The Urban Planner

Vancouver 4th most expensive city DANS LA MONDE!

2009-02-10T14:10:00.000-08:00

Vancouver has been named the 4th most expensive city in the world behind Honolulu and two cities in Australia. Whats interesting is that most cities in this top 60 are coastal cities; people like living by water. The only Canadian cities in the top 60 including Vancouver were Victoria, Kelowna and Abbotsford, all in BC!.

All according to:
http://www.fcpp.org/main/publication_detail.php?PubID=2573

Celebration of Light Cancelled

2009-02-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

This is incredibly sad...one of few things to look forward to in the summer...

Vancouver's annual fireworks festival has been cancelled, organizers said Wednesday, blaming the economic downturn.
"It has been an exceptional 18-year event — the largest of its kind in the world — and it is a credit to our many exceptional sponsors that we kept the event going year after year," said Brent MacGregor, chair of the Vancouver Fireworks Festival Society.
"However, the current financial situation makes it impossible for us to continue."
"To our sponsors and operational partners, to the city of Vancouver, and most important to the residents and visitors who came each summer to watch the spectacular shows — thank you!" he said.
The HSBC Celebration of Light event drew huge crowds to the city's waterfront over several nights each summer to watch the fireworks.
The displays from various countries were staged on floating barges in Vancouver's English Bay.
It began nearly two decades ago as the Benson and Hedges Festival of Lights. When that sponsorship ended in 2001, the City of Vancouver and various other sponsors took over the event.
However, the event also had a reputation for drawing some unruly crowds, making the policing costs high, and it continued to struggle financially from year to year to meet the event's $4 million annual budget.
In the past eight years participating countries have included: Canada, USA, China, Spain, Mexico, Czech Republic, Italy, Sweden and South Africa, said MacGregor.
With approximately 350,000 to 400,000 spectators per night, for each of the four nights of the show, the event had an economic impact of over $37 million annually in direct visitor spending, he said.

Municipal Election 2008 vs 2005 MAP

2008-11-16T00:51:00.000-08:00

Hello my devout readers,

Im sorry for the lack of publishing lately and promise to make it up. I came across an interesting map tonight of how the city voted, it shows the divide between east and west still exists in our voting patterns. Interesting how somethings never change, especially with the gentrification on the east side , you'd think you'd see some red....but there was none.

2008 ELECTION

UBC Needs more easily accessible transportation

2008-09-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

UBC is turning into a United Big City of its own. The rise of condos, students,residents who work outside ubc and stores is turning this educational institution into its own entity, perhaps not politically but in reality it is. Already equipped with its own hospital and RCMP force it will soon be, if not already a vibrant community. That means it'll need a better transportation plan then it has now. It needs the Millennium line extension it also needs, perhaps a street car line going all through the UBC lands connecting students and residents from north to south of the ubc lands. Maybe even extending the skytrain to many different parts of UBC, instead of having these community shuttle buses running around which is only a short term solution to a bigger dilemma that will need to be dealt with soon. This community needs more bike paths, childcare,community gardens perhaps even a secondary school. This will soon be a community not just of a prestigious university but of many more things of which we have not yet imagined

share your thoughts

The most dangerous intersections

2008-07-20T23:48:00.000-07:00

In your opinion what are the most dangerous intersections in the city?

1). Main and Terminal; huge intersection, lots of traffic and trucks, lots of "special signals" all in all its a huge artery and the distance to travel from one sidewalk to another is quite long and you have to be especially aware of your surroundings as there are cars coming from your left, right, diagnally, all over the place.

2). Kingsway and 12th; Again huge intersections and sidewalks being diagnal, huge traffic, the 12th avenue route goes on to the highway. You have to cross onto one sidewalk while watch the cars turning your direction on the otherside, takes a while to cross onto the next sidewalk, then your required to cross onto another street whether you are going towards the Biltmore hotel or going across towards Main.

3). Marine Drive and Main street. Huge traffic artery, going to the airport and New West. Big box stores all around so its all car oriented like Superstore, car dealerships, gas stations, factories,etc. The superstore is extremely unsafe as you need to go through a parking lot full of cars constantly moving in order to get in to the store and the closests bus stop is across a busy and long intersection in order to cross the street.

Vancouver leads in incivility

2008-07-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

It would probably seem to be no surprise to people in Vancouver(25%) that we think the city has alot of social and civility issues. Not just confined to one area, even parts of the west side are starting to see creeping amounts of homelessness in their area. Clothes, appliances left on streets, homelessness, mental health issues, drug use,prostitution, public drunkness they are all part of a big cities "charm" shall we say but is obviously more prevalent here than any part of the country.

Here's the full link http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=cfc51057-9515-4806-bf2f-268ca9e3b75c

What types of incivility do you see?

Social Housing on Main and 1st

2008-06-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

Im liking the architecture for the new 100 unit housing project on Main and 1st that is due to be ready in 3years. The area which is surrounded by some empty plots of land, skytrain, fastfood, carshops and industrial lands will be going through a change in the enxt couple of years and im glad to see new affordable housing being built. Alot of co-ops and other forms of social housing dont tend to look this good, but its important that they have a nice feel to them as they can affect the mood ofpeople and uplift their spirits especially those who need the help the most.

Fast Food

2008-05-31T17:07:00.000-07:00

I usually dont post anything thats not related to the Lower Mainland region of B.C but this I thought was interesting. This map here shows where in the U.S they have the largest concentration of fastfood restauraunts http://www.fastfoodmaps.com/static.html.. largely on the east coast. The city with the highest concentration of fast food is Oklahoma City according to Fortune Magazine.
This of course is not good for the health of the region and shows that its more than likely a car dependant region as well. The fattest city in America is now Houston Texas, while the fittest is Seattle WA.

For the Canadian Version the fattest Canadian city is

1). St Catherines ON

2).Regina SK

3). Saint John NB

4). Windsor ON

5).London ON

The fittest city in Canada which i was able to find is Victoria BC.

The Trials of Tinseltown

2008-05-20T22:36:00.000-07:00

Tinseltown has been around for how many years now? I cant remember either but its fairly new( give or take 6-8 years ago?) . In this span of time the majority of people who go in there go for strictly the movie theatre. Besides that theatre there is the 7eleven and many other shops including the food fair but it has really never tooken off as a centre for people to gather and shop. Perhaps by 2010 that may change with more demand and less space in the city but it makes you question why it has taken a long time for it not to turn into a central shopping place.

Here are my theories

1). The neighbourhood surrounding it prevents it from turning into something more than just a movie theatre for the time being (i.e perhaps lack of other businesses or residents, although condos keep growing out of that neighbourhood every week it seems), close to DTES and Chinatown which already provides many amenities for people.

2). Bad business plan, whichever developer and marketer who created tinseltown failed to create a certain "niche" for it perhaps.

3). People dont like going inside malls anymore...they like shopping outside into different stores..malls can be full of anxiety and depressing and gives it a suburban feel.

what are your thoughts?

Walmart Coming to Vancouver

2008-05-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

Although it was widely protested by residents and the city council of 2002-2005 the proposed Wal Mart on Marine Drive it has been announced that they are coming to the current Costco facility on Grandview Hwy and that Costco will move to Burnaby. There does not need to be council approval because there is no zoning change as opposed to the Marine Drive location. The Grandview neighbourhood is right by a highway with people coming from the suburbs and with many big box stores it is not the most liveable area and is very car dependant, adding a Walmart just adds to the suburban feel of it with the already existing Roots outlet store, Rona and Superstore. This will be the first Walmart opening in Vancouver not in the region however as surrounding suburbs already showcase this big box store. It will be interesting to see if residents in this neighbourhood protest against this development, which is unlikely due to the amount of bigbox stores already in this part of town however there will be many who will refuse to shop here no matter what.

Whats your opinion?

http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=8982168d-2eb0-4c8d-9621-53c0ac4224df

"the new downtown" in Surrey

2008-05-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

I think its great that Surrey is going to have its own urban villa(downtown) like we've got in Vancouver. Its good for the environment as people in the South of Fraser can commute to somewhere much closer and it brings new oppurtunities of prosperity to that region increasing residential and especially commercial space. It will give Surrey more of a spirit of a city as it is welcoming 1,000 new people to the city every month. Its key to make their developments mixed use and in walking distance. Surrey has some of the weakest transit service in the region and needs to ramped up.

From BC Local News:

Surrey's urban heart will be upgraded to the status of Metro Vancouver's second downtown in the new regional growth strategy.
That's one of the changes now emerging as politicians fine-tune the draft of the plan to guide growth to 2031, replacing the old Livable Region Strategic Plan.
Instead of being one of eight "regional town centres" marked with circles, the new map shows Surrey's City Centre area at the end of the SkyTrain as "Surrey Metro Centre" with a slightly smaller square than the one marked "Metro Core" in downtown Vancouver.
"We're recognizing Surrey's aspirations to establish a town centre that will be a focal point for the Fraser Valley," explained Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, who chairs Metro's land use and transportation committee.
Corrigan said it's important the ambitious vision for Surrey as a new Metro core be realized, noting it's the region's second biggest city and destined to become the biggest.
"We can't continue to have people commuting into the core of the city and into Burnaby and New Westminster for their jobs," he added. "We have to establish a job centre in the Fraser Valley that will avoid that kind of commute."
Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts welcomes the change.
"It gives us the opportunity to be a significant city centre for the entire region that includes office towers, highrises and high density, coupled with cultural facilities," she said.
Rapid transit extensions that will fan out from Surrey's core will make the area a major transportation hub, Watts said, noting city hall may also move there.
The other regional town centres in Burnaby, Richmond, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge and Langley City remain the same and will now be known as regional city centres.
But the 12 smaller designated municipal town centres – which include areas like Ladner, Port Moody, Guildford, White Rock and Aldergrove – are slated to grow to 16, with additions recognizing Surrey's Cloverdale area, Lynn Valley in North Vancouver, South Vancouver near 49th and Main, and northwest Langley Township near the 200 Street corridor.
The urban centres are to be the focus for jobs, services and high-density housing.
But in addition to those areas, the plan calls for heavy growth in Surrey, Vancouver, Coquitlam and Langley Township.
That's where most of the region's "priority development areas" are to be designated, mostly along corridors planned for frequent transit.
Gone is the old concept of "growth concentration areas" that the former Livable Region Strategic Plan set to focus high-density growth.
Much of the changes are being driven by the province's recently unveiled vision for transit expansion.
Metro's new plan will assume ramped up transit in traditionally underserved eastern areas of Metro Vancouver.
"Communities are very focused on the issues of climate change and peak oil," Corrigan said. "There's more recognition growth has to be intensive and it has to be transit served."
He stresses the new growth strategy is still a draft and won't likely go to public comment before fall or be adopted until after the November elections.
"We're not carving this onto one of the pyramids yet."
Land use committee members reviewed the latest progress at a May 2 meeting.
The draft had tentatively proposed to create separate zones for agricultural and rural areas, removing them from the current Green Zone, which also includes parks, watersheds and sensitive areas.
But some directors feared that gave the appearance of gutting the current Green Zone and giving the green light to rampant development in previously protected areas.
"There was no intent to delete agricultural land from the Green Zone," Corrigan said, adding the Green Zone has become such a recognizable "branding" the region can't risk sending the wrong signal.
Now staff will designate rural and agricultural sub-designations under the umbrella of the Green Zone.
The bigger issue is what pieces of land will come out of the Green Zone – cities like Maple Ridge have long argued lands were mistakenly included when the LRSP was created in 1996.
Cities are being asked to put all their proposed changes to the Green Zone on the table to be considered all at once this fall.
The changes would be part of the final growth strategy that would be an issue in civic elections this fall before going to a vote of city councils.
There's cautious optimism a new regional consensus will be reached to approve the new plan.
A new amending formula would require a two-thirds board vote to allow boundary changes such as land removals from the Green Zone or agricultural zone.
The Green Zone and its goal of protecting natural areas isn't the only part of the old LRSP that is being maintained.
The draft continues the old core strategies to concentrate growth, improve transportation choice and allow for mixed-use complete communities where more people can live, work and play without long commutes.
But now added is a key goal of supporting sustainable economic growth, a major gap in the old plan.
Also expected are policies to promote greenhouse gas reductions and energy efficiency.
Food security will be listed as a "key challenge" in the new plan and expanded policies are to be put in place to protect food-producing lands.
"There will be continued pressure, parcel by parcel, to expand the urban footprint," a Metro Vancouver staff report cautions.
But it argues growth can be accommodated within areas already designated for urban use.
An industrial land area is also proposed that officials hope will help stem the conversion of those areas to condos or other uses.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/18697049.html

COSTCO Downtown

2008-05-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

The Costco that is across from GM Place is only the second Downtown costco in North America #2 from San Francisco. There are also condos on top of the Costco developnment, having a bigbox in a downtown right by skytrain with a condo development on top is a pretty good mix of urban development in my view and just being walking distance from Gastown and yaletown adds to the appeal. It gives people in downtown an excellent oppurunity to buy bulk foods..considering so far the choices are Safeway,Capers, Urban Fare, IGA,smaller stores etc.

SuperMarket Heaven

2008-04-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

Although Cambie st has become nothing more than a wrecking site ther there is a huge boom of grocers moving into the area. Capers which just opened 2years ago, is now followed by a Save on Foods on Cambie and 7th and Whole Foods to open by early next year on Broadway and Cambie at the new "crossroads" development. It is a crowded arena with a Choices, Safeway and other smaller chains like IGA on Main and London Drugs on Broadway in that area. It will mean excellent news for the residents to have all these choices in one area and cheaper prices for organic and non organic foods and products. It is probably one of the only neighbourhoods in the city where you see grocers flocking to when many independent shops have been forced to leave to the Canada Line construction, these groceries see a goldrush in it after the line is finished.

Street Festivals

2008-04-23T00:32:00.000-07:00

Vancouver is gearing up for a Summer of street festivals. On June 15th 2008 6 neighbourhoods in Vancouver will be having their own neighbourhood days blocking of roads to cars and having the people takeover. Each community presents what it has and what makes it unique from their arts, food and their music. These events have been very successful from the day it started on Commercial Dr it has spread to many other neighbourhoods . Cambie, Main, Commercial Dr, West End, Marpole and Kits will be participating. http://carfreevancouver.org/

DOmain on Main

2008-04-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

The new Main Street condo is about to be fully finished and breathe life into a cross section that was just all gas staions, not that long ago. With top level condos and street level retail it is sure to add to the neighbourhood. The architecture of the bulilding is much like the condos built at 10th and Main just a darker shade of brown. Its nice to see that Mount Pleasant has its own condos designs going on different from other neighbourhoods. I would have preffered a mix of colours on the condos instead of all brown however...whats your opinion?.

Paris in the DTES

2008-04-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

I was taking a stroll down the DTES today and I came across a development called "Paris" typical condo like development in the heat of the DTES. I though it was incredible they were calling it "Paris" when the neighbourhood its in is nothing like the glamour Paris would have. Im sure the development will end up looking nice by the end but it reminds you of the gentifrication thats going on that way and how people in the DTES live in two worlds the one they must live through everyday of pain, addiction and misery and the other of living in a fishbowl for the rest of the city to come and stare at.

South Vancouver

2008-03-30T19:27:00.001-07:00

While nobody can argue Vancouver is not a well planned city(probably the best in Canada) not all of the city is close enough to amenities just to walk(like Cambie Village, Main,Commercial,West End etc, Kits, etc. South Vancouver from the end of Main street or around the end of Cambie, Marine Drive, Knight, Victoria, are still predominantly residential with just some commercial space...and very car dependant. Althougn Marine Drive has huge outlets of lands for car dealerships, factories, Superstore..and we need all those...you practically need a car to get in to these pieces of land as the parking lot is the first thing that greets you...

have u seen how dangerous it is walking up to superstore on that hill with no pedestrian designated area?. There are still many parts of Vancouver who probably dont feel they live in the most livable city.

Farmland

2008-03-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

Although Cityhall's plan is to have 2,010 food plots for Vancouver by the year 2010 is impressive, the question is what will be the plan there after?. Many ideas come to mind about forcing new developments to contain food plots on the roofs or next to the development or have developers pay a fee to create new agriculture land. Vancouver is good for going to local farmers markets and getting local stuff www.eatlocal.org . Vancouver needs to do its fare share of having agriculture land even if we are a metropolitan city we need to grow our own food. Its unfair to keep the burden on Richmond, Surrey, Langley etc..because its for the benefit of the whole region.

Skytrain to the North Shore?

2008-03-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

As the population grows and traffic increases on the Lions Gate and the Second Narrows going to North Van,Westvan,Squamish,Whistler etc...I think its time considering a skytrainline out to North Van then out to WestVan heading out to horseshoe bay. Yes we already have buses and a seabus going up to the north shore but we need a quicker and efficent way of getting up there without traffic and there's only a few seabuses.

Granville Island Street Car Route

2008-03-12T11:07:00.001-07:00

Cityhall has just approved a Granville Island street car route between Granville Island and the future Olympic Village, at Canada Line Skytrain Station at Second Avenue(here's a link for the map http://www.cbc.ca/bc/news/bc-080311-streetcar-map-crop.pdf. It goes from

Terminal skytrain to Ontario st, Columbia, Cambie, Heather, Spruce and finally to Granville Island. It is due to open by the olympics

Evergreen line gets some funding stability.

2008-02-26T22:15:00.000-08:00

TransLink is suddenly on more stable long-term financial footing after the federal government pledged its practise of sharing federal gas tax revenue will become permanent policy.
The commitment was included in the Conservative government's budget handed down Tuesday and TransLink board chair Dale Parker called it "fantastic news."
TransLink will get $49 million from Ottawa this year – a share of federal fuel tax collected from this region – and the transfers are expected to grow to $123 million by 2010.
But the program was to expire in 2015 and until now federal officials had made no guarantee it would be extended.
TransLink had long lobbied for a permanent share of the gas tax, the lack of which had been an ongoing cloud over the authority's outlook.
With the uncertainty lifted, Parker said the ongoing stream of gas tax revenue can now be used to back borrowing for large-scale transit expansions.
"Even at this year's rate, today's budget means that TransLink could finance half a billion dollars in improvements," Parker said.
The tax handover is expected to continue to escalate in the years ahead beyond 2010.
The Evergreen Line extending the SkyTrain network to Coquitlam will also get a share of $500 million the Conservatives earmarked for public transit infrastructure in Tuesday's budget.
TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie said the federal contribution is expected to be $67 million over two years, but added more may be possible.
The provincial government hopes Ottawa will eventually commit $400 million to the rapid transit line, matching $400 million pledges from Victoria and TransLink.
The cost of the project has grown to an estimated $1.4 billion in recent weeks, leaving a significant amount unfunded even with a full federal share.
Parker said the federal pledge "is a signal that we are closer to a 'go'" for the Evergreen Line.
"TransLink is poised to move forward once we have the results of the current public consultation."http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/Fed_gas_tax_pledge_aids_TransLink.html

Cambie st

2008-02-26T21:56:00.000-08:00

Although the neighbourhood is pretty much a keep away zone for most other people in the city because of Canada Line construction it is still a quiet,beautiful neighbourhood. When you walk down the street you get the community feel of the street with its stores,locals, youth and a sense of familiarity and home with its independent shops. Many iconic places have had to close like Don Dons and Tomato but places like the park theatre, Jack hair salon, Choices and Black Dog video and its residents are keeping the neighbourhood alive even if the province is trying to kill it.

Fraser Valley Light Rail

2008-02-20T15:54:00.000-08:00

Currently 850,000 residents living in the Fraser Valley have no access to a skytrain type service. There is a interurban railway track system that was laid out 100years ago which goes from Chilliwack to Abbotsford, Langley, Cloverdale,Newton and finally to Scott Road. There is mass public support for this project but so far no official in the government is touching the idea

Fitness centre at old Storyeum in Gastown?

2008-02-15T21:42:00.000-08:00

Why on earth is city council considering a fitness centre at a historic place at the old storeyeum building?. Gastown is not Yaletown or Kits or Coal harbour or anyother generic neighbourhood its one of few neighbourhoods that remains raw and historical back to Vancouver's roots. A bowling alley is also proposed instead of a fitness centre. The only thing that is good here is some time of arts museum or studio/museum or into retail or something to engage tourists.

For the full article http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=dc679db5-3afc-479f-a016-7d1462874cc1&k=12656

6 new buildings bought by Province for housing

2008-02-14T14:49:00.000-08:00

The B.C. government has purchased six more rooming houses on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to house the homeless, Premier Gordon Campbell announced Thursday.
"The acquisition of these buildings means a brighter future for people who will be able to have housing with support services to stabilize their lives and regain their independence," said Campbell.
The six buildings were all current or former single-room-occupancy hotels, and three were vacant buildings, said the Premier.
The purchase brings the total number of hotels bought by the province over the past year to provide housing to 16.
"This is the latest in a series of investments we are making to provide new hope and opportunities for people through increased affordable housing options in Vancouver," said Campbell.
The province paid a total of $23.7 million for the six buildings.
The next step will be assessments to determine the physical condition of each building and develop renovation plans, said the premier. Then the province will select non-profit agencies to manage the buildings and provide support services to residents.
"With today's announcement, we have committed to more than 2,400 new provincially-subsidized units in Vancouver since last April," said Rich Coleman, the minister responsible for housing.
At the Vancouver news conference, Campbell also denied rumours the government has plans to redevelop the Riverview hospital site in Coquitlam.
An article in the Vancouver Sun on Thursday outlined detailed plans to fund the redevelopment of the psychiatric hospital with the development of up to 30,000 residential condo units on the 98-hectare hospital grounds site.

Canada's Poorest neighbourhood

2008-02-08T22:06:00.000-08:00

Canada's poorest neigbourhood although being depressing due to the amount of poverty and drug addiction available to see is one of the most unique and beautiful neighbourhoods in the city. It's a neighbourhood that I enjoy walking through as one can see how although it is so poor just blocks away you have condos coming closer and closer with boutiques just blocks away with tourists and restauraunts.If a society is measured on how it takes care of people who cant take care of themselves then we get an F. Yet they are in a neighbourhood that is so real and that is hard to see in Vancouver now with all these condos and gentifrication popping up. The DTES has history, beautiful buildings and the raw real part of the city.

Mount Pleasant

2008-02-01T17:36:00.000-08:00

Mount Pleasant and Main street is growing and becoming more eclectic and exciting as it grows. Galleries, restauraunts, new boutiques and cafes. Most importantly they are majority independently owned!

It has also become a expensive place to live as gentrification keeps moving more east. Thr architecture in south main is beautiful from the heritage homes to the NEC on 5th and Main and cafes that make you feel you are at someones house like soma on 8th and main or the whip on 6th and main.

New transit iniatives by Province

2008-01-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

Today the BC Govt announces $14 billion in new transit projects.

A UBC line extension from the Millennium line costing about $2.8billion but wont be finished by 2020.

A evergreen line to be finished by 2014. This line will feature 12 stations over 11 kilometres, linking neighbourhoods in Coquitlam, Port Moody and Burnaby and connecting with SkyTrain, West Coast Express and TransLink buses. What I dont understand is we already have a West Coast Express line that services these areas and goes even further just not frequently so why dont they increase the service of the West Coast Express instead and save money?.

On the Expo line, Campbell said his government is proposing significant upgrades to the Expo Line so it can accommodate more capacity. I dont know what this means exactly but what they should have done is extend the line to Guildford and Langley. At the same time create a train line from Abbotsford hitting Aldergrove and Langley,156th, Newton,Delta.

Campbell said his plan also calls for $1.2 billion for a high capacity high speed bus service along routes in Kelowna, Victoria and Metro Vancouver

I think the plans all fine but it doesnt exactly talk about how the South of Fraser is underserviced. and how to deal with it.

Proposed whitecaps stadium in GASTOWN??

2008-01-07T15:50:00.000-08:00

Why oh why does the city think that putting a stadium of all places gastown one of the most beautiful and historical neighbourhoods of the city to get away from the generic identical neighbourhoods of Yaletown and Coal habour. They can put it in south Vancouver where land is all empty around Marine Drive or even somewhere else in Burnaby or Surrey. Gastwon being crowded already with tourists,residents, employees by foot and the streets being narrow and obviously made for not driving. I dont understand why city council has so far made no major qualms about it. The design of this futuristic stadium in the older part of town makes no sense.

Strathcona

2008-01-05T20:49:00.000-08:00

Strathcona Vancouver's oldest neighbourhood has some of the best and oldest architecture around. In no other neighbourhood will u find more heritage homes in the city filled with artist studios. It could be a bit more mixed with shops and public transit but otherwise its a neighbourhood worth checking out .Being right next to Chinatown for cheap eats and groceries and the DTES for history and a look at the city's current state.

Condos only.

2008-01-04T16:07:00.000-08:00

The Vancouver skyline and neighbourhoods like the DTES and east vancouver are being filled with condos as the construction boom continues. One thing they dont seem to be building is office space. Without that Vancouver will turn into a bedroom community like Coquitlam or Surrey. With all these condos being built we could reach a point of having too much resedential and not enough business(office space)..with saying that Vancouver is already a unattractive place to set up a business as not many headquaters are based here. Downtown office space needs to be built like where the current shangri-la is being built would have been perfect although now its will be a hotel/condo..or all these condos over by GMPLACE.

TRANSIT PLANS FOR GVRD

2008-01-03T17:45:00.000-08:00

Instead of the money being spent on the Gateway project a resounding $7billion to twin the portmann bridge http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/gateway/ we can be doing this:

-Extend the expo line to Guildford and Willowbrook Mall in Langley
-Extend the millenniumm line to Cityhall
-Extend the Canada Line to Delta, Newton, 156th, Langley,Aldergrove,Abbotsford all from Richmond.
- We also need a bus from Surrey Central to Coquitlam Centre
- Extend West Coast Express hours to the weekend