Mott MacDonald to study new TransLink crossing’s feasibility

British Columbia’s provincial government, Metro Vancouver’s TransLink and municipal funding partners selected engineering consultancy Mott MacDonald to study the technical feasibility of a high-capacity rapid-transit (RT) crossing via the Burrard Inlet to the North Shore.

The study will consider the compatibility of a fixed link with existing and future land use, as well as the potential for affordable housing. The results will help inform TransLink’s and the Mayors’ Council’s Transport 2050 planning process.

The first stage involves considering alignment options for new connections based on topography, geotechnical and structural aspects, weather, environmental impact, ridership projections and costs to build, operate and maintain new infrastructure. Then a short list will undergo more detailed engineering and planning review. Over the course of the project, input will be sought from Indigenous groups and other key stakeholders.

The study follows the Integrated North Shore Transportation Planning Project’s (INSTPP’s) recommendation in 2018 to connect North Vancouver’s Lonsdale City Centre with Vancouver’s metropolitan core via TransLink’s regional RT network, among other suggestions to improve mobility in and around the region.

“Years of hikes in housing costs have forced people to live further from where they work, resulting in longer commutes and traffic congestion issues,” explains Bowinn Ma, MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale, who chairs the INSTPP working group.

The province’s ministry of transportation and infrastructure and the relevant municipal governments are jointly contributing funding toward the study, which is now underway and expected to be completed next year.