Burrard Inlet Rapid Transit - Park Royal-Metrotown via 2nd Narrows | BRT/RRT?

[ninjakafi_81]

Burnaby Heights Merchants seek BRT Route Section Option 2 as a balanced approach

https://www.burnabyheights.com/news/burn...section-option-2-as-a-balanced-approach/

In response to TransLink’s public consultation on the proposed North Shore-Metrotown Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the Heights Merchants Association (HMA) strongly supports Option 2 – Boundary Road/Lougheed Hwy. While neither option is perfect, the HMA believes Option 2 strikes the best balance between meeting the needs of the region with the needs of its local merchants and the community they serve.

Why Option 2 strikes a good balance

Option 2 provides efficient regional and local connectivity while preserving neighbourhood character and minimizing harm to street-level businesses.

The BRT Station at Kootenay Loop would connect to Burnaby Heights via the frequent R5 Rapid Bus while the route serves the region as a whole.

Boundary Road also is much wider than Hastings to accommodate BRT, has long-term growth and expansion potential, and the electrical infrastructure will someday be put underground. The steep hill on Boundary is a lesser grade than sections of Willingdon Ave. already approved for the BRT, and Boundary been safely used by buses for decades.

Option 1 has unintended consequences

Option 1 – Hastings Street/Willingdon Avenue – would directly threaten the viability of one of Burnaby’s busiest merchant corridors. Burnaby Heights depends on multi-modal transportation access as a daily-use, daily staples commercial hub. Removing curbside parking to make room for bus-only lanes would permanently undermine how the neighbourhood functions.

​​Burnaby Heights serves locals every day with grocery stores, doctors, vets, repair shops, and family services. Convenient access and curbside parking are essential to its vitality and competitiveness. With only two public spots per business on average, removing street parking would cut the parking supply in half, leaving insufficient capacity in nearby two-hour city lots. Customers would be pushed into residential streets and forced to park blocks away, creating hardship for seniors, young families, and people with disabilities.

“To us, a parked car on Hastings represents a community member actively supporting the district, whether dropping off a child, carrying groceries, going to physio, or dining at a local restaurant,” explains Kolic. “We cannot treat these customers as a nuisance or make their trip more difficult because, if we do, many will simply go elsewhere.”

Beyond parking loss and customer inconvenience, Option 1 would permanently alter the environment with increased noise and vehicle flow. “During HOV hours it is already difficult to have a conversation on the sidewalk. Imagine a six-lane highway cutting through here every day,” says Kolic.

“We support BRT from the North Shore, but removing our valued parking is too high of a price for us. A BRT Station at Kootenay Loop will do the job of connecting our district to this great new resource to the region.”

Kolic reminds Translink that Burnaby Heights businesses are designed to be street facing and serve a wide range of clients. Preserving a safe, walkable, and a calmer, attractive environment is essential to long-term viability.

“Burnaby Heights has lots of appealing businesses but if they can’t function, serve their clientele, and compete – those businesses will not be there in the future.”

Support for Transit and Balanced Solutions

The HMA emphasizes that it ardently supports public transit. “We fully support public transit improvements,” Kolic notes. “But the solution must balance regional transportation needs with the functionality and survival of local business districts and their communities.”

The HMA urges Burnaby City Council to adopt Option 2 and safeguard the Heights as a strong Urban Village. “Without local commercial areas with a diversity of businesses, residents will be forced to travel farther for everyday needs,” concludes Kolic.

“Yes, we need to expand transit. But let’s do it in a way that preserves communities’ function, character, and local businesses for generations to come.”

[chowhou]

It's a little disappointing that the Burnaby Heights business associations don't just come out in support of a Skytrain line.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

It will be interesting to see how they prioritize BRT buses through any parts of the route that require a turn. I assume this might play a factor on whether the centre or curb lane would be used?

The survey shows a centre lane alignment.
I expect they would use the 'white vertical bar' traffic light for a bus only movement.
There's one like that eastbound on Marine Drive at Taylor Way in West Van for buses to cross from the curb lane to the centre lane towards North Van.

[ecbin]

Originally Posted by ninjakafi_81

Burnaby Heights Merchants seek BRT Route Section Option 2 as a balanced approach

I'm a regular to a lot of the businesses in the Heights and this PISSES me off so much. I remember that Glenburn was pretty public about their support for option 2 and I stopped going there, now I want to see the rest of the list of businesses that support option 2 so I can boycott them too.

[jollyburger]

This makes sense.

Beyond parking loss and customer inconvenience, Option 1 would permanently alter the environment with increased noise and vehicle flow. “During HOV hours it is already difficult to have a conversation on the sidewalk. Imagine a six-lane highway cutting through here every day,” says Kolic.

[CanSpice]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

This makes sense.

Does it? Hastings is a five-lane highway during rush hour (one side is no parking in the morning, other side is no parking in the evening), wouldn't the BRT drop it down to four lanes all day long?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by CanSpice

Does it? Hastings is a five-lane highway during rush hour (one side is no parking in the morning, other side is no parking in the evening), wouldn't the BRT drop it down to four lanes all day long?

Sorry I was being sarcastic.

I wonder if there are more people in Burnaby who would be mad about losing a lane on Lougheed versus a BRT lane on East Hastings?

[jollyburger]

She's relying on that old 2015 study about noise levels.

Noise levels affect the environment and enjoyment of the street. Since the vehicle capacity of the street
is close to highway levels, so are the average noise levels. When conducting observations, conversations
proved difficult due to the excessive vehicular noise. When you cannot have a conversation on the street,
it is very unenjoyable and uncomfortable for people walking, and diminishes the sidewalk experience.
People will often just walk through the Heights quickly to run their errands or to get inside.

It also says this which is her blabber about buses making a lot of noise:

During peak hours, the south side of Hastings Street has its parking lane replaced with an HOV lane. This causes a significant increase in noise levels.

The study makes all these "observations" but they seem a bit flawed. They measure non-peak time from 12-1PM in February. But they measure peak time at 4-5PM. And this is all to subtly explain how sidewalk noise is ruining the sidewalk experience.

Our observations found that there are significant differences between the peak and non-peak sidewalk
counts at Gilmore and Hastings St. During peak hours, the south side of Hastings Street has its parking
lane replaced with an HOV lane. This causes a significant increase in noise levels. Slow Streets also
found that the north side (where the parking lane is still in effect) only saw half the reduction in foot
traffic compared to the south side.
*
The observations demonstrated that the majority of people were arriving at the study site on foot. Since
a high proportion of visitors spend the majority of their time in the Heights walking, it is recommended
to focus investments on improving the sidewalk experience. The most effective ways to do this would
be to slow down traffic to 30-40 kph, maintain a protected buffer in the curbside lane, and add more
sidewalk space

https://slowstreets.wordpress.com/wp-con...%20now%3A%20outbound&utm_medium=referral

[logan5]

Is it time to consider an expressway from DT to the #1? That would alleviate a lot of congestion along Hastings, along terminal/1st ave., and along Broadway. That would open up space for BRT lanes.

The expressway could be built elevated along the waterfront, til you hit the #1.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Where would a freeway start and end that wouldn't just create more congestion downtown?

More importantly, if we have money for a freeway, we also have money for the Gold extension, and the entire argument becomes moot. There's plenty of space for BRT lanes, just not enough for BRT and NIMBYs.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

There's plenty of space for BRT lanes, just not enough for BRT and NIMBYs.

[jollyburger]

And I forgot Hastings HOV lanes includes 2 people in a car along with buses which makes this whole argument about BRT even more stupid.

[LowerLonsdaleMike]

Originally Posted by logan5

Is it time to consider an expressway from DT to the #1? That would alleviate a lot of congestion along Hastings, along terminal/1st ave., and along Broadway. That would open up space for BRT lanes.

The expressway could be built elevated along the waterfront, til you hit the #1.

No thanks! A freeway along the waterfront? That's some 1970s logic. We need more skytrain lines. A line straight down Hastings would help, along with a North Van skytrain.

[twoNeurons]

I was initially thinking Boundary would be better as it would likely be a bit faster and that's the point of Rapid Bus, but now I think Hastings is a better choice.

1. Without street parking, businesses will have to rely on side street parking, but there's actually a fair amount of that.

2. Corner businesses will suffer less than mid-block, but strategically putting the stops mid-block may increase foot traffic from pedestrians on buses.

3. Removing parking means the existing lanes of will actually be BETTER and more free-flowing (outside of HOV time), so traffic should get better off-peak... because part of the delays are caused by cars who are parallel parking.

4. An extra stop at Gilmore is nice to spread out loads between the two stations, but Gilmore isn't important a destination as Willingdon Heights is.

5. You want to create commuting patterns and I think this would open up the North Shore to a LARGER group of people in North Burnaby. People in the Gilmore condos can VERY easily get to Brentwood and all condos are to the East of the station (towards Brentwood) so it's walkable for most people anyhow... unless the Home Depot decides to redevelop their parking lot.

[jollyburger]

CTV

Sandro Massullo, owner of Massullo Music, has been repairing and servicing trumpets, trombones, and saxophones in the Heights for nearly 25 years. He worries that dedicated bus lanes would eliminate street parking and drive customers away.

“It’ll destroy our business,” Massullo said. “I don’t see people jumping on a bus with a couple of instruments to get serviced.”

The Heights Merchants Association is raising similar concerns. Executive director Isabel Kolic argues the Hastings option would fundamentally change the neighborhood’s identity, and says dozens of business owners are worried for their future.

“Option one would convert Hastings Street into a permanent six-lane highway,” Kolic said. “It would change the atmosphere of our urban village and the character of the neighborhood.”

Supporters believe increased foot traffic could boost local business, but skeptics like Massullo insist it would erode the neighbourhood’s identity that has made the Heights thrive for decades.

“I really don’t see the need for the BRT in our area,” said Massullo, adding that the R5 express bus already operates along the street and curbside parking is limited during rush hour. “It would ruin the whole community.”

https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article...ts-new-bus-rapid-transit-route-heats-up/

[BaddieB]

Originally Posted by logan5

Is it time to consider an expressway from DT to the #1? That would alleviate a lot of congestion along Hastings, along terminal/1st ave., and along Broadway. That would open up space for BRT lanes.

The expressway could be built elevated along the waterfront, til you hit the #1.

Highways through cities never alleviate congestion

[officedweller]

As a side note, eliminating congestion is always a red herring. The measure should not be congestion, it should be throughput (even if the speed is no faster than it was before). The anti-congestion appeal is to the 'me' generation types that always phrase everything in a self-interested manner (my time is valuable).

[Alex Mackinnon]

Originally Posted by BaddieB

Highways through cities never alleviate congestion

That's not entirely true. You can use tolling to control induced demand.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by Alex Mackinnon

That's not entirely true. You can use tolling to control induced demand.

The same tolls Horgan scrapped three elections ago?

[jollyburger]

Probably the wrong thread to discuss freeways in Vancouver.