IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Surrey, BC

SkyTrain for Surrey reminds media and stakeholders that the proposed Light Rail Transit line for Surrey offers few tangible benefits for Surrey citizens.

The SkyTrain for Surrey campaign, under the leadership of local advocate Daryl Dela Cruz, has been relentless in raising LRT issues despite continuous ignorance from city council:

• Surveys have shown that transit riders in Metro Vancouver care about travel time the most. A slow, street-level LRT with more stops will not attract high ridership.
• The 1^st phase LRT is only a 1 minute improvement over the current 96 B-Line.
• The 2^nd phase LRT will unnecessarily remove hundreds of trees in Green Timbers Forest
• $22 million will be required annually to pay for LRT operating deficits (TransLink study)
• It would cost taxpayers nearly $100 million per year if LRT is financed as a P3.
• LRT will cause mayhem in Guildford with the closure of a traffic lane on 104 Ave.
• A recent Surrey LRT “economic study” completely disregarded transportation aspects.

Better Surrey Rapid Transit continues to urge SkyTrain and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT):

• SkyTrain has the highest ridership per km of any “Light Rail” system in Canada or the U.S.
• A SkyTrain extension to Langley would be as busy on opening day as the system is now.
• BRT supports a more gradual construction timeline that avoids the heavy impact of full LRT construction
• BRT provides through-running opportunities for a more robust city-wide bus network
• A SkyTrain + BRT alternative would generate more ridership and pay back operating costs.

Surrey deserves better than a shortsighted transit solution that hasn’t been thoroughly reviewed by city planners. We are committed to overturning the LRT proposal in any and every political environment.

Additional information can be found at our campaign website at skytrainforsurrey.org.