Burnaby's community safety plan adds wildfire cameras and new pedestrian crossings. Survey closes November 16.
Burnaby's 2026 Community Safety and Well-Being Plan update sets out 85 initiatives for this year, including a new wildfire detection system near SFU, a new RCMP headquarters by 2028, and crosswalk improvements across the city. The City's survey is open until November 16.
Long read. The subject the most local outlets covered that day, with the public record behind it. Every outlet and record is linked under the story. Read the original report on burnaby.ca.
The City of Burnaby released a progress report on its Community Safety and Well-Being Plan in June 2026. The plan covers five years, 2025 to 2030, and the report lays out 85 initiatives the City is running this year. It also opens a question the City is putting to residents directly: what does safety in your neighbourhood feel like, and what still needs to change?
The public survey is at yourvoice.burnaby.ca. It closes Monday, November 16, 2026.
85 initiatives, covering everything from drones to crosswalks
The plan groups its work into five priorities: reducing crime, preparing for wildfires and other emergencies, addressing substance use and mental health, making streets and public spaces safer, and responding to homelessness.
The 2026 update lists 85 initiatives in total: 58 that are already running and 27 that are new this year or in the planning stage.
Mayor Mike Hurley's foreword in the report ties the plan directly to his campaign. Three of the initiatives connect to promises he made in the 2026 election:
- Extending the wildfire early warning system, now on Burnaby Mountain, to Central Park and Robert Burnaby Park (his tracker page)
- Finishing the new Community Safety Building, the planned RCMP headquarters (his tracker page)
- Holding a city-wide emergency exercise (his tracker page)
All three are still listed as not started. The plan is now where residents can see what work has begun and what is still ahead.
Wildfire: cameras, drones and an SFU research project
The report says the City purchased a wildfire detection system in 2025, after Council authorized the purchase. It uses smoke-detection cameras and ground sensors, and it will be placed near Simon Fraser University and the Trans Mountain tank farm on Burnaby Mountain.
That system extends work the Burnaby Fire Department has been doing with drones. The department now operates three drones, two of which carry thermal imaging cameras. Five firefighters hold Nav Canada licensing to fly them, letting the department search areas of Burnaby Mountain in conditions where a person on the ground could not.
Also in 2026, the City and SFU are launching a Climate and Fire Research Project together. The report does not give dates or describe the scope of the research, but it lists the partnership as a new initiative for the year.
The BC government funds wildfire prevention work for local governments through the FireSmart Community Funding and Supports program. Mayor Hurley's November 5 letter to the new provincial government asked for stable, multi-year funding rather than the current year-to-year confirmation, saying that short-term grants make it hard to retain trained staff. His campaign promise is to extend the warning system beyond Burnaby Mountain. The two parks named, Central Park in south Burnaby and Robert Burnaby Park in the east, are both forested areas where a wildfire warning system does not yet exist.
The City is also in the third phase of a seismic risk assessment, running computer models for a Cascadia Subduction Earthquake and a Georgia Strait Earthquake. A city-wide emergency exercise on Burnaby Mountain is planned for 2027.
A new RCMP building and more officers
The City's plan says a new Community Safety Building (the planned home of the Burnaby RCMP detachment) is on track to open in 2028. The report does not say where the building will be located or what it will cost.
The connection to staffing is direct: the report says the new building is needed to help the force hire and keep officers. The current detachment is too small for the number of officers Burnaby needs, and that has made it harder to recruit. Mayor Hurley made finishing the expansion a campaign promise.
The City's Emergency Operations Centre is also being upgraded. The report says Phase 2 of an EOC software project is underway, building new tools inside a system called ESRI's EMO. The first phase set up the platform; the second is building the operational tools the City would use to coordinate a response.
Safer streets: crosswalks and a school street pilot
The plan lists five locations where the City is adding a new crosswalk or upgrading a pedestrian signal in 2026:
- Forest Grove Drive and Ash Grove Crescent
- Hazel Street and McMurray Avenue
- Buffalo Street and Phillips Avenue
- Kensington Avenue and Sumas Street
- Delta Avenue at Brentwood Park Elementary, where a rectangular rapid flash beacon and curb extensions will be added
The City is also adding a pedestrian scramble at the Central Boulevard and Metrotown SkyTrain intersection. In a pedestrian scramble, all vehicle signals go red at once, giving people a phase to cross in any direction. The report lists this as a new initiative for 2026 and does not give a timeline for construction.
A School Street Pop-Up is planned for one week in April 2026 at a Burnaby school. The City received a provincial grant for the pilot, which will close the street to through traffic during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up. The City has not announced which school will host it.
Crime reporting and BlockWatch
The City launched an online Burnaby Crime Map that tracks five types of property crime across the city. Residents can use it to see where thefts and break-ins are being reported, by neighbourhood and over time. The map is at burnaby.ca.
The plan also says the City's BlockWatch program is expanding into newcomer and immigrant communities. BlockWatch is a neighbour-to-neighbour program where residents watch for unusual activity on their block and share information with Burnaby RCMP. The expansion into newcomer communities is new for 2026.
How to give input before November 16
The City says more than 1,600 residents, businesses and community partners gave input before the plan was adopted. The 2026 survey asks what has changed and what still concerns people. The answers will shape what the City focuses on in future updates.
The survey is at yourvoice.burnaby.ca. It closes Monday, November 16, 2026. The full 2026 progress report and the plan page are at burnaby.ca under Strategies and Plans. Mayor Hurley's promises connected to this plan are tracked at the Burnaby promise tracker.
Questions this story answers
What is Burnaby's Community Safety and Well-Being Plan?
Burnaby's Community Safety and Well-Being Plan is a five-year plan the City adopted for 2025 to 2030. It covers five priority areas: keeping people safe from crime, preparing the city for emergencies and wildfires, reducing harm from substances and mental health crises, creating safer streets and public spaces, and providing housing and services for people who are homeless or at risk. The 2026 progress report says the City has 85 initiatives underway this year: 58 that are already running and 27 that are new or in the planning stage.
What is the survey about and when does it close?
The City of Burnaby is asking residents to share what they know about safety in their neighbourhood: what has gotten better, what still concerns them, and what they would change. The City says the input will shape future updates to the plan. The survey is at yourvoice.burnaby.ca and closes Monday, November 16, 2026. More than 1,600 residents, businesses and community partners gave input on the plan before it was adopted.
What is the new wildfire detection system the City is installing?
The City purchased a wildfire detection system in 2025, after Burnaby City Council authorized the purchase. The system uses smoke-detection cameras and ground sensors and will be placed near Simon Fraser University and the Trans Mountain tank farm on Burnaby Mountain. The City also runs three fire department drones, two of which carry thermal imaging cameras, with five members licensed to fly them. The 2026 update also says the City and SFU are starting a Climate and Fire Research Project together in 2026. Mayor Hurley has promised to extend the warning system to Central Park and Robert Burnaby Park, a promise listed on his tracker at voche.me.
When will the new Burnaby RCMP headquarters open?
The City's 2026 progress report says a new Community Safety Building, which will serve as the new RCMP headquarters, is on track to open in 2028. The report says the new building is needed to help the force hire and keep officers. Mayor Hurley listed finishing the expansion of the Burnaby RCMP detachment as a campaign promise, and it is tracked at voche.me.
What new pedestrian crossings is Burnaby adding in 2026?
The 2026 progress report lists five intersections where the City is adding a crosswalk or pedestrian signal this year: Forest Grove Drive and Ash Grove Crescent, Hazel Street and McMurray Avenue, Buffalo Street and Phillips Avenue, Kensington Avenue and Sumas Street, and Delta Avenue at Brentwood Park Elementary, where a flashing crosswalk and curb extensions will be added. The City is also piloting a School Street Pop-Up for one week in April 2026 at a school, using a provincial grant, to test closing the street to through traffic at drop-off and pick-up times.
What is the new pedestrian scramble at Metrotown?
The plan lists a Central Boulevard Pedestrian Scramble at the Metrotown SkyTrain station as a new initiative for 2026. A pedestrian scramble is a crossing phase where all vehicle signals go red at once, letting people cross in any direction, including diagonally. The Central Boulevard crossing at Metrotown is the City's first pedestrian scramble. The 2026 progress report lists it as a new initiative, so the City has not said when construction will begin or be complete.
What is the City doing about homelessness?
The plan says the Mayor's Task Force on Homelessness gave its report to Council in 2025, and the City is now carrying out its recommendations. The progress report does not list which recommendations are being acted on first. The plan also says a new resource navigation guide for people looking for community safety services is now live at burnaby.ca.
What is a city-wide emergency exercise and when will Burnaby hold one?
The City's 2026 progress report says Burnaby is planning a city-wide emergency exercise on Burnaby Mountain in 2027. An emergency exercise is a large-scale practice run for how the City would respond to a major emergency, such as a wildfire or earthquake. The plan also says the City is in the third phase of a seismic risk assessment, testing how Burnaby would handle a Cascadia Subduction Earthquake and a Georgia Strait Earthquake. Mayor Hurley's campaign promise to hold a city-wide emergency exercise is tracked at voche.me.
Where can Burnaby residents find the full 2026 safety plan update?
The full 2026 Community Safety and Well-Being Plan progress report and update is on the City of Burnaby's website. The plan page, with the survey link, is at burnaby.ca under Strategies and Plans. The progress report itself is a document on the City's site. The public survey closes November 16, 2026, at yourvoice.burnaby.ca.
Sources
The pages this story draws on. Open one to check a claim yourself.
- City of Burnaby: Community Safety and Well-Being Plan 2026 progress report (PDF)burnaby.ca
- City of Burnaby: Community Safety and Well-Being Plan page and surveyburnaby.ca
- Your Voice Burnaby: Creating a Safer Community surveyyourvoice.burnaby.ca
- BC Wildfire Service: FireSmart prevention programwww2.gov.bc.ca
Found an error? Tell the editors with the corrections form. A correction is noted on the story it changes. Read our standards.
