Metro Vancouver’s regional transit and transportation authority has unveiled an ambitious list of priorities for the next decade, with plans to build a new bus-based rapid transit network.
The 10-year vision presented by TransLink Wednesday is the latest component of its Transport 2050 plan.
While the vision includes a goal of extending the SkyTrain Millennium line all the way to UBC and building a gondola to SFU in Burnaby, the heart of the vision is the creation of nine “bus rapid transit” lines throughout the region.
“People need solutions now. We have an affordability crisis, we have a climate crisis now,” TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn said.
“Bus rapid transit (BRT) can achieve a lot of those rapid transit goals.”
Under the 10-year vision, TransLink plans to double regional bus service levels, including the creation of 179 km of new rapid transit on 11 corridors.
That plan would see nine BRT routes using zero-emission buses and traffic-separated lanes, along with a rapid transit connection to the North Shore.
The plan also envisions the creation of 450 km of new traffic separated bike lanes, and exploring possible SkyTrain extensions to Port Coquitlam and Newton in Surrey.
And it proposes increasing HandyDart service by 60 per cent, including expanding coverage to 24 hours a day.
New Westminster Mayor and chair of the TransLink Mayors’ Council Jonathan Cote described BRT as an “alternative form to be able to quickly and cost effectively be able to expand rapid transit in a way we have never seen and at a pace we have never seen in this region.”
“Other major cities in the world have experimented and seen great successes in a cost effective way being able to deliver rapid transit in a way that is in many case sin the same quality and amenities as the SkyTrain, but in a way that can be done much faster,” he said.
Quinn said getting a BRT line up and running takes between two to four years, meaning it could roll out nine corridors in the next decade.
TransLink is proposing BRT corridors on the following routes:
- Hastings St (upgrade from R5)
- King George Blvd (Surrey to White Rock)
- Langley – Haney Place (200 St – Golden Ears – Lougheed Hwy)
- Lougheed Hwy (upgrade from R3)
- Lynn Valley – Downtown/Lonsdale (Lions Gate)
- Metrotown – Park Royal (Second Narrows)
- Marine Dr Station – 22nd St Station (Marine Way)
- Richmond Centre – Metrotown (Knight-Victoria-49th Ave)
- Scott Road (upgrade from R6)
Cote said it was too early to estimate the cost of the vision, but acknowledged it would require “significant investments,” and cooperation between all three levels of government to funding.
TransLink has also launched a round of public consultation on the 10-year vision, which is open until May 4.
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