The City of Burnaby has started the first phase of its $9.8-million plan to light up the BC Parkway.
The city has started installing accent lighting on SkyTrain guideway pillars to “make the route more lively and inviting for pedestrians and cyclists at any time of day,” said a city news release.
Once complete, a total of 178 guideway pillars will feature new lighting that shifts between colours along the nearly five-kilometre stretch of BC Parkway from Patterson SkyTrain Station to the Edmonds SkyTrain Station.
“BC Parkway is such a vital space in Burnaby and we want to build on that,” said Mayor Mike Hurley, in a statement. “People use the path to get to work, to shop and to explore our city. By adding new lighting and exploring other projects with our partners, we hope to see BC Parkway become a beautiful, green and even more active corridor in our region – both day and night.”
The project will be completed in phases, with work on the Willingdon Avenue to Metrotown Station section in December 2021. The entire route to Edmonds Station is slated to be complete by early 2023.
The city also said it is working with TransLink to advance projects for new pedestrian lighting along the BC Parkway in Burnaby, which will make the route even safer.
The BC Parkway was built 35 years ago, and is used daily by thousands of pedestrians and cyclists. In Burnaby, it provides a connection between neighbourhoods, including Edmonds and Royal Oak. At Metrotown, the area around the Expo Line is growing rapidly as the area begins to evolve into a true downtown for the City of Burnaby, a vision articulated in the 2017 Metrotown Downtown Plan and getting an added boost with the development of the Metrotown Master Plan currently underway.
