Maps and info for the Golden Ears Bridge celebration

A map for the Golden Ears Bridge celebration on Sunday, June 14, showing park-and-ride and other locations on the south side of the bridge. Click for a larger version.

If you’re going to the Golden Ears Bridge celebration, we’ve now created two maps describing the park-and-ride, bike valet, and pedestrian access locations on both sides of the bridge. (There’s no vehicle access to the bridge during the celebration.)

You can download both maps in PDF format here:

• North side map
• South side map

And you can get the full schedule of events in PDF format here:

• Schedule of events

You may have already seen these maps and the schedule in local papers, but it’s definitely info worth repeating.

As well, I’ve also put up all the details of the celebration in this blog post.

More details about the Golden Ears Bridge celebration on June 14!

The Golden Ears Bridge!

Here’s a few more details about the Golden Ears Bridge celebration on Sunday, June 14—two days before the bridge officially opens on June 16.

The celebration runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Things kick off at 11 a.m. with performances including Kutapira, the Langley Ukulele Ensemble and First Nations blues performer Murray Porter.

The Official Ribbon Cutting ceremony starts at 1 pm, followed by the music of Rick Tippe, Maple Ridge country recording artist and winner of 30 country music awards, The Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration, and Delhi 2 Dublin.

At 2 pm, you’ll have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play hopscotch, hula hoop, breakdance and take part in other activities on the bridge deck. The most enthusiastic participants will be awarded a limited edition “I Made History on the Golden Ears Bridge” button.

Six passport stamping stations will be set up along the bridge deck and guests who collect all six stamps can enter a prize draw.

Also, a fun run across the bridge deck begins at 8:30 am on the north side of the river. Langley’s George Tabert, the winner of the bridge naming contest held in 2004, will lead runners across the bridge on the bicycle he was awarded as a prize for naming the bridge. The run is sponsored by Running Room and pre-registration is required at www.runningroom.com.

How to get to the celebration

A map of the connections to the Golden Ears Bridge, once the bridge is open. Click for a larger version.

There will be no vehicle access to the bridge or new road network on June 14.

Three-hour free parking will be available at the Langley Events Centre, Colossus Langley, Pitt Meadows Regional Airport, Westcoast Express Pitt Meadows Station and Westcoast Express Maple Meadows Station. Coast Mountain Bus Company buses will shuttle guests to drop-off spots at each end of the bridge, about 800 metres from the event. Wheelchair access to the bridge deck is provided through these parking lots. Shuttles from the parking lots are free.

Those biking to the celebration on the north side of the river can proceed southbound on Maple Meadows Way to Stewart Crescent and then take the new paved pedestrian and cyclist path to the new 113B Avenue roundabout.

Cyclists can check their bikes at the free bike valet operated by Better Environmentally Sound Transportation Association (BEST). Bike valet locations are near 201st Street and 100A Avenue in Langley and near the north side bridge approach near 113B Avenue.

Pedestrians can access the bridge deck near the bike valets on both ends of the bridge.

The celebration will take place outdoors on the one-kilometre bridge deck, so guests should wear comfortable walking shoes, bring bottled water and dress for the weather. For safety reasons, bikes, rollerblades, skateboards and pets will not be permitted on the bridge deck.

As well, the celebration is looking for volunteers, if you’d like to help us make history.

We’re all really proud to launch this bridge and hope you can join us!

And for more info on the Golden Ears Bridge, check out TransLink’s Golden Ears Bridge website and the Golden Ears Bridge construction website.

Golden Ears Bridge will officially open on June 16

The Golden Ears Bridge opens Tuesday, June 16!

Our CEO Tom Prendergast announced the Golden Ears Bridge opening date this morning: Tuesday, June 16!

That’s just two days after the bridge’s opening celebration on Sun June 14!

And for 30 days after its June 16 opening, the bridge will be toll free for all traffic.

Give it a try—it cuts travel time by 20-30 minutes when you’re travelling between Maple Ridge or Pitt Meadows to Langley or Surrey. Just remember that QuickPass electronic tolling starts after 30 days: you’ll need to register your vehicle to start paying the toll. (You can already register your vehicle now: more than 2,000 have registered so far!)

A map of connections to the Golden Ears Bridge. Click for a larger version.

The six-lane Golden Ears Bridge is a TransLink-owned project, and it will really improve the movement of people and goods throughout the region.

For pedestrians and cyclists, two-metre-wide sidewalks line each side of the bridge, linking with municipal cycling and pedestrian networks on both sides of the river.

Plus we’re also launching a new bus service to connect these communities over the bridge—the #595 Langley Centre/Haney Place express route, which launches on June 22. I’ll have more info on that as it comes to me!

And for more info on the Golden Ears Bridge, check out this earlier post from the Buzzer blog, or the QuickPass website.

Register your vehicle now for electronic tolling on the Golden Ears Bridge

Just in case you haven’t heard, the Golden Ears Bridge opened up its Quickpass Customer Service Centre last week, and will now be taking registration for the electronic tolling system.

You can get your vehicle registered through a variety of methods:

• online at www.quickpasstolling.ca*
• call 604-460-5050, or call toll-free at 1-877-299-0599*
• or visit the Quickpass customer service centre in Pitt Meadows (12167 Harris Road) or Langley (12-8948 202nd Street).

*If you call or register online for a transponder, it will be mailed to you.

You can also pick one of three ways to register your vehicle for the Quickpass tolling system:

1. Lease a Quickpass transponder and save 30% of the standard toll rate. (Transponders are $1 a month plus a $10 refundable deposit.)
2. Register as a Quickpass video customer and save 15% of the standard toll rate. (You won’t carry a transponder this way.)
3. Pay as you go and pay the standard toll rate.

For more on the tolling system, check the Quickpass registration site, or have a read through a Quickpass article I wrote in Oct. 2008.

Knight Street Bridge lane closure tonight

A heads up to drivers and riders out there—one southbound lane will be closed on the Knight St. Bridge overnight.

The closure will in effect from Tuesday, March 31 at 10 p.m. until Wednesday Apr. 1 at 5 a.m. Workers will be performing a routine warranty maintenance check on the deck joints.

So, if you’re driving, watch out for the closure, and remember to observe all signs and instructions from traffic controllers and the 50 km/h workzone speed limit.

(And if you didn’t know already, TransLink owns and maintains the Knight Street Bridge, the Pattullo Bridge, and the Westham Island Bridge.)

Hope this doesn’t inconvenience anybody!

Golden Ears Bridge hosts opening celebration June 14

The Golden Ears Bridge, in mid-construction. The bridge will be in one piece when you go out to celebrate in June!

Hey, you’re invited to celebrate the opening of the Golden Ears Bridge in June!

The bridge should be completed by early summer, and while the official opening date for traffic isn’t yet set, a public celebration will be held on Sunday, June 14.

It’s going to take place on the new Golden Ears Bridge deck, and it will be a pedestrian-only event. The celebration will feature entertainment and activities for the whole family.

TransLink’s new bridge and 13-kilometre road network will provide a quick, easy and convenient link from Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge to Langley, Surrey and beyond.

Here’s a few comments from TransLink executives on the celebration, from our press release:

“This is an exciting opportunity for people to get a close up look at the bridge and to experience the magnificent view from the bridge deck,” says TransLink CEO Tom Prendergast. “For the first time ever, the people living in Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Surrey and Langley will be able to connect easily to friends, families and opportunities on the other side of the river.”

“We want to invite the region to share in this historic event,” says Fred Cummings, TransLink vice-president of major construction projects. “The opening celebration is an opportunity to thank the communities for their support and commitment to the new crossing and to honour the bridge workers whose skill and dedication created the bridge.”

The Golden Ears Bridge uses QuickPass, the first electronically tolled system in western Canada, and will allow drivers to cross the bridge and pay the toll without stopping or slowing down. Find out more about QuickPass in this October 2008 Buzzer blog post on the subject.

And for more information on the project, please feel free to visit TransLink’s Golden Ears Bridge website, or the Golden Ears Bridge construction website.

From the opening of the Pattullo Bridge, 1937

A detail from the cover of the 1937 Pattullo Bridge souvenir programme. Scans provided courtesy of the Burnaby Village Museum.

Thanks to Lisa Codd, the curator at the Burnaby Village Museum, here’s a special history treat to celebrate the Pattullo Bridge reopening this week. It’s the souvenir programme and luncheon menu from the 1937 opening of the Pattullo Bridge!

Download the items here:

• the souvenir programme (3.2MB PDF)
• the luncheon menu (1.8MB PDF)

I’ll run through some of the highlights from both in this post. I’ve also got some great historical background from Lisa to share with you!

Read more »

More photos of the Pattullo Bridge repairs

Many thanks to reader and photographer Duane Cooke, who also sent along some more photos of the bridge construction on Sunday. (Here’s the other set of photos from Terry Muirhead.)

Again, click each picture for a much larger version. Thanks Duane for such lovely shots!

The last Pattullo Bridge update (or so we hope)

STATUS OF BRIDGE

• The bridge structure was completed on Sunday
• Traffic safety and control measures were dealt with in the late afternoon through the evening. Bridge did a soft opening at 3am and was open to regular vehicular traffic at 6am

ROAD ADJUSTMENTS

• Traffic was reported as regular volume for a rush hour on all bridges and roads

TRANSIT ADJUSTMENTS

SKYTRAIN

• Weekend service had no issues. We operated with 3 extra trains today but passenger loads looked like a normal weekday
• We estimate a +20% increase in passengers over the peak times during the work week last week
• We ran an additional 1,315 additional car hours during last week’s enhanced service
• Service levels back to normal tomorrow

CMBC

• There was little impact on the weekend, with passenger loads at normal volumes
• A few folks showed up today for the morning Cloverdale shuttle, which will run tonight.
• We used the shuttles today but there was minimal use by passengers. All the shuttles except Cloverdale shuttle are back to conventional use now and Cloverdale will be making its last runs tonight at the evening rush
• Burnaby shuttles will be redeployed after today’s afternoon rush.
• All shuttle customers boarding this pm will get notification

PARK & RIDE

• Temporary Park & Rides at Home Depot Parking, Holland Park, 10338 and 110th Avenue will be open for one more day on Tuesday, January 27.
• Temporary Park & Rides at Cloverdale and the King George are terminating tonight

As always, thank you to everyone for for your patience and understanding through this. Remember, you can also check out our Customer Alerts page or the Youtube info stream for more info on the state of the system.

Photos of the Pattullo Bridge repairs

Also, we have some great photos of the bridge construction on Sunday thanks to Terry Muirhead, a local transit enthusiast and photographer. You may have seen Terry’s work on the Buzzer blog before — he took many great photos of the retired trolleys sailing over to Argentina and the icy waters faced by the Albion Ferry.

Click each picture for a much larger version — you can see the new bridge piece being fitted into the old structure, the heavy machinery in use at the south end, and the blacktop being laid down over the old and new parts of the bridge.

Thanks Terry again for these wonderful shots!

Pattullo Bridge reopens! Special transit service continues today

(Video of TransLink CEO Tom Prendergast and VP of Planning and Capital Management Sheri Plewes announcing the reopening of the Pattullo Bridge yesterday)

As you certainly may have heard already, the Pattullo Bridge is open as of 6 a.m. today! A temporary bridge span formerly used in Canada Line construction was used to repair the bridge, and repaving took place on Sunday. Watch the YouTube clip above for more info.

Also, because word of the re-opening may not have reached all affected members of the public, service adjustments will remain in place for one more day.

Temporary free park and ride facilities will open for at least one more day at:

• 176th St. and 63rd Ave. (Cloverdale Fairgrounds). An express bus will run to King George SkyTrain Station 5:30-8:30am and 3:30-6:30pm.
• Opening Friday, Jan. 23, at Hilton Rd. & Grosvenor in Surrey, near 108th Avenue and convenient to the “belt loop” bus; walking distance (3-4 blocks) from Gateway Station.
• Along 110th Ave. near Scott Road Station
• Near 103rd Ave. on West Whalley Ring Road near Surrey Central Station

(We’ll be told later today if these park and ride locations will open again on Tuesday.)

Coast Mountain Bus will continue operating special bus service, including the shuttle between Cloverdale Fairgrounds park and ride and King George Station, and the “belt loop” route in North Surrey/Whalley between Gateway Station and Guildford. That service will be cut back beginning Tuesday, unless conditions dictate otherwise.

SkyTrain will begin service at its normal weekday time, with the first train leaving King George at 5:08 a.m.. However, extra trains will be in service during the peak periods and rush hour service may be extended if the situation warrants.

Once again, TransLink and its operating companies are very grateful to our contractors for securing and installing the replacement portion of the bridge and keeping inconvenience to our customers to a minimum; to the Cities of Surrey and New Westminster, for providing the parking facilities; to the media for keeping people informed; and to our customers themselves, for their patience and understanding through this time.

Full special service details can be found at the TransLink website, www.translink.bc.ca, or by contacting Customer Information at (604) 953-3333. As always, you can also check out our Customer Alerts page or the Youtube info stream for more info.

Pattullo Bridge update – Friday afternoon

STATUS OF BRIDGE

• Pile driving continuing today.
• The demolition contractor, Enviro-Vac, completed timber debris cleanup on the Surrey side of the bridge on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
• Yesterday, Thursday, they set up on the New Westminster side in order to start to remove asphalt from the rest of the bridge in order to prep for pothole repair.
• Continued pavement removal and disposal

ROAD ADJUSTMENTS

• Flow was starting earlier, ending later this morning. Traffic backed up to 176th which was actually lighter than usual, even for a Friday.
• People are getting the message about spreading out their commuting times.
• Port Mann, Alex Fraser, the George Massey Tunnel all flowed. .
• We’re seeing longer, spread-out am commutes, ending at 9:30am.

TRANSIT ADJUSTMENTS

SKYTRAIN

• Afternoon peak was extended 1.5 hours yesterday.
• We estimate that we are now carrying an additional 2,500-3,000 passengers during the morning rush. 59 trains ran this morning
• Limited use 04:30 to 05:00, not heavy. King George, Scott Road, Columbia stations, steady but not heavy. From Columbia 07:00 to 10:00, mainly connecting to Millennium-Line.
• Not as busy as Thursday probably as Friday’s are typically lighter days anyway.

*SKYTRAIN FOR THE WEEKEND

• Same info as in my last post but it’s worth repeating.
• Weekend Service – Normal SkyTrain Saturday and Sunday hours but if necessary, service will be increased
• Service next week – SkyTrain will revert to normal weekday start-times (05:08 departure from King George) but we will continue to run additional trains for peak and midday service.
• Bicycles on SkyTrain – The restriction for bicycles on SkyTrain will be lifted for the weekend beginning at 7:00pm Friday night until closing Sunday.
• For next week, bicycles will only be restricted as follows: Weekdays to downtown from 5am to 10 am and from downtown, 3 to 7pm.

CMBC

• Very light traffic this am compared to the rest of week. Last night we had only 14 use the Cloverdale shuttle but we expect that to change next week. Heavy but nothing different from previous night in terms of patterns
• Everything ran on schedule.

PARK & RIDE

• PLEASE NOTE: City of Surrey crews have finished large orange ‘Temporary Park & Ride’ signs that will be posted at all free temporary parking sites tonight. TransLink will have a map of all P&R locations, free and paid, on our website tonight.
• In providing the free temporary Park & Ride spots, we remove all signage restrictions where possible. However, these do not do not include parking in front of fire hydrants or driveways. Please obey all traffic regulations.

Video of the Pattullo bridge repairs

Ken Hardie, our director of communications, posted this video of the Pattullo Bridge repairs yesterday, in case you’re curious.

As you can see, pothole repair is being done to the bridge — and I’ve now been told that full repaving of the bridge will be done in summer as scheduled, not during this construction period, as the priority is to reopen the bridge as soon as possible.

Pattullo Bridge update — Thursday afternoon

STATUS OF BRIDGE

• Pile driving began and we started with a 60’ length of pipe. Pile driving may continue from 2-5 days.

ROAD ADJUSTMENTS

• Rush hours are starting earlier on the roads and bridges, and while still busy, we see traffic on the main roads moving steadily once off the spans.
• People are getting the message about spreading out their commuting times. On the Port Mann, we see it starting at around 1:30 pm in the afternoon for the ride home.
• This morning we saw westbound traffic start at 4:00am-4:30am and the buildup started from the feeder roads at that point. Alex Fraser commuters are starting earlier in both directions as well, and it was reported that the flow was quite smooth off the bridge.
• The Queensborough is still heavy and the most congested during the rush.. There are two tow trucks around Queensborough to help folks in a jam.
• We’re seeing longer, spread-out am commutes, ending at 9:30am.
• We advise drivers to choose Hwy 15 ( 176th ) over 152nd when heading for the #1, in order to avoid bottlenecks. There are some bottle-necks occurring at #10 Highway feeding onto the 99.

TRANSIT ADJUSTMENTS

SKYTRAIN

• Last night it was very busy at the Columbia and Lougheed stations. We had a medical emergency at Metrotown but trains were moving again in about 10 minutes. Very heavy loads from 4-6 pm from Waterfront to Broadway Stations
• We’re seeing a noticeable increase inbound from Surrey Central. Scott Road is building consistently as well.
• “Turnback” trains are in use at Scott Road, to help alleviate crowding outside of Surrey (this is in addition to the turnbacks already being used between Waterfront and Broadway stations in the morning peak period)
• Rush hour last night went up to 8pm. This was a solid indicator that people are getting the messages about spreading their commuting times around on transit.
• Last night we operated all 59 trains.
• This morning, we operated 60 trains, a new record. The loading started heavy at 5:00am and was busy till 7:55am during the morning rush.
• Our passenger counts are building and we anticipate 1000 per hour during the am rush hours. Very much busier today
• People are travelling later in the am and going home later in the pm, so our riders are spreading the commute out. Again, the word is getting out.
• Service now starts service at 4:30 AM from Surrey on weekdays (regular service will operate on weekends). All available cars are being used and rush hour service is extended as needed.
• Again, bicycles are temporarily banned from trains due to the growing number of riders on transit and safety concerns about blocked exits. SkyTrain is very aware of the difficulties placed on our cyclists and are re-evaluating this decision daily.

CMBC

• We are adding in shuttle buses during the am and pm peak from Guilford area to Gateway Station. In order to turn the buses around we will be routing 108 Ave, north 135 Street, west 107A ave, north 132 Street.
• The new #388 22nd St. Station bus, which runs in peak periods to and from Walnut Grove, now stops at Scott Road Station, anticipating that the Alex Fraser Bridge may have additional congestion. Those who normally take the #388 to or from 22nd St. Station may take SkyTrain to Scott Road.
• Again, we’ve instituted a “belt loop” route, circulating through North Surrey/Whalley between Gateway Station and Guildford
• A reminder: regular fares apply on all bus routes, and may be used to transfer to SkyTrain and other buses in Metro Vancouver during the 90-minute time limit.

PARK & RIDE

• In providing the free temporary Park & Ride spots, we remove all signage restrictions where possible. However, these do not do not include parking in front of fire hydrants or driveways. Please obey all traffic regulations.
• We haven’t really seen any additional utilization at the Front Street Park & Ride in New Westminster. Police are patrolling that lot as they are patrolling all our temporary Park & Ride spots in Surrey. Cost is $6 between 6am and 6pm and $2 between 6pm and 6am.
• A reminder that the City of Surrey has opened nearly 500 free temporary park and ride spaces in addition to existing facilities:
  • 176th St. and 63rd Ave. (Cloverdale Fairgrounds). An express bus will run to King George SkyTrain Station 5:30-8:30am and 3:30-6:30pm.
  • Along 110th Ave. near Scott Road Station
  • Near 103rd Ave. on West Whalley Ring Road near Surrey Central Station
  • Also, opening Friday, Jan. 23, at Hilton Rd. & Grosvenor in Surrey, near 108th Avenue and convenient to the “belt loop” bus; walking distance (3-4 blocks) from Gateway Station.
  • Also new! Available Friday morning for the duration of the bridge closure (425 spaces): Home Depot site at Scott Road station – approximately 175 paved parking spaces and 250 grass lot spaces.
  • South Surrey Park and Ride has an extra 10 available as well.

We encourage people to pre-buy their tickets when possible. You can purchase discounted books of ten FareSavers for one, two or three-zone travel at most major grocery stores and at other retail locations around the Lower Mainland. (Try our online FareDealer location tool to find the FareDealer nearest you!)

As well, developing these alternate services has been a combined effort of the various teams that make transit services run in Metro Vancouver: planning and scheduling, service delivery, vehicle maintenance, security and customer service.

More information – including a detailed description of the “belt loop” route, locations of park and rides around Metro Vancouver and locations of bike storage facilities at SkyTrain stations – can be found at the TransLink website or by calling Customer Information at (604) 953-3333.

As always, thank you to everyone for for your patience and understanding through this. Remember, you can also check out our Customer Alerts page or the Youtube info stream for more info.

Pattullo Bridge update – 9 a.m. Thursday

(Video above is of Tom Prendergast, our CEO, and Sheri Plewes, our VP of Planning and Capital Management, making the announcement yesterday at 2pm about the plan to fix the Pattullo Bridge.)

The news this morning is that Cloverdale Fair Grounds is offering 360 Park & Ride spots for those affected by the Pattullo Bridge closure. The temporary parking stalls are provided free of charge at the Cloverdale Fair Grounds (62nd Avenue & Hwy 15) until the Pattullo re-opens.

CMBC, together with the City of Surrey, will also start a temporary express bus service between the Cloverdale Fair Grounds and King George SkyTrain station for the duration of the Pattullo Bridge closure. Regular fares apply (see the fares section of the TransLink website for fare information, including more on the time- and money-saving FareSaver tickets).

Starting at 5:30 am each morning, the express buses will run from Cloverdale to King George every 20 minutes during the morning rush, with the last bus departing the fair grounds at 8:30. During the afternoon rush, the express buses will pick up passengers from King George starting at 3:30pm, with the last bus departing for the Cloverdale Fair Grounds at 6:30pm.

The exact schedule is as follows:

• Start Cloverdale in the AM from 62 Ave.@ 176 St. at the following times: 5:30, 5:50, 6:10, 6:30, 6:50, 7:10, 7:30, 7:50, 8:10, with last westbound bus at 8:30.
• Start King George station in the PM from Bay #3 on E Whalley Ring Road at the following times: 3:30, 3:50, 4:10, 4:30, 4:50, 5:10, 5:30, 5:50,6:10 and last eastbound bus is at 6:30.

If you should miss the last bus to Cloverdale, please turn back to Surrey Central SkyTrain and catch the 320 Langley, which leaves from Surrey Central Bay #2 at 6:50, 7:20 and 7:50 pm.

Updates for the transit system:

SKYTRAIN

• is running every available car to add capacity
• is using “turnback” trains both at Broadway AND at Scott Road, to accommodate additional customers from Surrey

BUSES

• South Surrey Park & Ride is pretty well full - the new Cloverdale Park & Ride described above would be a good alternative.
• #388, which normally goes over the Alex Fraser Bridge to 22nd St. Station in New Westminster, is only going as far as Scott Road Station. Customers can transfer to and from SkyTrain there.
• #340, which also uses the Alex Fraser Bridge, is still using that bridge.

Looking ahead to the afternoon commute, you may want to leave work earlier — or later — than usual.

And as always, thank you to everyone for for your patience and understanding through this. Remember, you can also check out our Customer Alerts page or the Youtube info stream for more info.