Four city councillors said they were not convinced that sufficient public consultation was performed with the residents of Forest Grove, the neighbourhood impacted by the straight, direct line option of Route 1 between SkyTrain’s Production-Way University Station and the core of the SFU campus atop the mountain.
TransLink staff have informed City of Burnaby staff that the public transit authority is willing to provide compensation for two multi-family residential properties in Forest Grove directly impacted by the aerial line in the Route 1 option, but several city councillors argued this is insufficient.
“I’m not very satisfied with the consultation with the residents of the affected complexes and some of the businesses,” said councillor Pietro Calendino, suggesting properties outside of the 20-metre wide gondola right-of-way should also be compensated.
The results of the latest consultation will be presented to the city council this week, which will then make a recommendation on their preferred route option to TransLink management and the Mayors’ Council in the coming months.
TransLink management and the Mayors’ Council are expected to approve any route option recommended by the municipal government. This will then be added to the Mayors’ Council’s Plan or pursued as a standalone project using federal green infrastructure funding.
SFU Burnaby Mountain Gondola route options: Route 1 direct, straight-line (blue); Route 2 eastern angled detour (orange); Route 3 western angled detour (purple). (TransLink)
The preferred route of students, named the Route 1 option by TransLink, has a length of 2.7 km and an end-to-end travel time of six minutes. It has the lowest costs, with a construction cost of $210 million and an annual operating cost of $5.6 million, which is 30% less than the current bus operating costs.