New Westminster city council has approved a bus speed and reliability plan – but some councillors say the city is moving too fast.
In 2022, the City of New Westminster hired Parsons Corporation to do a detailed technical review of the city’s bus route network. The review sought to identify key areas of delay and unreliability and to identify measures that could be implemented to address issues through a five-year implementation plan.
At its July 8 meeting, council received the consultant’s study and a staff report, which included a recommendation to endorse implementation of the proposed transit priority measures contained in the study. The study proposes a variety of options including signal changes, bus bulges and bus-only lanes.
The staff report stated bus transit is experiencing “recurring delays and reliability challenges” at several hot spots in New West, including Sixth Street, Eighth Street, Sixth Avenue (between Fifth and 12th streets), downtown (on Carnarvon Street), and at the north and south ends of the Queensborough Bridge (including Ewen Avenue, Howes Street, Sixth Avenue at 20th Street, and Seventh Avenue at 20th Street.)
“Implementation of the proposed transit-priority projects outlined in the study is estimated at approximately $2,655,000, noting the approved 2024 to 2028 capital plan currently includes $1,250,100 for funding for transit priority,” said the staff report.
The report stated that staff have initiated work to deliver three projects in the near term:
- Upgrades to the 20th Street and Seventh Avenue intersection, which are currently being designed and planned for implementation later this year in coordination with Crosstown Greenway upgrades. TransLink has funded the design and construction components of this project from its 2024 Bus Speed Reliability (BSR) program.
- Upgrades to the Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street intersection, which are planned for design later this year and implementation in 2025, in coordination with Eighth Street sidewalk upgrades. TransLink has funded the design component of this project, and staff plan to apply for construction funding from TransLink.
- Signal changes at Carnarvon and Sixth streets and Carnarvon and Eighth streets, which are planned to be designed later this year and implemented in 2025. TransLink has provided funding for the design component, and staff plan to apply for construction funding from TransLink.
Too fast?
At Monday’s meeting, council received the New Westminster bus speed and reliability study, a 50-page document from Parsons. The report outlines existing transit and road conditions, proposes alternatives, and includes a five-year implementation strategy.
In a 3-2 vote, council defeated a motion from Coun. Daniel Fontaine to refer this report to the Sept. 9 meeting. He said he would like more time to review the proposals and to allow community members to get an understanding of what’s being planned.
“Let's give it a few weeks,” he said. “There's a lot of stuff in here, a lot of great proposals. I would love it to get the full endorsation of council, unanimous support, because there's some great initiatives here. But by endorsing this, we are endorsing all the priority measures that are outlined in here, and that's a lot.”
After defeating Fontaine’s motion, council voted 3-2 in favour of endorsing the implementation of the proposed transit priority measures recommended in the study.
Coun. Nadine Nakagawa asked staff about the impact of postponing this work for two months.
Lisa Leblanc, the city’s director of engineering services, said the work required to implement bus speed and reliability changes is “highly technical” and requires analysis. She said the city needs to be preparing its rationale and conceptual designs for funding applications to TransLink, which are due in early fall.
“If we miss those funding deadlines, those application deadlines in the fall, then it pushes our funding requests off until the next intake, which is a full year later,” she said. “So, I would say the most significant implication is around funding, and we would be leaving money on the table.”
Nakagawa supported moving forward with implementation of the transit priority measures included in the study.
“I think we need to move on this,” she said. “If there are external funding opportunities that are time sensitive, I think we have to go ahead.”
Improving bus speeds benefits everyone who uses roads, said Coun. Ruby Campbell.
“If we can get buses moving quickly, if we can get them to be more reliable, it also opens the roads for vehicles,” she said. “One of the alternative benefits of this is getting vehicles moving through roads quicker … so I don't want to delay that work.”
Fontaine said most people haven’t had a chance to read the report and will be surprised when work begins on projects in their neighbourhoods.
“We're constantly rushing into things,” said Coun. Paul Minhas. “We need to slow down.”
Mayor Patrick Johnstone opposed delaying work that would improve bus speed and reliability. He said bus delays are costing TransLink hundreds of millions of dollars annually and are negatively impacting community members who use transit.
“Nothing about this is rushed,” he said. “This has been a three-year-long process; this has gone through significant study. Parsons has been around since 2022 to work on this with us. Nothing in the bus speed reliability program is being rushed.”
Johnstone noted that TransLink is already providing funding for the construction of intersection upgrades at 20th Street and Sixth Avenue. He does not want the city to miss out on getting TransLink funding.
“New Westminster is the most transit-reliant municipality in British Columbia,” he said. “People in New Westminster ride in and rely on buses. More than half the people who cross the Queensborough Bridge during peak hours are in a bus.”
According to Johnstone, 62 per cent of people travelling on Sixth Street in peak hours are in a bus.
“Transit needs to be moving faster than the traffic that it's moving through, and this is the way to get us there,” he said.
What’s in the plan?
The Parsons report details the transit services provided on New West roads, outlines the issues impacting bus speed and reliability, and provides options that could be implemented to address bus speed and reliability.
“Knowing that the outcome is an affordable five-year implementation strategy, the Top 5 hot spots were initially selected for solution development,” said the study. “Practical solutions are not possible in all locations, and some locations had more than one potential solution. Ultimately, 19 solutions are proposed for the Top 6 corridors.”
Bus bulges (similar to what is now located in front of Century House) are proposed at various locations. Dedicated bus lanes (including along 20th Street between the 22nd Street SkyTrain station and Sixth Avenue), a pedestrian scramble at Carnarvon and Eighth streets, and a dedicated bus lane along Eighth Street from Carnarvon Street to 10th Avenue (during peak hours or all day) are also cited as options that could be introduced in the years ahead.
Leblanc said most of the measures identified in the report as priorities do not impact the pedestrian realm or accessibility.
Noting the potential for a pedestrian scramble at Eighth and Carnarvon, Leblanc said accessibility and pedestrian access would be a key consideration in the detailed design process for something like that – should staff advance that recommendation to council for its consideration at a later date.
Leblanc said it is possible that some components of the plan would require a relocation, not an elimination, of accessible parking spaces.
“We identify bus bulges, particularly on Sixth Street,” she noted. “These are very much an improvement for pedestrians because it shifts the queuing for transit off of the sidewalk and onto the bus bulge instead.”
Leblanc said the creation of bus bulges aims to improve comfort for transit passengers while they are waiting for the bus, so those projects generally include seating and shelters.
Campbell questioned staff about the likelihood of creating a continuous bus lane on Eighth Street, as recommended by Parsons.
Leblanc said that type of project would occur incrementally – and not anytime soon.
“I do think it's within the realm of possibility,” she said. “It's not something that ... is likely to happen in the next few years, however.”
The staff report and the Parsons study, which contains detailed information about the options being planned on New West roads, can be found on the city’s website.
