Pssst…have you heard?! The Evergreen Extension celebrates its first anniversary this Saturday, December. 2!

Port Moody Mayor Mike Clay and Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart joined TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond and BC Rapid Transit Company President and General Manager Vivienne King to mark this milestone at Moody Centre Station on Friday, Dec. 1.

The 11-kilometre, six-station Evergreen Extension opened to the public December 2, 2016.

It’s been a year that has seen tremendous growth in transit use in the Tri-Cities. Residents have embraced rapid transit as a fast, convenient way to travel within their communities and beyond to the rest of the region.

Transit use in the Northeast Sector (Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Anmore and Belcarra) has taken off in a stunning way as Evergreen has become a central fixture in the lives of Tri-Cities residents.

Average weekday transit ridership in the Northeast Sector in September and October of this year is more than 25 per cent higher than the same months in 2016. On weekends, transit ridership in the Tri-Cities is up by more than 50 per cent!

Evergreen Stats

34,000 – Average weekday boardings (13 per cent increase from early 2017)

36,900 – Boardings on Saturday, July 1, 2017 (Busiest single day)

23,000 – Boardings on typical summer Saturday

8.6 million – Boardings Dec. 2, 2016 – Oct. 31, 2017

51 per cent – percentage of transit journeys in Tri-Cities that begin on Evergreen.

Ridership on Evergreen is expected to grow significantly in coming years, as development near the stations continues at a rapid pace.

Currently, there is $3.8 billion in development or under construction directly adjacent to the Evergreen Extension between Lougheed and Lafarge Lake-Douglas stations, including 7.1 million square feet of residential comprising approximately 9,800 future units of housing.

Thanks to improvements coming as part of the Mayors’ 10-Year Vision, the reach of rapid transit will grow in the coming years when the Broadway Extension provides a one-seat ride along the Millennium Line between Lafarge Lake in Coquitlam and Arbutus Street in Vancouver.

Read Transit Police Constable Jenny Chung’s blog post on making friends on the Evergreen Extension. She’s the Neighbourhood Police Officer (NPO) for the area.