Opinion: Why Maple Ridge supports TransLink's Bus Rapid Transit

Opinion: Why the City of Maple Ridge supports TransLink's Bus Rapid Transit

R3 RapidBus on Lougheed Highway. (TransLink)

Written for Daily Hive Urbanized by Dan Ruimy, who is the mayor of the City of Maple Ridge.

TransLink recently announced three new bus rapid transit routes (BRT) for the Metro Vancouver region, and while most people may ask “What’s so special about new buses?” the introduction of BRT will be a game changer for local transportation.

At the City of Maple Ridge, we are thrilled to welcome the new BRT route from Haney Place in Maple Ridge to Langley, and to pioneer this new transit mode in our city. Partnerships with the provincial and federal governments will be key to making the vision for BRT possible.

BRT is a form of transit we haven’t seen yet in the Lower Mainland, and our City Council was unanimous in “raising our hand” to be one of the first cities where TransLink will introduce this new technology, as part of the first phase of its new expansion plan, Access for Everyone.

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BRT also represents an exciting opportunity for transit-oriented development, where new multi-family housing projects – including affordable rental homes – are situated adjacent to rapid transit, allowing residents to easily get where they need to go.

So how is BRT different than a regular bus or rapid bus? The biggest difference is BRT operates entirely on traffic-separated dedicated lanes, similar to a “train on wheels.” BRT systems typically have larger buses, higher frequency service, traffic signal priority and covered stations with information boards and real-time updates.

Bus rapid transit was intentionally prioritized by TransLink because it costs less and is quicker to implement compared to large capital projects like SkyTrain.

Map of three new rapid transit corridors using buses. (TransLink)

The BRT route in our community will connect Langley Centre and Haney Place Exchange in Maple Ridge via 200th Street, the Golden Ears Bridge, and Lougheed Highway. This corridor was prioritized for BRT because it’s experiencing one of the fastest rates of population and job growth among all BRT corridors and will connect to the future Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension.

Last month, the federal and provincial governments along with E-One Moli announced a historic $1 billion investment into an expanded battery manufacturing plant, which alone will bring 350 new jobs to Maple Ridge and become the City’s largest private sector employer. The new BRT line will run close to the E-One Moli battery manufacturing plant and offer fast and efficient transit service to not only E-One Moli but to the entire industrial area.

The need for transit in our community is enormous. Maple Ridge is growing at more than twice the rate of Canada’s overall population growth from the last census. And new federal immigration targets are higher than we originally planned for. We look forward to welcoming newcomers to our communities, but we need to expand our transportation services to support our new residents.

To respond to the transportation needs of the community, our City Council has adopted the Maple Ridge Moves plan – a series of sustainable road improvement projects that are necessary to ensure the introduction of BRT is successful.

Maple Ridge Moves will enable residents to access rapid transit connecting the city centre to the rest of the region while reducing traffic congestion. This plan will also open new areas for housing and industrial development – both of which are in limited supply in the region.

The VIVA BRT system in Ontario’s York Region. (TransLink)

But we can’t get this critical transportation link off the ground without support from senior levels of government. We need the federal and provincial governments to help fund the new BRT route, which is part of TransLink’s Access for Everyone plan.

Access for Everyone will double bus service over the next decade, introduce nine new Bus Rapid Transit lines, and take the next steps to adding rapid transit on the heavily congested North Shore to UBC and other parts of the region.

By bringing new transit services and easing road congestion, we can reduce idling time for drivers and help more residents choose public transit. This all contributes to lower emissions and helps meet federal and provincial climate targets.

As a local government, we are alive to the significant work involved in getting these transportation projects up and running. We have collaborated successfully with the province and federal government in the past and look forward to partnering again to get shovels in the ground for BRT.

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