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Caphillsea77, I think you posted reasonable and polite questions so I'm not referring to you in this
- but as for the rest of you exhaust loving "freeway-pushers", I think you are utterly hilarious and just a wee bit pompous with your protests. You're moaning and criticizing about Vancouver not having freeways (that you won't be paying for but you think we should), suitable enough for your superior standards and expectations ..... but you don't live here and wouldn't benefit from them even if we did have them.
That cracks me up. I wish we had a smilie on this board that shows the little guy splitting a gut and crying tears from laughing so hard.
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I also don't understand why an outsider should think that Vancouver "SHOULD" have a freeway. How absurd.
For those who think Vancouver is big enough to have a freeway system, think again. Manhattan has a population of over 1.6 million, and it basically doesn't have a freeway system either inside the island. And you know what? That makes Manhattan so much better. While 88% of Americans drive to work, in Manhattan, car ownership is less than 25%.
Cities like Los Angeles are famous for their extensive freeway, which don't make traffic any easier if not harder. It makes the city look like a mess as well.
I'd say Vanouverites are lucky enough to have a freeway-free city. For those who really like it, just don't go to Vancouver, OK? It saves the city a lot of pollution and congestion.
Cities like Los Angeles are famous for their extensive freeway, which don't make traffic any easier if not harder. It makes the city look like a mess as well.
A bit of thread drift here, but your mention of Los Angeles being a mess with its' freeways reminded me of the time I flew into that city and saw it from the air (or perhaps I should say didn't see it). The pilot announced we were approaching LA, and I had a window seat and was eagerly looking out the window with camera at hand ready to take pictures. All I could see was a huge dirty brown cloud going from horizon to horizon for miles and miles obscuring everything ahead of us. I asked my seat-mate "where is LA?" and he said "that's it, that's the famous LA smog, you won't see much of anything else until we touch down". Oh my god!
I can't begin to tell you what the stinking, acidic air in LA did to my hair and skin and my poor red, weeping eyes, and I finally understood why LA has so many car-washes. The clean car we picked up was filthy within 2 days. And the people that live there are breathing that stuff every day of their lives ?!?!
The freeways and the speed-demon drivers were a nightmare from hell. I was so glad to get out of there and head on down to San Diego, and I can tell you that freeway was no fun road-trip either, I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown behind the wheel. When we finally left San Diego a week later to drive back to B.C. we decided to take the coast highway all the way back as far as we could. The coast highway all the way to Washington state was fresh and clean and very beautiful scenery (and San Francisco was delightful).
Places like Los Angeles can keep their polluting freeways if they're happy with that kind of "progress". Oy vey! I'm happy to stay free of freeways.
Vancouver seems to be the one major city on the North American continent lacking freeway connections. Coming up from Washington State highway 99 ends abrubtly approaching the city leaving streets like Granville and Cambie clogged. Going to the north shore Georgia St is clogged and the 3 lanes of the Lions Gate Bridge does not withstand the capacity of traffic. Downtown Vancouver does not have any direct highway links to to Canada Hwy 1. Although Vancouver has an excellent metro/subway system I wonder how vehicular traffic will sustain itself with future growth.
To build a freeway into Vancouver would destroy a lot of historic homes on the westside of Vancouver. The people in this area have a lot of money and they are not about to let a freeway go through this area. The future is in expanding transit not building ugly freeways through historic neighbourhoods.
To build a freeway into Vancouver would destroy a lot of historic homes on the westside of Vancouver. The people in this area have a lot of money and they are not about to let a freeway go through this area. The future is in expanding transit not building ugly freeways through historic neighbourhoods.
Of course these same moneyed people will also work to prevent any transit projects in their historic neighborhoods as well!
Underground - that was what they did with the new Cambie rail line that just got put in from Vancouver to Richmond. It's underground from False Creek to the Fraser River, then the tracks are elevated up over the Fraser and into Richmond. It looks pretty good. The work did disrupt businesses and traffic for quite awhile but they had the line all finished before last autumn.
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Vancouver is a large city, no matter how you slice it. And a city does not have to be "huge" to have freeways. The town I am from- Lincoln, Nebraska- is a metro of only 250,000- and even it has freeways. And nearby Omaha- a metro of 850,000- has a very extensive freeway system, with one going throught he city E/W, one going through N/S, and two interstate loops through and around the city.
As much as many like public transportation, freeways are also necessary since the car is the way most people still get around in North America.
As much as many like public transportation, freeways are also necessary since the car is the way most people still get around in North America.
No, not necessary, and Vancouver is a perfect example of a city functioning very well without freeways. Honestly, can you imagine Vancouver with freeways? Would you enjoy it as much as you're now?
No, not necessary, and Vancouver is a perfect example of a city functioning very well without freeways. Honestly, can you imagine Vancouver with freeways? Would you enjoy it as much as you're now?
I don't live in Vancouver, I live a couple hours south in the Seattle area. So I can't say this from a local perspective, but from one who visits there on occasion- yes, I would enjoy it more with freeways, because it would be much easier to get around.
Obviously America needs freeways, America has 10 times the population and a car culture 10 times that of Canadians. Bigger, faster, more is better kind of thing. I don't know what the car culture is like in other provinces like Ontario and Quebec, I can only speak for what I see in B.C.
I do know that around here lots of people will avoid using the freeways we do have, preferring to take more scenic side-streets that are less busy and less likely to cause frustration or road-rage. Perhaps people here feel less pressure, are more laid back and easy going, in less of a hurry to get from point A to point B. Vancouver, the city as well as other parts of the lower mainland, has a walking culture. Walk the dog and smell the roses, enjoy the scenery.
In any case, for outsiders saying that Vancouver needs freeways through the city is all a moot point. Other people who don't live here may think we need freeways so that our lifestyle will be more like the faster lifestyle that they're accustomed to where they live, but the fact remains we are who we are, we like who we are, we are slow, we accomodate ourselves.
We don't have a lot of freeways, we don't want them and we won't be putting them in to accomodate other people's expections of us just so they can go faster. That's all there is to it.
My suggestion for visitors driving into the city would be to use a good road map and get yourself off the streets that get most congested. Slow down, give yourself some time to relax and enjoy the sights around you. You won't get lost without a freeway and it will give you a chance to exercise some personal independence and a sense of sight-seeing adventure. You could be pleasantly surprised with the visual delights and the off-the-beaten-path treasures you can find when you get off the freeways.
Maybe you should slow down and do that more often at home where you live too.
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Last edited by Zoisite; 04-06-2010 at 03:49 PM..
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