SFU gondola project is a go, but opponents still watching carefully

A proposed gondola from Production Way-University SkyTrain Station up Burnaby Mountain to SFU has been approved by the Metro Vancouver Mayors’ Council.

The gondola project is one of several major priorities laid out in Translink’s 10-year plan, Transport 2050: 10-year Priorities.

It’s listed alongside other large projects, including a SkyTrain line to UBC, examining potential SkyTrain extensions in Surrey, and determining the best rapid transit routes and technology between Metrotown and Park Royal.

SFU has been advocating for a gondola up the mountain for several years, citing overcrowding and long wait times on existing bus routes.

TransLink says there are about 25,000 trips up and down the mountain daily, and bus routes are already at capacity.

The Simon Fraser Student Society, meanwhile, told Burnaby city council last year that SFU students have some of the worst commuting experiences of university students in the country and are often stuck in unsafe situations when it snows—as it frequently does on the mountain.

The society also noted that a gondola could help facilitate evacuations of members of the university community and residents of the area alike in the event of an emergency on Burnaby Mountain.

“Inclusion of a Burnaby mountain gondola in the Transport 2050: 10-Year Priorities Plan is tremendous news for SFU and for commuters across the Lower Mainland. We are very thankful to the many members of our community who have showed [sic] their support for this project, …” SFU vice president external relations Joanne Curry said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.

“We can’t wait to see this project become a reality for our community.”

But the Forest Grove Transportation Task Force feels differently.

The group is made up of residents of the Forest Grove neighbourhood, located directly beneath the approved gondola route (a six-minute trip between Production Way and the SFU bus loop), and says the project will lower property values and create noise and safety issues.

While the chosen route had more support than either of the other two possible routes that were presented for public polling last year, 63% of Forest Grove residents opposed it.

“I would say we are disappointed, of course, but we note that what the Mayors’ Council approval was only to put the gondola on their list of priorities for the next 10 years. The project has no funding, and construction isn’t going to start soon, but now it can be considered further,” said task force member Glen Porter.

“We will be expecting TransLink to develop an up-to-date business case, based on current realities, and we will be watching for a full environmental impact assessment to be carried out. We continue to think that TransLink did not adequately consider alternatives, and we remain very concerned for residents’ safety, as suspending transportation infrastructure over peoples’ homes presents obvious risk to those who live below.”

Burnaby city council voted to endorse the project in a closed meeting in February, prompting further criticism from Forest Grove residents that they hadn’t been adequately able to outline their concerns.

Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley acknowledged shortly afterwards that funding the $200-million project will be easier said than done, telling the Vancouver Sun that “funds are tight right now everywhere, so that’s going to be a challenge for sure.”

The Forest Grove Transportation Task Force did present to the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation on two occasions, on February 24 and on June 30—just days before the 10-year priorities were approved.

TransLink’s 10-year plan is expected to cost around $21 billion across the board, and the corporation says it will require significant new revenue sources and investments from all levels of government if the priorities are to be met.