Busy Metrotown SkyTrain intersection to get pedestrian scramble this summer | Daily Hive

New five-way pedestrian scramble for busy crossing between Metrotown mall and SkyTrain station to be installed this summer

The busy pedestrian crosswalk across Central Boulevard at SkyTrain's Metrotown Station (left) and a pedestrian scramble sign (right). (Google Maps | Kenneth Chan)

One of Metro Vancouver’s busiest pedestrian crossings is set for a major upgrade soon — an effort to improve accessibility, capacity, and safety through its transformation into a five-way pedestrian scramble.

Earlier this week, Burnaby City Council endorsed a plan from City of Burnaby staff to reconfigure how pedestrians move through the intersection of Central Boulevard and Metropolis at Metrotown shopping mall’s underground parkade entrance.

This particular intersection features the street’s busiest north-south pedestrian crosswalk between SkyTrain’s Metrotown Station and the bus loop and shopping mall, forming part of the most direct walking route from the station’s east entrance.

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Currently, there are three pedestrian crosswalks on the north, west, and east sides of this intersection, with a continuous sidewalk framing the south side of the intersection.

The new pedestrian scramble will add two diagonal sidewalks through the centre of the intersection for a total of five crosswalks, and introduce a new traffic signal phase when all vehicles are stopped — allowing pedestrians to cross the intersection in all directions at the same time, including diagonally.

After this all-walk scramble signal phase, vehicles can proceed into the intersection without any potential conflicts with pedestrians.

skytrain metropolis at metrotown mall central boulevard intersection

Future pedestrian scramble location; intersection of Central Boulevard and the underground parkade entrance for Metropolis at Metrotown mall, next to SkyTrain’s Metrotown Station. (Google Maps)

There are a few local examples of pedestrian scrambles, including at the intersection of Moncton Street and No. 1 Road at Steveston Village in Richmond, which was installed in 2011, and the busy intersection of Granville Street and Robson Street in Downtown Vancouver, which was completed in 2024.

Some of the world’s most famous pedestrian scrambles are at Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Oxford Circus in London, and Sankofa Square (formerly Yonge-Dundas Square) in Toronto.

“This time separation allows pedestrians to cross without conflicting vehicle movements and simplifies driver decision-making,” state City staff in their report to City Council this week.

robson granville pedestrian scramble july 2024

Granville-Robson pedestrian scramble’s launch on July 30, 2024. (Kenneth Chan)

The pedestrian scramble at the intersection of Yonge and Dundas streets in downtown Toronto. (Shawn Goldberg/Shutterstock)

oxford circus london pedestrian scramble

The pedestrian scramble intersection in Oxford Circus in London, UK. (William Barton/Shutterstock)

Scramble pedestrian crossing at Tokyo’s Ginza District. (Ugis Riba/Shutterstock)

City staff shared that the detailed design process for the pedestrian scramble is expected to be completed before the end of this month, and construction is scheduled to begin shortly after, with completion aimed for Summer 2026.

The pedestrian scramble installation is deemed a safety measure in response to vehicle traffic safety concerns raised by the public and the mall owner.

Public concerns were raised after a January 2025 serious injury incident involving a pedestrian and a bus at a different station-adjacent intersection just to the west, which prompted renewed calls for the municipal government, TransLink, and the mall owner to work together to finally realize the long-planned replacement pedestrian overpass above Central Boulevard between the station and the mall.

When will the old, dead-end pedestrian overpass be demolished, and will a replacement ever be built?

During the City Council meeting, when asked about the plans to re-establish a pedestrian overpass directly linking the station with the bus loop and mall, City staff indicated that the mall’s owner, La Caisse (formerly known as Ivanhoe Cambridge), is currently in the process of developing a long-term master plan for the mall’s comprehensive redevelopment.

This suggests the forthcoming master plan will be a key factor in determining how a new pedestrian overpass could be built — particularly the design of its northern connection, integrated with existing/new building developments. It is unclear when this master plan will be presented to the City to be finalized, but the company’s planning process for the high-density, mixed-use residential and commercial development — involving the demolition of nearly all of the existing indoor mall — first began before the pandemic.

The design of the new overpass’s southern connection has already been established, with the mezzanine level of the station’s centre entrance — equipped with elevators and a staircase — engineered to serve as the future bridge’s connection point.

Previous conceptual artistic rendering of the location of the new replacement pedestrian overpass for SkyTrain’s Metrotown Station. (TransLink)

SkyTrain Metrotown Station pedestrian overpass

Previous conceptual artistic rendering of the location of the new replacement pedestrian overpass for SkyTrain’s Metrotown Station. (TransLink)

Location of where a new pedestrian overpass would connect to SkyTrain’s Metrotown Station. (Google Maps)

The original overpass that once connected to the station’s east entrance still exists, but it has been fully disconnected from the station and is not compatible with the station’s 2018-completed renovations and expansion.

City staff further stated during the meeting that the first step to build a new overpass is to demolish the old, dead-end overpass, which is owned and maintained by the mall owner. They also shared that the municipal government has some funds available to get going with the overpass projects.

“We do have funds on deposit, letters of credit on deposit from Ivanhoe Cambridge, from developments in the past to replace that passerelle. It starts with demolition though, so we are exploring our options in that regard right now,” said City staff.

The municipal government had previously allocated $17.25 million in its capital budgets between 2019 and 2022 to demolish the old overpass and construct a replacement. However, plans for the new overpass were later deferred indefinitely, and some of the funding was subsequently redirected to a water main project.

In late 2016, nearly a decade ago, the old overpass was disconnected from the station as construction progressed on the station expansion project. It had previously carried the vast majority of pedestrian traffic between the station on the south side of the street and the bus loop and mall on the north. Since its removal, those significant pedestrian volumes have been redirected to three street-level crossings, contributing to the current safety concerns and increased conflicts with the area’s heavy bus and general traffic.

Disconnected old overpass of SkyTrain Metrotown Station. (Kenneth Chan)

About a year ago, the mall improved the narrow pedestrian pathway on its private property east of the bus loop — the crucial walking route between the busy crosswalk and the mall entrance doors. Several trees in the middle of this pathway were removed, and the tree pits were filled in, eliminating the obstacles and creating a more open route for the steady flow of pedestrians.

TransLink is also planning potential major upgrades for Metrotown Station’s overall bus exchange, including changes to the BC Parkway area immediately to the south of the station. This would serve to increase the bus exchange’s capacity, possibly building on the 2018-completed station upgrades that first introduced on-street bus bays outside of the bus loop.

According to the latest available TransLink statistics, in 2024, SkyTrain’s Metrotown Station saw a total of 8.51 million annual boardings, with averages of 25,000 per weekday, 21,800 per Saturday, and 17,700 per Sunday/holiday. It is the second busiest station on the entire SkyTrain network. Additionally, tens of thousands of boardings are recorded at the bus exchange on a daily basis.

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