got back then, just a 1 lane wagon road.

http://archives.newwestcity.ca/Results.aspx? Despite the bridge being required to handle passenger trains as well as freight trains, everything is funneled into a single track, even well over a century later.

http://archives.newwestcity.ca/Results.aspx?AC Had there been some real forward planning, there should have been at least 4 wagon lanes on the upper deck & at leas 3 tracks on the lower deck.

Unfortunatly, NW only saw itself as a provincial capital backwater & that also became the case when the BC capital was relocated to Victoria. 

http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/photos/bridges/Vancouver_area.htm

https://www.newwestrecord.ca/local-news/looking-back-and-looking-forward-pattullo-bridge-opened-85-years-ago-today-6106270 It must have been amazing to finally have a bridge with 4 wagon roads. Unfortunatly, there was no provision for a lower deck to accommodate interurban tram-trains & trucks. https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=britishcolumbia/pattullo

https://www.reddit.com/r/SurreyBC/comments/yhf6wg/pattullo_bridge_in_silver_grey_1957 Had there been a provision for a lower deck, then perhaps by 1960, both decks could have provided a wider 3 lanes each way.

Unlike the SHB in NSW, the Old-Pattullo-Bridge wasn't built with the same level of quality and wasn't designed to last that long.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-new-replacement-construction-update-2024 Of course the new bridge is a year behind schedule and once again, doesn't seem to be designed with much that much future capacity in mind.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-new-crossing-widening-six-lanes-surrey-board-of-trade Aparently, opening the new bridge with 6 lanes & a provision for a lower deck with 2 bus & HOV lanes & 2 truck lanes is too advanced thinking for BC infrastructure development. Just like the short Skytrain stations, having double deck bridges goes against the congestive planning agenda. So, the new bridge will open with only 2 lanes each way & no emergency lanes & especially no bus-HOV lanes or truck lanes for a seaport region. Thus, everything will be crammed into a 4 lane crossing. Why would such a bridge not open with enough width for 2 bus & HOV lanes? Most people in the Greater Vancouver Region know that the Skytrain isn't open 24 hours, so a good bus & HOV bridge between NW & Surrey would make sense, but this is the BC part of Canada where a lot of things don't make sense.

https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/

https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/about/projectoverview/

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

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=old+and+new+narrow+bridges

A fatal five-car collision on the very narrow Pattullo Bridge

https://globalnews.ca/video/10978653/police-investigating-after-fatal-five-car-collision-on-pattullo-bridge/

The 1930s Pattullo-Bridge just wasn't designed for what should be a major Pacific seaport region.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/woman-dead-following-five-car-crash-on-pattullo-bridge-in-surrey-bc/

Unlike Sydney, Australia & SF, California in the 1930s, NW always had a provincial backwater mentality. NW should have acquired the Coquitlams in order to attempt to be a big city, but that would go against its BC backwater agenda. Surrey in the 1930s was never envisioned to be that much of anything. No one ever thought that almost a century ago, that Surrey could eventually become the most populated city in backward BC.  

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pattullo-bridge-closure-1.7442030

Unfortunatly, with so much of the infrastructure in BC, it wasn't designed for future expansion or capacity upgrades.

https://vancouversun.com/news/fatal-five-vehicle-crash-pattullo-bridge

https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca The new bridge only has a few basic improvements, but still will initially only provide 2 lanes each way. It should have opened with 3 lanes each way & with a provision for an equally wide lower deck. Such a lower deck could have allowed for a bus & HOV lane each way, plus a truck lane each way. Also, enough clearance for 2 LRT tracks.

https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/about/projectoverview When the old bridge opened, it only had 1 narrow sidewalk & only enough space for 2 narrow lanes each way. There was no concept to have a couple of bus & a couple of truck lanes. There was a lost opportunity to have a lower deck for 2 streetcar tracks & 2 interurban or tram-train tracks. BC just doesn't have that much of a visionary perspective of things. 

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

New West small businesses are suffering during the Pattullo Bridge replacement project

 https://www.newwestrecord.ca/opinion/letter-new-west-small-business-is-suffering-during-the-pattullo-bridge-replacement-project-10224820

If only the 1937 Pattullo-Bridge was built a little higher & with a provision for a lower deck, It easily could have become a 6 lane bridge. Or, there was a provision to widen the narrow bridge at least a few meters on both sides, but that would indicate thinking & planning for the future. 

Some people have houses that are wider than the incredibly narrow Pattullo-Bridge. The PB should have been twinned in the 1950s, especially by the 1960s. Thus, a new bridge could have provided 3 lanes 1 way, while a refurbished old PB could have 3 lanes in the opposite direction, with not just 1, but 2 wide sidewalks on both bridges. 

Then when the Skybridge was finally built, it should have had at least 3 tracks & 2 bike lanes & a lower deck for 2 express bus lanes, which emergency vehicles could also use & 2 truck lanes, given that this is supposed to be a major seaport region.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Skybridge%2C_British_Columbia.jpg A 2 car joke of a train, on a single deck narrow bridge, just like the 2 car Canada Line. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/SkyBridge_sunset.jpg This is a 6 car mark 1 train. There would have to be a 12 car train of Mark 1 cars, just to reach the length of a 9 car Montreal Metro train. The newest Skytrain coaches will only form 5 car trains, because unlike Montreal, the first 2 lines only have 80m stations. The almost inept Canada Line has an absurd 50m stations, when the Montreal Metro stations are over 3 times the length, at 152.5 meters, or 500 feet. 

Unfortunatly, backwards BC continually demonstrates what not to do. Why go the correct way, when you can go the inept BC way?

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement 

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

The Pattullo Bridge replacement project

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-new-indigenous-renaming-art

While it's great to have a new name for the new bridge, there should have been a few more bridges between Surrey, NW, Coquitlam & Port Coquitlam.

https://604now.com/pattullo-bridge-new-indigenous-name

Another lost opportunity for backwards BC. This new bridge should have opened with 6 lanes, plus have at least 2 wide shoulders for future capacity. Then there could have been 2 HOV lanes, as well as 4 general lanes. There also should have been a lower deck for something similar to what the Tilikum_Crossing has. https://trimet.org/tilikum

Such a lower deck not only could have provided 2 sidewalks & 2 bike paths, but a provision for 2 streetcar or tram-train tracks and even 2 separated SkyTrain tracks. Instead, all the traffic will be crammed into just 2 lanes each way with no bus & no HOV lanes & especially no breakdown lanes. In the future, the existing 2 track Skybridge between Surrey & NW might not be adequate. People from all over the world should study the BC bottleneck planning mentality & avoid such bad planning at all costs.

It is foolish for the most urban part of BC to not have wide or double deck bridges. Unfortunatly, this new 4 lane bridge wasn't designed to have 2 bus & 2 HOV lanes & no provision for at least 2 train tracks. At least it will have more than 1 sidewalk & 1 more lane than the LGB and even a safety divider. 

Despite Surrey eventually becoming the most populous city in backwater BC, no 2 track train bridge like the Tilikum has been allowed to be built in backwards BC. https://trimet.org/tilikum/#about

https://trimet.org/tilikum/#:~:text=Bus%20lines%20FX2%2DDivision%2C%209,both%20sides%20of%20the%20river.

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement

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

New replacement Pattullo Bridge with four lanes is too small for growing Surrey

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-replacement-crossing-capacity-small

Indeed, why build a bridge with 2 bus lanes & 2 HOV lanes & even 2 emergency lanes? Just cram everything into only 2 lanes each way. This is the epitome of BC bottleneck planning. It's also another symbolic example to water down the scale of the infrastructure. Building big & wide is indicative of planning for growth, but BC has been under a multigenerational slow growth agenda.

https://www.newwestrecord.ca/local-news/pattullo-bridge-replacement-projected-delayed-another-year-8872962

Bus & HOV lanes should be standard on any new bridge in Greater Vancouver. A 4 lane bridge is just another sad BC joke. Make sure that the bridge isn't designed to accommodate a future deck for LRT, because Surrey & NW won't ever need another rapid transit crossing. Properly planning for growth means thinking big, but this is small minded backwater BC. 

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement

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

Pattullo Bridge closed after three killed in crash

"The Pattullo Bridge between New Westminster and Surrey, B.C., remains closed Saturday morning after three people were killed and one person was left with life-threatening injuries in a crash Friday evening..." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pattullo-bridge-crash-closed-1.7460474

Why not have a few more bridges for Surrey, NW, Richmond & Delta? Apparently for several decades, a inept 4 lane P Bridge & an inadequate 4 lane D Island Tunnel, which can easily get blocked & temporarily shutdown, was the best way to go. Unfortunatly, the concept of redundancy in BC has never really caught on. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pattullo-bridge-5-things-you-didn-t-know-1.3564197

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/pattullo-bridge-history-built-in-1937-the-span-was-expected-to-last-50-years

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

The New 4 lane Pattullo Bridge 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 planing 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 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/

Ash-scattering pier near fishing bar gets Surrey council nod

 https://www.surreynowleader.com/local-news/ash-scattering-pier-on-fraser-river-gets-surrey-council-nod-7602905

Perhaps it's only fitting that its in clear view of the dangerous, decerped & inept Pattullo_Bridge. The very narrow PB never had enough room for a steel or proper concrete central barrier, no emergency lanes & only 1 narrow sidewalk. Of course there was no provision for a lower train & truck deck, as will also be the case with the new bridge.

https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/pattullo-bridge-history

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pattullo-bridge-5-things-you-didn-t-know-1.3564197

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/pattullo-bridge-a-loaded-gun/article700812 

The old PB might not quite be the worst bridge in BC, but it sure became a fine example of inept backwater BC planning.

"Approximately 15 people have died in traffic accidents mainly due to head-on crashes on Pattullo since 1990." https://www.canadianunderwriter.ca/insurance/bc-bridge-scene-for-another-fatal-crash-1000047689/

https://projects.eao.gov.bc.ca/api/document/5b73439a5bc7e60024dc108b/fetch/Appendix__18.13_Historical_Heritage_Study.pdf

The Pattullo_Bridge opened on November 15, 1937 and was designed without any future capacity considerations. Instead of 2 wide sidewalks, there was only 1 narrow sidepath. The bridge should have been designed to be widened in a few decades. Plus, a provision for a lower truck & LRT deck as transportation needs increased.

The incredible Sydney_Harbour_Bridge opened on 19_March_1932. Unfortunatly, the old & the new PB are classic BC bottlenecks, by design. 

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

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Sydney+Harbour+Bridge

All cables and final steel girders now installed for new Pattullo Bridge

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-construction-milestone-cables-deck Unlike the old, inadequate bridge, which only has 4 narrow lanes and just 1 sidewalk, this will have 2 sidewalks and 2 bike lanes. Unfortunatly, there won't be any bus or HOV lanes. Thus, all the traffic will be funneled into just 2 lanes each way. Of course there won't be any emergency lanes or breakdown lanes, so this is another quintessential BC bottleneck by design. At least a provision for a lower deck would have provided some hope. While this bridge can eventually be widened to 6 lanes, there seems to be no serious consideration for there to be bus and HOV lanes. So it will end up like the overloaded 6 lane Iron Bridge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyBridge_(TransLink) No bike lanes and sidewalks and it wasn't built wide enough to eventually accomodate 3-4 tracks and 2 bus lanes. There is just something about backwards BC that makes it so obtuse and inept. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/SkyBridge_from_SkyTrain_%285770458210%29.jpg/500px-SkyBridge_from_SkyTrain_%285770458210%29.jpg At the very least, this bridge should have had 3 tracks and 2 bus lanes, a bike lane and a sidewalk on a lower deck. There is only a middle service track and apparently, no provision for a bike lane and a sidewalk.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Westminster_Bridge Still, only a single track bridge for freight and passenger trains. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/New_Westminster_Swing_Bridge.jpg/960px-New_Westminster_Swing_Bridge.jpg This old single track bridge should have been double tracked on a lower deck and have at least 4 lanes on an upper deck. Then when the first 4 lane Pattullo Bridge opened, it might not have been quite as overloaded in its later decades. 

In order for this joke of a river railway crossing to be properly upgraded and efficient is for there to be at least a new double track bridge.  

NW should have really had something like its own version of the Steel_Bridge in Portland. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Amtrak_talgo_train_crossing_steel_bridge.jpg/960px-Amtrak_talgo_train_crossing_steel_bridge.jpg Fortunatly, Portland didn't have a provincial backwater mentality like NW. Thus, they could build a lot more bridges. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/SteelBridgePano1.jpg/960px-SteelBridgePano1.jpg MAX light rail on the upper deck and Amtrack and freight trains on the lower deck. Fortunately, Oregon is far enough away from ever catching the BC Mind Virus. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Aerial_view_of_Willamette_River_crossings_in_Portland%2C_February_2018.JPG So many nice bridges in Portland.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Fraser_River%2C_Surrey_-_panoramio_%281%29.jpg/960px-Fraser_River%2C_Surrey_-_panoramio_%281%29.jpg 

Look at the lack of bridges between NW and Surrey.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Portland_OR_aerial.jpg/960px-Portland_OR_aerial.jpg Portland is a city that really exists on both sides of the river.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/New_Westminster_Aerial_view_2015.jpg/960px-New_Westminster_Aerial_view_2015.jpg For most of the history of NW, Surrey was just some farmland south of the river with not much going on, but its many times larger than little NW. 

There just didn't seem to be that much a big city vision for little provincial backwater NW. Back in the day, NW could have acquired what would become the Tri-Cities and perhaps, even Surrey. There just wasn't any desire to have a big river city in BC on the scale of Portland,_Oregon. So while NW is stuck as a tiny city, Surrey is on its way to becoming the biggest city in BC.

Unfortunately, the Iron Bridge and Granville Bridge were never designed to have a lower deck for trains and buses either. That's just how it is in backwards BC. 

Pattullo Bridge replacement delay

"The four-lane replacement bridge will have wider lanes than the current structure and will include dedicated lanes for pedestrians and cyclists. It will be built to potentially allow for the bridge to be expanded to six lanes." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pattullo-bridge-replacement-delay-2024-1.5974370

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pattullo-bridge-chinese-canadian-new-name-1.5755385

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement

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

Pattullo Bridge fully closing to traffic for multiple days

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-full-closure-long-weekend

Backwards BC has always had a problem with proper planning for future infrastructure capacity. In the 1930s, NW was the remnant of a small backwater provincial capital. In the late 1800s or the early 1900s, NW could have absorbed what is today known as the Tri-Cities. There could have been better cooperation with Surrey to become a proper river metropolis region. 

Unfortunatly, in the 1930s it was still amazing just to have plumbing & electricity in Surrey. So to have a Pattullo-Bridge (PB) with 4 wagon roads on it, was also amazing. Apparently, there was only enough funds to have one sidewalk. The PB should have been on a similar scale as the Burrard_St._Bridge, with 6 lanes & 2 sidewalks & even a provision for a lower tram-train deck. But in backwards BC such forward planning is difficult.

Of course the Burrard+Street+Bridge was reduced to 4 lanes and the replacement of the 4 lane Pattullo+Bridge will only open with 4 lanes. Of course there is no provision for a rail transit line on it.

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

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=the+BC+inter-urban+railway

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

Another deadly crash on Pattullo Bridge

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-fatal-crash-february-2025

When the narrow Pattullo+Bridge was built, NW was a provincial backwater & it was amazing to have plumbing & electricity in Surrey. Being in the BC part of Canada there was such a lack of vision that someday NW & Surrey might become mighty river cities. Such as Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary & Portland, Oregon.

Despite being close to the Pacific Ocean, NW & BC weren't just half a world away from Sydney, NSW, they might as well have been on a different world, altogether. Thus, there was no need or vision to build a structure on the scale of the Sydney+Harbour+Bridge (SHB).

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/pattullo-bridge-history-built-in-1937-the-span-was-expected-to-last-50-years Only one narrow sidewalk on a very narrow bridge. Of course the SHB had the budget & the foresight to have a sidewalk on both sides.

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

The new bridge after the Pattullo Bridge

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-new-replacement-construction-update-2024

This small city mentality is ridiculous. 

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-new-crossing-widening-six-lanes-surrey-board-of-trade

Unfortunatly, the narrow Pattullo+Bridge+replacement is indicative of the BC reluctance to properly build for the future. That's the nature of the BC Mind Virus (BCMV).

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

Four lanes or 6? MLA comments reignite Pattullo Bridge debate

 https://www.surreynowleader.com/local-news/four-lanes-or-6-mla-comments-reignite-pattullo-bridge-debate-8151111

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. 

Frigid nights in the BC Lower Mainland, but still not usually as cold as the rest of Canada

 https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/vancouver-forecast-frigid-nights-coming-as-cold-air-mass-headed-to-lower-mainland-10065523

A few freezing nights during each winter month is still pretty mild when compared to the rest of Canada. SW BC is usually the only part of Canada that can avoid weeks of horrible 24hr freezing days that most of the country has to endure. Thus, over the years, more & more people want to move to this part of Canada.

However, it seems that some people over the course of several decades really wanted to establish antigrowth symbolism in backwards BC. Indeed, there seems to have been a multigenerational agenda to keep people out of BC, or at least slow down the influx of people. Canada it self is no where from containing even just 1% of the world's population. 

The Lions+Gate+Bridge is so narrow that there should be bus & train tunnels to relieve it. 

With so many narrow bridges in BC, its as if some multigenerational power-structure didn't want to allow space for a proper regional network of express bus lanes on wider bridges. A fine example is the new Pattullo+Bridge between NW & Surrey. A bridge so narrow that there isn't enough room for 2 express bus lanes & 2 emergency lanes, let alone 2 truck lanes. 

Instead of Vancouver building an abundance of bike-bridges, lanes were removed from the existing bridges. It was almost like NW wanted to have its own symbolic version. But instead of taking 2 lanes away like on the Burrard Bridge or the Granville Bridge, the lanes on the new Pattullo+Bridge just weren't built in the first place. Thus, cars, trucks & buses will still be funneled into only 2 lanes each way.

The very narrow NW-Surrey Skybridge wasn't designed to have 2 bus lanes & 2 bike lanes & sidewalks. The same mistakes or omissions were made with the North_Arm_Bridge, but at least there is one shared bike and foot path on the narrow North-Arm-Bridge. Perhaps some day another path could be added on the east side of the bridge.

Worst of all, most of the Skytrain lines were built with only half-length stations of 80m. The Canadian embarsement Line was designed to only have 50m stations when the Montreal Metro has 152.5m long stations. Despite a provision for the new Pattullo+Bridge to eventually provide 3 lanes each way, it wasn't designed for a future lower deck. That means no provision for another Skytrain crossing or even a future LRT component.

This is all part of a congestive planning mentality.

Surrey mayor disappointed by delays to Pattullo Bridge replacement

 https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/05/28/locke-unhappy-with-delays-to-pattullo/

Of course a bridge with at least 2 bus & HOV lanes, plus 3 general lanes each way should have been built decades ago. Apparently, its better to cram everything into just 2 lanes each way & not have a couple of emergency lanes. That way its even more likely to jam up the new bridge. Even if it open with 3 lanes each way, there should have also still been a couple of emergency lanes as well as 2 bus lanes. However, that would go against the BC bottleneck planning agenda. 

NW like Vancouver can't stop Surrey from growing into the largest city in backward BC.

https://www.surrey.ca/news-events/news/statement-mayor-pattullo-bridge

https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/construction/current-works

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge A 4 lane bottleneck of conjestion.

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Pattullo+Bridge+replacement Still, a 4 lane chokepoint.

The O-Train Line 2 and 4 launch

"The lines will begin a five-day service on Jan. 6 (Monday through Friday) and will continue for a minimum of two weeks. Buses through routes B2 (formerly called Line 2 buses), 99 and 97 will run parallel seven days a week in case of any issues." https://ottawa.citynews.ca/2025/01/03/heres-what-to-know-before-o-train-line-2-and-4-launch

This makes a lot of sense & not just because Ottawa is far away from Vancouver & the backwards BC mentality. Trains & people can break down causing a disruption on the tracks. Plus, there is no urban rail or commuter rail line in Canada that's running 24hrs a day. This means that its a good idea to have an express bus route that closely follows each train line 24hrs a day.

Greater Vancouver seems to always be a sleep at the wheel, or just inept with proper urban planning. Once the public was informed that the Skytrain won't be a 24hr system. Therefore, it would be a good idea to have express busses running parallel to each line 24hrs a day. 

Unfortunatly, the backward BC planning mentality never allowed for the SkyBridge_linking_NW_and_Surrey_with_SkyTrain to have enough space for 2 bus-lanes, 2 bike-lanes & 2 footpaths. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skybridge_(TransLink) The bridge has none of that, as if to conform to a BC bottleneck agenda. 

The 4 lane Pattullo_Bridge and the 4 lane Queensborough_Bridge were never designed with wide sidewalks & 2 wide emergency lanes. For if they were, then a few decades ago both bridges could have provided 3 lanes each way & have adequate space for bike lanes. A 3rd lane each way would have been great for buses, but that might improve the congestion.

While the new Pattullo_Bridge will actually have wide sidewalks on each side, no serious consideration was given to having 2 bus-lanes, despite the Skytrain not being a 24hr system. So buses, trucks, ambulances & cars will all have to be funneled into only 2 lanes each way. Having 2 bus lanes & 2 wide emergency lanes would actually go against the BC bottleneck mentality.

Even considering budget limitations, the new Pattullo-Bridge should have been designed with a provision for a future lower deck & open with 3 lanes each way & have 2 wide emergency lanes. Apparently, having the Pattullo-Bridge-Replacement with only 2 lanes each way & no emergency lanes somehow will make it easier for emergency vehicles to cross. Of course its the opposite effect, but this is backwards BC.

Surrey, Delta & all of Langley, already have as many people, if not even more people than Ottawa, but the infrastructure is so lacking in BC. Thus, a new 4 lane bridge will be an instant chokepoint between NW & Surrey, Delta & Langley. A 10 lane bridge & a 10 car Skytrain is what a proper urban area of over 3 million people would plan for.  

While Vancouver has less people than Ottawa, the BC Lower_Mainland has more people than Calgary, Edmonton & Winnipeg, combined. Thus, its very strange that Vancouver & BC insist on a congestive planning approach.

The 4 lane Queensborough_Bridge in NW has enough space to accommodate a parallel 4 lane bridge. While some backwater BC types might freakout with an 8 lane crossing there, they don't realise that a 4 lane bridge is very limited. Thus, by having two 4 lane bridges, there could be a bus & a truck lane each way as well as 2 general lanes each way. Not having dedicated bus & truck lanes for what is supposed to be a major port is absurd, but its OK for backward BC. 

In backwards BC its desired to not have a rail transit component on any of the current road bridges. Indeed, most of the bridges are so narrow that there isn't enough room for either bus lanes or HOV lanes.

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

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

Bus Rapid Transit, Cushing Bridge, Calgary

Vancouver needs bus-bridges as much as Calgary, but of course Vancouver is slow to the party, once again. The 4 lane bottleneck, AKA the Cushing+Bridge in Calgary could have gotten the Vancouver Chokepoint Award. There aren't any HOV lanes or even emergency lanes, just 2 lanes each way. However, what transformed this BC type bottleneck in Calgary into a semi-decent crossing, was the simple addition of a bus & bike bridge. The Greater Vancouver Area should have had bus & bike bridges built next to all of the regional crossings decades ago. However, that would go against the congestive planning approach, which is so intertwined within backwards BC, but not in Alberta & Washington State.

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/city-says-theyll-try-to-minimize-deerfoot-disruption-during-brt-bridge-work

The Pattullo Bridge replacement shouldn't require a bus & train bridge to be built next to it, but it might eventually. If only it could have been properly designed in the first place to not just have 2 lanes each way, but 2 bus & 2 HOV lanes as well. Plus, built high & strong enough with a provision to allow for LRT and trucks on a lower deck. 

Unfortunately, no one seriously planned to have an express bus and an LRT line between NW & Surrey, because the Skytrain isn't a 24hr system. Overnight buses can't go on the Skybridge, because no one allowed for a provision to have a couple of bus lanes on it. Thus, the Pattullo Bridge replacement wont have any bus or emergency lanes. Even if someday the Pattullo Bridge replacement is widened from 4 to 6 lanes, there still won't be any emergency lanes and probably no bus and HOV lanes.

Light_rail_in_Sydney, NSW. Once again, BC falls so far behind. BC was so quick to get rid of its streetcars before the 1960s. Where as NSW has been gradually reinstating a modern version of their old tram lines.

New Tramways_in_Paris have been gradually added, but not in backwater BC. 

Unlike NW & Surrey, Portland_has_Streetcars & the MAX train which cross the river. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JvGTx4ufFo

https://www.travelportland.com/plan/portland-streetcar

MAX https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpfRKqy96_E

https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=BRT

There is just something backwards in the way that BC does things.