The BC NDP will support TransLink’s proposal to build a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line along King George Boulevard between Surrey and White Rock.
Implementing BRT would involve extending the existing R1 RapidBus route further south beyond the current southernmost terminus of the Newton bus exchange and building extensive bus-only lanes and other bus-priority infrastructure along the King George Boulevard corridor.
Currently, the R1 RapidBus is an 11 km-long route along 104 Avenue and King George Boulevard between Guildford Town Centre and Newton bus exchange, with major transfers at SkyTrain’s Surrey Central Station and King George Station. Its upgrade to BRT to reach White Rock would increase the route length to 23 km.
“Surrey is growing, and with that comes more people who are commuting every day. Whether it’s to work, to see loved ones or to run an errand, the BC NDP believes that you shouldn’t be stuck in traffic,” said Jessie Sunner, the BC NDP’s candidate for Surrey-Newton, in a statement today.
“It’s why we’re making sure that people who live in Surrey have more options to get where they want to go as quickly as possible.”
Map of three new rapid transit corridors using buses. (TransLink)
The BC NDP are making Surrey-White Rock BRT their election platform promise as they believe such a more frequent and faster bus service can be built more quickly.
According to the BC NDP, by proceeding with BRT first, this allows for the future development of a permanent long-term rapid solution such as street-level light rail transit (LRT) or SkyTrain. In 2018, TransLink’s previous 11-km-long Surrey Newton-Guildford LRT project, replicating the existing R1 RapidBus (96 B-Line) route, was cancelled.
TransLink is proposing to proceed with implementing three BRT routes across the region. In addition to the Surrey-White Rock route, the public transit authority has plans to create a BRT route along 200 Street and Golden Ears Bridge between Langley City Centre and Maple Ridge and a BRT route between Park Royal in West Vancouver and Metrotown in Burnaby via the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge (an upgrade and major route extension of the existing R2 RapidBus). Each of these three BRT lines carries a highly preliminary cost estimate of between $250 million and $300 million.
As part of their election platform, the BC NDP has also stated they would support the North Shore-Burnaby BRT project and explore LRT or SkyTrain for the corridor over the longer term. They would also complete the SkyTrain Millennium Line’s westward extension between Arbutus and the University of British Columbia.
Both the BC NDP and Conservative Party of BC have made various major transportation infrastructure platform promises, including new commuter rail/regional rail in the Lower Mainland.
For the BC Conservatives’ specific rapid transit promises, they have firmly committed to building a SkyTrain extension along King George Boulevard between Surrey City Centre and Newton.
The provincial general election is scheduled for Saturday, October 19, 2024.
R1 RapidBus at SkyTrain Surrey Central Station. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)