Shawn Xu on Unsplash

Have you crossed the Lion’s Gate Bridge? Actually, scratch that question— Have you been stuck in traffic at the Lion’s Gate Bridge?

Nothing says Jay Buno like hating on popular things that people actually enjoy, and bridges are no exception to that list. Vancouver’s most popular bridge spans from Stanley Park all the way to West Vancouver. It offers some of the best vistas in the entire city… once you get past the backed-up traffic, car crashes, and sometimes annoying lane changes.

It’s an iconic fixture in the Vancouver skyline and has appeared in many movies and television shows; heck, even the famous Lionsgate studio was named after the bridge!  Built in 1937 by the Guinness family (yes, the ones who made the beer), when it opened, it was the longest suspension bridge in the entire British Empire… and has been the source of much frustration for nearly everyone.

Think of the Lion’s Gate Bridge as the weird middle child of the family; built after the first Second Narrows Bridge, and built before the Ironworkers. Sure, he may be cool and probably iconic in the long term, but is he loved by his family? 

Probably not.

Ships hate it because it’s not tall enough, cars hate it because it’s annoying to cross, and politicians hate it because of the first two reasons will tie in to spending more money to maintain it. It’s a ruthless cycle Lion’s Gate endures every passing decade; not even a light replacement and scrapped Olympic decoration idea could save it from being a pretty bad bridge.

But hey, at least it’s pretty and had a cool collapse scene in the Final Destination films.