Maple Ridge city council has spoken, and it wants to be the first city in the Lower Mainland to get a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line.
At the Oct. 3 council meeting, Mayor Dan Ruimy introduced the TransLink BRT city staff report by making it clear that this was only the start of the journey toward the city acquiring its own BRT network.
“There are a few other communities that are vying to be either the first, second, or third, and my understanding is TransLink will likely go up to three [cities],” said Mayor Ruimy. “It could be only two to start off with, we don’t know yet.”
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These BRT lines are a core component of the new 10-year expansion plan released by TransLink, but details on the project have previously been quite vague.
“If we are selected one, two, or three, the hard work will begin as to what this will actually look like,” said Ruimy.
But the mayor and rest of city council are hopeful that the BRT plans will be a good fit for the city and will greatly help ease traffic concerns associated with the rapid population growth.
“BRT enables residents to have access to faster and more frequent buses – better connecting the city centre to the Lower Mainland,” said Ruimy.
The resolution put forward on Tuesday evening recommended that the City of Maple Ridge secure government funding for the recently announced Maple Ridge Moves plan, work with TransLink and the provincial government to spur interest in investing in two BRT lines in Maple Ridge, and prioritize the BRT line connecting Langley to Haney Place.
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“Connecting Maple Ridge to Langley Township, Langley City, and the new SkyTrain line makes a lot of sense,” said Mayor Ruimy.
“We are naturally aligned municipalities for BRT experiencing a commonality of factors. Transit and growing the density along these routes go together to help create the housing and access that we need in the region.”
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The resolution was unanimously approved by city council, with city staff directed to work with TransLink to determine the next steps in bringing a BRT line to Lougheed Highway.
