It’s official: a new bus route will soon be connecting transit users from the Clayton Heights neighbourhood of Surrey to Routley, Gordon, Willowbrook, and Langley City.
The 372 Clayton Heights/Langley Centre, set to begin in September, is part of Phase 1 of TransLink’s 10-year vision for Metro Vancouver transit and transportation.
A public consultation on this and other transit proposals took place from Feb. 14 to March 6, and TransLink received 373 completed survey responses about the new local route.
Among the respondents, 67 per cent indicated the proposed new 372 would work “better” or “much better” for them, while 70 per cent would be “somewhat likely” or “very likely” to use it.
As well, many respondents suggested increased frequency, earlier in the morning and later in the evening.
The proposed route, which will be serviced by a community shuttle, begins at Fraser Highway and 188 Street in Surrey, and will travel up 184 Street before heading east along 72 Avenue. It will then head south on 202B Street to 64 Avenue, and east to Glover Road, eventually ending at Langley Centre on Logan Avenue.
The bus will run every 30 minutes on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays/holidays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Bus stop locations have yet to be determined.
According to TransLink, the 372 will provide more than 19,000 people with improved transit, with 2,000 people being given access to nearby transit service for the first time.
It will also provide connections to the 502 (frequent service to Expo Line) and future Fraser Highway B-Line (set to open in 2019); future rapid transit on Fraser Highway; the 501 (to Carvolth Exchange) and the 595 (to the West Coast Express);12 other routes at Langley Centre; and four other routes at Carvolth.
Peter Klitz, senior planner, TransLink said Phase 1 was approved last November.
“We needed to go to public consultation because we have an obligation to go to (members of) the communities, every time we add a service to a neighbourhood,” Klitz said. “There was a lot of work to be done hiring operators, and working with the municipalities to build bus stops. September was the earliest opportunity to implement this new service.”
Benefits of the new route, TransLink notes, include:
• Improves transit options for approximately 20,000 people, more than 2,000 of whom do not currently have access to transit;
• Creates additional service along 202B Street between 72 Avenue and 64 Avenue;
• Provides all-day local connections to regional transit routes; and
• Provides direct links to major local destinations.
– Files from Times reporter Miranda Gathercole