[Pennywise604]

I haven't contributed to this thread since the viaducts actually never affect me, but I was at the Canucks game on Friday night with a good friend and a long time VPD officer. I told him about the cities idea about tearing down the viaducts. He literally thought I was on crack when I told him. He has been around the area of GM Place all his life, since their station is at Cambie @ 2nd. (We parked in the police parking lot, and walked over the Cambie Bridge, since it's free and the walk isn't that bad) He has worked the skids for many years down there, and told me, that they are an absolute necessity to downtown. He was shocked! He has been working down there way before GM Place was around, and knows the s***hole the area used to be. He also said that the area has no more real room to develop anymore. So where would the next area of development go? It would go to Mount Pleasant. Especially the 2nd, Main, Kingway, and Broadway corridors. So if Mt. Pleasant starts to develop in the next 3-5 years, wouldn't the viaducts be an absolute necessity into downtown?
He laughed and said maybe they should get rid of them, than move all the major sports franchises, and concerts, etc. to the suburbs. Since Vancouver is trying to eliminate traffic through downtown so bad, this would be the only way to do it. Get rid of everything that makes people want to go downtown. (Gm Place area, where the viaducts are needed) Than businesses will be screaming for customers, and there you go. But him telling me that really made me think, since Mt. Pleasant will be developed considerably by 10 years from now. It's needed so bad that it's impossible to imagine Vancouver without them.