TransLink’s Mayors’ Council has approved the UBC SkyTrain Extension.
Earlier this morning, the Mayors’ Council voted for the new SkyTrain extension that will run from Arbutus Street to UBC.
The currently-funded Broadway Subway project will extend the Millennium Line SkyTrain to Arbutus Street, adding six underground stations along a 5.7-kilometre tunnelled route.
“The purpose of this report and attached presentation slides is to provide a recommendation to commence the next stage in project development for Rail to UBC with the technology parameters of a SkyTrain extension of the Millennium Line from Arbutus Street to the UBC Point Grey campus” reads the report from Friday morning.
Phase Two of the Mayoys’ Council 10-Year Vision includes $3 million of funding for Pre-Business Case/Design Development for rapid transit to UBC to help answer the “how and when” questions.
Their report also highlights how ridership for the new extension will look in the future.
“Ridership in 2045 for a new rapid transit line from Arbutus to UBC is projected to exceed 118,000 (over 50% of whom will be residents from outside of the City of Vancouver), which for comparison’s sake is more than the current Millennium Line corridor and less than the current Canada Line corridor”.
TransLink is seeking policy direction from the Mayors’ Council and TransLink Board on technology to advance into design development and pre-business case work.
This funding is approved in the Phase Two Plan to complete this work as outlined.
Friday’s announcement is music to the ears of the University of British Columbia. Back in January, they launched an online campaign that supports a SkyTrain extension to the Vancouver campus.
“Metro Vancouver is a thriving region set to grow by one million people and more than 500,000 jobs in the next 25 years” reads their website.
Metro Vancouver transit projects are typically cost-shared between three levels of government (regional, provincial and federal) and UBC is exploring ways it can make a financial contribution to the project.
