West Broadway and Main Street, looking North.
West Broadway at Quebec street, looking west. The SkyTrain Millennium Line will be extended in phases under Broadway to the University of British Columbia (UBC) over the next 12 years. Central Braodway is ahead and it is the second densest concentration of jobs in British Columbia after the downtown core.
Looking south up Quebec street. The articulated diesel bus is part of the #99 B-Line bus rapid transit line that runs along Broadway out to UBC from the major transit hub at Commercial Drive and East Broadway. The #99 B-Line exclusively uses 120-passenger articulated diesel buses with as little as two or three minutes of headway. It currently carries in excess of 70,000 passengers per day and it will be replaced in phases by construction of the above-mentioned extension of the SkyTrain Millennium Line next decade.
Looking north down Quebec street for a glimpse of part of the downtown core.
West Broadway and Cambie Street looking south, just north of City Hall. The enormous construction project is part of the new SkyTrain Canada Line that will connect the city of Vancouver to its southern neighbour Richmond and to the Vancouver International Airport.
Looking north along Cambie Street towards downtown Vancouver. The pit in front is part of the abovementioned SkyTrain Canada Line.
West Broadway experiences a major bottleneck at Cambie street due to the SkyTrain Canada Line construction. It goes from a total of six lanes down to two. The bus-only lanes are forefitted in the intersection and the buses must merge with regular traffic. The bus to the left is one of our new 77-passenger electric trolley buses.
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Because of the construction on Cambie it is easier to walk a block east or west of the street when heading north towards the Cambie Street Bridge and downtown. This is at Yukon and 7th. The second building to the left is called The Rise and it is a mixed-use building housing three large format retailers (Home Depot, Winners clothing, and Save on Foods), and a number of rental condos on the upper floors. The building further ahead on the left is also a new building. It houses two large format retailers, Canadian Tire and Best Buy.
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Another shot of The Rise.
Ivy is being encouraged to grow up a blank cement wall of the Canadian Tire building. Every new building is expected to have a landscaping plan and the developer pays for the public realm improvements associated with construction of a new building. Some of these improvements include new wider sidewalks, new street trees, etc.
Looking south along Cambie Street. The Rise is on the left and the new public realm it is supplying is taking shape. In the centre up the street is the Canada Line construction. The building on the right is called Crossroads and it is a mixed-use building incorporating a medium-sized office building that will be the corporate headquarters for Yoga wear maker Lululemon, 88 condos, a Whole Foods grocery store, a Royal Bank, and a number of restaurants.
The Cambie Street Bridge is down to two lanes from its previous six in order to make room for the construction of the Canada Line. Pedestrian and cycling access is unaffected.
Looking east at Second Avenue and Cambie towards the Olympic Village construction precinct in Southeast False Creek (SEFC). Most of the Olympic Village surrounding SEFC neighbourhood will be built to about the same approximate height as the building on the right in this photo, which is about 90 feet in height. There will be a number of buildings that reach slightly taller and others, obviously, will be shorter.
Another shot of the Southeast False Creek neighourbood, this time looking east from the Cambie Street Bridge deck. The brick building on the right is being restored and converted to lofts. A streetcar line, Vancouver's first in more than 50 years, will run down First, below, and connect to SkyTrain to the east and Granville Island to the west. Additional phases are planned.
One of the mass of cranes building the Olympic Village.
New towers by Concord Pacific in the Cooper’s Quay precinct. Behind them is BC Place, home of the BC Lions football franchise and the site of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Part of the Yaletown waterfront. The Yaletown station of the Canada Line is being built behind these towers on Pacific Blvd. You can just barely make out its mobile crane. The public recreational Seawall meets the water in front of the towers.
Things are moving along for the Olympic Village. Construction continued through the worst of winter without disruption. The weather is fine again, the snow has melted, and the first flowers are starting to bud.
It has become a pretty busy place. 12 tower construction cranes are building the 16 buildings, the first of which is about three storeys above ground. The remainder is all below- or at- grade.
The big news is that the new pedestrian and bicycle Seawall is open through the Olympic Village site and one can now get up close and personal with the project.
The overall state of the site:
The following several shots of the new man-made marine habitat island. The very small bay to the left is where the daylighted stream will empty into False Creek. There are dozens of streams running under Vancouver, all of which were filled in or buried in sewers more than a hundred years ago. One is being daylighted and deeply integrated into the landscaping of the Olympic Village. The elementary school will be right beside it and children can be expected to play on its banks and run across its pedestrian bridges.
The new Seawall features separated pedestrian and bicycle/wheeled vehicle paths, a number of boardwalks that feature recovered wood from the old industrial piers on the site, and an inlet with pedestrian bridge adjacent a piazza and the community centre. A marina for non-motorized boats (Dragon Boat war canoes, kayaks, etc.) will be adjacent.
I hope you enjoyed this photo tour. All photos were taken by me on January 15th, 2008.
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Nice perspective with city hall in the foreground. I just can't stop looking at the snow covered mountains out of my window.....just breathtaking this time of year.
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