Olympic Village & Southeast False Creek Updates Discussion - Page 195

easy as pie · #**3881** Posted **Feb 20, 2013, 10:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by entheosfog

people who left vancouver in 2010 will be amazed at the mid-main (lower main?) of 2020.

mpatricklee · #**3882** Posted **Feb 21, 2013, 4:42 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by officedweller

The other factor with OV is that it's an awkward distance from downtown. CityGate and Fairview suffer the same problem.
A bit too far to walk to the CBD on a daily basis, too close to drive, and it seems silly to pay for transit for just a 2-3 station trip (when you can put that monthly pass cost into your mortgage instead).

That means it's a perfect distance to bike!

mpatricklee · #**3883** Posted **Feb 21, 2013, 4:47 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by officedweller

The other factor with OV is that it's an awkward distance from downtown. CityGate and Fairview suffer the same problem.
A bit too far to walk to the CBD on a daily basis, too close to drive, and it seems silly to pay for transit for just a 2-3 station trip (when you can put that monthly pass cost into your mortgage instead).

I should also add that not everyone living in SEFC works in the CBD. I'll be moving to the neighbourhood, but will be commuting eastward.

huenthar · #**3884** Posted **Feb 21, 2013, 5:57 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpatricklee

That means it's a perfect distance to bike!

Exactly. But in any case, presumably, if one is choosing to live in the middle of a big city, there's more to one's life than just work and home, and transit is useful for those things as well. Or if everything you do is local, then you're used to walking more and the CBD isn't too far to walk at all.

Pinion · #**3885** Posted **Feb 21, 2013, 9:19 AM**

My wife wants to live on false creek once we get an inheritance but I can't imagine commuting from there. I work in East Van (nearly DTES) and it's easier to get there from the north shore. Going anywhere through Vancouver proper is a nightmare.

WarrenC12 · #**3886** Posted **Feb 21, 2013, 3:34 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinion

My wife wants to live on false creek once we get an inheritance but I can't imagine commuting from there. I work in East Van (nearly DTES) and it's easier to get there from the north shore. Going anywhere through Vancouver proper is a nightmare.

Uhhhh... walk? I live in Yaletown and it's a 15 min walk to the heart of the Pidgin-hating DTES

officedweller · #**3887** Posted **Feb 21, 2013, 7:40 PM**

Yeah, my point was that because of the various factors, it may cater to a different market than the Concord/Yaletown condos.
WRT the biking, for those working downtown, it's easier to find a place where you can just walk in "work ready" rather than biking and having to change clothes.

s211 · #**3888** Posted **Feb 21, 2013, 8:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by officedweller

WRT the biking, for those working downtown, it's easier to find a place where you can just walk in "work ready" rather than biking and having to change clothes.

The whole reason I will never ever bike to work. Am I supposed to keep a full wardrobe of suits, shirts, ties, etc. in some mysterious cabinet at work?

sacrifice333 · #**3889** Posted **Feb 22, 2013, 12:58 AM**

SEFC is the future. Today it's not perfect. There a vast swathes of land that are completely empty. There is construction EVERYWHERE. There can be a lack of people. But in the future...

There will be 15,000 people+ living between Cambie & Main bordered by 2nd & False Creek. There will be a streetcar connecting Granville Island to Gastown and eventually Stanley Park and/or Yaletown. There will be distance based transit charges. Etc., etc., etc.

I should note that in addition to many neighbours that I know that do work downtown, including myself, there are many people in all walks of life and all types of jobs, including many that are self employed. </run-on sentence>

The transit situation is a little "too close" and the walk situation is a little "too far" based on some paradigms, but based on the alternative cost of driving, parking, vehicle maintenance, etc., the equation still works in favour of transit. If, as I suggested, Translink moves to a more distance-based pricing structure these arguments will be moot.

WarrenC12 · #**3890** Posted **Feb 22, 2013, 1:59 AM**

I hope you're right, but I just don't see the premium price today. Especially since things like the streetcar could easily be 10 years away from actual operation. That's a heck of a long time in human thinking.

I moved to Yaletown in 2000 and everybody was talking up things like parks and future development that easily took 6-8 years to come about (think George Wainborn and the development in that area, Emery Barnes Park).

I will say that the False Creek ferry system is awesome if you need it. It's a fun ride once in a while, but as a daily commuter the unlimited passes might be worthwhile.

nova9 · #**3891** Posted **Feb 22, 2013, 2:50 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by officedweller

Yeah, my point was that because of the various factors, it may cater to a different market than the Concord/Yaletown condos.
WRT the biking, for those working downtown, it's easier to find a place where you can just walk in "work ready" rather than biking and having to change clothes.

Not speaking to biking infrastructure and more about culture, but people in Amsterdam and Copenhagen don't change into spandex to go to work. They're also not on those high speed bikes. They're wearing their regular clothes. Perhaps they don't sweat. Hahha.

officedweller · #**3892** Posted **Feb 22, 2013, 3:27 AM**

I'd be more concerned about mud and dirt splatter.

Pinion · #**3893** Posted **Feb 22, 2013, 6:05 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Uhhhh... walk? I live in Yaletown and it's a 15 min walk to the heart of the Pidgin-hating DTES

I said East Van, nearly DTES. Not sure where DTES officially ends, and I would rather not say exactly where I work on here. Definitely not walking distance.

Not to mention I need to bring a lot of stuff to and from work, and finish in the middle of the night. DTES crime is overrated but I'd still rather not stroll past hookers, dealers and drunkards every night.

Illithid Dude · #**3894** Posted **Feb 22, 2013, 8:53 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by giallo

^ I was hanging around in the Olympic Village last month, and I really liked it too. Actually, my wife liked it so much that she's pretty much got her heart set on buying a place when we eventually move back to Vancouver.

What, no more moving to Santa Monica?

hollywoodnorth · #**3895** Posted **Feb 22, 2013, 9:46 AM**

401 Great Northern Way (ONNI) has passed the UDP

http://changingcitybook.com/2013/02/14/401-great-northern-way/

pic >>

s211 · #**3896** Posted **Feb 22, 2013, 4:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by nova9

Not speaking to biking infrastructure and more about culture, but people in Amsterdam and Copenhagen don't change into spandex to go to work. They're also not on those high speed bikes. They're wearing their regular clothes. Perhaps they don't sweat. Hahha.

Isn't Copenhagen flat as a pancake?

Porfiry · #**3897** Posted **Feb 22, 2013, 8:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by s211

Isn't Copenhagen flat as a pancake?

Our seawall is flat, and the grades in downtown are very slight. If you choose to do so you can easily exert no more effort cycling than you would walking. SEFC is such a short and easy ride to downtown that there's no reason to work up a sweat if you don't want to.

Jebby · #**3898** Posted **Feb 23, 2013, 4:05 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Porfiry

Our seawall is flat, and the grades in downtown are very slight. If you choose to do so you can easily exert no more effort cycling than you would walking. SEFC is such a short and easy ride to downtown that there's no reason to work up a sweat if you don't want to.

If you're a daily bike commuter perhaps investing in an electric bicycle makes sense. I've seen some that have a range of up to 40km at 30km/h on a single charge. You can, of course, peddle as well.

cornholio · #**3899** Posted **Feb 24, 2013, 3:00 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by nova9

Not speaking to biking infrastructure and more about culture, but people in Amsterdam and Copenhagen don't change into spandex to go to work. They're also not on those high speed bikes. They're wearing their regular clothes. Perhaps they don't sweat. Hahha.

Most people in Copenhagen still drive. Just so no one loses perspective.

CBeats · #**3900** Posted **Feb 24, 2013, 4:38 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by cornholio

Most people in Copenhagen still drive. Just so no one loses perspective.

A lot of people bike there, and where I lived in Sweden last year, everyone bikes. You don't need to be wearing helmets, and there are bike lanes next to every sidewalk on every street. Everyone owns a bike and rides it everywhere, including me when I was there. Scandinavian bike culture isn't just a concept - it's a reality.

Hopefully we can get a semblance of that in Vancouver. I think the Olympic Village/SEFC area is a great place for bikers. The bike share program that (according to the City's website) is launching this summer would probably be set up there, right?