[Vansterdam]

http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/39521--new-450-million-entertainment-complex-to-be-attached-to-b-c-place

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Vancouver's getting a new 680,000 square foot entertainment complex, which will make its home next to B.C. Place. Premier Gordon Campbell made the official announcement Friday morning saying it will be built just west of the stadium and attached to it. The city will also have to do some re-zoning for properties around Robson and Beatty Streets so construction can begin next year.

Roughly 8,500 jobs are expected to be created as a result of the project. The jobs will include permanent placings once the facility opens and those in the construction sectors. The building will also include two major hotels, five restaurants and a 100,000 square foot casino. Organizers are calling the project a revitalized streetscape for the area.

The complex, which comes with a $450 million price tag, is expected to increase B.C. Place's revenue by 60 per cent annually in the long-term. During the first year the province is expected to collect revenues of up to $130 million.


Premier Gordon Campbell says it will be a major economic engine downtown. "We'll become a new marketing centre for restaurant activity, for tourism activity and for hospitality in general." Campbell added the province is not worried about more casino-related crime in the downtown core.

Currently there is another casino in the area, the Edgewater Casino sits on the other side of the stadium -- it will close once the new one opens its doors in 2013.

Meanwhile, Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie says he has never believed the social costs of gambling expansion outweigh the financial benefits, but says now that the River Rock is established in his community some of those concerns have been alleviated.

Brodie says the city has had to hire another five RCMP officers to deal with issues like loan sharking that come with a large casino. "I do believe there is a great social cost to having expanded gaming in your city. However, it also seems to be the way of the future and the way of the present. It provides an important source of revenue for the cities."

The City of Richmond receives about $12 million annually in revenue from the River Rock's presence. Richmond has also established a community gambling addictions program.

http://media.greenradio.topscms.com/images/86/53/8c8529da4d6b86a8099e43ab7421.jpeghttp://media.greenradio.topscms.com/images/a6/c5/4380bec94f10b767bc2a5ea79538.jpeg

[odotodoMAN]

What the fuck is on the roof of BC Place

[RollingStone]

I look forward to it!

[skyxx]

Sweet, finally BC place can fit larger events or Multiple events. I always thought BC place was too small to host events like car shows and Expos.

Regarding the roof, that's the new roof that they'll put up. It's retractable.

[odotodoMAN]

It definitely makes it look a bit more attractive that's for sure.

[tool001]

What the fuck is on the roof of BC Place

that my friend is our tax dollars on the roof :cry:
just hope its well managed and done, unlike VANOC/olympic village fiasco

[JqC]

Daaaaaaammmmn $450 million?!!? Isn't that worth more than the current BC place?

More like "B.C. Place to be attached to new $450 million entertainment complex"

[skyxx]

^ Material Cost buddy.

[Greenstoner]

.

[Ch28]

Awesome! About time Vancouver gets something like this

[jerche]

nice! i hope they have a poker room unlike grand villa...

[twitchyzero]

can we get another playdium :lol

[willystyle]

Daaaaaaammmmn $450 million?!!? Isn't that worth more than the current BC place?

More like "B.C. Place to be attached to new $450 million entertainment complex"
The cost to replace BC Place with a new stadium would cost 1.1 to 1.2 billion, so the current cost to renovate it with a retractable roof is a bargain. So no, it's not worth more than your BC Place.

[Tapioca]

I'm on the fence about this myself. Edgewater Casino has been a failure, so they should have a chance to change location and become profitable. On the other hand, the current design looks tacky and doesn't fit in with the rest of the area. You can be sure that residents in the area will complain and complain loudly.

But all in all, seeing that gambling/lottery revenues fund our social programs, we should all hope that this thing rakes in the dough. We gotta get the money launderers to pay for their fair share somehow, right?

[Meowjin]

we should become more like singapore.

[JSALES]

nice!

[hal0g0dv2]

looks sweet cant wait

[JF.]

i thought we were broke..

[murd0c]

A start of taking away the name NO FUN VANCOUVER. This is awesome to see and I personally think from the way we handled the Olympics we are going to start seeing more projects like this to help are economy and to attract the tourists for something other then our beauty and mountains.

[JD¹³]

i thought we were broke..
It's OK, they just took more of our money out of the ICBC surplus to pay for it :rolleyes:

[Yuffa]

Hello another Casino? :rolleyes:

[RRxtar]

so this $450k complex is in addition to the half billion dollar BC place renovation?

i dont really understand its purpose?

[suzuka84]

casino? tax on the poor.

[skholla]

The cost to replace BC Place with a new stadium would cost 1.1 to 1.2 billion, so the current cost to renovate it with a retractable roof is a bargain. So no, it's not worth more than your BC Place.

The new and ugly roof is costing us $458m, plus $450 for the new entertainment compex. I was reading that London built a brand new standium from the ground up for "only" $700m. If it wasn't for BC Places iconic look we should tear the thing down... Actually just tear it down and build a new one with a similar look.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[rice cooker]

Hello another Casino? :rolleyes:

Edgewater expansion
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[InvisibleSoul]

Is this where the parking lots are currently to the southwest of BC Place?

[woob]

They say west of BC place so Plaza of Nations area.

[maxxxboost]

Watched some of this on the news.

Can't wait to see how it turns out!

[skyxx]

Two hotels! It's perfect for those who want to stay close to BC Place for certain events. All you have to do is walk within the building. Vegas style! Heck, I might even stay a night there when it opens. :lol

[Vansterdam]

Two hotels! It's perfect for those who want to stay close to BC Place for certain events. All you have to do is walk within the building. Vegas style! Heck, I might even stay a night there when it opens. :lol

Currently there is another casino in the area, the Edgewater Casino sits on the other side of the stadium -- it will close once the new one opens its doors in 2013.

.

[Vitality]

i thought we were on debt

[StylinRed]

meh filling BC with Casinos seems like the answer for people with no answers

can't they think of something else... (what you ask? i have no clue :P)

[willystyle]

meh filling BC with Casinos seems like the answer for people with no answers

can't they think of something else... (what you ask? i have no clue :P)
What part of the article do you NOT understand? Edgewater Casino will be relocating from Plaza of Nations to this new complex when it opens. So how does this constitute as "filling BC with more casinos"? :rolleyes:

[shenmecar]

thats interesting

[TheSalesman]

I hope they have a nice poker room with free parking.

[StylinRed]

What part of the article do you NOT understand? Edgewater Casino will be relocating from Plaza of Nations to this new complex when it opens. So how does this constitute as "filling BC with more casinos"? :rolleyes:

doesnt matter to me that 1 is relocating but its also a bigger outlet with more investment on casinos.. doesnt change my point (i didnt say "more" casinos in my msg)

maple ridge is in the works of getting one too, don't know what happened with that though

[mikemhg]

Haha this mean they'll bring the Plaza of Nation Raves back?

[carisear]

Is this where the parking lots are currently to the southwest of BC Place?

They say west of BC place so Plaza of Nations area.

both. from what i can gather, it'll be mainly the parking lot area, but they'll have to divert the traffic around it.

but from what i heard years ago, they are going to remove all of those round-about exits on all of the downton bridges, so that they can develop all of that space. this may be part of that plan?

[ajax]

Interesting to read about how its going to create new jobs. For the two new bridges built in poco, a lot of the work was contracted to americans.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[jigga250]

The new and ugly roof is costing us $458m, plus $450 for the new entertainment compex. I was reading that London built a brand new standium from the ground up for "only" $700m. If it wasn't for BC Places iconic look we should tear the thing down... Actually just tear it down and build a new one with a similar look.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

actually it was 798 million GBP, which is basically 2 billion CAD

[skholla]

ahhh.... that explains it, sounded too good to be true. i thought it was the equivalent of $700m usd.... either way we the tax payers are always going to pay for something, this project looks like it will be pretty fun and a good boost for the economy, i just wish that the new bc place roof looked better!

[skyxx]

^ I won't say anything till the roof is actually done. Pictures and actual "In person" perspective is different.

[optiblue]

haha, I'd be pissed if that new building blocked my view of false creek!

[Gunsmokez]

So if Gordon Campbell says it is going to cost $450 mil, then take that and times by 3 and that is more likely the final budget.

[PavelGTR]

So if Gordon Campbell says it is going to cost $450 mil, then take that and times by 3 and that is more likely the final budget.

QFT!

[Gt-R R34]

i believe, we aren't paying for any of the buildings/construction or anything.

We're getting paid for that land, i believe so basically built to cover the roof.

[Gridlock]

Typical liberal strategy. Why buy one, when you can buy two at twice the price.

port Mann Bridge v2.0-we are going to twin it for 500 million. Couple of months later...shit, we are just going to build a mega bridge...it costs more, but looks cool.

Then this.

Oh...and weren't the olympics going to pay for themselves?

[SlySi]

haha, I'd be pissed if that new building blocked my view of false creek!

LOL.. thats my view.
Im all for it though.

If I can make few more dollars on my properties.. Im all for it.

[hk20000]

Typical liberal strategy. Why buy one, when you can buy two at twice the price.

port Mann Bridge v2.0-we are going to twin it for 500 million. Couple of months later...shit, we are just going to build a mega bridge...it costs more, but looks cool.

Then this.

Oh...and weren't the olympics going to pay for themselves?

Shit it's "Liberal" use of money you didn't hear about the full name of Liberal party?:thumbsup:

[murd0c]

Typical liberal strategy. Why buy one, when you can buy two at twice the price.

port Mann Bridge v2.0-we are going to twin it for 500 million. Couple of months later...shit, we are just going to build a mega bridge...it costs more, but looks cool.

Then this.

Oh...and weren't the olympics going to pay for themselves?

The olympics will pay for them selves over time with the tourism industry picking up over the next years.

The portman well its smarter for them to build a new super bridge that will be good for the next 50 yrs. It's the most busy bridge in BC and its good they are doing the new bridge upgrade. I cross it twice a day and it sucks.

[Mancini]

http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/39521--new-450-million-entertainment-complex-to-be-attached-to-b-c-place

Campbell added the province is not worried about more casino-related crime in the downtown core.


This makes it sound like they're expecting more crime and they just don't care.

[quasi]

This makes it sound like they're expecting more crime and they just don't care.

Ya that or they think it's a non issue, no worse or better then it is now.

[quasi]

Typical liberal strategy. Why buy one, when you can buy two at twice the price.

port Mann Bridge v2.0-we are going to twin it for 500 million. Couple of months later...shit, we are just going to build a mega bridge...it costs more, but looks cool.


The bridge expansion is long overdue and will be tolled so that literally will pay for itself. This IMO is the best thing they've done and is a hell of a lot more useful then a wider sea to sky.

[antonito]

Ya that or they think it's a non issue, no worse or better then it is now. Having drunken gamblers around will help scare off the car thieves in the area :D

[StylinRed]

Vancouver votes "NO" to the casino

http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/214662--vancouver-city-councillors-vote-to-defeat-casino
Vancouver city councillors vote to defeat casino
Councillors unanimously vote against biggest casino in western Canada
Dan Burritt/Dave White Apr 19, 2011 16:02:07 PM

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Gregor Robertson says after 150 speakers and countless phone calls, the proposed casino is simply not right. "Enabling the largest casino in western Canada to locate in the downtown doesn't fit with our global brand as the world's most liveable city, as the green capital, as the hot bed for innovation for clean and digital technology," he explains.

Councillors Kerry Jang, George Chow, Heather Deal, Tim Stevenson, Geoff Meggs Andrea Reimer, and David Cadman spoke in favour of a motion to kill the proposal. Councillor Suzanne Anton says she's in favour of a smaller casino expansion.

Robertson is proposing the casino be moved to another location.

The head of BC Lottery Corporation Michael Graydon, Pavco boss David Podmore, and Vancouver Police Department Deputy Chief Warren Lemcke were on hand to witness the debate. Pavco, which operates BC Place, has insisted it needs the casino to help offset the costs of the stadium's new roof.

Earlier in the day, Sandy Garossino with the Vancouver Not Vegas Coalition called this 'D-Day.' "We're feeling like we've done the best we possibly can. City council has been under enormous pressure but we're only hopeful, cautiously optimistic you might say, that they'll vote against this."

And she adds the group has a lot of support from those worried about negative effects. "Eighteen senior policing experts have come out in opposition to the expansion. The vancouver medical health officers, all seven of them, have opposed the expansion."

The $500 million proposal involved a casino and hotel tower next door to a renovated BC Place. It would have dwarfed the existing nearby Edgewater Casino.

Those for the plan say it would create thousands of jobs and pump millions into the local economy. They also point to the $275 million that would pour in as extra revenue for city.

Vancouver has held several public hearings over the last few weeks.


I didn't like the idea; doesn't fit with our image imo to have the most notable symbol of Vancouvers city line to be a giant casino + the other concerns; glad it was voted against

[carisear]

Vancouver votes "NO" to the casino

http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/214662--vancouver-city-councillors-vote-to-defeat-casino



I didn't like the idea; doesn't fit with our image imo to have the most notable symbol of Vancouvers city line to be a giant casino + the other concerns; glad it was voted against

at first i supported it, but after hearing more about it, i didn't like the developers track record.

Eventually there will be a huge complex there; just not from these guys. Once a REAL company submits a proper proposal, i have no doubts it will pass.

[Vansterdam]

i dont remember starting this thread

lolol

[krazynuck]

i dont remember starting this thread

lolol

thats what pot does to you...makes you not remember doing stuff

[CRS]

thats what pot does to you...makes you not remember doing stuff

I think you've mistaken weed for roofies.

[Ronin]

I'm all for anything that gets Vancouver more stuff. I don't care what it is...just more stuff. This place can be so boring sometimes.

However, there's too many red flags with this development and I can see the costs ballooning out of control.

But still...better spent on this than on more gay bike lanes and hippie shit which is what I'm sure Robertson is going to use the money for instead.

[EmperorIS]

i want a fucking night market that isn't filled with dipshit china fucks
and preferably not in richmond so i dun have to drive down there risk getting my car rear ended
+ if its in vancouver more the likely they can't find their way even with their gps

[StylinRed]

But still...better spent on this than on more gay bike lanes and hippie shit which is what I'm sure Robertson is going to use the money for instead.

As much as the Bike Lanes got people angry; I feel that all of Robertsons moves actually make the city a cleaner, prettier, more inviting, healthier, etc environment for all aspects of our citizens not to mention a draw for tourists

take the bike lanes for example... how often were we complaining about cyclists taking up the roads? that's all people did was bitch about that... and the cyclists bitch about not having their own lane...

so what does robertson do? he attempts to appease both sides yet those that complained about cyclists on the roads are still bitching even though more times than not there isn't a cyclist in front of them holding up traffic...

what would you propose instead? push the cyclists to the sidewalks?


the homeless issue, he's trying to get them housed and off the streets because people are always bitching about how they're a sore sight and nuisance; and how downtown was such a great place 'back in the day'

others would complain that we don't care about the homeless who are helpless; the homeless would complain that no one is helping them etc etc...

Others also note that its more expensive to deal with the homeless on the streets/in jail than it is to help them

so what better way to fix this problem and appease the most amount of ppl? why, by helping getting the homeless off the streets

AND OMGWTFBBQ! He's a Hiippe! wasting our $$; OMG NOT IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD (shelters, etc) OMG OMG WTFBBQ

Well what do you suggest instead? nothing.



But ultimately it seems like what people really want is just to Bitch; so in that sense Robertson is giving them what they want too

[Death2Theft]

So why exactly is edgewater a loser?

[cheapskate]

I'm all for anything that gets Vancouver more stuff. I don't care what it is...just more stuff. This place can be so boring sometimes.

But still...better spent on this than on more gay bike lanes and hippie shit which is what I'm sure Robertson is going to use the money for instead.

Boring people are always complaining about XYZ being boring.

And it also seems that insecure fat people love whining about bike lanes and cyclists.

[melloman]

As much as the Bike Lanes got people angry; I feel that all of Robertsons moves actually make the city a cleaner, prettier, more inviting, healthier, etc environment for all aspects of our citizens not to mention a draw for tourists

take the bike lanes for example... how often were we complaining about cyclists taking up the roads? that's all people did was bitch about that... and the cyclists bitch about not having their own lane...

so what does robertson do? he attempts to appease both sides yet those that complained about cyclists on the roads are still bitching even though more times than not there isn't a cyclist in front of them holding up traffic...

what would you propose instead? push the cyclists to the sidewalks?


the homeless issue, he's trying to get them housed and off the streets because people are always bitching about how they're a sore sight and nuisance; and how downtown was such a great place 'back in the day'

others would complain that we don't care about the homeless who are helpless; the homeless would complain that no one is helping them etc etc...

Others also note that its more expensive to deal with the homeless on the streets/in jail than it is to help them

so what better way to fix this problem and appease the most amount of ppl? why, by helping getting the homeless off the streets

AND OMGWTFBBQ! He's a Hiippe! wasting our $$; OMG NOT IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD (shelters, etc) OMG OMG WTFBBQ

Well what do you suggest instead? nothing.



But ultimately it seems like what people really want is just to Bitch; so in that sense Robertson is giving them what they want too

I'm going to jump to a conclusion right now. Last night while watching Global @ 6pm, I saw that Robertson has a plan in mind to have bicycles that you can "get-on and get-off when you please." They didn't go too indepth into this, and I haven't researched much about it, yet how can you stop someone from stealing one of these bicycles? I can just see a field day for bum's stealing all these bicycles the tax payers paid for. I'm all for the environment yet wasting tax money on things that only 10% of the population of Vancouver do (bike lanes) seems abit outrageous.

[g604]

pretty shitty idea IMO unless those hotels r packing heat like vegas style pool parties then I ain't down. Too many casinos already not enough people.

[Liquid_o2]

"The $500 million proposal involved a casino and hotel tower next door to a renovated BC Place. It would have dwarfed the existing nearby Edgewater Casino."

This casino was supposed to replace the Edgewater Casino no?

Looking at the project, I had no major problems with it and would have liked to see it built as a replacement for the aging Edgewater. Downtown Vancouver has become a bedroom community, and I think that the citizens within the core for the most part would like to keep it that way. Vancouver is a class above when it comes to residential, retail, accommodation in its downtown, but is lagging in terms of office and entertainment. We really have no iconic/anchor venues, and with the defeat of the casino, I am really hoping that the new Art Gallery goes through sooner than later.

And as for the bike lane discussion, from what I remember, they were supposed to first be an experiment on a route or two, but developed extremely quickly into an entire network without much public consultation after the experimental phase. Gregor Robertston is looking after his own agenda and not for the greater good of the city on many issues, not just the bike lanes.

[StylinRed]

I'm going to jump to a conclusion right now. Last night while watching Global @ 6pm, I saw that Robertson has a plan in mind to have bicycles that you can "get-on and get-off when you please." They didn't go too indepth into this, and I haven't researched much about it, yet how can you stop someone from stealing one of these bicycles? I can just see a field day for bum's stealing all these bicycles the tax payers paid for. I'm all for the environment yet wasting tax money on things that only 10% of the population of Vancouver do (bike lanes) seems abit outrageous.

Haven't heard about this

But im assuming he's trying to shoot for what some european countries and Japan have; where bicycles are everywhere that people can rent and drop off and the bicycles are so cheap and plentiful that it isn't worth it to steal

might be the same process as the Zipcar though or that is it seems it'll have to be at first

it'll be interesting how it gets implemented here; i imagine it to be tricky at first

[twitchyzero]

I'm going to jump to a conclusion right now. Last night while watching Global @ 6pm, I saw that Robertson has a plan in mind to have bicycles that you can "get-on and get-off when you please." They didn't go too indepth into this, and I haven't researched much about it, yet how can you stop someone from stealing one of these bicycles? I can just see a field day for bum's stealing all these bicycles the tax payers paid for. I'm all for the environment yet wasting tax money on things that only 10% of the population of Vancouver do (bike lanes) seems abit outrageous.

maybe it will be like Bixi velo in Montreal?
http://thecityfix.com/files/2009/08/bixi.jpg

[Mr.HappySilp]

Haven't heard about this

But im assuming he's trying to shoot for what some european countries and Japan have; where bicycles are everywhere that people can rent and drop off and the bicycles are so cheap and plentiful that it isn't worth it to steal

might be the same process as the Zipcar though or that is it seems it'll have to be at first

it'll be interesting how it gets implemented here; i imagine it to be tricky at first

Not going to happen in Vancouver. Is too far to travel to and from work unless you live like 10mins away from work. What about winter when is snowing. Do you think anyone would want to ride their bike when it is snowing or rainning? Instead more money should be invested into the public transit.Skytrain not running after 12:30am on weekend is stupid. How do they expect people to get home if they don't want to ppl to drink and drive yet offer no other way to get home. The night bus are a joke. It doesn't even cover up to 30% of the route skytrain runs. I know don't know about now but when i was back in HK years and years ago their MTR run till 3 to 4am, they have MTR every 2 to 3 mins and there are always bus within 5mins.

Here you are luck if the bus runs every 15mins on weekends.

I like actually like the idea of building a better/bigger casnio. I always like to say this. If you aren't a gambler or interested in gambling it will never get you addicted. If you are into it, no matter what ppl or the gov do you will find a way to gamble. Building a bigger casino doesn't make it worse.

[Great68]

At first I thought the Casino was a bad idea...

Then I thought "What the fuck do I care, I don't plan on ever moving back"

[The_AK]

i want a fucking night market that isn't filled with dipshit china fucks
and preferably not in richmond so i dun have to drive down there risk getting my car rear ended
+ if its in vancouver more the likely they can't find their way even with their gps

Isn't that simply a mall?

[Sky_2000]

the Bixi velo in Montreal are stupid. It's like 5 bucks for 30 mins of use. No one use them and they take away like 3 parking spots from each street they are on. The bikes aren't used in the winter and only rented out for about 6 months of the year.

[StylinRed]

Not going to happen in Vancouver. Is too far to travel to and from work unless you live like 10mins away from work. What about winter when is snowing. Do you think anyone would want to ride their bike when it is snowing or rainning? Instead more money should be invested into the public transit.Skytrain not running after 12:30am on weekend is stupid. How do they expect people to get home if they don't want to ppl to drink and drive yet offer no other way to get home. The night bus are a joke. It doesn't even cover up to 30% of the route skytrain runs. I know don't know about now but when i was back in HK years and years ago their MTR run till 3 to 4am, they have MTR every 2 to 3 mins and there are always bus within 5mins.

Here you are luck if the bus runs every 15mins on weekends.

I don't think that's Robertson's decision though (public transit) in fact he's been pushing for the Premier to do something about public transit http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/civiclee/archive/2011/02/27/vancouver-mayor-to-new-premier-designate-clark-get-moving-on-housing-transportation-jobs.aspx

I like actually like the idea of building a better/bigger casnio. I always like to say this. If you aren't a gambler or interested in gambling it will never get you addicted. If you are into it, no matter what ppl or the gov do you will find a way to gamble. Building a bigger casino doesn't make it worse.

I don't have an issue of Casinos existing I'd just rather it not be the most prominent feature of Vancouver when people look @ pictures of Vancouver they'll see a giant casino right in their face, I don't like that at all.

Not to mention the obvious crime issues that go on; like the money laundering issues recently revealed. It just compounds my dislike of a Casino being the most obtrusive sight of our cityscape, it's not the image of Vancouver I think any of us should be supporting

[Teriyaki]

I don't think that's Robertson's decision though (public transit) in fact he's been pushing for the Premier to do something about public transit http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/civiclee/archive/2011/02/27/vancouver-mayor-to-new-premier-designate-clark-get-moving-on-housing-transportation-jobs.aspx



I don't have an issue of Casinos existing I'd just rather it not be the most prominent feature of Vancouver when people look @ pictures of Vancouver they'll see a giant casino right in their face, I don't like that at all.

Not to mention the obvious crime issues that go on; like the money laundering issues recently revealed. It just compounds my dislike of a Casino being the most obtrusive sight of our cityscape, it's not the image of Vancouver I think any of us should be supporting

Casino's don't have to be the typical smoke infested snakepit that people associate them with. I see you point that having it associated with one of the most prominent features in Vancouver might be detrimental though, but its part of the overall "entertainment complex". Sport. Gaming. Retail. Hotel. a 24/7 sort of hotspot, Vancouver has nothing like this right now.

A lot of cities embrace casino's, and if designed tastefully they can be part of a very well-balanced entertainment complex. One of the examples of this is the Marina Sands hotel in Singapore. Instantly recognizable in Singapore with and its got a pretty prominent casino featured in it. People go there for the entertainment though, and its not showing any of the drug and alcoholic filth.

Its not like the Casino was more than 90% of the complex, it was all but just a small portion. It is downtown Vancouver, its supposed to be entertainment centre of GVR. When suburbs like Richmond have more entertainment value, you've got a disconnect there. Once again, not saying there isn't a point to be made here, just some nimbys in Vancouver really boggle my mind with their ways.

[Death2Theft]

It works really well in montreal.
I'm going to jump to a conclusion right now. Last night while watching Global @ 6pm, I saw that Robertson has a plan in mind to have bicycles that you can "get-on and get-off when you please." They didn't go too indepth into this, and I haven't researched much about it, yet how can you stop someone from stealing one of these bicycles? I can just see a field day for bum's stealing all these bicycles the tax payers paid for. I'm all for the environment yet wasting tax money on things that only 10% of the population of Vancouver do (bike lanes) seems abit outrageous.

[Death2Theft]

They also have monthly and yearly passes fixed cost iirc.
the Bixi velo in Montreal are stupid. It's like 5 bucks for 30 mins of use. No one use them and they take away like 3 parking spots from each street they are on. The bikes aren't used in the winter and only rented out for about 6 months of the year.

[SkunkWorks]

It works really well in montreal.

Agreed, they're everywhere come summertime and the fact that there are bike routes linking all the subway/Bixi stations and marketplaces makes for an awesome way to get around the city.