How many more years do Simon Fraser University (SFU) students and UniverCity residents have to put up with slow and unreliable commutes up the mountain on buses, getting stuck on the mountain every time it snows?
Students at SFU and local organizations have been calling for a public transit gondola up Burnaby Mountain for decades.
On Dec. 12, Grouse Mountain actually opened one.
In just over three years since its announcement in 2021, Grouse Mountain has conceptualized and built the new Blue Grouse Gondola, including removal of the existing Blue Skyride aerial tram which it replaced.
As it stands, the Blue Grouse Gondola has overtaken the Burnaby Mountain Gondola (BMG) and shown us that gondolas can be built and opened quickly in this region.
SFU students looking for a reliable and safe way up the mountain have been waiting for over 20 years.
By choosing a gondola to replace the former aerial tram, Grouse Mountain shows us that gondolas are the best way to move lots of people up and down a mountain.
The Blue Grouse Gondola will move over 1,000 people per hour per direction; the proposed Burnaby Mountain Gondola is a higher capacity tri-cable system and will move even more people.
We are pleased that TransLink has made the BMG the top rapid transit priority in its 2025 investment plan; TransLink has noted that if it is able to approve this investment plan next year, SFU students could be riding to class on a gondola by 2028.
We’ve been told by the Mayors’ Council that this would require provincial and federal governments to address the $600 million TransLink budget shortfall first.
It is paramount that all levels of government cooperate as SFU students are getting tired of putting up with the bus.
Daryl Dela Cruz is the co-founder of the non-partisan group Build the SFU Gondola.
