The cities of Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam are divided over proposed bus route changes.
Currently, the 169 operates as a direct link between Coquitlam Central Station and Braid Street Station in New Westminster via Lougheed Highway while the 159 travels from Port Coquitlam to Braid through a meandering route that includes the Mayfair and Pacific Reach industrial areas around United Boulevard.
The new options would see the 159 become the more direct route to rapid transit while the 169 would service the industrial areas, an arrangement that PoCo Mayor Greg Moore said he favours.
“A vast majority of riders do not get on or off the bus in the Mayfair Industrial Park — only 0.5%,” he said. “So we don’t think adding to the travel time for the other 99.5% of the riders is reasonable.”
TransLink notes that since the opening of the Evergreen Line, the 169 has seen a decrease in ridership of 75% while the 159 has experienced a 10% drop.
Sarah Ross, TransLink’s director of system planning, said the transportation authority has heard from riders of the 159 who are not happy with the circuitous route they have to take to get to SkyTrain.
“We have had a lot of feedback on that route over the years,” she said during Monday’s council-in-committee meeting in Coquitlam.
But Coquitlam council is less enthusiastic about the route change options.
Mayor Richard Stewart said his city is trying to connect more residents with the employment opportunities that exist around the United Boulevard industrial area.
“One of our big challenges in that industrial corridor is the lack of transit options, particularly late at night,” he said. “There are printers down there that work all night and their employees can’t use public transit.”
One of the new route options would see the 159 begin at the Port Coquitlam West Coast Express station and travel down Shaughnessy Street before turning on to Pitt River Road and eventually meeting up with the Mary Hill Bypass. From there, the bus would move onto the Lougheed Highway and head straight to Braid.
The other option would see the 159 loop its way through the Mayfair area around Glacier Street before moving to Lougheed and on to Braid.
The 169 does not change significantly in either option, travelling down Lougheed before turning into the Mayfair area and heading to Braid Street via the Pacific Reach industrial area.
TransLink is asking for the public's feedback on future transit changes as part of its Transit Network Review, which will take place between Feb. 14 and March 6.
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