Surrey’s Board of Trade is “concerned” that expanding SkyTrain from Surrey into Langley will compromise transit improvements to the 104th corridor and in Newton.
“Surrey and south of the Fraser have been waiting so long for transit and transportation investments,” said Anita Huberman, CEO of the board. “We had an unprecedented approved transit plan – and today’s announcement denotes that the SkyTrain line will only go to 166th Street within the approved funding envelope by an estimated 2025 construction completion, leaving minimal rapid transit improvements to the 104 corridor and to Newton – and even to the rest of Surrey.”
READ ALSO: TransLink estimates the entire Surrey-Langley SkyTrain route would cost $3.12 billion
Huberman noted that Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond could fit within Surrey’s city limits.
Anita Huberman. (Photo: Tom Zytaruk)
“We need transit improvements in all of Surrey,” she said, adding that “development activity on the 104th Avenue corridor and Newton corridor need rapid transit.”
It’s estimated that 27-kilometres of rapid transit south of the Fraser would cost $3.55 billion but only $1.65 billion has been approved, Huberman noted. On Friday TransLink indicated a 16-kilometre route would cost about $3.12 billion, almost double the cash it has to work with.
The SkyTrain expansion plan in Surrey features 16 kilometres of elevated guideway, eight stations, three bus exchanges, park-and ride spaces and a new operations and maintenance facility.
“We notice that there’s limited money left over for the 104th corridor and Newton corridor,” Huberman told the Now-Leader. “We need rapid transit in order to increase development, to bring in business, really revitalize the 104th corridor and the Newton corridor, that’s what we’re concerned with.”
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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