The Province of British Columbia and the Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympics are partnering together to create 156 long-term affordable housing units.
The plan will see 320 temporary housing units that will be used during the Winter Olympics transformed into 156 permanent affordable housing units in 6 communities across the province: Chetwynd, Chilliwack, Enderby, Saanich, Sechelt and Surrey.
Read more here.
Showing posts with label British Columbia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label British Columbia. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Major Sea to Sky Rock Slide
Fortunately it appears that there have been no injuries in what is one of the most significant rock slides to hit the Sea to Sky Highway in more than 10 years. Tuesday evening around 11:20pm approximately 16,000 cubic metres of rock broke free of the cliff side and crashed on to a section of the highway and the neighbouring rail line.
A bus was travelling by the site as the rocks tumbled down. The bus driver heard and saw the rocks starting to come down and sped up as much as possible. The bus managed to escape without injury to its' passengers although the bus lost most of its windows and received punctures to the vehicles shell.
Initial reports claimed the highway would be shut until mid- morning on Wednesday but further investigation moved that estimation to a couple of days. The most recent estimation of the clean-up period is up to 5-days rendering the road completely shut right through the BC Day long weekend.
This will undoubtedly affect countless tourists in addition to the businesses that are supported by them and raises questions regarding contingency plans during the 2010 Whistler portion of the Olympic Games.
Fortunately during the 2010 Games the athletes will be housed in Whistler but if a slide a other major disaster occurs spectators will be largely out of luck. The vehicular alternative to the Sea to Sky highway is reportedly nearly an 8 hour detour. Planes do fly into Pemberton (30 minutes north of Whistler) and Boats can travel right up to Squamish.
Bottom line... stay near events you plan to spectate and keep your fingers crossed that the Achilles heel of the Vancouver Whistler 2010 Olympic bid does not come back to haunt them.
More from the Globe and Mail.
Sea to Sky Highway Updates or BC Highways.
Photo Credit : Rowan Palmer
A bus was travelling by the site as the rocks tumbled down. The bus driver heard and saw the rocks starting to come down and sped up as much as possible. The bus managed to escape without injury to its' passengers although the bus lost most of its windows and received punctures to the vehicles shell.
Initial reports claimed the highway would be shut until mid- morning on Wednesday but further investigation moved that estimation to a couple of days. The most recent estimation of the clean-up period is up to 5-days rendering the road completely shut right through the BC Day long weekend.This will undoubtedly affect countless tourists in addition to the businesses that are supported by them and raises questions regarding contingency plans during the 2010 Whistler portion of the Olympic Games.
Fortunately during the 2010 Games the athletes will be housed in Whistler but if a slide a other major disaster occurs spectators will be largely out of luck. The vehicular alternative to the Sea to Sky highway is reportedly nearly an 8 hour detour. Planes do fly into Pemberton (30 minutes north of Whistler) and Boats can travel right up to Squamish.
Bottom line... stay near events you plan to spectate and keep your fingers crossed that the Achilles heel of the Vancouver Whistler 2010 Olympic bid does not come back to haunt them.
More from the Globe and Mail.
Sea to Sky Highway Updates or BC Highways.
Photo Credit : Rowan Palmer
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Venue : BC Place Stadium Roof Should be Replaced (after 2010)
The British Columbia government was advised by PavCo, the crown corporation in charge of managing BC Place Stadium, that the Teflon-coated roof should be replaced with a retractable dome top but not until after the 2010 Olympics.
No decision has been made to this point, but the briefing was carried out Wednesday by the head of PavCo, David Podmore. Key points mentioned include the requirement of the venue for the 2010 Opening & Closing Ceremonies, the challenge in finding a suitable builder, rising building costs, and the tight time line.
Possible plans for the dome replacement continue to be worked on.
More info here.
No decision has been made to this point, but the briefing was carried out Wednesday by the head of PavCo, David Podmore. Key points mentioned include the requirement of the venue for the 2010 Opening & Closing Ceremonies, the challenge in finding a suitable builder, rising building costs, and the tight time line.
Possible plans for the dome replacement continue to be worked on.
More info here.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Venue : BC Place Could Still be Retrofitted
News continues to flow regarding the potential retrofitting of BC Place Stadium with a new, retractable roof.
It was reported last week by 1040 that the retrofit had all but been confirmed. Then a team was spotted attaining core samples of the building's concrete inside and out and also of the surrounding area. It has now been speculated that the proposal, which needs to be passed by the BC Provincial Legislature may go before the house today.
One things for certain, with only 20 months remaining this could be a very risky gamble.
The current roof will need to be replaced shortly after the 2010 Olympics but a new fabric dome top would only cost approx. $20M vs. the $150-250M potential costs for a retractable roof.
It was reported last week by 1040 that the retrofit had all but been confirmed. Then a team was spotted attaining core samples of the building's concrete inside and out and also of the surrounding area. It has now been speculated that the proposal, which needs to be passed by the BC Provincial Legislature may go before the house today.
One things for certain, with only 20 months remaining this could be a very risky gamble.
The current roof will need to be replaced shortly after the 2010 Olympics but a new fabric dome top would only cost approx. $20M vs. the $150-250M potential costs for a retractable roof.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Venue : BC Place - Vancouver's Big Gamble
So it turns out that media reports blogged about here 'confirming' that the retrofit of BC Place Stadium to be fitted with a retractable roof in place of it's current air-supported fabric domed top in time for the 2010 Winter Olympic games are not yet true.
What is true is that both BC Premier Gordon Campbell and David Podmore, the construction exec in charge of revamping the stadium want it done.
The scary thing is that upon entry of this blog there are only 654 days left until the opening ceremonies. In construction terms that is a pretty short time-line, especially when talking about major projects involving extensive engineering, fabrication, etc.
VANOC has been well ahead of schedule with every other venue. Most venues are scheduled to be completed sometime this year! Although a retrofit of BC Place was not a part of the original 2010 bid any renovations could cause serious concerns for VANOC, the IOC, and the entire world.
Athen's showed us that poor planning and late starts on construction, including stadium retrofits, are NOT a good idea. The possible BC Place stadium retrofit would be incredible for the opening ceremonies (if it wasn't raining), and would be a welcome addition to BC Lion's games (when it isn't raining), MLS soccer matches perhaps (when it's not raining), etc. But seeing as it normally rains in February & March anyways, and the timeline is getting VERY tight the drive to retrofit the stadium could be Vancouver's biggest gamble of the games!
More from Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun.
What is true is that both BC Premier Gordon Campbell and David Podmore, the construction exec in charge of revamping the stadium want it done.
The scary thing is that upon entry of this blog there are only 654 days left until the opening ceremonies. In construction terms that is a pretty short time-line, especially when talking about major projects involving extensive engineering, fabrication, etc.
VANOC has been well ahead of schedule with every other venue. Most venues are scheduled to be completed sometime this year! Although a retrofit of BC Place was not a part of the original 2010 bid any renovations could cause serious concerns for VANOC, the IOC, and the entire world.
Athen's showed us that poor planning and late starts on construction, including stadium retrofits, are NOT a good idea. The possible BC Place stadium retrofit would be incredible for the opening ceremonies (if it wasn't raining), and would be a welcome addition to BC Lion's games (when it isn't raining), MLS soccer matches perhaps (when it's not raining), etc. But seeing as it normally rains in February & March anyways, and the timeline is getting VERY tight the drive to retrofit the stadium could be Vancouver's biggest gamble of the games!
More from Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun.
Monday, April 21, 2008
$14.7M Shows Off BC in Beijing
British Columbia is spending nearly $15M to show off at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Orca Creative Group was hired to transform the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall into a little piece of BC and Canada away from home. The same group also designed the exhibit.
The pavilion will open next Saturday, April 26th, 2008 for a soft launch and will be officially opened by British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell and David Emerson, the federal Olympics minister on May 22.
The Turino log cabin saw 100,000 visitors through it's ornately carved doors during and after the 2006 Winter Olympics. This new iteration of the British Columbia Pavilion is bigger and flashier, a token to it's new locale, and is merely a stone's throw away from Tienanmen Square in the heart of Beijing.
[Photo by A tea but no e]
13 steel rings covered in BC made waste-wood product Silva Panel frame the entrance to the building. Once inside a 4.5 tonne jade centrepiece called The Emperor's Sunrise carved by Vancouver's George Pratt and Syd Belzberg. The gem-quality stone was mined from Dease Lake.
The traditional Chinese elements of metal, wood, water, earth, and fire will guide the exhibit.
A 225 year old "Spirit Tree" will be a centrepiece, as in Turin, this one used to grace Prospect Point in Stanley Park before being blown down in 2006.
More from Jeff Lee.
The pavilion will open next Saturday, April 26th, 2008 for a soft launch and will be officially opened by British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell and David Emerson, the federal Olympics minister on May 22.
The Turino log cabin saw 100,000 visitors through it's ornately carved doors during and after the 2006 Winter Olympics. This new iteration of the British Columbia Pavilion is bigger and flashier, a token to it's new locale, and is merely a stone's throw away from Tienanmen Square in the heart of Beijing. [Photo by A tea but no e]
13 steel rings covered in BC made waste-wood product Silva Panel frame the entrance to the building. Once inside a 4.5 tonne jade centrepiece called The Emperor's Sunrise carved by Vancouver's George Pratt and Syd Belzberg. The gem-quality stone was mined from Dease Lake.
The traditional Chinese elements of metal, wood, water, earth, and fire will guide the exhibit.
A 225 year old "Spirit Tree" will be a centrepiece, as in Turin, this one used to grace Prospect Point in Stanley Park before being blown down in 2006.
More from Jeff Lee.
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