Daily Hive's Kenneth Chan agrees LRT will be expensive mistake

Opposition to the Surrey’s proposed Light Rail Transit system has grown significantly in the last year, and many new voices in the community are coming forward with their thoughts on the matter. One of these voices is a prominent editor who has lent his voice to several major transportation issues in our region, as well as towards transit matters in other Canadian cities.

Last month, Daily Hive Vancouver’s Kenneth Chan expressed his agreement that Surrey’s Light Rail system will be one of Metro Vancouver’s worst transportation mistakes, suggesting that the Surrey LRT system will be under-built and inadequate for transit needs South of the Fraser.

Kenneth explains in a an opinion editorial on Daily Hive that the issues that surround the proposed Surrey Light Rail system are that it will:

• Offer a low ultimate capacity that is only 27% that of the Canada Line’s
• Be much slower and less frequent than SkyTrain
• Potentially be unreliable and prone to collision
• Cost comparable to a SkyTrain extension to build but generate less ridership, and
• Have operating cost shortfalls for decades

The article concludes that the proposed LRT system was likely “never about mobility and transportation” – noting that TransLink’s studies have also suggested that there is a poor business case for LRT, and that real estate development will happen in Surrey regardless of the transit technology chosen.

A poll placed at the end of the article demonstrates that readers have made up their mind and highly agree that SkyTrain is the technology that should be used by a Surrey rapid transit project: over 91% of readers (1,737 voters) have voted in favour of SkyTrain, while only just over 6% voted for Street-level Light Rail and less than 3% are undecided.

Our campaign chair made this statement to Daily Hive which was included in the post:

If Surrey and Langley are to reap the billions in economic benefits that a rapid transit system could bring South of Fraser, it must start with an investment in the right transit system – one that is worthwhile for the money that we spend, offers tangible transportation improvements, and is sustainable to operate long-term.

Our suggestion for a combination SkyTrain and Bus Rapid Transit system is the option that will deliver the most economic benefits and the best transit improvement outcome for citizens South of Fraser.

Daryl Dela Cruz (SkyTrain for Surrey Founding Director), in comment to Daily Hive

We are very pleased to receive Kenneth’s agreement on this matter, a notable addition to the growing list of those in Surrey and Metro Vancouver who are opposed to the Light Rail project.

As of today (November 20, 2017) over 3,400 people have signed our petition asking TransLink and Surrey to reconsider the Surrey Light Rail Transit project.

Opinion: Surrey Light Rail will be one of Metro Vancouver’s worst transportation mistakes

Kenneth Chan – Oct 26, 2017 on Daily Hive Vancouver

Nearly a decade after the opening of the Canada Line, Metro Vancouver is once again on the verge of building another severely under-built rail rapid transit line.

This time, the controversy surrounds the Surrey Newton-Guilford light rail transit (SNG) project – one of the highest priorities of the City of Surrey under the leadership of Mayor Linda Hepner’s Surrey First civic party.

The SNG is a 10.5-km long, ground-level light rail transit (LRT) project that runs down busy arterial city streets between Newton and Guildford, with 11 stations including several stations serving the emerging downtown Surrey area in Whalley and connecting passengers to the existing SkyTrain Expo Line.

The L-shaped route will run west from 152nd Street in Guildford along 104 Avenue to City Parkway, south along City Parkway to 102 Avenue, west along 102 Avenue to King George Boulevard, and then south along King George Boulevard to the Newton terminus near 71 Avenue and 136b Street.

Any transit expansion might seem appealing in Surrey, which often bellyaches over its limited and infrequent public transit services, but what is being proposed is not the transportation and mobility solution both Surrey and the rest of the region needs and deserves.

[READ MORE] on Daily Hive Vancouver’s “Urbanized”