The West Shore is set to see more than $13 million in transit upgrades thanks to funding from the federal and provincial governments, and BC Transit.
The funding, announced Wednesday (Sept. 27) totals $13.2 million and will be used to construct dedicated transit and bike lanes along a stretch of Old Island Highway running through View Royal, as well as queue-jump lanes at Wale Road in Colwood.
Beyond those headline changes, the news release published by BC Transit also said the funding will go toward widening sidewalks, creating wheelchair ramp cuts at intersection crossings, and installing more crosswalk signage. Intersection reconfiguration, line painting, plus new street lighting and traffic signals will also be covered by the funding.
“Projects like today’s support our shared vision of a greener, better-connected British Columbia. The transit improvements along the Old Island Highway will make RapidBus service more accessible while improving safety and efficiency for all highway users. We will continue to invest in projects that help lower emissions and make it easier for Canadians to get to their destinations,” said Taleeb Noormohamed, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Member of Parliament for Vancouver Granville in the release.
The upgrades are intended to improve travel times for commuters and increase access to public transit and are part of the larger regional goals for the RapidBus network.
“These bus priority and queue jump lanes will help move our customers more quickly through areas along the Old Island Highway and prioritizes public transit over single-occupant vehicles. When we launched our Blink RapidBus line in April, we committed to building more dedicated bus lanes to make the service faster and more convenient and this funding helps us deliver on that promise,” said Erinn Pinkerton, president and CEO of BC Transit.
The federal and provincial governments are each contributing $5,285,684 and BC Transit is contributing $2,642,842.
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