Editor,
An open letter to Surrey city council, the Mayors' Council, the Province of B.C. and TransLink:
The planned extension of the SkyTrain from King George station to Langley City Centre will be a welcome improvement for accessibility in the Lower Mainland. However, I argue that more is needed now.
I am appealing to Surrey city council, the Mayors’ Council, the Province of BC, and TransLink to build an additional SkyTrain extension south into the communities of Newton, South Surrey, and White Rock. A SkyTrain extension south will have significant benefits for Surrey and the Lower Mainland including improved accessibility and connectivity, reducing traffic and congestion, and environmental benefits as people are able to rely less on cars.
My husband and I moved to Surrey during the pandemic. There was a surge in remote work opportunities, while still expensive there were townhouse and condo options we could afford, and there was construction everywhere inviting young families to “come make Surrey home.”
Newton, South Surrey, and White Rock have seen major growth in recent years. This was an opportunity for us to set down roots and grow our little family. Housing affordability in the Lower Mainland is a major challenge for families, young people, elderly, and newcomers, but Surrey is one of the fastest growing suburbs in the Lower Mainland, in part because it has been more affordable than other municipalities.
While I’m grateful to this community and our ability to make it our home, the end of the pandemic and the reduction in remote work has highlighted how dramatically underserved these areas are by rapid transit in general and the SkyTrain specifically.
Growing up in Vancouver, I and many of my neighbours lived close to family members – at the time it seemed normal that Grandma and Grandpa could live a 15-minute walk away. Now, the increased cost of living in the Lower Mainland over the last 30 years means that my family cannot afford to live close to grandparents, family friends, or places of work.
The lack of rapid transit forces us to rely on cars for transportation or to sink hours of our days into difficult and long commutes. I am returning to work soon after having our first child and will be unable to see my son until after 5 p.m. every day because of my hour-and-a-half commute by bus and SkyTrain into downtown Vancouver — a commute that can extend to nearly two hours on the return.
I cannot tell you how heartbreaking it feels to know that I won’t be able to spend time with my son to help him eat breakfast or brush his teeth because the transit is so poorly connected to where we could afford to buy our first home.
Transit is not a feasible option for visiting any of our family in the Lower Mainland. As my parents and in-laws age, I worry that I will be spending more and more time in my car and in worsening traffic to connect with and care for my family. I consider myself lucky to have a home in the Lower Mainland where family is not an airplane ride away, but compared to other international cities with metro systems that shorten hour-long drives to 20-minute trips, it’s clear we are not planning far enough ahead to keep our region livable, accessible, commutable, and environmentally friendly.
I know my situation is not unique. I have several colleagues and friends who have moved out of the city of Vancouver since 2020, many to the Newton, South Surrey, and White Rock areas. I believe we need to be doing more to improve the accessibility between our communities as the Lower Mainland continues to densify.
Metro Vancouver is a world-class urban centre that will only continue to attract people to live here. I believe this is a good thing and that densification will and should continue. But we are grossly behind with transit development, and we need to budget for, plan, and build an expanded world-class transit system now that enables people to live in places like Surrey while being able to work in Vancouver or see family on the North Shore without having to use a car.
I want to appeal to the City of Surrey, the Province of BC, the Mayors’ Council, and TransLink to build a SkyTrain extension down 152nd or King George to South Surrey and White Rock. The residents of these communities would only benefit from greater access to the rest of the Lower Mainland. It would improve local and Metro Vancouver bridges and highway traffic, drive tourism in these beautiful areas, and help relieve the pressure on housing around the city of Vancouver by creating more easily accessible neighbourhoods linked by SkyTrain.
I appreciate efforts to add additional bus or Rapid Bus services as well, but I believe that a SkyTrain extension is the only practical, sustainable way to improve accessibility, reduce congestion, and contribute to the livability of these communities that want to continue to attract families.
Kirstin Johnson, Surrey
