THE Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation has selected three priority corridors for TransLink to advance Metro Vancouver’s first new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes. BRT is a high-frequency rapid transit service with dedicated bus lanes and rail-like stations.
The corridors are:
* King George Boulevard from Surrey Centre to White Rock
* Langley Centre to Haney Place
* Metrotown to North Shore
The three corridors were selected based on ridership potential, increasing access to jobs, future housing and development growth projections, the feasibility of implementing new transit priority infrastructure, and the early support from local governments to implement the changes necessary for the projects.
BRT routes will keep customers moving quickly by operating with high frequencies in traffic-separated lanes and signal priority at intersections. They will have high-capacity buses with rail-like stations that provide customers with real-time information, shelter, and convenient boarding.
TransLink will advance BRT planning work on the King George Boulevard and Langley Centre to Haney Place corridors. For the Metrotown to Park Royal corridor, TransLink will immediately extend and upgrade the R2 RapidBus while advancing rapid transit planning through the Burrard Inlet Rapid Transit Study. This work will determine the ultimate rapid transit technology for this corridor.
The specific alignment, designs, associated costs, and timelines have not yet been determined for each of the three corridors. TransLink and local government partners will immediately begin work to develop concept designs and engage with the public on these three corridors.
Through the Access for Everyone plan, TransLink is working with regional Mayors to implement up to nine regional BRT corridors. These three corridors have been selected in the first phase to proceed, with the other corridors to follow.