No Fun Zone (now under construction)

Vancouver's Skytrain line to Richmond is nearing completion. Construction of this line (as well as others) has caused major traffic headaches around town. It should get better when construction completes. Along with this line to Richmond there's also a line to the airport. I think these may open in September. Richmond, and Vancouver in general, has grown and changed significantly. No.3 Road (where this pic was taken) was just packed. The area around False Creek has also changed dramatically. I happened to luck out with good weather: sunny and warm. Only the third such weekend this year I was told. Lots of people out and about downtown, eating out at sidewalk cafes, rollerblading, biking, suntanning even. It was a little chilly for me at one point, being now used to the sweltering heat of the south.

Vancouver seems to be going bike happy. Here we came across some kind of bike awareness rally that was making its way up Main St. There are bike lane markings on some of the larger streets and the area around False Creek has special bike lanes, similar to the bike lanes I saw in Munich. Except that here the distinction between pedestrian and bike lanes is not as strictly observed. In Germany the bikers really protect their turf and yell at any pedestrians walking in the bike lane. Here it was much more haphazard. Maybe because every other person is probably stoned. Lot of the wisdom weed wafting through the air. They should just legalize it. It's probably already the largest cash crop in BC anyway. Same thing in the states. Prohibition ain't working. And if it went legal, drug-related gang violence would probably drop down to next to nothing.

But it's still the "no fun zone" :) Cops everywhere of course, like on the water here. We took a little water taxi across False Creek to walk around in the sun and lunch time on Saturday. Two nights before when returning from the New York Dolls' show, we went through a road block. Some things haven't changed it seems. There were lots of other nice boats beside the cop boat. Sometimes I think it would be fun to live aboard docked here in False Creek. But then I know someone who had done so and told me that the experience can be singularly described as damp. Seeing Vancouver on a warm and sunny day can really skew one's perception of what it might be like living here again. Particularly on a boat. Still, it's a nice thought.

Suppose we did live aboard a nice yacht here in False Creek. If we were retired, you could probably walk to most things you'd need or take the Skytrain. I don't know about getting to work. We took the train from Main and Terminal up to Burrard. The station there is underground. I was amazed how they managed to fit that in downtown. Construction must have been a horrible mess, but the end result is rather nice. Vancouver has a metro, imagine that! Once it spreads out a bit I think it could be quite useful. Right now there are only a couple of lines. One aspect I found puzzling is that for the longest time when I lived there Vancouverites were against putting up any sort of highway overpasses because it would spoil the view. Yet that's just what the Skytrain is. Does it spoil the view? I think it's ok, but I suppose it could have been just as effective as let's say Munich's S-bahn, or surface trains. I don't think it really needs to be raised. And if they are willing to build underground stations, why not do that throughout? It's strange to me, but at least the city has something now. Vancouver traffic was always a mess. If I were to live in Vancouver I think I'd prefer living downtown and using public transport.

When walking around False Creek we took time out to smell the flowers. Very fragrant although I don't know what it is. In Polish I think my Mom would call this "Bez" but what is it in English? As I say, it was giving off a very nice fragrance. (Update: Mom says it's Lilac.)