My last post marked my 20th anniversary as a resident of Capitol Hill and the Burnaby Heights. In it, I reflected on two decades of relying on transit to get around.

Every morning, I squeeze onto a crowded R5 alongside thousands of my neighbours. If I’m lucky, I get a seat. Most days, though, I’m standing shoulder to shoulder with other passengers, some pressed up against the doors, watching the bus crawl behind a line of single-occupancy cars.

This isn’t an occasional inconvenience, it’s become part of daily life in Burnaby Heights and Capitol Hill and it’s only getting worse.

The demand for better transit is already here. The R5 runs at or near capacity nearly every day. To their credit, TransLink recognizes this and is working on solutions.

Right now, they’re seeking feedback on a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line between Metrotown and Park Royal in West Vancouver, via the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge. Two possible routes are on the table: Option 1, which runs through Willingdon and Hastings, and Option 2, which bypasses the Heights by following Lougheed Highway and Boundary Road.

I strongly support Option 1. It would not only strengthen the North Shore connection but also make the R5 faster and more reliable for Heights residents. In the long run, I hope it leads to dedicated bus lanes along the entire Hastings corridor. This would make life easier for thousands of people.

This proposal is informed by TransLink’s “Access for Everyone” document which describes the projects and programs that should be implemented in first 10 years of TransLink’s 30-year transportation plan known as “Transport 2050.” TransLink has already begun work on this.

In that report, a Hastings Street BRT is identified as a priority. This would upgrade the existing R5 RapidBus into a “fully traffic-separated BRT line with dedicated bus lanes and transit signal priority across the length of the Hastings corridor.” (Access for Everyone 46)

It is important to note that the priorities in TransLink’s plan were informed by the largest public engagement process in their history, including many people in this neighbourhood. I would argue, reflect the collective will of the great majority of transit users in this region who are often ignored by elected officials.

This was approved on 30 June, 2022 by the TransLink board of directors and the Mayor’s Council on Regional Transportation. This includes Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley. In short the Hastings BRT is not just a good idea but an adopted regional priority.

The Heights Merchants Association, which represents business owners in the neighbourhood, has been the most vocal opponent of Option 1. Their main concern is that removing curbside parking for bus lanes would destroy their businesses. They are well organized, experienced and persistent in advocating their position to political stakeholders. Their members attend council meetings in full force, put anti-bus lane posters in their windows, and car windshields throughout the neighbourhood.

They also do not allow public comment on their calls to action on social media, effectively shutting down any opposition or discussion on their forum.

But they do not represent the thousands of people who live and work here and rely on public transit every day, nor the many more who will in the future. For the first time in my experience, they are beginning to face organized opposition.

On November 18, 2024 I attended a Burnaby City Council meeting along with members of Movement, which is a transit advocacy group in the Vancouver area. We were there to support TransLink’s request to implement curbside bus lanes on Hastings Street between Willingdon Avenue and Duthie Avenue which would greatly increase the speed, reliability and comfort of buses along Hastings.

The Burnaby Heights Association and their members, however, came out to oppose this. They were indignant and frustrated and I got the feeling that they were experienced and effective in advocating for their interests at city council.

Some of their members seemed genuinely surprised by our presence. I suspect they are not used to seeing organized support for transit improvements. Or, in other words, public opposition to their interests.

When I was a journalist, I often covered city council meetings throughout the region and noticed that these bodies were frequently swayed by the demands of a small but vocal minority of residents who angrily resisted changes that would increase density, housing affordability or transit improvement.

The BIA reminds me of this cohort.

They claim that most BRT activists live or have businesses in other parts of the region and don’t know how the district works every day. I’ve lived in this neighbourhood for 20 years and know the neighbourhood very well. I have supported most businesses in this area for 20 years and I believe that meaningful improvements to public transit, specifically dedicated bus lanes along Hastings, would greatly improve my quality of life.

The BIA believes that streetside parking along Hastings is essential for the viability of their members and that dedicated bus lanes would likely turn an “urban village” into a “six-lane transportation highway.” It already has the traffic congestion and transportation demands of major arterial road and during rush hour it really does feel, look and sound like a highway.

It definitely has the transportation demands of a major road and this includes public transportation.

In 2024 the R5 was ranked as TransLink’s 10^th busiest bus route with 4,347,000 boardings and in the same year the 130 was ranked as the 20^th busiest route with 3,256,000 annual boardings (source).

The growth of this region is inevitable and we must be a proactive part of that change in order to better experience the benefits of it. Digging into car-dependent solutions will only add to further congestion, frustration and lost time over the long-term.

We need to implement sensible strategies as outlined in TransLink’s proposal in order to incentive people to use transit.

The bus route needs to be where people use it. Circumventing the neighbourhood where people need the bus would undermine the transit goals of the entire region.

Business owners often tell me that one of the biggest complaints they hear is the lack of curbside parking. But what is the solution to that? It seems to me we are already at capacity when it comes to car-based access. Curbside parking is limited, finite and ultimately unsustainable.

The BIA laudably champions the “walkable” character of this neighbourhood. But the Heights is walkable exactly because it was built as a streetcar suburb. The human-scale buildings, the density and the street-facing shops were designed with transit in mind. The character they celebrate exists because transit was here first.

Meanwhile, bus riders have been quietly subsidizing Heights businesses for years.

Every day, Heights residents and shoppers sit in overcrowded buses, grinding through congestion, adding time and discomfort to their commute so that a small number of parking spots can be preserved for cars. That trade-off has become intolerable.

The real challenge for Heights merchants is to adapt their business models to the pressing transit needs of a growing region. The Merchants Association has an obligation to help its members prepare for that transition. This is not a question of if but when. They can delay it, but they cannot stop it.

And they should remember that transit riders are their customers too.

Hastings Street already carries the traffic of a major regional artery. The question is whether we want to keep dedicating so much of that space to moving and storing private cars, or whether we want to use it more efficiently to move the thousands of people who already depend on transit every day.

Bus lanes would not destroy the character of the Heights. On the contrary, they would strengthen it. Faster, more reliable transit means more people visiting the neighbourhood, more customers for local businesses, and less frustration for everyone stuck in traffic. The Heights was built as a transit-oriented community and it can thrive as one again.

As a resident of Capitol Hill and the Heights for 20 years, I know this change will not be easy. But it is necessary. The region is growing, the demand is already here, and the future of Hastings is one where transit plays a central role.

I want to thank TransLink for recognizing the importance of the Hastings corridor and for putting forward sensible plans for its future. I especially want to thank Movement and the other advocates who show up, speak out, and make sure that the voices of transit riders are heard. The sooner we embrace this future, the sooner we can all benefit from it.

If you want to see faster, more reliable transit along Hastings and Willingdon, make your voice heard and vote in TransLink’s BRT survey.