Mayor Kennedy Stewart outlines vision for "Vancouver Loop" SkyTrain expansion

"Vancouver Loop" SkyTrain concept, with the inclusion of the under-construction Broadway Extension to Arbutus (solid dark orange line), planned Broadway Extension between Arbutus to UBC (solid light orange line), and proposed 41st/49th Avenue extension between UBC and Metrotown (yellow line) (Forward Together)

Imagine further SkyTrain extensions within Vancouver that altogether create looping rapid transit connectivity across the city.

On Monday, Forward Together Mayor Kennedy Stewart outlined his advocacy vision for an additional SkyTrain extension along 41st Avenue and 49th Avenue — running between Metrotown and the University of British Columbia (UBC).

Combined with the existing Expo Line, the Millennium Line Broadway Extension under construction to Arbutus, which will open in 2025, and the planned Millennium Line extension between Arbutus and UBC, all three extensions would create a circular SkyTrain network serving the city.

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If elected, Stewart says he will continue to advocate for SkyTrain extensions, including the 41st/49th Avenue line, which will serve 18 neighbourhoods, major destinations such as Langara College, Oakridge Centre, and UBC and provide an additional way to connect to the Canada Line at Oakridge-41st Avenue Station.

forward together kennedy stewart vancouver loop skytrain

“Vancouver Loop” SkyTrain concept, with the inclusion of the under-construction Broadway Extension to Arbutus (solid dark orange line), planned Broadway Extension between Arbutus to UBC (solid light orange line) and proposed 41st/49th Avenue extension between UBC and Metrotown (yellow line). (Forward Together)

“Completing the Vancouver Loop will help us meet our livability and climate emergency goals,” said Stewart in a statement.

“I fought hard at TransLink Mayors’ Council to extend the Broadway Subway to UBC and secured millions of dollars from partners to fund it. If re-elected, I will fight just as hard to build the Vancouver Loop extension and expand rapid transit in South Vancouver.”

While Stewart has outlined a plan for another east-west SkyTrain extension across Vancouver, the existing plan to build the multibillion-dollar Millennium Line extension between Arbutus and UBC is still unfunded. Based on the current rate of progress in planning the project, it could open in the early 2030s.

TransLink suggests the 41st/49th Avenue SkyTrain extension in its approved Transport 2050 plan of a 30-year regional transportation expansion and improvement strategy. However, Transport 2050 came short of prescribing SkyTrain, instead only stating that such an extension on this corridor will have grade separation considerations.

Vancouver City Council also recently reaffirmed Transport 2050’s 41st/49th Avenue rapid transit line concept through its inclusion within the Vancouver Plan.

translink transport 2050 rapid transit expansion

Transport 2050 plan for additional grade-separated rapid transit (SkyTrain) and bus rapid transit (BRT). (TransLink)

vancouver plan rapid transit map approved

Rapid transit concept in the approved Vancouver Plan. (City of Vancouver)

Other regional rapid transit priorities entail nine new bus rapid transit (BRT) lines, the SFU Burnaby Mountain gondola, planning for a long-term rapid transit solution serving the North Shore between Park Royal, Phibbs Exchange, Brentwood and Metrotown, a potential short SkyTrain extension between Coquitlam Central Station and downtown Port Coquitlam, and a potential SkyTrain extension along King George Boulevard from Surrey City Centre to Newton.

TransLink has stipulated the Millennium Line extension between Arbutus and UBC will only proceed once the BRT implementation plan is underway.

Other than Stewart, only city councillor and TEAM mayoral candidate Colleen Hardwick to date has outlined a platform promise directly relating to SkyTrain. If elected, Hardwick says she will conduct city-wide consultation on the planned Millennium Line extension from Arbutus to UBC and consider alternatives to the SkyTrain extension.

Stewart also says he will implement policies that catalyze the construction of 220,000 additional homes over a decade.

Forward Together is running seven candidates, including the incumbent mayor and six city councillor candidates. Stewart ran in 2018 as an independent but formed his own party early this year after struggling to push policies forward without the backing of City Council throughout his term in office.

The civic election is scheduled for October 15, 2022.

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