TransLink asks for input on the proposed Burnaby Mountain Gondola
Posted November 6, 2023 5:02 pm.
The proposed Burnaby Mountain Gondola could provide another commuting option for Simon Fraser University (SFU) students and staff, but TransLink wants more input from the public first.
The gondola would head up and down the mountain and depart every minute, making a dent in what the transit service estimates to be 25,000 current trips up and down the mountain per day.
“Gondola cabins would depart every minute, carrying more people up the mountain per hour than our current bus system and in about half the time,” TransLink said.
TransLink is asking the public for their thoughts on environmental impacts, the designs used for gondola cabins, towers, and terminals, as well as the trips themselves.
The survey opened Monday and runs until Nov. 19. Those wanting to give their two cents on the idea have multiple ways to get some information first — TransLink has uploaded a virtual 360-degree tour and has even set up a gondola display in the City of Lougheed Shopping Centre.
The gondola display runs from Nov. 14 until Nov. 19 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends, and TransLink says it will have staff on hand to answer any questions locals may have. To find the display, it asks anyone interested to follow the gondola stickers on the floor from Lougheed Town Centre Station until they find the gondola cabin in the mall.
The proposed route comes as part of a 10-year access plan made by TransLink’s Mayors’ Council, but it has yet to be funded or approved by TransLink. Burnaby City Council gave its approval for an SFU gondola in January 2022.
