Recognizing that transit options south of the Fraser River are limited, a coalition of business and community groups – Light Rail Links – is fighting to bring light-rail transit to Surrey.
"From my perspective, a light-rail system south of the Fraser will be good for business in Surrey and will be good for the real estate market," said Scott Olson, past-president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and a member of Light Rail Links. "We only get one chance to manage [the region's] growth and ensure that we create higher density, well-connected communities that have high-quality transit. The time is now to build that transit infrastructure in Surrey"
TransLink agrees that there is a need for rapid transit in Surrey. Its Surrey Rapid Transit Study found that there were four viable options for the three major transit corridors of King George Boulevard/152nd Street, Fraser Highway and 104th Avenue. Three of these options involve rapid transit buses, either alone or in conjunction with light rail or a SkyTrain extension. The fourth option is to create three light-rail lines along each of the identified corridors.
It is this last option for which Light Rail Links is advocating. Members feel that the other options, involving buses and SkyTrain, are not viable.
"[Developers] need to know that transit isn't going to change in the future," said Olson. "Light-rapid transit is a fixed product. So, that's a benefit over buses. Bus routes can change."
Anita Huberman, CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade, is also a Light Rail Links member.
"Surrey is going to be the largest city in B.C. in less than 10 years," she said. "If the pace of population continues at 1,200 people moving into the city a month, we need [light-rail transit] to be able to attract businesses, create jobs and have balance around living, working and enjoying the city."
Huberman offered more reasons: "Buses congest the road. They increase pollution, and they're not efficient in terms of moving people around."
She added that the transportation team at the Surrey Board of Trade as well as the Lower Mainland Chamber Transportation Panel, a group of chambers from Hope to Squamish, also independently arrived at the conclusion that buses were not a viable option.
Light Rail Links members also see problems with expanding SkyTrain versus building light rail. "SkyTrain, in our opinion, does not build communities. It separates them with the big, tall concrete structures," said Huberman.
Added Olson: "SkyTrain is not really real estate-friendly to the consumer. SkyTrain does what it does really, really well – it moves large amounts of people over long distances. But that's not what it's about here anymore. It's not about getting large amounts of people to downtown; the majority of traffic is local."
One advantage that buses do have over light rail is in the cost. TransLink estimates a capital cost of $2.2 billion to build the three light-rail lines, with rapid bus lines serving the same area coming in at a much lower $0.9 billion.
The annual operating cost of light rail is projected to be $39 million (in 2041) versus $47 million for rapid transit buses.
Given that TransLink's requests for additional funding to begin investing in new transportation networks have been denied, one might wonder whether, despite their disadvantages, buses are a more feasible option. But Huberman disagrees that current lack of funding should stand in the way of light-rail rapid transit.
"Surrey, south of the Fraser, is where the population is increasing," she said. "By 2025, another million people will move into this region. I think there needs to be a philosophical shift in how their budgets are done and where money is allocated.
"We're asking for TransLink to partner with the B.C. and federal governments, to make this a P3 project."
