Multiplying Massey bus use to/from Richmond

There’s plenty of low-hanging fruit for increased Massey Crossing transit use to/from Richmond. Relatively easily, there can be greatly increased user-friendly transit between South-of-the-Fraser and (a) south Richmond via a humane Steveston/99 bus interchange, instead of the current horrific semblance of an interchange, and (b) central Richmond via the Westminster/99 interchange—likely from the Ladner Exchange—to the Brighouse Bus Mall.

(The “Bus Mall,” shown above, is an exchange that has been vapourware since at least 2006. It is practically adjacent to Brighouse Station, on No. 3 Rd just south of the station entrance. It is rather narrow but stretches eastward for a full block, with plans for an emergency exit on Buswell St.)

The semi-humane current transit route between South-of-the-Fraser and central and south Richmond is routed through Bridgeport Station in north Richmond, typically with a transit change (transfer) for a leg back south to Brighouse Station and the current notional “Brighouse bus exchange.” From there, many users face another transit change—involving “bays” on No. 3 Rd and side streets that are spread over hundreds of metres. The graphic below uses blue to show the bus route to Bridgeport. It uses red to show how the proposed 622 northbound route would leave Highway 99 at the Westminster Hwy interchange to go west to Brighouse in central Richmond. (Naturally, the southbound 622 route would mirror that.)

For this potential 622 route to/from the Brighouse Bus Mall, the Alexander Dennis Enviro500 double-deckers would be user-friendly and enviro-friendly. (Fast-developing electric/battery bus options are becomng an alternative to consider too, but the double-deckers are already in service on related routes.) To convert SOV commuters to/from central Richmond into transit commuters, it would help a lot to have service that is frequent from the beginning and promised to remain so. (That is unlike TransLink’s usual gradual approach, which is wise but probably not best suited to this case,)

Much of this will be obvious to those who care. Some of it could start very soon, and the rest could start fairly soon. At least it could if the promised priority on a new Steveston Interchange (probably beginning with an interim one) puts transit interchange ahead of general-traffic interchange in importance. And it especially could if the Brighouse Bus Mall becomes the priority that the community of Richmond deserves.

Note: The Steveston Interchange above, with bus stops shown, may look okay, but try using it, including walking across the Hwy 99 overpass on the single narrow raised sidewalk, with a rather low rail, on a windy day with truck drafts pulling you this way and that, along with other pedestrians and cyclists accidentally nudging you as they pass in your direction or the opposite one. And that’s just one one of many shortcomings that make it user-hostile.