Immediately after being sworn in to their new positions November 5, new Surrey mayor Doug McCallum and the city’s new councilors voted unanimously to cancel the planned Surrey-Newton-Guildford light rail transit (LRT) project.
Instead of the LRT, McCallum and council announced plans to work on extending the SkyTrain network from King George station to Langley City.
“What city council has done is immediately deliver on the wishes of the people of Surrey,” McCallum said. “It was very clear to me that with all the people I spoke to and heard from that SkyTrain and Surrey establishing its own municipal police force are what is best for our city.
“As the elected representatives of the citizens of Surrey, we are delivering not just what we promised to do, but we are acting on what the people have said would be best for their city.”
According to TransLink’s plans, the LRT was set to be built between 2020 and 2024.
TransLink has responded to Surrey city council’s announcement by saying it is pausing work on the LRT project and suspending the request for quotation process until it is further advised by council.
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Surrey council also announced it has approved a motion to create a separate municipal police department. Currently, the city has a contract with the RCMP.
@EmmaHampelBIV
