Thursday, March 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Burrard Skytrain station in Downtown Vancouver to remain closed for 2 years as of early 2022

Darpan News Desk Translink, 13 Jul, 2021 03:30 PM
  • Burrard Skytrain station in Downtown Vancouver to remain closed for 2 years as of early 2022

TransLink today announced that it will be proceeding with a major upgrade to Burrard SkyTrain Station beginning in early 2022. The project will take approximately two years to complete and will require the closure of the station to allow the work to be done safely and more efficiently than were it to remain partially open during construction.

Burrard SkyTrain Station was originally built in 1985 and has not had a significant upgrade in its 36 years of operation. It is the fourth busiest station on the SkyTrain system and at peak times it is congested with only three escalators and one elevator to move people in and out. Station entrances are hard to access and the station will require upgrades to the electrical equipment in order to meet the power demands of the new station.

The upgrades to Burrard Station will:

  • Double the number of escalators and elevators to provide greater accessibility and relieve congestion on platforms and at the concourse level;

  • Relocate the Burrard Street entrance to align with the pedestrian crossing making it easier to get in and out of the station, and provide better access to buses along Dunsmuir;

  • Redesign the station’s outdoor plaza to put pedestrian needs at the forefront; and,

  • Upgrade the station’s power supply and mechanical systems.

“These significant upgrades are necessary to keep our transit system operating effectively and efficiently for our customers,” said TransLink Interim CEO Gigi Chen-Kuo. “With more than 7.6 million annual boardings in 2019, Burrard Station is the fourth busiest station on our SkyTrain network. These upgrades will greatly improve the customer experience and as the region prepares to welcome one million new residents by the year 2050, this important project allows us to be prepared for additional future demand.”

To best manage construction during these important upgrades, we will be closing Burrard Station for approximately two years starting in early 2022. Closing the station during construction:

  • Improves customer and worker safety by eliminating the risks of customer movement through a major, underground, active construction site;

  • Minimizes confusion associated with multiple changes to customer travel patterns through numerous complex phases of construction;

  • Reduces overall construction time for the project and therefore shortens impacts to customer travel by approximately two and a half years; and

  • Provides cost savings of approximately $35 million.

TransLink will work with the City of Vancouver, and local businesses and residents to minimize impacts while we complete these upgrades.

Based on pre-Covid ridership data, Waterfront and Granville Stations can accommodate the additional passenger flow during the Burrard Station closure. Additional bus service will also be added in the area to help minimize passenger impact.

To minimize impacts on our bus and HandyDART customers, bus service will remain largely the same throughout the construction period and HandyDART customers connecting to the Expo Line will have access at Waterfront Station.

As plans are finalized later this year, we will provide more details to help ready our customers for the start of construction in early 2022.

MORE National ARTICLES

Canada donating 17.7 million AstraZeneca shots

Canada donating 17.7 million AstraZeneca shots
Procurement Minister Anita Anand says after talking to provinces, it was determined these COVID-19 doses to be excess supply, as demand for this vaccine had been met. 

Canada donating 17.7 million AstraZeneca shots

National security now a factor in research funding

National security now a factor in research funding
Research projects must now undergo a risk assessment as part of any grant application to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) that involves private-sector partners, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Monday.

National security now a factor in research funding

Vancouver Police convict 27 gangsters, 14 of which are of Punjabi descent

Vancouver Police convict 27 gangsters, 14 of which are of Punjabi descent
After an extensive joint investigation with several other police agencies throughout Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Police today announced convictions against numerous gang members.

Vancouver Police convict 27 gangsters, 14 of which are of Punjabi descent

Judge denies new evidence in Meng extradition

Judge denies new evidence in Meng extradition
Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes says the application by Meng's lawyers to use the documents obtained from HSBC through a Hong Kong court is denied, with her reasons to follow later.

Judge denies new evidence in Meng extradition

45 COVID19 cases for Friday

45 COVID19 cases for Friday
B.C. is reporting 45 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 148,031 cases in the province. This includes a data correction from yesterday, as well as reconciliation of records for cases followed up by the Federal Quarantine Program between March and April 2021.

45 COVID19 cases for Friday

Punjabi trucker Pardeep Singh arrested in Canada for smuggling cocaine

Punjabi trucker Pardeep Singh arrested in Canada for smuggling cocaine
A Punjabi trucker has been arrested in Canada for smuggling about 112.5 kg of cocaine into the country from the US. Pardeep Singh, 24, who is a resident of LaSalle in Quebec, was caught when his truck entered Fort Erie in Canada from the US.

Punjabi trucker Pardeep Singh arrested in Canada for smuggling cocaine