Opinion: If TransLink builds Bus Rapid Transit, it must be done right | Daily Hive

Public consultation begins on TransLink's new Metrotown-North Shore Bus Rapid Transit route

North Shore-Metrotown SkyTrain would see 120,000 riders daily: study

"A no-brainer": Reactions to 23 minute Park Royal-Metrotown ride on North Shore SkyTrain line

Opinion: Don't waste time and money on BRT or LRT, begin planning for North Shore-Metrotown SkyTrain

Opinion: UBC SkyTrain must be Metro Vancouver's next public transit priority

TransLink to extend North Shore RapidBus route to Metrotown starting in 2027

The Boundary-Lougheed option would avoid Burnaby Heights entirely. Instead, the BRT would go down Boundary Road before turning onto Lougheed Highway to connect to Brentwood Town Centre. It would have one stop at Kootenay Loop and another near Gilmore Station.

The Hastings-Willingdon option would instead have the BRT go through Burnaby Heights, overlapping with the R5 Hastings Street RapidBus before heading down Willingdon Avenue to Brentwood.

burnaby north shore brt opinion piece only

TransLink

Option 1 and Option 2: proposed routes for Metrotown-North Shore BRT, August 2025. (TransLink)

This section of Hastings Street in Burnaby Heights currently operates with time-of-day curbside bus lanes. During rush hour, buses get dedicated lanes, and outside of rush hour, the bus lanes become parking spots and loading zones for businesses.

This existing solution is far from optimal. The time-of-day restrictions mean that buses can be incredibly slow outside of rush hours, especially on weekends. Curbside bus lanes share traffic with right-turning vehicles and often get blocked by illegally parked cars and other obstacles.

If we choose the Hastings-Willingdon option for this BRT corridor, TransLink will put in dedicated, 24/7 bus lanes along Hastings Street between Willingdon and the bridge. This has caused a bit of a stir in the community, with the Burnaby Heights Merchants Association strongly opposing this option.

While there has been some good discussion on the topic, I’m not sure that all the options have been fairly considered.

The Heights Merchants Association argues that dedicated bus-only lanes down Hastings Street is the wrong way to go. Isabel Kolic (Executive Director of the Heights Merchants Association) praised the current setup on Hastings Street, where businesses get parking spots outside of rush hour.

She rightly points out that the last thing we want is to turn Hastings Street into a highway, with six lanes of high-speed traffic rushing by 24/7. She’s also rightly concerned about removing loading zones, which could have a real impact on small businesses.

This is assuming TransLink puts in curbside bus lanes, which I don’t necessarily think they would do.

Denis Agar, the Executive Director of advocacy group Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders, argues that we need to put rapid transit where people and businesses are, not down comparatively empty corridors like Boundary Road.

Importantly, he argues we should put dedicated bus-only lanes down the middle of Hastings Street instead, as this would benefit residents and businesses alike. I agree with Agar, with an important addendum: if we use centre bus lanes, we can maintain curbside parking. We have an opportunity to make both sides happy and turn this section of Hastings Street into a beautiful, walkable boulevard.

Here’s how this might work. Note that this is speculative, and final designs have not yet been decided.

Streetmix

As Agar described, the centre lanes would be dedicated to buses. Next to it, there would be two general vehicle lanes available to drivers. Crucially, there would be curbside parking spots, which could become general vehicle lanes during rush hour. This configuration would work much the same as it does today during rush hour traffic, just with bus lanes in the middle.

Outside of rush hour, that’s when Hastings Street would transform into a beautiful, walkable boulevard. The curbside lanes would be available for parking, and the street would quiet down, with just one lane in each direction for general vehicle traffic.

Hastings Street would become much more pleasant for everyone; no longer would it be a high-speed thoroughfare to move people from A to B. Instead, it would become a walkable street, accessible to locals with the same amount of parking and loading zones as there are today.

This would address Kolic’s points on parking and loading zones. It would also mean drastically reduced noise pollution, making Hastings Street a much more attractive destination.

This would also address Agar’s point that centre bus lanes are far better for traffic flow compared to curbside bus lanes; they avoid issues with right-turning vehicles, and never have to deal with curbside parking.

Crucially, centre bus lanes on Hastings Street would allow buses to go where they are needed, where there are people and businesses.

A solution that addresses the needs of both sides is only possible with centre bus lanes.

Some might argue that removing two lanes of traffic would be bad for congestion. I would argue that without dedicated bus-only lanes, buses can’t function reliably on busy corridors like this. Dedicated bus-only lanes move far more people than general vehicle lanes, and as demonstrated above, they can also be used as a catalyst to improve the streetscape for everyone.

If given a choice between curbside bus lanes and centre bus lanes, let’s choose the option that has the most benefits. If given a choice between the two route options, let’s choose the one that helps people and businesses the most.

With all that in mind, here’s what Hastings Street could look like with centre bus lanes.

Buses would stop at island platforms to let passengers on and off. Passengers can expect protection from the elements, seating, and LCD screens showing when the next buses are coming.

Proposed concept of Metrotown-North Shore BRT, August 2025. (TransLink)

One potential concern is whether there is enough space on Hastings Street to accommodate the extra space needed for island platforms. There are three locations where we’d need these stops: Willingdon Avenue, Gilmore Avenue, and the Kootenay bus loop.

Willingdon Avenue is relatively simple; all we would need to do is stagger the platforms before and after the intersection.

The next stop is at Gilmore Avenue. Here, the street is just about 19.5 metres wide; assuming we allocate three metres per lane, there is enough room for a 1.5-metre island platform. This should still allow us enough space to install barriers to protect pedestrians from cars. I think we would probably want a bit more space, at least another half-metre. As such, we would need to take away some sidewalk space to widen the street near the bus stop.

Finally, there’s the Kootenay bus loop. Here, we only have 18 metres to work with, so we would again need to reconfigure the nearby sidewalks to make room. We can shave off some of the bus loop to make room, along with the wide sidewalks East of Kootenay Street; including the street, we have at least 26 metres to work with.

This configuration would give us bus priority lanes without compromising rush hour traffic, and without giving up any existing parking spots. It’s a simple, elegant solution that can make both sides happy, including rush-hour drivers.

Johnathan French/Google Maps

Streetmix

Johnathan French/Google Maps

However, there is a more drastic option available: we could make parking permanent on Hastings Street and reduce the total number of lanes to four.

This would provide much more flexibility; businesses could choose to retain parking out front or install outdoor patios. It would still be centre bus lanes, and we would have slightly more space to work with, as parking spots don’t take up as much space as traffic lanes. This means we wouldn’t have to narrow any of the sidewalks, even along 18-metre-wide sections.

If we did narrow the sidewalks slightly, we could even go a step further and add bike lanes in each direction.

This is actually my preferred solution, but I understand that this would have drivers up in arms. Still, it’s worth looking at.

Streetmix

With all that said, buses using the centre lanes should receive traffic signal priority, allowing them to always have green lights as they approach intersections.

Speed limits should also be reduced for general vehicle lanes. This is already the case on Hastings Street in parts of downtown Vancouver, and it should absolutely be the case here, next to all the shops, cafes, residences, and elementary schools.

Of course, regular buses along this corridor should also use the dedicated lanes, especially the R5 RapidBus. Emergency responders should also use the bus lanes to bypass traffic.

We should also take the opportunity to beautify the street, widen the sidewalks where possible, and add more foliage. This can help sell the plan to residents, who would appreciate a more pleasant Hastings Street.

Hastings Street is just one component of the BRT corridor. The entire route requires upgrades, notably the sections connecting to Park Royal and Lonsdale Quay. Existing R2 RapidBus trips are frequently delayed by traffic near the Lions Gate Bridge; the entirety of Marine Drive needs dedicated bus-only lanes if we want this project to be successful.

We need to look at the benefits that this project can bring to this entire route, not just for Burnaby Heights. We need to look beyond what this corridor looks like today and imagine a future where this project can transform our streets and make them beautiful.

This doesn’t just have to be a cheap, temporary solution. We can use this as an opportunity to bring benefits not just to passengers, but to businesses and pedestrians alike.

If we’re going to build BRT, it needs to stand out from the existing RapidBus services. This is a chance to really impress people and get them on board, figuratively and literally.

You can submit feedback online on the Metrotown-North Shore BRT route options right now, up until Sept. 21, 2025.

You might also like: