The buses are rolling up the mountain to Silver Valley. TransLink began service Sept. 4 to the isolated suburb, offering residents a public transit option to relying on private autos to get anywhere.
There will be two community shuttle buses to Silver Valley, on 45-minute intervals. One, the 733 Rock Ridge-Haney Place bus, will run up and down 232nd Street and up to 133rd Avenue. The bus will connect with Haney Place Mall then loop down to Port Haney Station so people can jump on to the West Coast Express. It replaces the old C47 community shuttle.
Another new bus, the 741 Anderson Creek-Haney Place bus, will run along 227th Street and up to Silver Valley Road and Foreman Drive. It will also connect to Haney Place Mall and the Port Haney Station.
The improvements are part of the Mayors’ Council 10-Year Vision phase one plan.
Maple Ridge Mayor Nicole Read, who lives in Silver Valley, said she’s already seen people waiting at the stops and she’s had a compliment from a neighbour on the new service.
Meanwhile, the reconstruction of 232nd Street that leads up to Silver Valley, is scheduled soon. Design work is underway with work to begin next year. The road will be resurfaced and new sidewalks and bike lanes will be included.
Phase one of the Mayors’ 10-Year Vision also includes a new B-line express bus service connecting downtown Maple Ridge to Coquitlam Central station and the new SkyTrain extension.
Later this fall, double-decker buses will start serving longer routes.