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Amazon HQ2 bid by Langford/Westshore in Victoria


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#181 Fixerdave

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Posted 23 October 2017 - 11:01 PM

So where would the various Canadian cities that applied rank for Amazon?...

 

So... how would you know how Amazon is going to rank the entries?  Yes, they did publish some criteria along with other likely fanciful numbers, but what truth is there in that?  We simply don't know what their real goal is.  It's all guesswork, and fun guesswork at that :)

 

I don't buy the whole "Second HQ" story at all.  Poor business practice.  Thus, it's most likely a hedge against Trump dragging the US completely off a cliff.  Same goes for the rented office space in Vancouver... just a place where Amazon Execs can reassign themselves to and get a Canadian visa quick.

 

Me... I think the competition is bogus and they already have a destination in mind, most likely Vancouver.  The whole bidding process is just a way to extort concessions from various levels of government.  That said, while all those other applications are just going to get binned, the Langford (Greater Victoria) bid offers a real alternative, one that stands a decent chance.

 

Then again, the whole thing might be nothing more than a lever to get Trump to roll over on something else.  Let it blow up into a fight and then "let Trump win" by not losing 50,000 jobs to some foreign country.  Meanwhile, Bezos gets something he wants out of Trump on the sly.  Then, Amazon can make-believe they're setting up a second HQ in Denver or something but not really do anything of consequence until everyone forgets about the whole thing.

 

As I said, other than the Amazon Execs that dreamed up this little game, everyone is guessing.  And, I'm quite sure Bezos fully intends to keep it that way.

 

But, besides all that, what I've come to realise is how great this whole exercise is for everyone participating.  200+ cities have gone through the same thing we're doing here... listing off all their advantages and disadvantages to setting up a big operation.  Everyone here has learned a lot; there is value in navel gazing on occasion.  It's not just advertising, it's realising that, hey, we've got a lot going for us.

 

I've come to realise just how beneficial it would be to have a real people-moving train service running all the way to Comox.  Not some trundling dayliner, but a real commuter train.  The Malahat is becoming as much a choke point as the ferries are and breaking through that would replicate the Langford expansion all the way along the line.  Tech in Victoria is exploding, with people hardly even noticing.  Imagine that spreading up the island.  Do we really even need Amazon's games to do this?

 

David...


Edited by Fixerdave, 23 October 2017 - 11:06 PM.


#182 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 24 October 2017 - 05:52 AM

On the train issue.  Even if you upgraded the track to allow for 120kmh trains, you can not do that with the hundreds of level crossings.  So the best a train can do - any trains, even a bullet train - is about 50-60kmh average for the run to Comox.  That's it, folks.  That's the absolute maximum.  Now add in stops along the way, and you are under 50kmh.  Why take a train when you can drive?


Edited by VicHockeyFan, 24 October 2017 - 05:52 AM.

<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#183 lanforod

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Posted 24 October 2017 - 07:22 AM

It would be awful funny if Amazon picked somewhere in Mexico. Somebody would have a shxt fit.

Trump would probably throw a twitfit if it goes to Canada too.


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#184 Mike K.

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Posted 24 October 2017 - 07:40 AM

Would he? He just scored Bombardier’s little backroom deal.

Note that Trudeau doesn’t seem to give two you-know-whats.

Know it all.
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#185 PraiseKek

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Posted 24 October 2017 - 11:02 AM

When you're trying to grow the economy from the heart out it's the thought that counts



#186 North Shore

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Posted 24 October 2017 - 08:43 PM

On the train issue.  Even if you upgraded the track to allow for 120kmh trains, you can not do that with the hundreds of level crossings.  So the best a train can do - any trains, even a bullet train - is about 50-60kmh average for the run to Comox.  That's it, folks.  That's the absolute maximum.  Now add in stops along the way, and you are under 50kmh.  Why take a train when you can drive?

 Couldn't you just re-engineer the level crossings with gates? Train comes, bing, bing, bing, bells and red lights, and the gate drops cutting off traffic. train goes through at 120, the gate lifts, and life returns to normal..


Say, what's that mountain goat doing up here in the mist?

#187 On the Level

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Posted 24 October 2017 - 10:14 PM

 Why take a train when you can drive?

Because you are stuck in the same choked off roadways as everyone else.  Tell someone the train won't stop for lights and incessant bus stops and will take them straight into town instead of sitting in traffic....that is an alternative. 



#188 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 25 October 2017 - 06:48 AM

 Couldn't you just re-engineer the level crossings with gates? Train comes, bing, bing, bing, bells and red lights, and the gate drops cutting off traffic. train goes through at 120, the gate lifts, and life returns to normal..

 

Yes, you could.  But the maximum speed for a train through the most sophisticated level crossing is still just over 140kmh.  But that requires a level crossing with an "impenetrable barrier" and blockage detection systems, and that costs over $2.5M to build.  240 levels crossings on the E&N and just the crossings alone cost $600 million.


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#189 Bingo

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Posted 25 October 2017 - 06:55 AM

On the train issue.  Even if you upgraded the track to allow for 120kmh trains, you can not do that with the hundreds of level crossings.  So the best a train can do - any trains, even a bullet train - is about 50-60kmh average for the run to Comox.  That's it, folks.  That's the absolute maximum.  Now add in stops along the way, and you are under 50kmh.  Why take a train when you can drive?

 

Never mind Comox, lets just get something running between the Westshore Parkway to the Roundhouse for starters, and let the other points on the island figure out their piece of the action.

There are no places on the island where you will EVER have speeds of 120KMH.  The fastest trains running in BC top out at 80KMH and that is only where the geography allows it.



#190 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 25 October 2017 - 07:12 AM

Because you are stuck in the same choked off roadways as everyone else.  Tell someone the train won't stop for lights and incessant bus stops and will take them straight into town instead of sitting in traffic....that is an alternative. 

 

Just from Langford to Vic West, the train is expected to make at least 5 stops.  Then you have to board a bus for the last bit into town.


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#191 Jackerbie

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Posted 03 November 2017 - 09:04 AM

Amazon has just announced that they are opening a second Vancouver office, which will double the existing number of Amazon employees in Vancouver to 2,000.



#192 lanforod

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Posted 03 November 2017 - 09:13 AM

Amazon has just announced that they are opening a second Vancouver office, which will double the existing number of Amazon employees in Vancouver to 2,000.

 

So is that a 'sorry, you don't get HQ2, here's your consolation prize' announcement?



#193 Jackerbie

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Posted 03 November 2017 - 09:18 AM

So is that a 'sorry, you don't get HQ2, here's your consolation prize' announcement?

 

I don't think Vancouver ever had a serious chance of netting HQ2, it's simply too close to Seattle. However, Vancouver is an ideal location for Canadian satellites of HQ1.



#194 spanky123

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Posted 03 November 2017 - 09:40 AM

Amazon has just announced that they are opening a second Vancouver office, which will double the existing number of Amazon employees in Vancouver to 2,000.

 

Over the next 3 years. It makes sense, Vancouver and Toronto are currently being used by lots of tech companies to employ foreign Visa applicants while they are awaiting entry documents to get into the US or who can't get into the country at all. I can also see it as a quid pro quo for allowing Amazon and others to continue to skirt taxation and intellectual property rules.


Edited by spanky123, 03 November 2017 - 09:41 AM.


#195 Jackerbie

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Posted 03 November 2017 - 09:51 AM

^ Yes, they have to wait for the new building to be constructed. In the meantime, they will be utilizing most of the shared space at WeWork.



#196 jonny

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Posted 18 January 2018 - 07:29 AM

The shortlist has been made! Langford did not make the cut, but Toronto did.

My bet is Austin or Dallas.

https://www.amazon.c...ode=17044620011

#197 spanky123

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Posted 18 January 2018 - 07:36 AM

Apparently some document leaked last week that suggested that Boston was the location that was chosen. This exercise is to try and extract the most concessions I would think. 



#198 jonny

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Posted 18 January 2018 - 08:35 AM

Yeah, this whole thing is probably an extortion exercise. 



#199 tjv

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Posted 18 January 2018 - 08:56 AM

The shortlist has been made! Langford did not make the cut, but Toronto did.

Wow, what a shocker.  I don't think the CRD met any of the criteria from what I remember

 

I am however shocked that only one city on the west coast made the cut, LA



#200 lanforod

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Posted 18 January 2018 - 08:58 AM

I'm surprised not to see Vancouver. How is this a 'short' list in any way? There's like, 30 cities there yet!



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