IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Surrey, BC
The City of Surrey – not Conservatives – should be held responsible for an ongoing 2-year standstill on acquiring federal funding for a proposed LRT system.
Liberal Party candidate Sukh Dhaliwal, in a promise to bring Light Rail to Surrey, has attempted to blame the Conservative government for a standstill in Surrey’s application for P3 Canada funding. However, the City of Surrey’s own report, dated June 15, states that the reason LRT funding has not been approved by P3 Canada is because a business case has not been submitted. (View this report below)
“The Liberal Party of Canada’s commitment is blind electioneering that misunderstands that LRT is not a sustainable choice for Surrey, and that is the real reason there’s no LRT funding progress,” says Daryl Dela Cruz, leader and campaign manager at SkyTrain for Surrey.
“LRT is not a sustainable choice for Surrey, and that is the real reason there’s no LRT funding progress.”
– Campaign manager Daryl Dela Cruz
The City’s report notes that “The screened-in status obligates the preparation a P3 Business Case to advance funding negotiations”. The City has not provided any business case to P3 Canada and may not be able to do so, as a previous TransLink joint-study suggested that a ground-level Light Rail system would have a negative business case with a benefit-cost ratio of just 0.69:1.
Ground-level Light Rail Transit will offer minimal benefits to transit riders , while simultaneously causing congestion due to the closure of traffic lanes on 104th Ave. The first phase of the proposed LRT is only a 1 minute improvement over existing B-Line express buses, which use dedicated lanes on King George Blvd. A recent “economic study” released by the city to defend LRT failed to assess and consider transportation outcomes.
SkyTrain for Surrey has been relentless in raising LRT issues like these and advocating for the only solution that is viable and will truly make a difference: an extension of existing SkyTrain and new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). SkyTrain and BRT would offer faster, safer and more reliable service; twice the overall travel time savings; and the creation of 2x the amount of new transit trips.
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For additional info, contact: Daryl Dela Cruz, Campaign Manager – Better Surrey Rapid Transit.
Email us at: [email protected]
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