Metro Vancouver bus stop named 'North America's worst' is getting its fix

A bus stop in Metro Vancouver that earned an award for being the worst bus stop in North America last year is getting a much-needed retrofit this week.

The problematic bus stop is located on Lougheed Highway, at the intersection of Lougheed and Old Dewdney Trunk Road, in Pitt Meadows — just east of the Pitt River Bridge. It was a top-four finalist in StreetBlog’s “Sorry Bus Stops” contest before being awarded the top ‘prize’ in a landslide vote against another sketchy stop in Cincinnati.

See also

• TransLink says it is working on a fix for 'North America's worst bus stop'
• It's official: BC bus stop 'wins' award for being worst in North America
• Lougheed Highway B-Line will run from Coquitlam Central to Maple Ridge (MAP)
• This is Metro Vancouver's fanciest transit bus shelter (PHOTOS)
• Extensive renovation of Lonsdale Quay bus loop begins in March

The problematic bus stop on Lougheed Highway just east of the Pitt River Bridge. (Google Maps)

Notoriety generated from the online competition drew much local attention to the poor state of the bus stop, which is designed in a way that requires buses to stop on a highway travel lane in order to pick up passengers.

At the time, TransLink said its CEO, Kevin Desmond, personally brought it to the attention of the public transit authority’s planners, and noted a fix is something they have been working on even before the bus stop’s publicity. The stop is located on provincial government jurisdiction.

TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond at ‘North America’s worst bus stop’ on the side of Lougheed Highway in Pitt Meadows. (TransLink)

Moreover, passengers need to climb over a concrete barrier in order to reach the bus, and the TransLink bus stop sign is attached to the same pole that supports a road sign that indicates the end of the bus lane.

In an email, the BC Ministry of Transportation told Daily Hive retrofits on the bus stop are now well underway, with concrete poured for a raised pedestrian refuge area so that pedestrians are positioned outside of the vehicle travel lane.

There is also new railing at the back of the area to provide a barrier between the pedestrians and the ditch behind.

When the weather cooperates, crews will add line marking and stencilling to separate transit passengers and multi-use path users.

Renovation of the problematic bus stop on Lougheed Highway in Pitt Meadows. Taken January 17, 2019. (BC Ministry of Transportation)