As of this month, TransLink will begin running buses to two of the most popular parks in the Lower Mainland – Campbell Valley Regional Park in Langley, and Golden Ears Provincial Park in Maple Ridge.
This is long overdue, and sets out a future path towards making the Lower Mainland a better place to live for those who don’t drive.
In our fast-growing region, transit has not kept up with demand. It is getting better, but for years TransLink has been focused on the essentials – routes that would get people to and from work, school, and basic shops and services.
Non-drivers in our society, by need or by choice, require more than mere essentials.
Right now, living without a car means living in a smaller world. Any driver who has temporarily lost their car to a sudden repair knows that this can throw plans into disarray.
Access to parks represents the ultimate goal of transit – to give people the option to go almost anywhere they need to, by foot, bike, bus, or rail.
Expanding transit also benefits those who still drive. Golden Ears has hard limits on the number of people who can come in by car. Every family that arrives on a bus is one less parking space in use.
Hopefully, not only will this type of transit be expanded, it will soon be so normal, it won’t be worth commenting on. Of course buses should go to parks. Why wouldn’t they?