A proposed transit link between downtown Vancouver and Squamish stole the show at two recent transit workshops on the North Shore.
The workshops to discuss the North Shore Area Transit Plan with residents took place Feb. 9 and 15. Those in attendance were presented with a list of 10 "near term" projects that TransLink officials said could be considered within 10 years.
Residents were then asked to vote on the projects that they felt were the most important. The most popular proposal was a new Sea to Sky Highway route from downtown Vancouver to Park Royal and then north to Squamish.
TransLink representative Teresa O'Reilly said the overall plan would meet the needs of the community's growing population.
"By 2040, of all the trips that North Shore residents make, we would like to see 50 per cent of those be done by transit. Currently it is 10 per cent," O'Reilly said. "This is aspirational but definitely attainable."
Erin MacGregor, 29, a University of Calgary environmental planning student, questioned the overall need for the Sea to Sky Highway route.
"I had the most concern with the Squamish route because it's really only benefiting Squamish. The way it is designed is only a commuter, peak-period type of service. It doesn't really benefit people on the North Shore," she said. "I was surprised that it got the most support."
TransLink currently operates as far north as Lions Bay.
West Vancouver resident Marilyn Adams hopes TransLink takes riders' concerns seriously.
"Sometimes I think they get data but not necessarily from the residents," she said. "I hope that they take that to heart and really evaluate what we have to say."
Squamish and the rest of the Sea to Sky Corridor aren't currently served by TransLink, but have been identified in planning documents as possible areas where TransLink expansion might be possible in the future. There is no public transit service between the Lower Mainland and Squamish, and a B.C. Transit-operated route that ran between Whistler and Squamish for six years was terminated last September. Greyhound provides the only regular inter-city option for those traveling north of Lions Bay.
For more information on the proposed transit plans on the North Shore visit translink.ca.
- With files from David Burke, The Chief
