Sunday, December 31, 2023

No fireworks in Vancouver, BC for New Year's Eve 2023

 https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/events-and-entertainment/no-fireworks-in-vancouver-for-new-years-eve-2023-8043481 Its all part of being a provincial backwater. Just one of the many bizzare things about Vancouver & BC.

However, Vancouver wasn't able to stop Seattle and Calgary with their NYE plans. Of course it's not Vancouver, its the Vancouver & BC mentality, but it seems to have no effect on Washington State or Alberta. That's why they have been able to do so much more through the years. 


"Also as is now tradition, there will not be any (official) New Year's Eve fireworks, which have not taken place since 2018." https://storeys.com/new-years-2023-open-closed


"There will be no fireworks lighting up Vancouver's night sky on New Year's Eve again this year.

Event organizers announced Thursday that the official celebration on Dec. 31, 2023 has been cancelled." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/nye-fireworks-cancelled-vancouver-1.7017024


https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=No+fireworks+in+Vancouver

https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=New+Year's+Eve

Adelaide

The Adelaide_skyline is starting to grow.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide#Urban_layout

https://southaustralia.com/destinations/adelaide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide#Infrastructure

 https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver

Toronto is the largest city and metropolitan area in Canada. Calgary is the largest city in Western canada. Greater Vancouver is the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Canada.

 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/worlds-most-livable-cities-toronto-vancouver-calgary

Montreal is the largest culturally French city outside of France.

Vancouver's little Canoe Bridge vs. much better examples

The Canoe+Bridge_in_Vancouver,+BC is a fine example of a quaint little bridge to nowhere. 
The Elizabeth+Quay+Bridge+in+Perth, WA is a far better pedestrian bridge.
For some reason, Greater_Vancouver refuses to build a system of proper pedestrian, bike & bus bridges that could actually help to relieve traffic congestion. 

Unlike in Calgary, Edmonton & Winnipeg, there just isn't an adequate amount of pedestrian, bike & bus bridges crossing the Fraser River between Vancouver, Burnaby, NW, Delta, Surrey & Langley.

So many other cities are able to build new pedestrian, bike or bus bridges, without removing lanes from the older bridges. Thus, actually reducing congestion.




The new Disraeli+Bridge_in_Winnipeg should have had a provision for 2 bus lanes & even 2 HOV lanes, so its a little like a 4 lane BC bridge. The highway at either end of the bridge is wider than the bridge itself, so its like some Vancouver narrow-mindedness was put into the design.  
https://legacy.winnipeg.ca/PublicWorks/construction/pastProjects/DisraeliBridges No bus or emegency lanes makes it like a narrow Vancouver bridge. https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/disraelibridge.shtml Unfortunatly, unless the bridge was designed to be expanded from 4 to 6 lanes, a parallel bus bridge might have to be built someday. Especially if the city is intending to expand its rapid-bus-transit-route-networkhttps://info.winnipegtransit.com/en/service/blue-rapid-transit/


Fortunately, the Vancouver mentality wasn't able to take hold in Calgary & so many other cities.





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bridges_in_Calgary#/media/File:C-Train_bridge-lower_deck Of course the first Skytrain bride in BC has no such provision, let alone bike & bus lanes. That's the backward BC way.


Interstate I-5 Bridge Replacement over the Columbia River

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiIbdCE4-iA

The challenge is to build a new high capacity multimodal bridge that is a nice fit for Portland & not some narrow Vancouver, BC bottleneck bridge. Thus, unlike V, BC, Vancouver ,WA has the potential of getting a nice new adequate bridge.

Even modern bridges in cities should be wide enough to accomodate all sorts of transportation modes.


The old way was to bulldoze right through a neighborhood, when in many cases there were industrial areas, which could have been a less disruptive option.

Remnants of Portland's Unbuilt Freeways https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeV31IcUkPM

The Forgotten Story of Harbor Drive: Portland's Demolished Freeway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2_yNrP0hCY


https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=Portland

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Portland OR and Vancouver, WA: A Tale of Two Cities

 https://portlandreloguide.com/portland-and-vancouver-a-tale-of-two-cities

This is a stunted region, when compared to the larger scale of Greater Seattle & especially the San_Francisco_Bay_Area. Then of course there is LA, Chicago & NYC.

https://www.travelportland.com/region/vancouver

https://www.visitvancouverwa.com/blog/post/vancouver-vs-portland

https://www.portlandrealestate.com/blog/portland-vs-vancouver-wa

Greater Portland has nothing as big as Seattle's Columbia_Center or the Salesforce_Tower in SF.

https://living-inportlandoregon.com/living-in-vancouver-washington-vs-portland-oregon

https://www.columbian.com/news/2021/oct/22/skybridge-new-buildings-part-of-vision-for-vancouvers-waterfront-gateway


https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=Portland

Tilikum Crossing in Portland vs. other bridges

The Tilikum_Crossing is the type of transit structure that should be in various parts of Greater Vancouver, BC. While such planning isn't a problem in Oregon, for BC, it might as well be something out of science fiction story.

https://trimet.org/tilikum , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIYPA7jyELs

https://www.tylin.com/work/projects/tilikum-crossing-bridge-people

The North_Arm_Bridge should have had similar features to what the Tilikum_Crossing would have. Unfortunately, as part of the Canada_Line_and_Skytrain, it had to be symbolically underbuilt. Even with first phase budget limitations, the bridge could have been designed to eventually be at least as wide as what the Tilikum would be. Just because it's a light rail train line, all the stations could have been designed to eventually be 152m, like the high capacity Montreal Metro stations are, instead of the 50m joke that it has become. Thus, the Catheter_Line is one of the best examples of infrastructure financial drainage. Indeed, for all of its cost, the bridge should have been twice its width by now & the stations at least 3 times longer, simply by designing it with the potential to become a proper big city train.

 

https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=Tilikum+Crossing

Friday, December 22, 2023

Adelaide, SA

Adelaide is much larger than Hobart, but smaller than Perth. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide#21st_century Some taller buildings have been permitted in recent years.

The Adelaide_urban_layout is still a far cry from the big 3, Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane.  

https://waytostay.com/is-adelaide-safe

Hays County opens $39M alternative road to I-35 in San Marcos, Texas

 https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/hays-county-i35-18568064.php

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

The world's tallest hybrid timber residential tower will be in Perth, WA, not Vancouver, BC

 https://www.dezeen.com/2023/12/19/fraser-partners-c6-worlds-tallest-hybrid-timber-residential-tower-perth A 50 floor, 189m tower.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/03/worlds-tallest-timber-building-c6-to-be-built-in-perth-after-developers-win-approval

https://ndy.com/experience/c6-south-perth-western-australia

https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/c6-perth/45703

https://c6perth.com


https://www.dezeen.com/2020/07/08/shop-architects-and-bvn-design-worlds-tallest-hybrid-timber-tower-for-atlassian-in-sydney A 40 story office tower.


https://structurecraft.com/projects/canada-earth-tower Seems small when compared to what's allowed in Australia.

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/renderings-mass-timber-tower-mount-pleasant-vancouver-5980411

https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/despite-the-hype-b-c-still-has-just-two-wooden-highrises Almost everything in Vancouver is wattered down. Fortunately, that's not the case in Australia, because the Vancouver & BC provincial mentality never seemed to catch on there.

https://www.dezeen.com/2021/09/29/kpf-burrard-exchange-vancouver-mass-timber-building Vancouverized towers are always stunted & sometimes outright stumpy buildings. 

Is The Economy Of The UK In Serious Trouble?

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUnAr0Msx9c


Is life better in Canada or the UK? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8Dp5IhgnkE

Nippon Steel Corporation

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

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2023/12/19/companies/nippon-steel-us-steel-buy

The 1982 movie, Blade_Runner dpicted a strong Asian influence in America. However, it wouldn't be until late 2023 when it was announced  that a Japanese corporation would by US Steel. 

https://thegaijinghost.com/blog/omoide-yokocho-tokyo-blade-runner-question

https://www.openculture.com/2014/12/blade-runner-spoofed-in-three-japanese-commercials.html

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2017/10/26/films/blade-runner-universe-2049

 https://www.globaldata.com/company-profile/nippon-steel-corp/locations/

https://www.nipponsteel.com/en/company/offices/

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

https://www.kankyo.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/climate/top30.files/Marunouchi_Park_Building.pdf

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231219_33/

https://office.mec.co.jp/en/search/detail/011418

https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/network/japan/tokyo.html

https://filmschoolrejects.com/blade-runner-anxieties-today

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2021/11/05/tv/blade-runner-black-lotus/


Japan's Nippon Steel to acquire U.S. Steel

 https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/japans-nippon-steel-plans-acquire-us-steel-7-bln-nikkei-2023-12-18

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/18/investing/us-steel-nippon-steel-deal/index.html

https://thegaijinghost.com/blog/omoide-yokocho-tokyo-blade-runner-question

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Steel#The_USX_period

"The U.S. Steel Tower, also known as the Steel BuildingUPMC Building, or USX Tower (1988–2001), is a 64-story skyscraper at 600 Grant Street in downtown PittsburghPennsylvania. The interior has 2,300,000 sq ft (210,000 m2) of leasable space. It held its opening dedication on September 30, 1971." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Steel_Tower

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Steel#Recent_history

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67752123 

"The building was designed in the International Style by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and completed in 1973. It is 743 ft (226 m) tall and has 54 floors. At 2.3 million sq ft (210,000 m2), each floor offers almost 1 acre (0.40 ha) of office space, making it one of the largest office buildings in New York by usable interior space." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Liberty_Plaza


https://filmschoolrejects.com/blade-runner-anxieties-today

https://www.openculture.com/2014/12/blade-runner-spoofed-in-three-japanese-commercials.html

https://japanposter.co.uk/products/blade-runner-original-release-japanese-movie-poster-1982-b3-size

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2017/10/26/films/blade-runner-universe-2049

Ford celebrates 'special 'Blade Runner' in Japan - AP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G65Aa6AvgmM


https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=Nippon+Steel+to+acquire+U.S.+Steel

The Steel Bridge in Portland vs. the New Westminster Rail Bridge

The current Steel_Bridge opened in 1912 with tremendous capacity well over a century later. Perhaps the designers looked at the narrow New Westminster Rail Bridge & decided to avoid the BC bottleneck approach to things. 

Upper: 2 outer lanes for general traffic, 2 inner lanes solely for MAX Light Rail, and sidewalks on both sides
Lower: Union Pacific Railroad (incl. Amtrak toward Eugene) and walkway.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_Bridge#History - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r02EbmjuNfw


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Westminster_Bridge Opened in 1904 and like so much infrastructure in BC, it wasn't built for any significant future capacity.

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

http://www.gvgc.ca/v_Rail.aspx

https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/biens-property/construction/new-westminster-eng.html

https://thetyee.ca/News/2009/06/01/RailFix

Unlike Portland, NW never seemed to ever want to become a big bustling river city, just another provincial backwater. There was a time in the 1800s when NW could have acquired what would eventually become known as the Tri-Cities. However, that wouldn't fit within its backwater BC mentality. 

Indeed, to this day, the former BC capital & Victoria are quite small when compared to Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg & Q. City. However, since little NW is in the middle of Greater_Vancouver, it has been gradually encouraged to take on more big city attributes.


https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=Portland

The Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_International_Airport#Theme_Building , LAX_Theme_Building-Restaurant
https://wikimedia.org/Interior_of_Encounter_Restaurant_Bar_at_Los_Angeles_International_Airport

Monday, December 18, 2023

The Ship Canal Bridge in Seattle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_Canal_Bridge The SCB should have HOV & bus-lanes in all of its three 4 lane sections, or at least on the lower deck. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ajGMRXlYmg

It's not amazing to have a 12-lane section of highway in Ontario and even in Queensland. 10 lanes in Alberta, but it would take until 2015 for all 10 lanes to open up on the new Port_Mann_Bridge in BC. The 8 lane Fremont_Bridge_in_Portland,_Oregon opened in 1973 with 2 levels. Far beyond the 4 lane joke that was the old Port_Mann_Bridge of the 1960s.

https://historylink.org/File/3312 For Seattle to have a 12 lane structure so close to BC in the early 1960s, was amazing, but so was the Space_Needle

https://mynorthwest.com/3931367/when-i-5-ship-canal-bridge-became-13-million-parking-lot/

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/prioritize-fixing-i-5s-ailing-ship-canal-bridge/

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

https://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/bridges-stairs-and-other-structures/bridges

Of course the decades of simply building more & more traffic lanes have become quite evident for the induced demand argument. However, today it should be about making streets, roads & highways much more efficient. More bus & HOV lanes & alternate powered vehicles can really help. While the EV option can be a good thing, there should also be more hybrid vehicles.

The Steel Bridge (Portland) and Washington Avenue Transit Bridge (Minneapolis)

The Steel_Bridge and the Washington_Avenue_Bridge, if only such bridges were allowed in Greater_Vancouver...

The Steel-Bridge is old, yet adequately functioning as a multi-model crossing.

Upper: 2 outer lanes for general traffic, 2 inner lanes solely for MAX Light Rail, and sidewalks on both sides
Lower: Union Pacific Railroad (incl. Amtrak toward Eugene) and walkway. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Amtrak_talgo_train_crossing_steel_bridge.jpg

"The bridge has two decks, with the lower deck designated for motor vehicle traffic and light rail trains and the upper deck used for pedestrians and bicycles (lanes specifically for bikes are on the north side)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Avenue_Bridge_(Minneapolis)

Unfortunately, the Skybridge between NW & Surrey, has no bus & bike lanes. Thus, its another fine example of backward BC planning. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skybridge_(TransLink)

Even though the SkyTrain wasn't intended to run 24hrs, no adequate future capacity provisions were included into the design of the SkyBridge. Ideally, the bridge should have had at least 3 tracks on 1 deck. Plus, 2 bus & bike lanes on another deck, with 2 lanes for emergency vehicles that would all be open 24-7. 

Apparently, it was better to funnel everything into the inept Pattullo_Bridge. A narrow 4 lane joke of a crossing with only 1 narrow sidewalk. Its so nice that the Sydney-Harbour-Bridge has 2 pathways. Surrey is set to become the largest city in BC. Thus, Surrey & NW should have had several bridges like Portland_OR by now.

In the 1930s, NSW already had a sense of Sydney being a substantial state capital on the Pacific for quite a while. In contrast, NW, BC emphasized its status of a former backwater provincial capital & perpetuated its small-minded city mentality.

Thus, the Sydney_Harbour_Bridge was originally built with six lanes, 4 sets of tracks & two sidewalks. Where as the Pattullo_Bridge was a fine example of backwater BC thinking & planning. Unlike the impressive Sydney_Harbour_Bridge, there is no comparable high level bridge in BC which is capable of carrying double deck passenger trains. Of course it should be noted that NSW has seen itself as a mighty state on the Pacific for quite a long time. Thus, the 1930s Sydney_Harbour_Bridge remains so far ahead of anything in backwater provincial BC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Harbour_Bridge_cycleway Unlike the BC aproach, NSW didn't have to remove any traffic lanes. Ultimately, Vancouver will have traffic lanes removed from 3 of its bridges, because the city refuses to build anything like the magnificent Tilikum_Crossing in Portland, OR. Vancouver was one of the first cities to get rid of its streetcars & will likely be one of the last to ever bring them back. Well fortunately, there was nothing like the BC mentality to stop the Portland_Streetcar_or_the_Tilikum_Bridge

The tram-train MAX_and_bus_on_Tilikum_the_Crossing. If only backward Vancouver, BC would allow such a fine transit bridge, then there would be less congestion on the existing narrow bridges. Indeed, Greater Vancouver refuses to build a series of bus-bridges, even though that would relieve some of the regional congestion.

Unlike in the largest urban area in BC, Portland,_OR was able to build many more bridges.

https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca Of course the bridge wasn't built with the provision for a lower deck similar to what's on the Tilikum Bridge. https://www.pattullobridgereplacement.ca/about/projectoverview It wasn't allowed to have 8 lanes like the Anzac_Bridge_in_Sydney. So no bus & HOV lanes, just have everything crammed into a 4 lane bottleneck. No emergency lanes, it will open with only 2 lanes each way, but with the potential to become a 6 lane bridge, some day. So, just like the Skybridge, it won't have 2 dedicated bus lanes. 

Unlike the Skybridge in NW, at least the North-Arm-Bridge to Richmond has 1 bike lane, but there should have been 2 as well as 2 bus lanes & even 2 emergency vehicle lanes on the North_Arm_Bridge. Since the North_Arm_Bridge doesn't have 24hr train service & no bus lanes, late-night buses only have the 4 lane bottlenecks that are the Oak_Street_BridgeKnight_Street_Bridge & the Queensborough_Bridge. Of course there are no emergency vehicle lanes, because even they should be subjected to the overall congestion of the region.

The Sydney_Harbour_Bridge, the Anzac_Bridge & the Tilikum_Crossing were all possible, simply because they aren't subjected to anything like the restrictions impose in Greater_Vancouver or BC in general. The BC part of Canada is trapped in some kind of a stagnation loop or a series of restrictions to stiefel or thwart infrastructure upgrades & progress. However, so many other cities around the world just aren't subjected to anything like the BC approach to things. 


https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=Portland

https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=Tilikum+Crossing

https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=transit+bridges

US Cities That Will Give You An Unbelievable New Year's Eve To Remember

https://www.thetravel.com/us-cities-with-the-best-new-years-eve/

 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-12844541/Just-cup-tea-Boston-celebrates-250-years-taxes-brew-sparked-revolution-JANE-KNIGHT-seeks-citys-best-cuppa-digesting-nuggets-history-way.html


https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=New+Year's+Eve

The Skyscraper That Ended New York's Billionaires' Row

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdrGfnqS2_I While there is a market for very high-end housing, there should also be a lot more reasonable & affordable housing built.

New York’s Billionaires’ Row Is Half Empty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wehsz38P74g Just because a very wealthy person might own a few or several homes, that doesn't mean they can live in them all at once. The majority of people would be happy to just have 1 or 2 places to live. Yet, more & more people can't afford to live in any reasonably safe dwelling. Then there is the growing number of people who have no option, but to live outside.

There should be a huge market for various levels of affordable housing, because most people aren't billionaires, let alone millionaires.

When Construction Projects Go Wrong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIOUg5TV5Uc A project has to be financially viable & structurally sound. Otherwise, there can be too many troublesome issues.

Third Avenue Transit Mall in Seattle

 https://www.theurbanist.org/2023/06/19/seattle-plans-to-extend-and-upgrade-third-avenue-transit-mall-in-2024

Hopefully, Seattle won't turn it into another 2 lane Nicollet_Mall or the 2 lane Granville_Mall, because Vancouveization sucks!

https://cdn.downtownseattle.org/files/advocacy/dsa-third-avenue-vision-booklet.pdf

https://nacto.org/docs/usdg/transit_mall_case_studies_sanfran.pdf

If its at least 3 lanes, then buses can pass, but it still wont be as good as the Portland_Transit_Mall

https://downtownseattle.org/advocacy/transportation-access

https://www.theurbanist.org/category/transportation/


https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=Seattle

How a huge gamble sealed Cop28 deal

 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/15/fossil-fuels-how-a-huge-gamble-sealed-cop28-deal

There seems to be a lot of things on the horizon that will start to limit or thwart the lives of people. A more expensive world and a more frustrated population just might become the perfect excuse for the system to implement draconian control measures.

Saturday, December 16, 2023

The Transit Mall

https://academic-accelerator.com/encyclopedia/transit-mall

https://talkofthecities.iclei.org/cities-in-action-south-koreas-first-ever-transit-mall

https://nacto.org/docs/usdg/transit_mall_case_studies_sanfran.pdf

Transit_malls are suppose to be efficient, high volume transportation corridors.

However, the Granville_Mall,_in_Vancouver, Canada seems to be a poor example.

Downtown Granville_Street used to have 6 lanes and there used to be streetcars on it until the 1950s. Indeed, that part of Granville_Street was a nice wide transportation & entertainment corridor. However, by the early 1970s, just as the downtown was starting to go through a new phase of growth, there was a plan to funnel everything into just 2 lanes on some key blocks.

https://web.archive.org/web/20120204081238/http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/currentplanning/granvilleredesign/history.htm

A 4 lane scenario would have been a much better transit option, but this is Vancouver, a city that excels in congestive planning. Vancouver might have gotten the idea of having a 2 lane transit mall from Minneapolis

Back in the day, there just wasn't any reason to have Nicollet_Avenue to be as wide as Canal_Street,_New_Orleans or Market_Street_(San_Francisco).

However, the Nicollet_Mall should have had 2 passing lanes, instead of cramming things into only two lanes. Thus, whenever a bus breaks down or there is some emergency, half of the Nicollet_Mall can easily get blocked up.

Fortunately, Portland,_Oregon decided not to follow the Minneapolis and Vancouver, BC examples. MAX_and_bus_side-by-side_on_Portland_Mall, this is so much better than funneling everything into just 2 lanes. The Portland_Transit_Mall remains as one of the best transit corridor examples. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Transit_Mall#Renovation_and_rebuilding

Again, Granville_Street in downtown Vancouver used to be 6 lanes wide. While the initial concept of the Granville_Mall was a good idea, but forcing everything into only 2 lanes just became another quintessential Vancouver example of bottleneck & congestive planning. It's all part of the narrow-minded BC mentality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_Mall,_Vancouver Of course right at some crucial blocks, the 2 lane segments provide great spots for congestion, all by design. Whenever a bus breaks down or there is some emergency, there isn't any passing lane. Thus, one side of the street remains blocked until the bus can be towed away. Of course it was considered to be a wise decision to have so many bus routes funneled through such a narrow transit corridor & then remain stubborn about ever improving the situation.

Reducing the downtown section of Granville_Street from 6 lanes to 4 would have allowed passing lanes for busses & the sidewalks could have still been widened. Plus, it would have been so much easier for emergency vehicles to get through as well. Unfortunately, Greater-Vancouver is all about creating congestion & inefficiency.

If one side of the street has a bus breakdown & the other side has some emergency requiring a bus to remain parked, there isn't an extra couple of lanes for emergency vehicles to pass on some blocks of Granville_Street. Apparently, it was deemed essential & appropriate to have such a bottleneck on what is suppose to be an efficient, high volume bus corridor.

Of course Vancouver was one of the first cities to get rid of its streetcars or trams. It will likely be one of the last cities to ever bring them back. Fortunately, the Vancouver mentality was unable to stop Seattle & Portland from reinstating some of their streetcar routes.

A comparative study of central city station catchments in TorontoSan Francisco, and Melbourne - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096669232100209X All 3 of these big & dynamic cities never went the way of backwater Vancouver.

Greater Vancouver should be able to have a fast-bus network as good & extensive as what's in Curitiba, Brazil someday. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curitiba#Transportation

Ideally, any city should have at least one passing lane on a bus corridor. Of course there can also be more crossover sections to enable trams & streetcars to pass temporarily obstructed areas.


https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=transit+malls

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

More than 300 trees could be removed in Shoreline for major roadway improvements

 https://komonews.com/news/local/shoreline-save-our-trees-could-be-cut-down-removed-for-north-145th-street-state-route-523-road-improvement-project-sidewalk-widening-city-infrastructure-activists-city-council-king-county-nature-environment

There is an argument that the older established trees are more ecologically important than the proposed replacement trees. https://www.saveshorelinetrees.com/

https://www.shorelinewa.gov/our-city/145th-street-corridor/sr-523-n-ne-145th-street-i-5-interchange-project

Washington State has a lot of trees and any transportation improvements can mean disruption or removal. However, new trees can always replace the old ones.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/thousands-of-trees-will-be-removed-to-make-way-for-light-rail-to-lynnwood/

Overall, Washington like Alberta, Canada have been able to build up so much more infrastructure than BC, because they don't have anything like the BC red tape and heavy restrictions to contend with.

Monday, December 4, 2023

Tallest City Hall or Town Hall

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/381905-tallest-city-or-town-hall

https://www.skyscrapercity.com/threads/tallest-city-town-halls-in-the-world.2370200

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_City_Hall , https://www.visitphilly.com/things-to-do/attractions/city-hall

 https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/city-hall-architecture.aspx Of course when compared to the LA City Hall, it's just another Vancouver stump building. Indeed, for several decades, no building in Vancouver as well as anywhere in BC, would permit any building to be as tall as the Los_Angeles_City_Hall

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

Then no building in Vancouver, or anywhere in BC, was allowed to permit any building to be as tall as the Philadelphia_City_Hall and then the Manhattan_Municipal_Building

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

As of today, no building in Vancouver or anywhere in BC is allowed to be as tall as the Seattle_Municipal_Tower

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

Urban Tech Portal

UTP still isn't just about urban technology. One can be in a typical cabin or van in the woods and have  powerful laptops with plenty of solar power for all the gadgets.

https://www.ign.com/articles/gaming-laptop-vs-gaming-pc

https://www.anoffgridlife.com/internet-off-the-grid

Proposed SFU gondola popular, but not among some who’d live under it

 https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/12/04/sfu-burnaby-gondola-pushback-neighbourhood

This tech is all over the world, but having it in Burnaby, BC is getting some persistent resistance. 

https://www.translink.ca/gondola?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=gondola

The BC mentality wasn't able to stop the Portland_Aerial_Tram from being built.

However, there are still plenty of people that don't like it going over their Portland houses.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Aerial_Tram#Community_response

So while it could be a great transportation link, not everyone is happy about such urban gondola-trams.

https://www.burnaby.ca/our-city/projects/burnaby-mountain-gondola It really could be a good transportation link, but local residents might want some reasonable compensation. Not just some new blinds or curtains.


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


https://www.grousemountain.com/skyride

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/grouse-mountain-new-gondola-construction


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugarloaf_Mountain#Cable_car

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


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_Mountain#Cableway

Monday, November 27, 2023

Is Adelaide Really The Most Crime Ridden City in Australia?

 https://www.facebook.com/100044356302916/videos/1085289932651551?__so__=permalink

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-16/is-there-crime-wave-in-adelaides-cbd/102728024

Crime_in_South_Australia, it all depends on when and where you are.

https://adelaidecitytour.com.au/blog/is-adelaide-a-safe-city/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_South_Australia#Notable_crimes

Ship Canal Bridge in Seattle

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

An impressive 12 lane bridge, but there was never a rail component in the design. 

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/prioritize-fixing-i-5s-ailing-ship-canal-bridge/

https://historylink.org/File/3312

Aurora Bridge in Seattle

Unfortunately, the Aurora_Bridge was built too narrow by today's standards. 

https://www.got99problems.org/blog/aurora-bridge

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_Bridge#Accidents_and_incidents

https://www.theurbanist.org/2015/09/30/seattles-aurora-bridge-needs-a-safety-redesign/

https://www.historylink.org/File/5418


https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=Seattle

Did SUVs ruined it for everyone?

 https://electrek.co/2023/11/27/carbon-emissions-could-have-dropped-by-30/

A lot of people still want big & powerful vehicles. Of course more hybrid versions could be a nice compromise.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/16/suvs-emit-more-climate-damaging-gas-than-older-cars-do-study-finds#:~:text=SUVs%20emit%20more%20climate%20damaging,finds%20%7C%20Air%20pollution%20%7C%20The%20Guardian

Big vehicles can certainly bc more efficient. 

https://www.ecowatch.com/suvs-climate-impact-iea.html

Unfortunately, if the world is eventually forced into a carbon credit score system, one might have to ask for permission to go anywhere or do anything. Especially if it's all run by AI. 

That Mysterious AI Breakthrough Known As Q

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanceeliot/2023/11/26/about-that-mysterious-ai-breakthrough-known-as-q-by-openai-that-allegedly-attains-true-ai-or-is-on-the-path-toward-artificial-general-intelligence-agi/?sh=490356143c15

https://medium.com/the-generator/did-openai-secretly-create-a-brain-like-intelligence-after-all-246caf1cfe6f

https://singularityhub.com/2023/11/26/deepmind-defines-artificial-general-intelligence-and-ranks-todays-leading-chatbots/

https://www.reuters.com/technology/sam-altmans-ouster-openai-was-precipitated-by-letter-board-about-ai-breakthrough-2023-11-22/

https://tech.co/news/what-is-openai-project-q-star-agi-superintelligence

https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-artificial-general-intelligence-agi-explained (AGI)

https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/artificial-general-intelligence-agi


Project Q* has been creating ripples in the AI community. Here’s why there are so many apprehensions about this new powerful AI model. https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/artificial-intelligence/project-q-star-explained-openai-sam-altman-9041746



Highway 99 upgrades enhance transit, cycling routes in Delta, BC

 https://canada.constructconnect.com/joc/news/infrastructure/2023/11/highway-99-upgrades-enhance-transit-cycling-routes-in-delta

https://www.enr.com/articles/57461-british-columbia-shortlists-three-teams-for-3b-fraser-river-tunnel


https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=Multimodal+Bridges+and+Tunnels

https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=BC

The Broadway Subway might be reaching UBC, some day

 https://canada.constructconnect.com/joc/news/infrastructure/2023/11/broadway-subway-check-in-guideway-progress-and-tunnelling-towards-completion

Of course tunneling all the way to UBC would be more cost effective, but apparently, it's better to stop less than half way there. Then start it all up again long after the days when you could still buy a dozen eggs & 2L carton of milk with a $10 bill.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyTrain_(Vancouver)#University_of_British_Columbia_extension

The BC part of Canada seems to perpetually strive to be inept or inadequate with its approach to infrastructure planning & development. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Line#University_of_British_Columbia_extension 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=accrf6-vLJU From 2018

Fortunately, these other cities are nowhere as slow as Vancouver is in getting things done.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_station_(Toronto) 1954 Of course Toronto would be the first city in Canada to have such a U station. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berri-UQAM_station 1966

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_station_(Calgary) 1987

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University-de-Montreal_station 1988

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_station_(Edmonton) 1992

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_State_University_Transit_Center 2005

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSU_South_stations 2012

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Washington_station 2016 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_University_station 2017

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_District_station 2021


https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=UBC

The Pattullo Bridge saga in BC

The old Pattullo_Bridge was built with a narrow sidewalk on only one side & a road deck that can barely hold 4 narrow lanes. It's all part of the narrow mindedness of the BC mentality.

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

https://604now.com/new-pattullo-bridge-completion-updated-photos-renderings/

"The new Pattullo Bridge is on track for completion in 2024, but business leaders in Surrey are calling for six lanes to be open to vehicle traffic on day one, instead of four as currently planned." https://globalnews.ca/news/9489375/pattullo-replacement-six-lanes-debate

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-surrey-board-of-trade

https://604now.com/like-cross-pattullo-bridge-1937 Why build a wide bride that also has 2 wide sidewalks when the bare minimum can be done instead? Then try to build an inadequate replacement bridge with only 4 lanes, no bus & HOV lanes & no emergency lanes. That's the BC way in the 1930s & the 2020s. At least it will have a couple of bike lanes.

https://www.delta-optimist.com/local-news/delta-says-new-pattullo-wont-ease-traffic-woes-3088329 Of course just like the old bridge, there won't be any provision for a lower rail & express bus deck.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/45379817@N08/9660269876 Just the idea that there could be 1 waggon road each way was amazing for BC back then. Somehow, the narrow bridge had just enough width to eventually have 4 waggon roads

https://oppositethecity.wordpress.com/2016/08/27/were-walkin-ridin-drivin-here-traffic-safety-an-issue-in-1937

http://archives.newwestcity.ca/Results.aspx?AC=SEE_ALSO&QF0=NameAccess&QI0==%22Pattullo%20Bridge%22&XC=/Results.aspx&BU=http%3A%2F%2Farchives.newwestcity.ca%2Fsearch.aspx&GI=&TN=internet&SN=AUTO73&SE=1636&RN=7&MR=100&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&XP=&RF=WebRelevance&EF=&DF=WebFull&RL=0&EL=0&DL=0&NP=255&ID=&MF=GENERICENGWPMSG.INI&DT=&ST=0&IR=4333&NR=0&NB=0&SV=0&SS=0&BG=&FG=&QS=

Wide+bridges, twinning or duplication can allow for express bus lanes and more HOV_lanes in general.  

http://archives.newwestcity.ca/Results.aspx?AC=NEXT_RECORD&XC=/Results.aspx&BU=http%3A%2F%2Farchives.newwestcity.ca%2Fsearch.aspx&GI=&TN=internet&SN=AUTO26198&SE=1232&RN=51&MR=100&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&XP=&RF=WebRelevance&EF=&DF=WebFull&RL=0&EL=0&DL=0&NP=255&ID=&MF=GENERICENGWPMSG.INI&DT=&ST=0&IR=4333&NR=0&NB=0&SV=0&SS=0&BG=&FG=&QS= Of course there was no provision to have a lower deck for trucks & trains. 

http://archives.newwestcity.ca/Results.aspx?AC=NEXT_RECORD&XC=/Results.aspx&BU=http%3A%2F%2Farchives.newwestcity.ca%2Fsearch.aspx&GI=&TN=internet&SN=AUTO26198&SE=1232&RN=49&MR=100&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&XP=&RF=WebRelevance&EF=&DF=WebFull&RL=0&EL=0&DL=0&NP=255&ID=&MF=GENERICENGWPMSG.INI&DT=&ST=0&IR=4333&NR=0&NB=0&SV=0&SS=0&BG=&FG=&QS= While a narrow bridge can easily become inadequate, the provision for a lower deck can make all the difference.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/driving-and-transportation/reports-and-reference/reports-and-studies/frontier_to_freeway.pdf It was quite a thing for BC to have waggon roads & then eventually some were doubel width. Unfortunately, even today, there is a mentality to just have 1 or 2 lanes each way. Yet, such thoroughfares will be marked as a major route when it's not much wider than a country road.  


https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=Multimodal+Bridges+and+Tunnels

https://thedigitallabyrinth.blogspot.com/search?q=Urban+Bus+and+Bike+Lanes+and+Bridges

https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=bridges

https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=BC