Metro Vancouver Road Infrastructure Discussion

[sacrifice333]

Originally Posted by DKaz

It took me an hour 34 minutes to ride my scooter this morning from Surrey to Vancouver. Typically 65 minutes. McBride northbound was backed up from Royal all the way to 10th, then 10th Ave to 6th St. I need a freeway capable scooter for days like these. Well I need to get my Class 6 first.

Technically I think you only need to be capable of 60km/h to use the freeway. A few cheap mods should make that a reality without the requirement of a Class 6!

*sidenote: travelling at 60km/h on freeways or highways is CRAZY. Don't do it.

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by sacrifice333

Technically I think you only need to be capable of 60km/h to use the freeway. A few cheap mods should make that a reality without the requirement of a Class 6!

*sidenote: travelling at 60km/h on freeways or highways is CRAZY. Don't do it.

Lol I've taken the Second Narrows once and that was scary. I may or may not have ridden on the sidewalk of the Alex Fraser Bridge once.

I just replaced the front brakes on my scooter and done it twice with previous cars, and can do other stuff like spark plugs, suspension, installed a transmission cooler, etc. but I have no desire in trying to get more power out of my scooter. There's too much trial and error involved in tuning the system and my scooter is supposed to be a reliable daily rider.

[Alex Mackinnon]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Motorcycles are pretty brutal in traffic, too much shifting. You can get a big scooter though.

I wouldn't go that far. They can be a pain when it's hot out and you're not moving, but even my 650 Vstrom is pretty easy to handle in traffic. Shifting is just part of the fun

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Motorcycles are pretty brutal in traffic, too much shifting. You can get a big scooter though.

Originally Posted by Alex Mackinnon

I wouldn't go that far. They can be a pain when it's hot out and you're not moving, but even my 650 Vstrom is pretty easy to handle in traffic. Shifting is just part of the fun

It's weird. I love driving manual even in the heaviest of rush hour traffic but I prefer the twist and go convenience of scooters.

Pros of motorcycles:
-More fun to ride
-Faster
-Everyone looks good riding one.

Pros of scooters:
-Storage space (underseat and floor) and helmet hook comes standard.
-Year round riding friendly (dual purpose and touring motorcycles I'd also consider year round friendly)
-More comfortable riding position.

I have a few models in mind, the Honda PCX150 and Forza, a used Yamaha Majesty, Kymco Downtown 300i.

[DKaz]

I didn't realize the VStrom was more of a touring/adventure bike. Like that BMW I see at my office. Nice bike. I see a couple of 2007-08 650s for around $4500 and a 1000 for $6000. The insane insurance rates on the 401cc+ is preventing me from considering those though.

[Alex Mackinnon]

Yeah, the insurance isn't great. With a full discount I pay $700 for 6 months. On the upside, I can ride 600 km in a day and not be crippled. It can also fit 2 people plus camping equipment and clothes without too much discomfort.

I had a 2008 250cc Ninja before this one, and it was perfect in the city, but I really wanted ABS after I dumped it the first time. ABS makes riding in the rain was far less scary and on average drops rider fatality rates by about half. The riding position also wasn't what you'd want for anything over an hour or two though. The Honda 300 or Ninja 300 would be quite interesting to me currently since you can get both with ABS now. Little bikes didn't get ABS until the last couple years.

Amusingly, since the rider's wind resistance is the biggest source of drag on a motorcycle all fuel mileage on small motorcycles generally is all very similar. My 650 doesn't use much more gas than a 125 or 250.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Alex Mackinnon

Amusingly, since the rider's wind resistance is the biggest source of drag on a motorcycle all fuel mileage on small motorcycles generally is all very similar. My 650 doesn't use much more gas than a 125 or 250.

Agreed, here's some of my experience for detail:

I used to own a 49cc scooter. Stock, it got about 70mpg (Canadian gallon). I put a bigger carb and 70cc engine into it and that dropped to 45mpg, although acceleration and top speed were much better. I think it topped out at around 80-85 km/h. About $200/yr to insure.

Contrast that to my last bike which was a 1300cc Honda VTX, it got 55mpg, but insurance was like $1200 for 6 months, I only ran it during the summer...

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by Alex Mackinnon

Yeah, the insurance isn't great. With a full discount I pay $700 for 6 months. On the upside, I can ride 600 km in a day and not be crippled. It can also fit 2 people plus camping equipment and clothes without too much discomfort.

I had a 2008 250cc Ninja before this one, and it was perfect in the city, but I really wanted ABS after I dumped it the first time. ABS makes riding in the rain was far less scary and on average drops rider fatality rates by about half. The riding position also wasn't what you'd want for anything over an hour or two though. The Honda 300 or Ninja 300 would be quite interesting to me currently since you can get both with ABS now. Little bikes didn't get ABS until the last couple years.

Amusingly, since the rider's wind resistance is the biggest source of drag on a motorcycle all fuel mileage on small motorcycles generally is all very similar. My 650 doesn't use much more gas than a 125 or 250.

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Agreed, here's some of my experience for detail:

I used to own a 49cc scooter. Stock, it got about 70mpg (Canadian gallon). I put a bigger carb and 70cc engine into it and that dropped to 45mpg, although acceleration and top speed were much better. I think it topped out at around 80-85 km/h. About $200/yr to insure.

Contrast that to my last bike which was a 1300cc Honda VTX, it got 55mpg, but insurance was like $1200 for 6 months, I only ran it during the summer...

That's just for basic I assume? Or are you getting your optional coverage through Beacon? I got quoted $1150 to $1300 for a 125 to 400cc class all through ICBC $1mil liability/$300 col/$300 comp with a claim rating scale of -11 (43%). Same coverage on my 50cc scooter right now is $490, although $90 of it is registration etc. fees that go away if I keep and renew it.

My two stroke BWS is averaging 3.9 L/100km or 72 Canadian MPG. A four stroke 250 to 400cc scooter will do about the same. A 150 maybe in the upper 2s (~100MPG). The 2015 Honda PCX150 has a Fuelly average of 2.3 L/100km or 122MPG right now actually, as good if not better than a lot of four stroke 50cc scooters these days.

And speaking of ABS, the 2014+ Honda Forza (279cc) and 2014+ Suzuki Burgman 200 has it. I wiped out back in November myself, kind but overzealous witnesses made sure I got to the hospital fine. If I were to buy brand new, I would definitely get a scooter with ABS. But I would have to finance as it exceeds my $4500 (including tax) cash budget and I don't really want to finance. I have practised emergency stopping in a wet parking lot so hopefully it won't happen again. But it seems at least half the riders I've spoken to have wiped out once on their bike.

Should we start a motorcycle thread?

[Pinion]

New Keith road bridge construction prep has started

We are replacing the 70-year-old Keith Road Bridge over Lynn Creek.

The bridge forms a major east-west vehicle route to the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge and Seymour and Deep Cove communities. It is heavily used by North Shore commuters, transit, cyclists, and pedestrians, and can no longer handle the increasing traffic volumes. This is leading to congestion during peak travel times.

Work will begin in late January 2015, and last for about eighteen months.

Progress updates
January, 2015 - During January and February, we will remove approximately 150 trees along the south side of Keith Road (Lynnmouth to Mountain Hwy). This work is being started now to avoid the bird nesting season. We will replace each tree we remove with three new ones, for a total of 450 new trees planted in various locations — mostly throughout Seylynn and Bridgman parks.

After the trees are removed, we will start road construction. While we have a traffic management plan in place to minimize disruption, you can expect some delays. There will also be periodic closures of the Bridgman Park parking lot during this period. Alternate parking is available at Inter River Park (Lillooet Road and Inter River Road).

http://dnv.org/article.asp?a=5943&c=22

• Video Link

[SOSS]

I like how the video shows the building of 1/2 the bridge first, then miraculously the old bridge disappears with the other new 1/2 appearing. The 3 trees for everyone removed is a nice token. I like the 18 month time-frame.

Did they announce when the new Mountain Hwy interchange upgrades are going to occur?

[officedweller]

On the Lions Gate Bridge north viaduct:


https://twitter.com/TranBC/status/55...591744/photo/1

[Metro-One]

Figured I would say this on here as most people likely don't look at the BC section, but I posted all the proposed interchange alignments on the BC highway section.

[st7860]

Originally Posted by DKaz

It's weird. I love driving manual even in the heaviest of rush hour traffic but I prefer the twist and go convenience of scooters.

Pros of motorcycles:
-More fun to ride
-Faster
-Everyone looks good riding one.

And of course you can put your SO on the back!

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by st7860

And of course you can put your SO on the back!

Pretty much every scooter larger than 50cc has a pillion. Even my Yamaha BWS 50 has one. But it's already slow enough with just me lol.

I have to add another pro for scooters, I sometimes get gout attacks which prevents me from driving a car and I assume might prevent me from operating foot controls on a motorcycle as well, but I am able to ride a scooter just fine through a gout attack.

$3899 gets me a 2015 Honda PCX 150 scooter but $3699 gets me a Suzuki GW250 motorcycle. The price on the 250 is oh so tempting.

[gkz]

Has a sunken freeway on Boundary Rd. from a new bridge to Richmond (HWY 91) to HWY 1 every been discussed?

Sold to Vancouver as a way to rid its streets of a large amount of trucks.

[SOSS]

Originally Posted by gkz

Has a sunken freeway on Boundary Rd. from a new bridge to Richmond (HWY 91) to HWY 1 every been discussed?

Sold to Vancouver as a way to rid its streets of a large amount of trucks.

Yes it has been discussed. The idea goes against Van and Burnaby stance on freeways. Thoughts have been floated to run a freeway right down to the SFPR.

[Procrastinational]

Originally Posted by SOSS

Yes it has been discussed. The idea goes against Van and Burnaby stance on freeways. Thoughts have been floated to run a freeway right down to the SFPR.

What about a Big Dig style cut and cover freeway under Boundary?
There is plenty of right of away, and it would be far less disturbing to the surrounding neighbourhoods. Not to mention that you could completely reconstruct Boundary to be more pedestrian and bike friendly with the reduced traffic volumes.

[SOSS]

Originally Posted by Procrastinational

What about a Big Dig style cut and cover freeway under Boundary?
There is plenty of right of away, and it would be far less disturbing to the surrounding neighbourhoods. Not to mention that you could completely reconstruct Boundary to be more pedestrian and bike friendly with the reduced traffic volumes.

They don't want freeways in any form. Period. Vancouver managed to limit the only freeway to its outer border with burnaby. If you build it they will come. Adding capacity will only add congestion. They will likely never go for it. The province might for something, one day.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Procrastinational

What about a Big Dig style cut and cover freeway under Boundary?
There is plenty of right of away, and it would be far less disturbing to the surrounding neighbourhoods. Not to mention that you could completely reconstruct Boundary to be more pedestrian and bike friendly with the reduced traffic volumes.

There's a "freeway-phobic" mentality in Vancouver, even if the freeways were to circumvent cities, or reduce surface congestion.
I realize that in some cities, it works out a lot better than others, but suggesting a freeway around here, is like suggesting building a Chernobyl.
As a result, surface congestion (and cars running through residential areas, etc) is here for a long time.
Many civic leaders imagine a land of Oz where cars are uses only minimally. They will not wake up and accept that vehicular traffic is there.

[Zassk]

It's even simpler than that. These city councils see congestion as a useful strategy to encourage other modes of transportation. Freeway or not, they don't want congestion to be reduced.