Too much!
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/steelers-bills-monday-buffalo-not-delayed-kathy-hochul/
Monday, January 15, 2024
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Friday, January 12, 2024
Living in a Train Tunnel for decades
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4kcJVkAQ_Y , https://eks.tv/mole-people
The Mole_people are nothing to laugh at. As rent & overall living costs keep on going up, some people live underground.
Amazing Home in the Tunnels Beneath New York https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlK3QbPAE-I
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_people#Cities
https://www.thetravel.com/20-secrets-about-the-mole-people-living-in-new-york-citys-tunnels
10 Years After He Lived in a Train Tunnel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHf8UA1QEvo
https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=Living+Underground
Extreme cold of -40C to -50C forecast for Edmonton and Calgary
There is the usual cold winter weather and then there is very dangerously cold weather.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-it-s-dangerously-cold-outside-1.7080077
https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/extreme-cold-warnings-in-parts-of-manitoba-set-in-1.6722324
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Treasure Island's changing skyline signals rise of affordable city housing
Treasure_Island is gradually becoming quite a very nice place to live. https://tisf.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Island_Development
https://www.sf.gov/information/treasure-islandyerba-buena-island-development-project
Treasure_Island is such a cool location. https://tisf.com/about
https://sfyimby.com/2023/01/yimby-visits-treasure-island-san-francisco.html
Metro and Subway Trains
The Tram-Train can just be on the surface or become part of a subway line. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tram-train#Technology
The Muni_Metro in SF is a good example. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muni_Metro#Market_Street_subway
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muni_Metro#Future
https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Countries_Around_the_World
https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=metro+and+subway
Boston, Massachusetts
https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Boston,_Massachusetts
Of course several parts of the MBTA_Rapid_Transit_Tracks or routes are old & worn.
https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/United_States
https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/2024/01/metro-and-subway-systems.html
Why the Broad Street Line is so slow between Walnut-Locust and Lombard-South
https://www.inquirer.com/transportation/broad-septa-slow-walnut-locust-lombard-south-20240111.html
Philadelphia sure has its share of old & worn lines.
Older train lines must be improved in order to remain efficient.
Thus, a lot of lines or stations around the world require a retrofit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walnut-Locust_station
https://iseptaphilly.com/blog/broadstreetline
https://railroad.net/history-of-the-broad-street-line-t65536-210.html
https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/SEPTA_Broad_Street_Subway
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_Street_Line#Proposed_extensions
https://www.phila.gov/media/20210222110702/OTIS-Philadelphia-Transit-Plan.pdf
https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/United_States
https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/2024/01/metro-and-subway-systems.html
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Does the Cybertruck really encapsulate a dystopian future vision of lawlessness and chaos?
https://www.dezeen.com/2024/01/09/james-mclachlan-tesla-cybertruck-opinion
It's quite a kick-ass machine.
https://www.dezeen.com/2023/12/12/dezeen-agenda-tesla-cybertruck-reveal/
However, some people might see it as being like a vehicle right out of a post-apocalypse movie.
Elizabeth Quay Bridge in Perth, WA
https://developmentwa.com.au/projects/redevelopment/elizabeth-quay/elizabeth-quay-bridge
It's not surprising that the Elizabeth+Quay+Bridge is in Perth & not in Vancouver. So many cities seem to be able to do things better than how its done in Vancouver.
https://www.alluringworld.com/queen-elizabeth-quay-bridge
Such an alluring footbridge as the Elizabeth+Quay+Bridge just doesn't exist in Vancouver.
https://aqtr.com/association/actualites/elizabeth-quay-pedestrian-bridge-perth-jewel-quay
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Elizabeth+Quay+Bridge
The Canoe+Bridge in Vancouver, BC is nowhere as good as the Elizabeth Quay Bridge.
https://www.arup.com/projects/elizabeth-quay-ped-bridge
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Rabbits New AI AGENT (Rabbit R1 Device)
Rabbits New AI AGENT Device Just SHOCKED The Entire INDUSTRY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJnhh7YSr5Q
https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/9/24030667/rabbit-r1-ai-action-model-price-release-date
Rabbit’s Little Walkie-Talkie Learns Tasks That Stump Siri and Alexa https://www.wired.com/story/rabbit-r1
Rabbit AI
Ontario Highway 413
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Highway_413 https://www.highway413.ca
Southern_Ontario has about half the equivalent of the population of Australia.
https://environmentaldefence.ca/2023/12/13/whats-the-deal-with-highway-413/
https://environmentaldefence.ca/hwy-413-map/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ontario#Transportation
https://thenarwhal.ca/highway-413-life-ontario/
Texas has more people than Australia & California has more people than Canada.
Monday, January 8, 2024
The 2 Murray Road tower in Hong Kong
https://www.dezeen.com/2024/01/08/the-henderson-skyscraper-zaha-hadid-architects-hong-kong/
https://arquitecturaviva.com/works/zaha-hadid-architects-torre-2-murray-road-en-hong-kong-48b92-6
At only 36 stories, it seems small for HK.
https://www.zaha-hadid.com/architecture/2-murray-road , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjvUjOGDW3M
It's a nice looking building, but it should have been 1.5 or even twice its height.
Sunday, January 7, 2024
The Stack Tower in Vancouver, BC
It finally opened just in time for the autumn of 2023 & now by the winter, it's been filling up nicely.
https://macleans.ca/culture/building-vancouver-stack-work-life-balance
Montreal has only allowed one office-tower to have 51 stories. Vancouver has never permitted any office tower to even have a 40th floor.
It was tough enough just for Vancouver to permit The Stack to have 38 levels above the basement.
https://storeys.com/james-cheng-the-stack-vancouver/
https://www.urbanyvr.com/oxford-properties-announces-major-tenants-of-the-stack-at-1133-melville/
Unlike very restrictive Vancouver, some other parts of the Greater_Vancouver region want to capitalize on the allowance of taller buildings.
Sure, a lot of people prefer to work from home, but some day a 40 or even a 50 story office tower might be allowed in BC. It's just that it won't likely ever be allowed within the small city limits of provincial Vancouver. New office towers should be made adaptable if some floors ever become better suited for residential purposes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Vancouver#Tallest_buildings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Canada#Tallest_buildings_in_Canada
Friday, January 5, 2024
Building Height Restrictions in Various Cities
Height_restriction_laws can be a great way to hold back the vertical scale of a city. Usually, the cities with the tallest buildings are also the more economically prominent ones. However, that's not alway the case.
Honolulu has several buildings over 40 floors, but none are office towers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Honolulu
Phoenix only has one building with 40 floors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Phoenix , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Phoenix#Tallest_buildings:_approved,_site_plan_under_review_or_proposed
San_Diego has some buildings over 40 stories, but none of them are office towers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_San_Diego
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Height_restriction_laws#Canada Despite Canada having a vast area of land, only a tiny portion of that land has some very tall buildings on it.
Montreal is small when compared to Toronto, but big when compared to Vancouver.
https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_dad=portal&_pageid=2762,3101387&_schema=PORTAL
Montreal won't be allowing any 100 story towers like those in NYC, Chicago or Melbourne anytime soon.
Just allowing a 50-60 story building is still a big deal for Montreal.
Vancouver won't permit any building to rival what is in Calgary or Seattle.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-view-cone-impacts-broadway-plan-cambie-street
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/central-broadway-plan-view-cones-mountains-queen-elizabeth-park
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-tower-building-shadowing-solar-access
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
Exploring The Underside Of NYC
https://www.npr.org/2011/01/02/132482428/into-the-tunnels-exploring-the-underside-of-nyc
https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Main_Page
https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Around_New_York_City
https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/United_States
https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Countries_Around_the_World
https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/2024/01/metro-and-subway-systems.html
Thousands gathered on downtown Vancouver waterfront expecting New Year's Eve fireworks
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/new-years-eve-vancouver-fireworks-cancelled-2023-crowds
It's not essential for a city to have a fireworks display, but for several cities, it's such a nice extra.
Of course Vancouver takes a watered down or toned down approach to so many things.
https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=No+fireworks+in+Vancouver
https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=New+Year's+Eve
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
Saturday, December 30, 2023
Perth, WA
Perth is the westernmost city in Australia. There is Carnarvon, but that's just a town.
It's always nice to see what WA can do, simply because its not subjected to anything like the BC B$ quagmire approach to things.
Some of the best places for New Year’s Eve fireworks and parties...
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/30/travel/new-years-eve-top-places/index.html
Some places really like to go all out with various forms of entertainment.
https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/best-places-new-year-celebrations-around-the-world
https://www.visittheusa.ca/experience/9-awesome-spots-celebrate-new-years-eve-usa
https://therabbitportal.blogspot.com/search?q=New+Year's+Eve
Friday, December 29, 2023
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.
Adelaide has The+Riverbank+Precinct+Pedestrian+Bridge
Winnipeg has the Esplanade+Riel+Footbridge Unlike the Vancouver approach, no lanes were removed on the Provencher_Bridge#The_pedestrian_bridge , https://salutcanada.ca/en/listings/winnipegs-esplanade-riel-a-magnificent-bridge-connecting-people-and-cultures ,
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-network. https://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.
The Walterdale+Bridge in Edmonton. https://www.edmonton.ca/projects_plans/walterdale-bridge , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walterdale_Bridge#Replacement_bridge_(2017-present)
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
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
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.
Thursday, December 21, 2023
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://ndy.com/experience/c6-south-perth-western-australia
https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/c6-perth/45703
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://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.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 Building, UPMC Building, or USX Tower (1988–2001), is a 64-story skyscraper at 600 Grant Street in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 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.
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.
The Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_Building
.jpg/640px-Interior_of_Encounter_Restaurant_%26_Bar_at_Los_Angeles_International_Airport_(10818559866).jpg)
Landing a Landmark : LAX Monument to ‘60s Optimism Granted Historical Status https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-19-me-1999-story.html
https://www.atomic-ranch.com/architecture-design/lax-theme-building
LA
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
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)
#/media/File:SkyBridge_from_SkyTrain_(5770458210).jpg){kind=link}
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_Bridge, Knight_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
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
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/
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.
Sunday, December 17, 2023
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.
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.
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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 Toronto, San 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.
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Bourke Street Mall in Melbourne
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourke_Street#Mall
Bourke_Street has been a busy corridor for a long time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourke_Street#Skyscrapers
It's certainly an exciting part of town.
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