South Fraser Perimeter Road/Highway 17 Extension | Completed

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Thanks!
Still can't see that being an appropriate area for residential.

yah its gonna stink but it is Coqutilam's only waterfront area - most of the city is landlocked and they want to offer something more i guess

[Whalleyboy]

they should take the albion ferries and put them to work to easy the traffic off the massey tunnel=P

[SpongeG]

or just tax people really high who choose to live south of the tunnel

[Metro-One]

I feel Coquitlam should keep that area only for industrial and commercial uses. Soon metro Vancouver will not have a single factory to work in, every one will be working at starbucks.

Anyways, like many on here, i support both transit and road expansions in Vancouver. I am really tired of these one or the other people.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

I feel Coquitlam should keep that area only for industrial and commercial uses. Soon metro Vancouver will not have a single factory to work in, every one will be working at starbucks.

Anyways, like many on here, i support both transit and road expansions in Vancouver. I am really tired of these one or the other people.

well thats the way the economy is going

we are having this career person come in and talk to us about the changing economy - a bunch of us were laid off - like 80% of my dept alone - anyway she was saying we are becoming a "knowledge" based economy and manufacturing is gone basically don't expect it to be back - cause some people here have worked here for 30 years so some really myself included (13 years) about how much and just how fast things have changed and continue to and how we need to get ready for that now that we are all looking

[Whalleyboy]

what are you talking about? no factories in metro vancouver?=s
there are so many factories around surrey plus theres a couple new areas in surrey being built up just for factories

also i agree both are needed to make great cities
skytrain to our airport and top university will help make this area greater. People coming here to go to school it will be easy to access. People traveling here from other countries will find it eas to get to downtown
and then we have things like SFPR will help out us as a port city allowing great trade and travel

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

I feel Coquitlam should keep that area only for industrial and commercial uses. Soon metro Vancouver will not have a single factory to work in, every one will be working at starbucks.

Anyways, like many on here, i support both transit and road expansions in Vancouver. I am really tired of these one or the other people.

It's really a small area of United Blvd to convert to residential. The riverside near United has some huge parcels of land for industrial.

[officedweller]

It's the thin edge of the wedge - residents will complain and industry will be driven out, because politicians listen to voters, not companies (even if the companies pay higher taxes).

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by Whalleyboy

what are you talking about? no factories in metro vancouver?=s
there are so many factories around surrey plus theres a couple new areas in surrey being built up just for factories

also i agree both are needed to make great cities
skytrain to our airport and top university will help make this area greater. People coming here to go to school it will be easy to access. People traveling here from other countries will find it eas to get to downtown
and then we have things like SFPR will help out us as a port city allowing great trade and travel

they still exist but the economy is moving away from them - anyway thats what she was telling us at our meeting to prepare us to find new careers - what areas to look at - manufacturing/production wasn't in the top 10 of job futures

[GMasterAres]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

or just tax people really high who choose to live south of the tunnel

People live south of the fraser because we can own 2 houses for the price of a 2 bedroom condo anywhere in Vancouver. That and I work South of the Fraser so it makes sense to live South of the Fraser. It would actually be stupid to live on the other side in my case.

Quite frankly this entire debate regarding the Port Mann is silly at this point. It's being done period. Even if it didn't happen, I wouldn't care so much because I have no reason to go North and let's face it, actually keep congestion insane has been forcing the cities South of the Fraser to densify. If it is super easy to drive from Abbotsford to Vancouver, there's no incentive to densify.

At the same time, roads and infrastructure do have to be increased and enhanced given our simple population growth period. There isn't a city on the planet that doesn't increase both transit and road systems. Evey major city does. And the ones that aren't adding highways right now have 10 times the capacity per capita as Vancouver already so they don't _have_ to like we do.

[GMasterAres]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

they still exist but the economy is moving away from them - anyway thats what she was telling us at our meeting to prepare us to find new careers - what areas to look at - manufacturing/production wasn't in the top 10 of job futures

Because it's cheaper to manufacture things in China right now so it's moving there. What's increasing is goods shipping and processing. Also the technology and hospitality industries are increasing in the Lower Mainland. Think Dubai. It at one point made all its money via Oil but that Oil is running out so they have shifted their economy to tourism. Same thing here, as the world economy shift and changes we have to adapt as a region and as a city.

The region is also shifting to centralize industries. You used to have trucking companies all over the place, now most of the big ones have moved to Surrey. You used to have port based business all over the place and now they are relocating around the main ports be it water based or YVR/YXX. Even the rail yards and companies are relocating opperations to make things more efficient and centralized regionally.

There will come a time I'm sure where the only 'industry' in Vancouver city itself will be port based. Richmond don't be surprised if eventually everything is either airport based or technology based. Surrey will have the bulk of the 'industrial' areas with Port Kells and such as will Delta with Tilbury and Annacis areas. Why? Because it's better. A lot of those companies get shipping from the ports and it's better to be South of the Fraser to get access to most of the ports in the region which includes the borders.

Some of that has been forced due to our garbage road infrastructure system, but most is just due to the metro Vancouver region thinking more big picture than was done in the past.

[Spork]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

they still exist but the economy is moving away from them - anyway thats what she was telling us at our meeting to prepare us to find new careers - what areas to look at - manufacturing/production wasn't in the top 10 of job futures

I wouldn't be so sure about that. When the price of oil increases as the economy recovers, it is going to cost more and more to ship something overseas. Carbon taxes and similar efforts will punish goods shipped over long distances.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by jhausner

People live south of the fraser because we can own 2 houses for the price of a 2 bedroom condo anywhere in Vancouver. That and I work South of the Fraser so it makes sense to live South of the Fraser. It would actually be stupid to live on the other side in my case.

Quite frankly this entire debate regarding the Port Mann is silly at this point. It's being done period. Even if it didn't happen, I wouldn't care so much because I have no reason to go North and let's face it, actually keep congestion insane has been forcing the cities South of the Fraser to densify. If it is super easy to drive from Abbotsford to Vancouver, there's no incentive to densify.

At the same time, roads and infrastructure do have to be increased and enhanced given our simple population growth period. There isn't a city on the planet that doesn't increase both transit and road systems. Evey major city does. And the ones that aren't adding highways right now have 10 times the capacity per capita as Vancouver already so they don't _have_ to like we do.

it was meant as a joke

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by Spork

I wouldn't be so sure about that. When the price of oil increases as the economy recovers, it is going to cost more and more to ship something overseas. Carbon taxes and similar efforts will punish goods shipped over long distances.

i think y'all are missing the point - all i am saying is i would look in other fields than manufacturing the economy is a changing

this is for a career not just a job

[Metro-One]

The Kingsway overpass looks good and is going to be much better thann the current design. Where did you find this rendering? Are there mmore renderings? maybe one of the cape horn? or is this a stand alone aspect of the project?

[Mininari]

My guess is the city of Coquitlam really wanted a detailed image for public consulation and 'fast tracked' a drawing of option 2.

But yeah, I wanna see the new cape horn rendered!

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

i think y'all are missing the point - all i am saying is i would look in other fields than manufacturing the economy is a changing

this is for a career not just a job

I agree with you, where I work the starting rate for dock workers was $14 in the early 80`s...in the late 90`s it was around $19 until it begun to go down to $16 and now $14...next contract it will probably go down again through the striping of benefits....though the top rate is still decent i suppose but it has been getting worse in real terms also.
keep in mind a dock work is the lowest of the low, unskilled labour(not saying it doesnt take skill but no education or apprenticeships is needed).

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by Mininari

My guess is the city of Coquitlam really wanted a detailed image for public consulation and 'fast tracked' a drawing of option 2.

But yeah, I wanna see the new cape horn rendered!

King Edward requires a bit of pre-work to build the approaches so they have to fast-track it. Cape Horn Interchange will likely take up to 3 years to build but since it doesn't involve some sort of community integration like King Edward they're likely pushing forward without any public consultation (unfortunately). The other overpasses are likely a bit more straightforward

[Metro-One]

I still dont see how anyone cans view these improvements as bad, just look at how much safer that new King Edward overpass is, it avoids crossing the train tracks (good for both rail traffic and King Edward), it takes out that strange bump in the freeway which is quite dangerous (seen many people slam on the brakes after the crest), and we get rid of another one of our silly odd laned structures (the old underpass is only 3 lanes). i think if people starting looking at the project piece by piece they would start to reaolize how needed it is.

[racc]

Another silly project spurred by highway expansion that will cause the freeway traffic to be worse than ever. Don't expect the congestion to improve after wasting $3.1 billion.

Ironically, the cover story in the Sun was on poor air quality.

http://www.vancouversun.com/Massive+mall...erchange+stirs+debate/1659966/story.html

Massive mall near Abbotsford interchange stirs up debate


BY BRIAN MORTON, VANCOUVER SUN
A new shopping mall planned for an eight-hectare site near Abbotsford's Mount Lehman interchange will be a major retail draw for Fraser Valley residents, according to the city's mayor.

However, environmentalists see the development as the start of a trend that will see green space paved and sprawl spreading up the Fraser Valley along the Trans-Canada Highway, as a consequence of the provincial government's expansion of the highway and doubling of the Port Mann Bridge's capacity.

"The potential regional draw for that centre is enormous," Abbotsford Mayor George Peary said in an interview about the $170-million, 600,000-square-foot Shape Properties development, dubbed Abby Lane.

"It's huge and it's got amazing freeway access. I think this will be the largest mall in the region. It will be relatively easy for people to get there from Langley, Chilliwack and Mission. Millions travel that freeway and they're all potential customers."

Opponents of commercial sprawl say the new plaza is an example of the type of retail they expect will pop up all along the highway because of the provincial government's Gateway Program to add lanes to Highway 1 and double the size of the bridge.

"They're going to sprawl all the way out to Chilliwack," Cathleen Vecchiato of the Fraser Valley Conservation Coalition said in an interview. "It [the expansion] is just putting more people into their cars."

Vecchiato, a Langley resident, said the planned highway and bridge expansion is fuelling a lot of development proposals, a trend she feels is short-sighted.

She said Abby Lane won't be last of its type. She fears that a "big green section" along the highway in Langley and Abbotsford will see more development. "Once it [the highway and bridge expansion] goes in, it will be an excuse to build more."

But Peary sees the shopping mall as another sign that his city is coming of age. He noted that approximately 400,000 people visit the Fraser Valley Trade and Exhibition Centre (Tradex) each year and another 500,000 people fly through Abbotsford International Airport.

The project, which has been given approval in principle by Abbotsford council, will have access off Highway 1 and draw people from as far east as Harrison Hot Springs and Hope. It is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2011 and will have a "trading area" of approximately 262,000 people.

Peary said the shopping centre will be a series of free-standing buildings accessed from the outside and that he's been told by staff that a huge Wal-Mart Supercentre could anchor the development.

There will also be many small and medium-sized retail tenants.

Peary said the mall is the first major development on a green strip beside Highway 1 east of the Mount Lehman interchange, and that other properties there will also be developed. He said the highway access for Abby Lane will be paid for by the developer.

Darren Kwiatkowski, executive vice-president of Shape Properties, said in an interview the project has the largest dollar value the company has ever undertaken.

"Along the Trans-Canada Highway, there's no development of that nature," he added.

Kwiatkowski said the shopping mall will have a "main street" style, with direct access to stores off the development's streets.

He said it will take about 18 months to construct and will have a mixture of small and large retailers and possibly a theatre.

Kwiatkowski refused to say which stores have signed on and declined comment on whether a Wal-Mart Supercentre would be the anchor tenant in a 150,000-square-foot store.

He said the shopping mall would meet the needs of "a wide range of shoppers," and include higher-end family restaurants and fashion stores.

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