Cascadia Report

Category: Vancouver

  • Vancouver shows how not to handle buses

    Vancouver is struggling with new bus lanes because of interference from cars. It’s a good lesson for Seattle, which is about to implement bus rapid transit along five corridors.

    The congestion means that bus lanes haven’t cut travel times. But the city’s report notes an improvement: “bus lanes can raise the profile of transit on a corridor and can be a symbol of transit priority.”

    The question remains why we can’t mimic the successful Rapid Ride program in Los Angeles. If you simplify the system and provide frequent service, people will ride.

  • Lesson from Japan: Boosting airport capacity

    Most visitors to Japan are funneled through Tokyo’s Narita Airport, which is a good example of how an airport can accommodate more people without growing larger. The lesson should put to rest the idea that Seattle needs a new airport.

    train station inside Narita airport terminalFor at least its first 30 years Narita was a joke. Located about 50 miles outside Tokyo, with a single runway and too-small terminals, it was the worst major airport in Japan and fell far short of those of rival cities like Seoul, Hong Kong, and recently Bangkok, Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur. Business began going elsewhere partly because of Tokyo’s travel hassles.

    Something similar could happen in Seattle, where Sea-Tac is plagued by delays and crowding even as rival Vancouver continues to stretch. A supposed solution? Site and build a new larger airport somewhere in the Puget Sound area.

    Tokyo offers a better model. On my recent trip, I noticed again how two train lines ferry travelers directly into the terminal buildings, a second long-planned runway has been added on existing airport property and — the biggest change in the last few years — the terminals have been completely overhauled to handle more people.

    Narita is also helped by the recent major improvements at Tokyo’s huge in-city domestic airport and at airports in Osaka and Nagoya. Coordinating select flights from Paine Field and other satellite airports could complement Sea-Tac too.

    Sea-Tac’s third runway will provide extra landing slots and improvements to terminals and ground transport could boost overall capacity. Faster rail between B.C. and Oregon would relieve some stress for local travel. Combined with ground improvements at Sea-Tac, such changes could meet the region’s demand and help knit it more closely together without the distraction of a new airport.

  • Vancouver wants fewer homeless than athletes

    Vancouver is considering measures to make sure there are fewer homeless people than athletes in the city during the 2010 Olympics.

    Plans call for rent support and new housing, though the idea has been derided as too little too late since market trends could swamp any progress. An analysis can be found at TheTyee.ca.

    At first glance the idea sounds similar to Seattle’s comprehensive plan, which seeks to curb the causes of homelessness in advance and then integrate the remaining homeless people into permanent housing.

  • Organic farms growing in B.C.

    One more thing to think about when you buy organic food: the impact.

    Consider that British Columbia has converted more land to organic farming — reportedly one in six farms are now organic. That’s despite the pressure of urban growth and rising costs that are reportedly squeezing small operators. Still, compared to the rest of Canada, the enthusiastic conversion in B.C. seems wise.

  • New competition for seaports

    China’s biggest shipping company plans to launch the first service to a new container port in Prince Rupert, British Columbia later this year.

    The new container port, which has uncongested rail access to markets in the Midwest, is the latest competitive threat to ports in Vancouver and especially Seattle and Tacoma. Last month plans were floated for another new container port on Oregon’s coast.

  • Projects could make Vancouver like Seattle

    A big British Columbia project to build roads and other infrastructure throughout the Lower Mainland could turn Vancouver into — gasp — Seattle.

    The article linked to above draws some great contrasts between the policies of Vancouver, Seattle and Portland. But it also confuses the point.

    While central Vancouver may be an urban model, the metro area already sprawls for miles. The Gateway Project to better connect ports with roads and trains may be over-ambitious but at least some of that infrastructure is necessary to keep the economy growing. Better to strive for improved infrastructure rather than simply oppose it.

  • U.S. discount airline lands in Vancouver

    Vancouver got its first discount air service from the U.S. over the weekend.

    The Frontier Airlines flight to Denver coincides with the begining of cruise season. Lower fares could help Vancouver successfully compete in the lucrative market against Seattle, which has more flights and discount carriers.

    Vancouver already has discount service to points in Canada and Europe.

  • Think twice before selling that bridge

    Privatizing bridges, ferries and roads is one way to fund new projects and upkeep. But it isn’t necessarily a good deal for taxpayers, according to a series of articles in BusinessWeek.

    The magazine could also have considered British Columbia, where the governing BC Liberals have pushed privatization of health care, transport and other services. Just today there’s an example of how the results have been mixed.

    It would be interesting to see analysis of how these deals could be structured on a local level to better benefit the community as well as investors. What terms can be required? What can the rest of Cascadia learn from B.C.’s example?

  • Seattle needs more taxis

    If taxis were more convenient, more people would use them. To someone looking for incentives to ditch his car, that seems obvious.

    Luckily Seattle may license more cabs, according to the Seattle P-I. Yet officials are reluctant because the extra competition could hurt existing drivers. (Seattle has 643 taxis and King County 200+ more.)

    Why not consider taxis a part of the city’s transportation network, alongside buses, rail, carpooling and biking? How about adding as many as the market will bear? The city could help by establishing taxi stands in every neighborhood.

    Compare Seattle to compact cities. Boston has about 1,800, San Francisco 1,400 and Denver more than 900, according to this study. Vancouver is listed as having about 500.

  • How Cascadia’s cities rank

    Since the question came up in comments, a list of the biggest cities in the U.S. and Canada seemed in order.

    It turns out to be a tricky question. For example, Seattle ranks as the 12th largest metropolitan area according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s list of combined statistical areas. But that definition counts people based on commuting patterns and doesn’t include places like Phoenix and Miami. Statistics Canada uses a different set of definitions. Then there’s the case of San Diego, which has either 2,941,454 or 4,804,806 depending on whether Tijuana is included.

    There are other complications. For example, the five-county Seattle area is 5,800 square miles while greater Houston is over 10,000. The city of Jacksonville (841 square miles) has about 200,000 more people than the city of Seattle (88 square miles). Unless otherwise mentioned, Cascadia Report generally conflates cities and metropolitan areas.

    So, just for the record, here’s the closest apples-to-apples comparison of the top U.S. metro areas (primary census statistical areas):

    1. New York-Newark-Bridgeport — 21,976,224
    2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside — 17,775,984
    3. Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City — 9,725,317
    4. Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia — 8,211,213
    5. Boston-Worcester-Manchester — 7,465,634
    6. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland — 7,228,948
    7. Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland — 6,382,714
    8. Dallas-Fort Worth — 6,359,758
    9. Houston-Baytown-Huntsville — 5,641,077
    10. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville — 5,478,667
    11. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach — 5,463,857
    12. Detroit-Warren-Flint — 5,410,014
    13. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale — 4,039,182
    14. Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia — 3,991,911
    15. Minneapolis-St. Paul — 3,502,891

    Greater Vancouver clocks in at 2,170,976 and the Portland area at 2,137,565. Houston, Atlanta and Miami all passed Detroit in the last five years and Phoenix grew by more than 20%. For comparison, Toronto-Hamilton counted 5,555,912 and Greater Montreal 3,635,571

    Here’s a list, using a combination of counting methods, of largest population centers in the Americas.