TransLink releases Transport 2050 Phase One engagement report

Dec. 5, 2019
The public proposes 4,000 big ideas over the next 30 years for Metro Vancouver transportation.

The report from the first phase of public engagement for Transport 2050 has been released by TransLink, with input from every jurisdiction in the region that will help shape the priorities identified in Transport 2050 when released later next year.

Transport 2050 is Metro Vancouver’s blueprint for the next 30 years of transportation. This round of engagement had a record-breaking 31,700 responses and over 4,000 ideas submitted.

The most frequently submitted idea was a transit expansion to the Fraser Valley. The most liked idea on the Transport 2050 ideas board was a gondola to Burnaby Mountain and the idea most commented on was mobility pricing.

Engagement came from 8,300 youth aged 25 or younger, 2,600 seniors, 2,300 new Canadians and 9,700 drivers. Respondents were asked to think about Metro Vancouver’s next 30 years and rank their top priorities, values and concerns from a range of possible answers.

Top three priorities for Metro Vancouver’s future:

  • Expanding and improving the transit system;
  • Increasing housing choice and affordability; and
  • Creating jobs, homes and services closer together.

Top three values about living in their Metro Vancouver neighborhood:

  • Natural areas like parks and forests;
  • The mild weather; and
  • Being close to family and friends.

Top three concerns about living in Metro Vancouver:

  • Growing cost of renting or buying a home;
  • Congestion on the roads; and
  • Loss of green space.

Transport 2050’s next round of engagement in spring 2020 will ask the public to help weigh trade-offs between different packages of projects, services and policies.

“Thank you to everyone who participated in the largest ever public engagement on transportation in this region,” said TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond. “To develop the strategy for the next 30 years of transportation, it was important to first take the pulse of the public. We heard loud and clear that the people of this region care deeply about the future – and Transport 2050 will outline a path to a more livable Metro Vancouver.”