The proposal to build a gondola from Production Way skytrain station to the top of Burnaby Mountain passed an important milestone in January 2022: Burnaby City Council voted to approve a route for the gondola and endorsed its inclusion in the 10-year plan of the Majors' Council on Regional Transportation. This was an important milestone, since without this approval the gondola project would likely have been shelved for at least 10 years.
Prior to the recent Council vote, the UniverCity Community Association spoke in favour of the gondola at a Council meeting, wrote opinion articles in local papers, and encouraged community members to write to or call council to make sure their voices were heard. A 2020 public engagement survey conducted by Translink found that 89% of UniverCity residents are in favour of the gondola.
What's next?
Funding hasn't yet been secured to build the gondola. Along with other projects in the Mayors' Council 10-year plan, funding will need to be secured before this project can proceed. The gondola may have to compete for funding with the other projects in the plan. So although the Burnaby City Council vote was a good sign for this project, it is not yet guaranteed to proceed any time soon.
The UCA will continue to monitor the situation and follow up on opportunities to help make sure the gondola becomes a reality. In the coming months our community may need to raise our voice again to demonstrate that this project remains important to us and should be made a funding priority.
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