Dear Editor:
There are changes coming to the Burnaby routes.I am a transit operator based in Burnaby for the past 17 years. I have worked on both the No. 49 and the No. 116, which are slated for changes.
I am all for expanding service and giving service to developing districts. I am not for the "smoke-and- mirror" game of taking away service in other areas under the pretense of "expansion" of service. Don't kid yourselves, if TransLink and Coast Mountain Bus Company are having financial problems, where is the money coming for route "expansion"? It is just robbing Peter to pay Paul.
The No. 49 route is actually not a Burnaby route. Burnaby is the smallest part of the route, and the buses are actually based out of the Richmond depot. The proposed cutting out the Champlain Mall part of the run will have a very negative effect on the residents of the area, especially the elderly and those with mobility issues. I wouldn't want my elderly grandmother or mother walking from 49th Avenue and Tyne to 54th Avenue and Kerr or beyond. What happens during inclement weather? How will the affected residents get to doctor appointments in the Metrotown area? HandyDart? Let's don't even get started on that issue.
As for the proposed changes to the No. 116 in the Big Bend area, yes, expansion is needed. However, the "one" stop that will be removed is the busiest
stop on the route coming from Edmonds Station. There is a second stop also being eliminated on Byrne Road (will affect the golf course and businesses). The prior stop is located just south of Marine Drive (approximately five- to seven-minute walk) on a very busy road (Byrne) with no designated sidewalk and then crossing a very busy intersection (Byrne and Marine Way).
For safety reasons, there is no stop on the north side of Marine Way, and there is no safe location eastbound on Marine Way until past the shopping area. Businesses in the shopping area, do you think your business will not be affected?
The arrogance of TransLink to state that some people will have a seven-minute longer ride, as if it is no big deal, is disgraceful for an organization that is providing a "service."
Where is the funding coming for this expansion? Are the industrial businesses in the Big Bend area paying for this expansion? No. Is TransLink funding this expansion? No.
The funding for this expansion is going to be put onto the backs of the already stretched bus system. Passengers on another route(s) will be losing some of their service, to pay for the "expansion" of service. If you are going to "expand" service, you need to have the means to fund it without stealing from other routes and passengers that are already paying the price with the continuum of service cuts.
Kirk Rockwell, Burnaby
