Extraordinarily contentious TransLink survey received over 12,000 responses
Burnabarians and Metro Vancouverites have told TransLink they want a fast, reliable way to reach Burnaby Heights. A remarkable 12,551 people responded to TransLink’s 2025 survey about the proposed Metrotown-North Shore BRT, and the results have been released today.
The massive turnout can be attributed to concerted campaigns by both Movement and the Heights Merchants Association to mobilize their supporters to fill out the surveys. Movement urged transit riders to support the Hastings Street option (“Option 1”) because it boosts transit access to the shops and residents of Burnaby Heights. The HMA opposed this option because of fears of losing on-street parking spaces, although there are ways to maintain both parking and fast transit. Toronto’s St. Clair West business district illustrates this vividly.
The alternative routing that the survey presented was along Boundary Road and Lougheed Highway, which runs through an industrial area and duplicates the SkyTrain. Respondents opposed to this option note that the hill on Boundary will be a challenge to navigate in winter, and there are very few destinations or residents on that corridor. Indeed, no stops were proposed along Boundary Road.
| Who’s supportive or indifferent to BRT on Hastings? | Percentage | Number of respondents |
|---|---|---|
| Region-wide | 70% | n=12,551 |
| Burnabarians | 55% | n=5,597 |
| Burnabarians in Burnaby Heights | 45% | n=3,096 |
| Burnabarians in the rest of the city | 66% | n=2,501 |
| Vancouverites | 85% | n=2,484 |
| North Shorians | 79% | n=3,111 |
| Respondents were asked to rate their support for “Option 1,” which would run a BRT corridor on Hastings between Hwy 1 and Willingdon, on a scale from 0 to 5. Those who responded between a 3 and a 5 are included above. |
Toronto’s St. Clair West is a leafy main street, the photo is from a nice day with people sitting at a sidewalk table having coffee, along with many others walking down the sidewalk. A transit vehicle glides through dedicated lanes in the background, while parked cars share a lane with more patios in the curb lane. (Google Street View Link)
Frequent transit riders expressed an overwhelming preference for direct access to Burnaby Heights, with a mean score more than 1 full point higher out of a possible 5. A distinction should be made between BRT (the subject of this survey) and the upcoming extension of the R2 RapidBus to Burnaby Heights and Metrotown.
R2 Extension
In September of this year, the R2 will be extended along the Ironworkers Bridge through Burnaby Heights, along Hastings and Willingdon to Metrotown. This means:
- More frequent express service between Burnaby Heights and the North Shore, Brentwood, BCIT, and Metrotown.
- A transfer will no longer be needed to reach Lonsdale Quay or Park Royal.
- Customers and patrons can more easily access the shops on Hastings.
- No new transit priority is proposed for the September launch, which is a missed opportunity to boost the quality of this service in advance of BRT.
MNS BRT
TransLink is still designing a Bus Rapid Transit service, which will be shaped by the survey discussed above. It has not yet been funded, and the final alignment in North Burnaby will be chosen in 2027.
Bus Rapid Transit simulates the benefits of light rail or SkyTrain by giving buses their own lane for a majority of its route, along with stations, signal priority, and more.
“Starting in September, residents, patrons, and staff will get used to express, direct service between Burnaby Heights, the North Shore, BCIT and Metrotown thanks to the R2. If Burnaby council makes the wrong decision for the BRT, all that gets taken away. The opportunity to boost retail sales and foot traffic in the Heights may be lost forever.” -Michelle Scarr, Director of Operations and Strategy, Movement
Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders is a non-profit that represents our region’s one million transit riders. We’ve often been left out of the conversation, and we’re here to speak up for faster, more reliable, more abundant transit. We’re focused on the growing number of bus routes where riders are left behind by full buses, day after day, as seen on many of the buses connecting the North Shore with the rest of the region. We’re calling on levels of government to implement bus priority measures that cost next to nothing yet deliver faster and more reliable commutes for hundreds of thousands of people.
Media Contacts:
Denis Agar
Executive Director
778-776-8806
denis.agar@movementyvr.ca
http://movementyvr.ca