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Posted in Uncategorized
Canada Line: We got it wrong
06 Thursday Dec 2018
Posted in Transportation
Bob Ransford just posted this:
When the Canada Line was being planned more than 15 years ago, the public was shown ridership models that said 70% of the ridership would be in the portion of the corridor between Waterfront Station and Oakridge Station.
Reality today is crush loads during rush hour from Richmond Brighouse all the way to Waterfront with lines at many VANCOUVER stations where crush-filled trains can’t accept more riders and near full loads at all hours just within Richmond alone. They got it wrong.
Transit drives housing development. So much for empty condos. Empty condos don’t drive this kind of heavy ridership.
Word of the Month: Anecdata
03 Monday Dec 2018
Posted in Uncategorized
We don’t know if Tavis, who posted this on the Cambie Report Slack stream, came up with the word – but we’re going to give him credit.  He was referencing the Speculation Tax:
… a main political driver of this tax in the first place was west sider anecdata that their street was empty
The Post-It Pole: Leave your Name Tag in this West Hastings Laneway
29 Tuesday May 2018
Posted in Uncategorized
A laneway on the 400 block of north side of West Hastings in Vancouver has a light pole that serves a secondary purpose — the perfect place to leave those sticky name tags after your meeting or event.
But wait — there’s more. Read on >>
Farm Vehicles in Richmond~The T-Shirt
29 Tuesday May 2018
In response to council’s decision to approve the planting of 10,700 square foot mansions (plus bonus housing of 3,200 square feet) on the supposedly protected Agricultural Land Reserve in the City of Richmond, a local designer has created the perfect ‘troll apparel’.
And apparently, it’s doing a fair job of reflecting public opinion.
Spot Prawn Market
29 Tuesday May 2018
Posted in Public spaces
When Safeway just won’t do, Vancouver foodies find a way to get the delicacies they want.
People wait at the docks for the arrival of a spot prawn boat. They’re buying at $20 per lb.
Pix below, plus a primer on spot prawns courtesy of the Chefs’ Table Society of BC, hosts of the just-wrapped Spot Prawn Festival. (Don’t miss it next year.)
$40,000 Sends Delta Mayor and Staff East to Plead for Massey Bridge
29 Tuesday May 2018
Posted in Massey Tunnel
In the “you just can’t make this stuff up” department, City of Delta council has authorized a payment of $40,000 for Delta Mayor Lois Jackson and select staff to spend four days in Ottawa, followed by three days at a conference in Quebec City.
They’ll have just missed the National Capital’s Tulip Festival, but they’ll be there to demand, among other things, that the federal government just get on with building the Massey Bridge — Delta tax dollars hard at work.
Never mind that there is no funding in the provincial budget for this ten-lane, overbuilt and over-thought span, which would effectively seal the industrialization of this part of the Fraser River. Read on >>
Downtown Vancouver Viaducts Teardown — Explainer
29 Tuesday May 2018
Posted in Infrastructure, Motordom, Transportation, Urban Design, Urban Planning, Urbanism, Viaducts
From About Here founder Uytae Lee — part of the team at Halifax-based PLANifax — comes the following video, entitled “Why are we getting rid of a highway in Vancouver?”.
It’s a cogent and thorough backgrounder on Vancouver’s viaduct teardown project.
It runs 5:28. It’s light, heavy, serious and fun at the same time. And it’s worth every second.
Vancouver House — Keeps On Rising
28 Monday May 2018
Posted in Architecture, Motordom, Public spaces, Transportation, Urbanism
From Vancouver’s Seaside Greenway, near Granville Island. The starchitect twisty building that just won’t stop growing.
Plus a look at one of Vancouver’s unique marine environments. Plus a great big bridge that never quite became the freeway it was built to be.
Click to enlarge
Not Getting a Whole Lotta Love
28 Monday May 2018
Posted in Affordability, Housing
Simple optics tells us plenty about status of folks upset over the new proposed levy on high-value homes in British Columbia.
And the Twitter thread gives plenty of hints about the collective reaction from the other side.
Tell ya what, folks, there’s a muscle-car mayor out there just for you.
Click to see more photos and commentary.
https://twitter.com/yvryimby/status/1000839234658353154
Parking and the City — Donald Shoup
28 Monday May 2018
Posted in Architecture, Infrastructure, Motordom, Transportation, Urban Planning, Urbanism
Is storage of motor vehicles (a.k.a. parking) a topic that needs a further look? Or will it remain a blind spot?
Donald Shoup offers, for free, the introduction to his new book “Parking and the City” (93 pages).
The introduction itself is a short and updated version of “The High Cost of Free Parking“, his classic book from 2005 that changed city planners’ thinking about storing motor vehicles. And how parking solidifies motordom’s iron grip on our cities.
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