Burnaby considering new pedestrian bridge over Highway 1 to improve park access

The City of Burnaby is contemplating building a new pedestrian overpass across Highway 1 to improve access and connectivity between its three major parks.

See also

• New pedestrian overpass coming to Stewardson Way near Queensborough Bridge
• New pedestrian bridge and park expansion for New Westminster riverfront (RENDERINGS)
• 2.5-km-long spiral elevated walkway coming to Sea to Sky Gondola
• Major plans to reroute and redesign the Grouse Grind trail (MAPS)

City council recently approved a $500,000 study that would entail the first phase on planning and design works to determine feasible crossing locations across the highway that would connect trail networks of Burnaby Lake Park, Deer Lake Park, and Robert Burnaby Park.

As the project is still in its very early stages, no general area of study was identified, but this would likely be a relatively long bridge given that Highway 1 is an eight-lane-wide route through much of Burnaby.

“Work to include mapping of environmentally sensitive areas, soils condition with geotechnical analysis, defining constraints of development next to the highway, restrictions of travel modes within Burnaby Regional Park, conflicts with overhead and at grade hydro infrastructure, underground utilities will be undertaken,” reads a city staff report.

“Synthetization of background information will produce a feasibility plan that will identify potential siting of the facility.”

The development of conceptual plans will lead to an informed detailed design, phased development plan, and cost estimates.

Burnaby has constructed a number of pedestrian overpasses since the 2000s, including the Griffiths Drive Pedestrian Bridge in South Burnaby and the Central Valley Greenway Pedestrian Overpass at Winston Street on the north side of Burnaby Lake.