BURST
A transit option promised to be faster and more reliable for Metro Vancouver commuters is advancing further in the design phase in Surrey as city council gave TransLink the green light last week.
Funding for the project, however, has not materialized, frustrating some transit advocates.
“It worries me that there’s no funding announced for this project,” said Denis Agar, executive director of Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders.
“I look at our peer cities like Seattle, Toronto, Montreal and I wonder why we, of all those cities, are spending the least on transit expansions and why we’re so hesitant to fund these projects.”
King George Boulevard, from Whalley in the north end down to South Surrey, is one of three priority corridors outlined by TransLink for its so-called bus rapid transit routes. The Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation earlier endorsed Langley to Haney Place in Maple Ridge and Metrotown to the North Shore, as the two other corridors to be completed before six others.
In a statement, TransLink said the cost of each bus rapid transit line would be about $400 million, but that could change once designs are complete.
Once funding is fully received, the bus projects are expected to be built within three years, a spokesperson said, and TransLink would like all nine projects completed in the next 10 years.
“Full funding for the BRT projects will need to come through a future investment plan, and requires investment from the federal and provincial governments. TransLink will work with local governments and the provincial government to develop concept designs and continue engaging with the public to help determine business cases,” TransLink stated in an email.
Surrey city’s design proposal would place dedicated bus lanes in the middle of King George Boulevard with covered stations along most of the line.
Agar’s group was worried the bus rapid transit designs would be “a lot less ambitious” to save time and costs.
“We hope all of the other cities building BRT take the lead from Surrey and really shoot for the moon in building BRT,” he said. “There are a lot of great options to look at around the world but this one is right here in our backyard and sets a high bar. They’re picking the fastest, most reliable design for BRT.”
The bus rapid transit program is intended to be more efficient than other bus-based transit options by having zero emission buses, and faster with dedicated lanes and signal priority at intersections. Stations for the bus stops will be street-level to be more accessible and fully covered to provide shelter from rain or snow.
The concept is already in use in other parts of North America and was introduced to Calgary in 2018.
Customers pay before they get on the bus and are able to hop on from several doors for efficiency. The buses will be higher capacity than current TransLink buses.
King George Boulevard
In Surrey, the bus rapid transit route would extend from the north to the south. City council passed a motion this week to approve TransLink to advance the design stage to 30 per cent. According to a corporate report from Surrey, 10 per cent of the design is complete.
Surrey will have 12 stations running from Surrey Central Station to Semiahmoo Town Centre, near White Rock. During the peak hours, a bus will arrive every five minutes at each station.
The King George line is projected to reduce travel time by more than 40 per cent. Instead of the hour it currently takes to travel the entire length of the route, it would take about 40 minutes. Commuters on the bus will be able to access Surrey Memorial Hospital, Bear Creek Park and the South Surrey Park and Ride easily on the line.
TransLink recently completed public engagement on the route, which received more than 14,500 responses. A majority of respondents, according to the report, supported bus rapid transit and think it would be a benefit to Surrey.
Langley-Haney Place
The Langley bus rapid transit route would run from Willowbrook, on the border of the two Langleys, to Haney Place in Maple Ridge with 13 stations between the two communities.
During peak hours, commuters can expect a bus every 10 minutes at each station along the 22-kilometre route.
This BRT line is also projected to reduce travel time by more than 40 per cent to about 40 minutes. Some popular destinations accessible along the route include Willowbrook Shopping Centre, Langley Events Centre, Ridge Meadows Hospital and Haney Place Mall.
Langley-Haney Place BRT will also connect to the future Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension at Willowbrook Station, the R3 Lougheed Highway RapidBus, and Carvolth Exchange and Park and Ride in Langley township.
Metrotown-North Shore
Work is underway to extend the R2 Marine Drive RapidBus from Phibbs Exchange to Metrotown and upgrade it to a bus rapid transit route, to provide a faster route between Burnaby and the North Shore.
Public consultations for the Burnaby line to North Vancouver wrapped up on Sept. 21 but a report on that has not been made public by TransLink.
Buses for this line will operate between Metrotown and Park Royal across the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge and will either have 16 or 17 stations, depending on which specific route is chosen.