TIL there’s a Skytrain proposal for a UBC extension. 👍
It’s been in what I would call “project management hell” for years now. Check out the Planning Timeline section on TransLink’s page about it here.
I think next steps are to create a business case in order to figure out cost of construction and how to secure funding for it. Years ago I remember UBC was weirdly against helping fund this extension that would directly serve the campus, but they may have changed their attitude in years since. 🤷♂️
I think some of the recalcitrance came from there being very little between Arbutus and UBC, so customers served per kilometre wasn’t high, that the vast majority of traffic served by the 99 B-Line went away after that point.
New developments in Point Grey could very much change that equation, plus, a new city council means a fresh look at the question every so often.
I am hopeful.
It sounds like it’ll be a really nice place to retire when it’s built in 20 years. :P
Haha indeed! I too, am pretty hopeful for this project to finally finish.
UBC has definitely changed their position, but breaking ground on this extension is dependent on BRT expansion and North Shore SkyTrain planning. Luckily, a lot of the buses tied up on the 99 B-Line can be repurposed to serve BRT lines.
The Jericho Lands project, increasing density in Wesbrook Village, and hopefully new projects near Alma/Macdonald will make the business case for this extension stronger. Given the estimated cost of the Arbutus Extension, I’d expect about a $3B price tag?
