TransLink unveils 10-year plan for transport priorities in Metro Vancouver

TransLink and the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation have released Transport 2050: 10-Year Priorities, detailing priority investments to meet the increasing demand for transit and to support the transportation needs of Metro Vancouver’s growing population in Canada.

The proposed 10-Year Priorities is the next step to implement the ambitious goals and targets set out in Transport 2050, Metro Vancouver’s recently approved 30-year Regional Transportation Strategy. It is also a blueprint that identifies the region’s top priorities, so that the authority can get started right away on the first 10 years of Transport 2050 investments, which will be funded through future Investment Plans.

Proposed investments detailed in the 10-Year Priorities include doubling regional bus service levels; exploring other potential SkyTrain extensions, including Newton in Surrey and Port Coquitlam; and building 450km of new traffic-separated cycling paths. The plan also proposes up to 170km of new rapid transit routes on up to 11 corridors, including:

• Up to nine Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes using new zero-emission buses on dedicated, traffic-separated lanes
• A rapid transit connection to the North Shore
• The Burnaby Mountain Gondola to SFU
• The Millennium Line SkyTrain extension from Arbutus to UBC.

The Transport 2050 Strategy concluded that there is an urgent and widespread need to address climate change, housing affordability and traffic congestion by increasing and improving transit service as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.

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With Transport 2050: 10-Year Priorities, TransLink is proposing an expansion of the SkyTrain network, an unprecedented increase in local bus service and introducing high-capacity Bus Rapid Transit. This new zero-emission bus-based rapid transit could be deployed along high-demand corridors throughout Metro Vancouver at a fraction of the cost and time compared to rail-based technology.

In addition to Transport 2050: 10-Year Priorities, TransLink is also releasing the 2022 Investment Plan, which aims to stabilise funding over the next three years.

Kevin Quinn, CEO of TransLink, said: “It’s critical that we lay the groundwork for achieving the region’s shared goals set out in Transport 2050. Our region needs to rapidly invest in transportation improvements to combat climate change, address the housing affordability crisis and improve congestion in a growing region. Transport 2050: 10-Year Priorities will chart a fast and effective course to quality transportation choices for the people of Metro Vancouver.”

George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, said: “Expanding and strengthening our public transit is one of the smartest ways to address climate change, reduce time-wasting congestion and make transportation more affordable and convenient. The priorities in this plan are wide-ranging, ambitious and achievable. They will support the shift in transportation initiatives that are a central part of both our CleanBC Climate Roadmap and TransLink’s own plans.”