Vancouver Thinks Big

I've always thought that one of the biggest factors which retarded Vancouver's growth was the lack of connection south of the Frazer river. The first bridge wasn't constructed until 1905, and development proceeded only slowly. For most of its history some of the best land was seriously underutilized.

Had the capital of the colony of British Columbia remained in the vicinity of Fprt Langley, not only would the government save the costs of carving New Westminster out of the forest, but the CPR would be forced to build a bridge across the Frazer decades earlier than OTL. With the rail connection and the prospect of cheap electric power from Stave lake, Langley could have become a major center in it's own right.

I suspect there were some political reasons why the authorities didn't want good links to the land south of the Fraser in the early years. I seem to recall that the armouries in New Westminster were intended to help prevent an invader from crossing the Fraser :) Building nice bridges in that era might not have been seen as a good thing :)
 
It's time for Canada's 3rd Largest City to emerge from its cocoon.

1959
View attachment 499653
A new dam began construction on the Fraser River at Moran Canyon. Once it was completed in 1965, it would generate 14000 MW of power, the most powerful such facility in the world at the time.

Thanks to this great abundance of low cost power, the Vancouver Area became a bustling industrial center. Factories producing chemicals, steel, and aluminum popped up everywhere and they needed lots of workers.

The city was becoming crowded and congested.
freeway68.png

So construction began on a freeway network for the city.
metro-vancouver-suburb.jpg

This resulted in mass suburban sprawl all the way to the American border. Langley Township, had it not been split in 2, would today have more people than Vancouver itself.
11093831.jpg

In 1967, work began on Tradewinds, a massive waterfront development in West Vancouver. It would house 10000 people and be home to hotels, beaches, canals, swimming pools, tennis courts, and a shopping mall. Construction finished in 1980. Today, it is the most desirable part of the city. It is widely featured in the many movies that are filmed there.

Today, Metro Vancouver is home to 5 million people who enjoy affordable housing, excellent transportation, and lots of amenities. The area looks proudly towards the future.
I'm just curious what do you envision for a road and transit link to the North Shore in this time line ?
 
Yes, I've always argued that having universities makes a big difference. Imagine if UMich hadn't left Detroit for Ann Arbor.
While I don't think UMich would solve all their problems, it's hard to think of how Detroit could do much worse...

I suspect there were some political reasons why the authorities didn't want good links to the land south of the Fraser in the early years. I seem to recall that the armouries in New Westminster were intended to help prevent an invader from crossing the Fraser :) Building nice bridges in that era might not have been seen as a good thing :)

I've always found that excuse ridiculous. The British had hardly any troops in BC and most of those were on Vancouver Island. There were dozens of other places for the Americans to cross. Though there was some nervousness about the populations American sentiment, the real driver IMHO was personal gain for the parties involved and the ability to disenfranchise the Polynesian and Indigenous men who had already purchased plots in the proposed capital.

There were and are plans to reclaim some of the tidal flats around Vancouver in OTL. When YVR expands, it's going to be out in the direction of the Ocean. As this is AH.com I am also contractually obligated to bring up the proposed airship station off the Spanish banks.

I've also thought that Vancouver missed an opportunity to do something cool with the wetlands which existed between Main and Clark streets in the 19th century. A bit of foresight could have created a little Venice which would have been pretty cool IMHO.
 
It's time for Canada's 3rd Largest City to emerge from its cocoon.

1959
View attachment 499653
A new dam began construction on the Fraser River at Moran Canyon. Once it was completed in 1965, it would generate 14000 MW of power, the most powerful such facility in the world at the time.

Thanks to this great abundance of low cost power, the Vancouver Area became a bustling industrial center. Factories producing chemicals, steel, and aluminum popped up everywhere and they needed lots of workers.

The city was becoming crowded and congested.
freeway68.png

So construction began on a freeway network for the city.
metro-vancouver-suburb.jpg

This resulted in mass suburban sprawl all the way to the American border. Langley Township, had it not been split in 2, would today have more people than Vancouver itself.
11093831.jpg

In 1967, work began on Tradewinds, a massive waterfront development in West Vancouver. It would house 10000 people and be home to hotels, beaches, canals, swimming pools, tennis courts, and a shopping mall. Construction finished in 1980. Today, it is the most desirable part of the city. It is widely featured in the many movies that are filmed there.

Today, Metro Vancouver is home to 5 million people who enjoy affordable housing, excellent transportation, and lots of amenities. The area looks proudly towards the future.
I grew up in West Vancouver and never heard of the Tradewinds! Are you sure it wasn't planned for North Vancouver? The streets look like Marine Drive and Esplanade in North Van, where the site would've provided more room for building than in West Van.
 

kernals12

Banned
I grew up in West Vancouver and never heard of the Tradewinds! Are you sure it wasn't planned for North Vancouver? The streets look like Marine Drive and Esplanade in North Van, where the site would've provided more room for building than in West Van.
When I say West Vancouver I meant Western Vancouver
 

kernals12

Banned
I suspect there were some political reasons why the authorities didn't want good links to the land south of the Fraser in the early years. I seem to recall that the armouries in New Westminster were intended to help prevent an invader from crossing the Fraser :) Building nice bridges in that era might not have been seen as a good thing :)
All the more reason why America should've gotten the territory. :)
 
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