加拿大华人论坛 加拿大房产Metro puts Surrey ahead of UBC for rapid transit

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By Jeff Nagel - BC Local News Published: September 08, 2010 12:00 PM Updated: September 08, 2010 12:54 PM New rapid transit for fast-growing Surrey should come ahead of Vancouver's proposed line to UBC ? and after the planned Evergreen Line to Port Moody and Coquitlam is built. That's the order of priorities for transit line expansion listed in the latest draft of Metro's new regional growth strategy. The $1.4-billion Evergreen Line, slated to start construction next year but with funding still unresolved, should remain the top priority, according to the draft plan. Listed second is expansion in Surrey and extension of rapid transit in Vancouver from one of the existing SkyTrain stations west along Broadway, potentially from Commercial Drive as far as Arbutus Street. Only later, it says, should a line all the way west to UBC be considered, on equal footing with enhanced transit to serve Maple Ridge, Langley, White Rock and the North Shore. TransLink hasn't yet settled on potential routes in the Surrey area, but the provincial transit plan indicated two main options for study ? King George Highway to White Rock and 104 Avenue to Guildford then southeast down Fraser Highway to Cloverdale and Langley. A Metro report authored by chief administrator Johnny Carline said expansion in Surrey is "clearly the pressing priority" for the next phase of growth in the region and is important to connect growth areas south of the Fraser to the Surrey Metro Centre designated in the plan. A line all the way to UBC can't reasonably be viewed as a legitimate use of scarce dollars when improved links are needed to connect major regional centres and shape future growth and transit use, Carline said. The plan does not envision a Surrey expansion with an immediate link south to White Rock. Instead, it says priority-two rapid transit should initially connect Surrey Metro Centre to one or more of Surrey's Guildford, Newton and Fleetwood town centres and/or Langley regional city centre. The central Broadway district, now connected north-south by the Canada Line, needs a line east to the rest of the SkyTrain system, it indicates. Other corridors that should get "enhanced transit service" include: - Langley to Maple Ridge, with both cities also connecting to Coquitlam and other urban centres south of the Fraser. - White Rock to other south-of-Fraser urban centres. - North Shore to link municipal town centres there. - UBC to central Broadway. Over the long term, the plan says those routes may be considered for further upgrades from enhanced transit to rapid transit ? either busways or rail ? after higher priority expansion is complete. TransLink, however, contends it should decide the order of expansion, based on a series of studies underway. It is examining options for Surrey expansion and a Broadway Line potentially as far as UBC, which is vigorously promoted by Vancouver council. In a letter to Metro, TransLink board chair Dale Parker said it is "premature" to priorize which rapid transit project should come next after the Evergreen Line, citing the need for more dialogue and study findings. Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender, who chairs the regional mayors' council on transportation, said south-of-Fraser expansion is critical but cautioned against a tussle between Surrey and Vancouver. "I think we have to stop pitting one against the other," he said, adding TransLink must do its due diligence on the Broadway corridor. "I don't sit there and say one is more important than the other." He predicted talks between the mayors council and the province will hammer out a funding formula to deliver the Evergreen Line by the end of the year and potentially fund additional lines after that. Surrey Coun. Judy Villeneuve, who sits on the Metro regional planning committee, said the plan's transit priorities reflect the inadequacy of the network in Surrey and the city's rapid growth. "I think it's our turn," she said. "We're growing at a very fast pace of 10,000 people per year. We're the largest school district ? we've surpassed Vancouver already and that growth is projected to continue." She said Vancouver now has three high-capacity frequent bus lines serving UBC. Villeneuve cited the success of the Canada Line as evidence south-of-Fraser residents will get out of their cars if new transit lines are built. Surrey council prefers a light rail system running at grade ? rather than more costly SkyTrain technology ? because new lines could be built further, quicker. "It's visually more appealing for people and more accessible," Villeneuve said, adding councillors will travel in October to study the light rail system in Portland, Oregon. The draft Metro plan says the timing of rapid transit expansion will depend on TransLink having sustainable funding to build and operate new lines. The growth strategy, which would replace the outdated Livable Region Strategic Plan, includes various mechanisms to shape development as Metro's population swells by another million residents by 2040. The document has been in the works for years and has undergone two previous rounds of public consultation and a series of revisions after some cities worried it gave the regional board too much power. Regional planning committee chair Derek Corrigan said it now sets the right balance between issues that need to be solved regionally versus ones best left to individual cities. A new round of public comment on the new plan is open until Oct. 15. All municipalities, as well as the Tsawwassen First Nation and TransLink, have to agree to it before it takes effect. "If all goes well, we will have a new strategy in place early in 2011," said Corrigan, who is mayor of Burnaby.

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