Expo opinions
Re: “Expo’s troubled legacy,” April 28, 2016.
Expo 86 was one of the great what-if moments in Canadian history. Housing prices were already rising due to migration from southern Ontario before the fair opened, but without Expo there may not have been the large influx of wealth from other parts of the world. If Bennett and Pattison had not pushed Expo through, Vancouver today might be a West Coast version of Toronto.
With no Expo 86 it is unlikely that there would be a mass transit system. SkyTrain was very unpopular before it opened. Most Vancouverites (particularly those who lived south of the Fraser) wanted more bridges, not a new public transit system. History proved them wrong, but without Expo there is a strong chance that they would have got their twinned bridges and new highways.
Another thing to keep in mind is without Expo 86 Vancouver would not have had the global exposure needed to bring in the film industry. “Filmed in Vancouver” used to mean an X-rated movie. Imagine no Battlestar Galacticaor X-Files, or at least none of their iconic scenery.
–The Happy Avenger
I sure remember Expo. And it’s true, we invited the world and they wouldn’t leave. We are paying the price of housing now. Sad.
–Evelyn Macfarlane
It was a great success that resulted in a much more robust economy than was the case, prior to Expo 86. With growth comes problems, but the net effect has been overwhelmingly positive.
–Paul Barbeau
Squares and circles
Re: “Robson Rumble,” Rant/Rave, April 21, 2016.
Only in Vancouver would people compare a short block with two car lanes to squares like Trafalgar, St. Mark’s, Nathan Phillips (Toronto), and many others around the world, that are all MUCH bigger than the 800-block of Robson.
There is already a square on the north side of the art gallery. Did you people forget it?
–JL Brussac
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