For Immediate Release
Aug 25, 2025

In response to TransLink’s public consultation on the proposed North Shore-Metrotown Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the Heights Merchants Association (HMA) strongly supports Option 2 – Boundary Road/Lougheed Hwy. While neither option is perfect, the HMA believes Option 2 strikes the best balance between meeting the needs of the region with the needs of its local merchants and the community they serve.

Option 2 provides efficient regional and local connectivity while preserving neighbourhood character and minimizing harm to street-level businesses. 

The BRT Station at Kootenay Loop would connect to Burnaby Heights via the frequent R5 Rapid Bus while the route serves the region as a whole.

Boundary Road also is much wider than Hastings to accommodate BRT, has long-term growth and expansion potential, and the electrical infrastructure will someday be put underground. The steep hill on Boundary is a lesser grade than sections of Willingdon Ave. already approved for the BRT, and Boundary been safely used by buses for decades.

Option 1 – Hastings Street/Willingdon Avenue – would directly threaten the viability of one of Burnaby’s busiest merchant corridors. Burnaby Heights depends on multi-modal transportation access as a daily-use, daily staples commercial hub. Removing curbside parking to make room for bus-only lanes would permanently undermine how the neighbourhood functions.

​​Burnaby Heights serves locals every day with grocery stores, doctors, vets, repair shops, and family services. Convenient access and curbside parking are essential to its vitality and competitiveness. With only two public spots per business on average, removing street parking would cut the parking supply in half, leaving insufficient capacity in nearby two-hour city lots. Customers would be pushed into residential streets and forced to park blocks away, creating hardship for seniors, young families, and people with disabilities.

“To us, a parked car on Hastings represents a community member actively supporting the district, whether dropping off a child, carrying groceries, going to physio, or dining at a local restaurant,” explains Kolic. “We cannot treat these customers as a nuisance or make their trip more difficult because, if we do, many will simply go elsewhere.”

Beyond parking loss and customer inconvenience, Option 1 would permanently alter the environment with increased noise and vehicle flow. “During HOV hours it is already difficult to have a conversation on the sidewalk. Imagine a six-lane highway cutting through here every day,” says Kolic.

“We support BRT from the North Shore, but removing our valued parking is too high of a price for us. A BRT Station at Kootenay Loop will do the job of connecting our district to this great new resource to the region.”

Kolic reminds Translink that Burnaby Heights businesses are designed to be street facing and serve a wide range of clients. Preserving a safe, walkable, and a calmer, attractive environment is essential to long-term viability.

“Burnaby Heights has lots of appealing businesses but if they can’t function, serve their clientele, and compete – those businesses will not be there in the future.”

The HMA emphasizes that it ardently supports public transit. “We fully support public transit improvements,” Kolic notes. “But the solution must balance regional transportation needs with the functionality and survival of local business districts and their communities.”

The HMA urges Burnaby City Council to adopt Option 2 and safeguard the Heights as a strong Urban Village. “Without local commercial areas with a diversity of businesses, residents will be forced to travel farther for everyday needs,” concludes Kolic. 

“Yes, we need to expand transit. But let’s do it in a way that preserves communities’ function, character, and local businesses for generations to come.”

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Isabel Kolic, Executive Director
isabel@burnabyheights.com
604-294-9060

Complete Translink’s Survey and show support for Option 2 Boundary-Lougheed. Survey closes Sept.21

Write to the Mayor and City Council to share your concerns, and pass this poster along to your friends, neighbours, and networks.