River District (East Fraserlands) | u/c

[apesta]

I'll be moving into River District this coming August in one of the newly built apartments. Im really looking forward to it. Since I own a car , I don't quite care about public transit. When Marine Gateway is finished, it'll be more convenient with just 10-15 min drive from where I'll be. 15 drive to metrotown and same amount of time to Richmond. I'd say it is very reasonable travel times.

[Pinion]

It doesn't seem any worse than Richmond or New West or Surrey to me if you work downtown, but I can't personally imagine choosing to drive through Vancouver proper every day, five days a week. At least on the north shore you have the faint hope of one day getting a better bridge (still took a pay cut to work near home), but in SE Vancouver it's only gonna get worse.

[vanciti]

Originally Posted by Pinion

It doesn't seem any worse than Richmond or New West or Surrey to me if you work downtown, but I can't personally imagine choosing to drive through Vancouver proper every day, five days a week. At least on the north shore you have the faint hope of one day getting a better bridge (still took a pay cut to work near home), but in SE Vancouver it's only gonna get worse.

Do you honestly think there is a better chance at a new or replacement bridge to the North Shore over Light Rail, B Line or some other form of rapid transit in the Marine Drive Corridor?

Personally if I was counting my investment dollars as a Government and if I were a wagering man I'd say the money would be spent far better with a form of Light Rail along Marine Drive or the existing rail corridor than a new bridge to North Vancouver.

[privatejet]

There's some new renderings of the River District, Town Centre:
http://www.riverdistrict.ca/wordpres...ider_TOWER.jpg

[Pinion]

Originally Posted by vanciti

Do you honestly think there is a better chance at a new or replacement bridge to the North Shore over Light Rail, B Line or some other form of rapid transit in the Marine Drive Corridor?

Personally if I was counting my investment dollars as a Government and if I were a wagering man I'd say the money would be spent far better with a form of Light Rail along Marine Drive or the existing rail corridor than a new bridge to North Vancouver.

We were talking about driving commutes. apesta drives, I drive.

I'll get back on public transit when you pull my steering wheel from my cold dead hands (or when Skytrain comes to Lower Lonsdale). But yeah I don't disagree, if you want to take public transit, that's probably a better spot eventually.

[s211]

Originally Posted by privatejet

There's some new renderings of the River District, Town Centre:

Blew the budget on streetlighting there.

[Zassk]

Originally Posted by Pinion

It doesn't seem any worse than Richmond or New West or Surrey to me if you work downtown, but I can't personally imagine choosing to drive through Vancouver proper every day, five days a week. At least on the north shore you have the faint hope of one day getting a better bridge (still took a pay cut to work near home), but in SE Vancouver it's only gonna get worse.

Hmm, I would have said that a new bridge at Boundary (hulking over this development) is more likely than a 3rd/new crossing over Burrard Inlet..

[Pinion]

I wasn't trying to turn this into a south/north vancouver pissing match. Just meant there's no hope for car commuters going downtown from that direction. It will be red lights every two blocks and traffic jams forever. There's no hope from the north either, I get it, which is why I don't work in Vancouver proper anymore.

[apesta]

Originally Posted by Pinion

I wasn't trying to turn this into a south/north vancouver pissing match. Just meant there's no hope for car commuters going downtown from that direction. It will be red lights every two blocks and traffic jams forever. There's no hope from the north either, I get it, which is why I don't work in Vancouver proper anymore.

I never understand why the city needs to put more and more traffic lights in intersections. Ive find it very hard to drive around the downtown area without having to stop every 5 secs due to traffic congestion caused by traffic lights.

Back to this project, I would definitely wanna see light rail along marine way as well. Most definitely be convenient for lots of people living down there. I wouldn't mind ditching my car just to take the rail down to Marine Gateway. But as of now getting around to the areas which I normally go are still pretty decent travel times. I currently live in Steveston so everywhere is far for me so I won't complain too much about transit times and all that.

[BodomReaper]

Originally Posted by privatejet

There's some new renderings of the River District, Town Centre:
http://www.riverdistrict.ca/wordpres...ider_TOWER.jpg

The public realm looks very well-done here but the tower + midrise are deathly boring. Do we know who the architect is for this one?

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by apesta

I never understand why the city needs to put more and more traffic lights in intersections. Ive find it very hard to drive around the downtown area without having to stop every 5 secs due to traffic congestion caused by traffic lights.

The installation of additional crosswalks and traffic signals is to improve pedestrian accessibility and put into practice the City's transportation policy of prioritizing walking above other modes of travel.

[osirisboy]

Except when they put in pedestrian controlled lights where drivers end up just plowing through the stop signs making it dangerous for pedestrians. If the city wants to put pedestrians first they should get rid of these things

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by apesta

I never understand why the city needs to put more and more traffic lights in intersections. Ive find it very hard to drive around the downtown area without having to stop every 5 secs due to traffic congestion caused by traffic lights.

Back to this project, I would definitely wanna see light rail along marine way as well. Most definitely be convenient for lots of people living down there. I wouldn't mind ditching my car just to take the rail down to Marine Gateway. But as of now getting around to the areas which I normally go are still pretty decent travel times. I currently live in Steveston so everywhere is far for me so I won't complain too much about transit times and all that.

Steveston is actually very well served by transit, better than Marine Drive (at least for now).

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Steveston is actually very well served by transit, better than Marine Drive (at least for now).

The 100 is pretty convenient going east west between Marine station and 22nd Street Station. There is no conections going north south though. I actually just moved down here from Killarney and took the bus last week and it worked decently (first bus I took in years). Having said that on my way back I took a cab because I would have had to wait like 45 min for the next bus which is absolutly unacceptable. I drive ofcourse and this area is actually well located. Marine drive is still a breeze to drive and Boundary road is not bad either. For me though it is temporary because my office is walking distance however I can work from home majority of the days, I can even work from outside the country so I am not tied to the area. It's just temporary because everyone sold their houses over the past month in Killarney in my family circle and I was sharing one of them and didn't yet want to venture far from my office.

On a more related note I walk or drive through the construction zone daily and I seriously question the build quality of the buildings going up. Keep in mind Marine IS pretty much a highway and IS loud 24 hours a day, also you get lots of industrial noise from accross the river, you would be surprised just how much, and the area is directly next to the landing path to YVR and right where the planes drop their landing gear (noise). You even get quite a bit of train noise (from accross the river). It really carries over the farm land and river. You better hope the buildings have good insulation. It's not a quite part of the city and I am certain many buyers will make the mistake of thinking it is.

Oh and anyone thinking of buying. There are two full rental towers at Kerr and Marine, it's easy to check the area out before you buy.

[missbailey]

Originally Posted by BodomReaper

The public realm looks very well-done here but the tower + midrise are deathly boring. Do we know who the architect is for this one?

I think it's GBL

[apesta]

Originally Posted by cornholio

The 100 is pretty convenient going east west between Marine station and 22nd Street Station. There is no conections going north south though. I actually just moved down here from Killarney and took the bus last week and it worked decently (first bus I took in years). Having said that on my way back I took a cab because I would have had to wait like 45 min for the next bus which is absolutly unacceptable. I drive ofcourse and this area is actually well located. Marine drive is still a breeze to drive and Boundary road is not bad either. For me though it is temporary because my office is walking distance however I can work from home majority of the days, I can even work from outside the country so I am not tied to the area. It's just temporary because everyone sold their houses over the past month in Killarney in my family circle and I was sharing one of them and didn't yet want to venture far from my office.

On a more related note I walk or drive through the construction zone daily and I seriously question the build quality of the buildings going up. Keep in mind Marine IS pretty much a highway and IS loud 24 hours a day, also you get lots of industrial noise from accross the river, you would be surprised just how much, and the area is directly next to the landing path to YVR and right where the planes drop their landing gear (noise). You even get quite a bit of train noise (from accross the river). It really carries over the farm land and river. You better hope the buildings have good insulation. It's not a quite part of the city and I am certain many buyers will make the mistake of thinking it is.

Oh and anyone thinking of buying. There are two full rental towers at Kerr and Marine, it's easy to check the area out before you buy.

I bought into Shoreline by Polygon in the middle mid-rise tower. Im hoping I won't regret my purchase. I like there cause it feels little like steveston which is where Im currently living in. Since Steveston's pricing has skyrocketed , I had to look for alternative area and I find River District pretty calm and nice. Although Marine is just up the hill but its isolated because it is not directly beside where Im gonna be. Hopefully my apartment will be well insulated from the train noise. But other than that I'm excited by how the district is finally starting to develop.

[st7860]

Originally Posted by apesta

I bought into Shoreline by Polygon in the middle mid-rise tower. Im hoping I won't regret my purchase. I like there cause it feels little like steveston which is where Im currently living in. Since Steveston's pricing has skyrocketed , I had to look for alternative area and I find River District pretty calm and nice. Although Marine is just up the hill but its isolated because it is not directly beside where Im gonna be. Hopefully my apartment will be well insulated from the train noise. But other than that I'm excited by how the district is finally starting to develop.

You shouldn't regret your purchase, since you're not a speculator, and in the long term you can enjoy your tax free profit when you sell it and upgrade to something bigger.

[Homeowner]

Originally Posted by apesta

I bought into Shoreline by Polygon in the middle mid-rise tower. Im hoping I won't regret my purchase. I like there cause it feels little like steveston which is where Im currently living in. Since Steveston's pricing has skyrocketed , I had to look for alternative area and I find River District pretty calm and nice. Although Marine is just up the hill but its isolated because it is not directly beside where Im gonna be. Hopefully my apartment will be well insulated from the train noise. But other than that I'm excited by how the district is finally starting to develop.

The area will just keep getting better with more developments and commerical moving in. They plan on having a park and daycare around the area so I expect this will attract more families moving in.

You may hear the train if your unit is facing north but I wouldn't be too worried about it. The development is set back from Marine so traffic noise should not be an issue. I have a friend that lives in New Water and noise was never an issue since he moved in several years ago.

[VivaPhysicality]

I drove through the River District for the first time in my life the other day, and honestly, I thought it was pretty cool. It's a comfortable density. It'll be a vibrant area but it will also have a bit of a small-town, family-oriented feel. I don't remember seeing a wall of seafoam spandrel either, which is a bonus.

The only downsides are lack of transit and lack of mountain views. The transit part should change eventually, even if it's just a b-line to a skytrain station or something.

I love all the trees in the area, so it sucks to see them getting bulldozed, but at least it's for dense residential rather than sprawl.

Does anyone know what's planned for the opposite side of Marine? I saw a rezoning sign there.

[cornholio]

In case anyone thought I was exagerating about the 24 7 noise there is a article in the Sun specifically about noise in the Fraser view area from Marine Drive and port/industrial operations accross the street.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/met...707/story.html