Punk Rock Pastries, owned by Hollie Fraser, has been a fixture in the Burnaby Heights community since it opened its doors in 2019, serving the community its signature NSFW pastries and cake. But it’s not just the Burnaby community that’s been impressed with Fraser’s baking skills, she’s also a two-time Food Network champion who most recently won the 2023 Halloween Baking Championship.
Despite all the accolades, Fraser posted a video on Instagram where she said she was worried that she would have to close the doors to her bakery. Why? All because of a proposed bus lane down Hastings.
“If this goes through, every small business along Hastings will shut down,” said Fraser in an interview with Dished.
The bus lane in question, proposed by TransLink, would operate between Willingdon Avenue and Duthie Avenue on Hastings daily between the hours of 7 am and 7 pm, using the existing roadside parking spaces along the street.
Recently, Burnaby city councillors recommended that TransLink and City staff proceed with a scaled-down plan to install bus-only lanes only along a 2.8 km stretch of Hastings Street between Delta Avenue and Duthie Avenue, but this would still affect businesses like Fraser’s.
In fact, Fraser had no idea about the proposed bus lane until other local businesses along Hastings informed her.
“We had no notice, we didn’t get contacted at all, no email, no phone calls, no one came to the store,” said Fraser.
As for impacts on the business, Fraser shared that parking in the area is already a struggle.
“We have a tiny little car park that has 1o spaces for staff in the building, and there’s more than 10 people working in this building. It’s a fight every morning to get a spot,” said Fraser.
But it’s not only staff parking that Fraser is worried about; it’s customer parking, too.
“To take away any of our parking means taking away all of our custom cakes because you can’t take our custom cakes on the bus; it just won’t work.”
And Punk Rock Pastries isn’t the only business that would be impacted by this proposed bus lane. Street parking is the only parking resource for other businesses like Muckabout and Big Dog Little Dog Bakery.
“People go to [Big Dog Little Dog Bakery] to get big 20-kilo bags of dog food; they can’t take a big bag of dog food on the bus.”
When asked, a TransLink spokesperson told Dished, “TransLink is pleased to continue our partnership with the City of Burnaby to improve travel times and make buses more reliable on Hastings Street. In line with direction from Burnaby City Council, consultation will take place with community members on the corridor, which will include business-owners, before any measures are implemented.”
So, what can people who are worried about the proposed bus lane and its impact do? Fraser recommended that they email and phone the City of Burnaby to let them know that “this isn’t really cool.”
“I sent an email to the mayor and all the board members of Burnaby, and I said if it goes through, I might as well just give you the keys to my business because we’re already struggling with inflation and everything else.”
Dished also reached out to the City of Burnaby, which did not respond in time for publication.
With files from Kenneth Chan
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