Surrey wants to model new King George Boulevard BRT after cancelled LRT

October 2023 proposed route map of King George Boulevard BRT (left) and an artistic rendering of a centre median station platform of the cancelled Surrey Newton-Guildford LRT (right). (City of Surrey | TransLink)

Yet another municipal government in Metro Vancouver is putting its hand up to be prioritized for upcoming investments in regional public transit expansion and improvements.

But unlike other requests, the City of Surrey is even more prescriptive — it wants to be the very first in line.

Next week, Surrey City Council is expected to approve City staff’s recommendation to TransLink and the Mayors’ Council that Metro Vancouver’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line be established within Surrey’s jurisdiction.

This would specifically request the Mayors’ Council to prioritize a BRT route on King George Boulevard and 152 Street between Surrey Central Station in Surrey City Centre and Semiahmoo Town Centre in South Surrey, which would effectively also serve White Rock’s city centre.

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This comes ahead of a Mayors’ Council meeting late this month that will decide on the list of the first projects that will be prioritized for implementation under the 10-year priorities between 2025 and 2035. TransLink has plans to implement up to nine new BRT routes, 11 new RapidBus routes, and seven new Express bus routes within this full timeframe, with less than a handful of BRT projects selected for implementation within the first five years.

The King George Boulevard BRT would be an upgrade of the existing R1 RapidBus service (previously known as the 96 B-Line) that links Guildford Town Centre, Surrey Central Station, and Newton bus exchange via 72 Avenue and King George Boulevard. The R1 RapidBus currently has a southern terminus at Newton bus exchange.

TransLink’s 10-year priorities call for either a southward extension of the existing R1 RapidBus reaching White Rock or both an extended and upgraded service to BRT between Surrey City Centre and White Rock within the first five years of the strategy.

2021 map showing the future Surrey-Langley SkyTrain Expo Line extension (blue), future new R6 Scott Road RapidBus (red), the existing R1 King George Boulevard RapidBus route (green), and potential future R1 King George Boulevard RapidBus extension beyond Newton to South Surrey and White Rock (black). (City of Surrey)

Ridership potential

In a report to City Council, City staff painted a picture that King George Boulevard BRT is the easiest route for TransLink to implement and holds the highest ridership potential.

Firstly, TransLink would only have to coordinate with the City of Surrey to achieve BRT on King George Boulevard, as this is the only proposed BRT corridor within a single municipal jurisdiction. One other BRT corridor goes through two municipal jurisdictions, while seven other corridors run through three to five jurisdictions.

Four years ago, TransLink indicated its delays related to the launch of the region’s first brand new RapidBus routes were partially due to the need to coordinate with multiple municipal governments for some of the routes, especially the R2 Marine Drive RapidBus on the North Shore. TransLink had to work with the municipalities of West Vancouver, North Vancouver City, and North Vancouver District for the various road construction works on bus priority measures spanning different jurisdictions, and as a result the R2 RapidBus was the last to launch months later after other simpler routes.

October 2023 map showing the King George Boulevard BRT route between Surrey City Centre and South Surrey/White Rock. (City of Surrey)

Secondly, according to City staff, King George Boulevard has the highest existing population, and the highest existing public transit ridership of the proposed nine BRT corridors.

TransLink’s 2022 statistics indicate the R1 RapidBus saw 4.13 million annual boardings in 2022, with averages of 12,300 on weekdays, 10,100 on Saturdays, and 8,500 on weekends/holidays. It was the ninth busiest bus route out of TransLink’s regional network of over 200 bus routes, and the fourth busiest RapidBus/B-Line route.

More recent statistics show Surrey is now leading the region in percentage ridership recovery and growth. In September 2023, TransLink reported bus ridership in Surrey is now 20% higher than pre-pandemic 2019 levels, and during the afternoon peak period about 25% of the bus trips in Surrey are now overcrowded in the busiest direction.

“Following the COVID-19 pandemic, transit ridership in Surrey has recovered faster than any other city in Metro Vancouver, exceeding pre-pandemic levels, and increased transit service is required to support continued growth and housing needs in Surrey. These factors support quick implementation of a BRT project and robust ridership on opening day,” reads the City staff report.

“The King George Boulevard corridor should be prioritized as the first BRT project in the region. BRT on King George Boulevard would provide immediate benefits, including reduced traffic congestion and increased transit ridership, making it the most favourable option for rapid implementation.”

A centre busway similar to the cancelled street-level LRT

Thirdly, City staff assert King George Boulevard’s wide road width enables the relatively swift implementation of BRT with fully physically traffic separated and dedicated bus-only lanes (not to be confused for HOV lanes).

It is generally assumed that TransLink’s BRT bus-only lane standard would repurpose the curbside lanes of a roadway. But for the BRT segment of King George Boulevard between Surrey City Centre and Highway 10, City staff are recommending BRT bus-only lanes within the centre of the street, with a median separating the bus lanes from general vehicle traffic lanes.

King George Boulevard looking north from Highway 10. (Google Maps)

Existing design of King George Boulevard looking south from 84 Avenue. (Google Maps)

Existing design of King George Boulevard looking south from 100 Avenue. (Google Maps)

City staff state this main segment of King George Boulevard currently features a landscaped centre median or a centre turning lane that can be repurposed for the bus-only lanes and the special BRT stations. Even with these BRT features, according to City staff, there would still be enough space for five general vehicle traffic lanes “without significantly impacting capacity for general traffic.”

“The wide right-of-way on King George Boulevard will avoid costly land acquisition or re-allocation of existing vehicle lanes to implement BRT,” reads the City staff report.

This would be similar to the former bus-only lanes, also known as a busway, within the centre median of No. 3 Road within Richmond for the previous 98 B-Line route. No. 3 Road’s BRT standard busway existed for about five years, until Canada Line construction began.

City staff listed Calgary BRT, Mississauga MiWay BRT, and York Region Viva BRT as examples of Canadian BRT systems with extensive bus-priority measures and passenger amenities, including a centre median busway.

98 b-line richmond no 3 road bus lanes busway brt

The former centre median BRT-like busway on No. 3 Road in Richmond for the previous 98 B-Line, with special bus stops and real-time next bus digital displays, replaced by the Canada Line. (Metrolinx)

Centre median busway for York Region Viva BRT. (City of Surrey)

Centre median busway for Mississauga MiWay BRT. (City of Surrey)

Centre median busway for Calgary BRT. (City of Surrey)

Furthermore, TransLink can also adapt some of its knowledge from the previously completed design and planning work for the Surrey Newton-Guildford light rail transit (LRT) line, which would have established dedicated light rail tracks and station platforms down the centre of King George Boulevard’s street level.

There are potentially some road geometry similarities between the cancelled LRT and the proposed BRT, including station placements.

“The City and TransLink can utilize the previously completed Light Rail Transit reference design and business case to expedite BRT on King George Boulevard,” continues the report by City staff.

City staff state TransLink’s optimal BRT standard is expected to not only feature physically separated bus lanes and traffic signal priority, but also train-like station platforms, platform-level boarding, off-board fare collection at stations, real-time digital displays, wayfinding, improved lighting, and higher-capacity buses.

Before and after road configurations for King George Boulevard with Surrey Newton-Guildford LRT. (TransLink)

Artistic rendering of a typical centre median Surrey Newton-Guildford LRT station. (TransLink)

Artistic rendering of centre median tracks for Surrey Newton-Guildford LRT on King George Boulevard. (TransLink)

Artistic rendering of a Surrey Newton-Guildford LRT station at 96 Avenue on King George Boulevard. (TransLink)

Diagram of a typical station for Surrey Newton-Guildford LRT. (TransLink)

Route and station map of the cancelled Surrey Newton-Guildford LRT. (TransLink)

RapidBus standard for the southern half of King George Boulevard BRT

With all that said, the City’s support for the optimal BRT standard with a centre median busway on King George Boulevard ends at Highway 10.

South of Highway 10, the municipal government states King George Boulevard’s topography, overpasses, bridges, and the Agricultural Land Reserve limit the feasibility of bus-only lanes.

As a result, City staff state the southern half of the King George Boulevard BRT route would need to run in mixed traffic, similar to RapidBus. Further analysis south of Highway 10 is required.

Some major road improvements within the southern half of the corridor are expected to reach full completion in Fall 2023. King George Boulevard’s old bridges on the Nicomekl River are being replaced with a new four-lane bridge — providing two traffic lanes in each direction. This is one more lane than the previous three-lane crossing configuration.

Concept plan for the new Nicomekl River Bridge and the upgraded surrounding road network. (City of Surrey)

Design of the new Nicomekl River Bridge. (City of Surrey)

New King George Boulevard design south of the Nicomekl River Bridge. (City of Surrey)

Whether it be the extension of the existing R1 RapidBus or an upgrade of the RapidBus to BRT, the improved bus service is intended to be a short-to-medium term solution for the King George Boulevard corridor. As part of the 10-year priorities, TransLink will complete an exploratory business case to study longer term future grade separation and technology alternatives, such as a SkyTrain extension.

In 2019, in lieu of the street-level LRT, TransLink estimated a southward SkyTrain extension of the Expo Line along King George Boulevard from the vicinity of King George Station to 72 Avenue in Newton — paired with a short BRT route along 104 Avenue between Surrey Central Station and Guildford Town Centre — would cost between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion. With the recent inflationary trend, this figure is likely now substantially higher.

The unspent $1.6 billion in funding previously committed to the LRT project was redirected towards the 16-km-long SkyTrain extension of the Expo Line along Fraser Highway between King George Station and Langley Centre. Construction is expected to begin in 2024 for an opening in 2028.

In 2022, when TransLink first unveiled its BRT strategy, it estimated BRT built to optimal standards would carry a construction cost of about $15 million per km. For comparison, this BRT average per km cost is comparable to the entire budget for implementing the road design changes for some of the region’s 2020-launched RapidBus routes.

Over in western Surrey, along the Scott Road and 72 Avenue corridors, construction is now approaching completion on the $33-million project to build various bus-priority measures for the new R6 RapidBus between Scott Road Station and Newton bus exchange. When it launches in early 2024, the 12-km-long R6 RapidBus route will be optimized with nine km of bus-only/bus-priority lanes from repurposing general vehicle traffic lanes. Most of these lanes for buses will be located within the curbside lane, but not insignificant segments near Strawberry Hill Shopping Centre will have a centre median busway. Other features entail queue jumpers and upgraded bus stops.

TransLink’s 10-year priorities identify the R6 RapidBus as a candidate for future additional bus-priority measure upgrades for its potential conversion into BRT.

scott road southbound bus lane bus stop 72 avenue rapidbus

September 2023 construction progress on Scott Road’s segregated bus-only lane for the 72 Avenue southbound bus stop for the future R6 RapidBus. (TransLink)

72 avenue bus priority lane surrey rapidbus

September 2023 construction progress of bus-priority (HOV) lanes along 72 Avenue in Surrey for the future R6 RapidBus. (TransLink)

r6 scott road rapid bus 72 avenue interchange

Artistic rendering of the bus-priority road design changes for Scott Road near the interchange with 72 Avenue, next to Strawberry Hill Shopping Centre. (TransLink)

Last month, Delta City Council approved a member motion to confirm the City of Delta’s official support to call on TransLink to prioritize the upgrade of the R6 RapidBus into BRT. Even without the City of Surrey’s direct support, the R6 RapidBus corridor appears to be a strong candidate to be amongst the region’s first three or four BRT routes, based on the corridor’s strong ridership levels alone.

TransLink’s 2022 statistics show the existing No. 319 bus route — running along Scott Road and 72 Avenue between Scott Road Station and Newton bus exchange — is TransLink’s fourth busiest bus route, with annual boardings of 6.05 million, average weekday boardings of 18,000, average Saturday boardings of 14,600, and average Sunday/holiday boardings of 12,300. It is one of Metro Vancouver’s fastest growing bus routes for ridership.

The No. 319’s ridership is now just behind the No. 49 Metrotown Station/UBC route and just ahead of the No. 25 Brentwood Station/UBC route.

When the R6 RapidBus launches, the No. 319 will be retained as a local bus service with reduced frequencies.

r6 scott road rapidbus route map street changes

Map of the R6 Scott Road RapidBus bus stops and the bus-priority measures. (TransLink)

This is the full list of TransLink’s proposed 11 new RapidBus routes under the 10-year priorities:

New RapidBus routes in the first five years:
1. Langley to Haney Place via 200th Street
2. Downtown Vancouver to Lonsdale via Lions Gate Bridge
3. Marine Drive Station to 22nd Street Station via Marine Drive/Marine Way
4. R1 King George Boulevard route extension from Newton to White Rock
5. Richmond Centre to Metrotown via Knight Street Bridge, Victoria Drive, and 49th Avenue
New RapidBus routes for the second five years:
1. Downtown Vancouver to Ambleside via Lions Gate Bridge
2. Carvolth exchange to Scott Road Station via 96 Avenue
3. Commercial Drive/Victoria Drive
4. Langley to White Rock via 24th Avenue
5. New Westminster Station to Brentwood Town Centre Station via Canada Way
6. Newton to Guildford via 152nd Street

This is the full list of TransLink’s proposed nine BRT routes under the 10-year priorities:

RapidBus to BRT upgrade: R3 Lougheed Highway (Coquitlam Central Station to Haney Place in Maple Ridge)
RapidBus to BRT upgrade: R5 Hastings Street (Burrard Station to SFU Burnaby)
RapidBus to BRT upgrade: R6 Scott Road (Scott Road Station to Newton exchange). R6 will be launched in early 2024 before its potential eventual upgrade to BRT.
New BRT: Surrey to White Rock via King George Boulevard
New BRT: Langley to Haney Place in Maple Ridge via 200th Street, Golden Ears Bridge, and Lougheed Highway
New BRT: Marine Drive Station to 22nd Street Station via Marine Drive/Marine Way
New BRT: Richmond Centre to Metrotown via Knight Street Bridge, Victoria Drive, and 49th Avenue
New BRT: Downtown Vancouver to Lonsdale via Lions Gate Bridge
New BRT: Metrotown to Park Royal via Ironworkers Memorial Bridge

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