SkyTrain alternative would save hundreds of Green Timbers trees
- Media Release
-
- For immediate release — June 5, 2015
SkyTrain for Surrey is raising new concerns about the City of Surrey’s decision to reject SkyTrain alternatives on Fraser Highway—options that would have significantly reduced land impacts and saved hundreds of mature trees in the Green Timbers forest now slated for removal to accommodate road widening for Light Rail Transit (LRT).
An elevated SkyTrain extension on Fraser Highway, as examined in the Surrey Rapid Transit Study, would have offered a far smaller at‑grade footprint than an at‑grade LRT system operating in dedicated lanes. By using space above the roadway rather than expanding it outward, SkyTrain would preserve substantially more of the Green Timbers Urban Forest.
This elevated alignment would fit within the 27‑metre maximum corridor width endorsed by a Green Timbers Urban Forest advisory committee in 2008[1][2]. Despite this, the City has advanced a wider 40-metre design that includes drainage ditches on both sides of Fraser Highway, a choice that our campaign manager, Daryl Dela Cruz, has highlighted in letters to the Green Timbers Heritage Society as evidence of limited design innovation—especially given that other roads through Green Timbers, such as 96 Avenue, do not require such ditches.
Compounding these concerns, the City has not publicly communicated its plan to widen 100 Avenue through Green Timbers, a move required to offset the loss of traffic lanes on 104 Avenue under the proposed LRT network. This omission leaves residents without a full understanding of the cumulative environmental impacts associated with the LRT proposal.
Instead of an LRT, a SkyTrain extension would remove more vehicles from Fraser Highway and surrounding corridors by providing faster, more reliable, and higher‑capacity service. According to the Surrey Rapid Transit Study, SkyTrain would generate twice the transportation benefits compared to LRT—reducing congestion, improving travel times, and protecting more of Surrey’s natural heritage.[3]
SkyTrain for Surrey continues to advocate for solutions that strengthen mobility while safeguarding the environmental and community assets that define our city—choosing SkyTrain best balances transportation performance with long‑term ecological stewardship.
Appendix A — Diagrams
Currently proposed Fraser Hwy + LRT right-of-way through Green Timbers by the City of Surrey: 40 metres
Proposed right-of-way for Fraser Hwy + SkyTrain in Surrey Rapid Transit Study: 27 metres
Our proposal for Fraser Hwy + SkyTrain with adjustments (i.e. multi-use path under guideway): 24 metres
Appendix B - Letter to Green Timbers Heritage Society
Read our letter to the Green Timbers Heritage Society at:
skytrainforsurrey.org/letter-to-green-timbers-heritage-society/
- “NEIGHBOURHOODS: Surrey’s Green Timbers is ‘our Stanley Park'” — The Now Newspaper, April 8 2014[↩]
- “Boan (Surrey transportation manager) said at the time, the Green Timbers Urban Forest advisory committee said it would support four travel lanes and rapid transit, but only if the footprint was contained within 27 metres, along with some other conditions.” — per The Now[↩]
- Surrey Rapid Transit Study Phase Alternatives Analysis — Phase 2 Final Evaluation — TransLink[↩]
Pictured in header: SkyTrain running through a forest
SkyTrain for Surrey is a BC-based community organization that has advocated for the expansion of the Vancouver SkyTrain system, including our successful advocacy for the under-construction Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension.
Media Contact: Daryl Dela Cruz – Founder, SkyTrain for Surrey ・ Phone: +1 604 329 3529, [email protected]
