In January, UniverCity residents rallied to take part in a letter-writing campaign in support of Translink's proposal to build a rapid transit gondola connecting UniverCity to the Skytrain line. We have no doubt that this letter-writing campaign contributed to city council endorsing a gondola route later that month. This paved the way for the gondola's inclusion in the 10-year plan of the Majors' Council on Regional Transportation, which was announced on April 20th.
We need to rally again so that the gondola is built now, not in ten years.
Funding hasn't yet been secured to build the gondola or the other projects in the 10-year plan, and the different projects may compete with each other for funding. TransLink has launched a public survey on its 10-year plan to get feedback on its investment priorities, and the results will be considered by the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation and TransLink Board of Directors. This survey will influence whether the gondola gets a quick start or takes perhaps another 10 years to get underway.
Take the survey and voice your support for the gondola before May 4, 2022:
Go to the survey
Question 5 - This question includes the gondola, we recommend that you strongly support.
Question 9 - Reliable and Fast Transit Network includes the gondola project. Rank this as your top priority.
Question 10 - Say that you want the Burnaby Mountain gondola to be a high priority and be built as soon as possible.
Why the UniverCity Community Association supports the gondola:
The gondola will significantly reduce commute times.
The gondola will cost less to operate than the current fleet of diesel buses and reduce greenhouse gases by 1,700 tonnes per year.
The gondola will have much higher capacity that the bus system. This project will reduce over-crowding and long waits for a bus at Production Station.
The gondola will provide consistent service outside of regular school hours, summers and weekends.
The gondola will be more reliable than the current buses in snowy weather.
The Burnaby Mountain campus of Simon Fraser University is the second-busiest transit destination in TransLink’s service area.
More than 25% of UniverCity residents commute on transit and many more of us would join those ranks if the service was more consistent and reliable.
A 2020 public engagement survey conducted by Translink found that 89% of UniverCity residents are in favour of the gondola.
Good urban planning means efficient public transit to high density neighbourhoods like ours.
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