Vancouver Courier’s Mike Klassen suggests LRT in Surrey not favoured among experts
- Reality Check
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- November 20, 2017
Opposition to Surrey’s proposed light rail transit system has grown significantly in the last year, and it’s becoming clear that the most informed individuals in our region are increasingly against it.
Mike Klassen, an author for the Vancouver Courier and a former vice-chair of the Vancouver City Planning Commission, was among those seeking answers and opinions about Surrey’s proposed street-level LRT. He published the following comments last month in an opinion column that was in the Courier and several associated local newspapers:
While we are certainly curious to hear more about the thoughts of these experts who have stated they are not in support of the LRT project, we’re very encouraged to hear that more and more people are taking the position we take of being against street-level LRT in Surrey.
One thing that Mike is correct about is that the City of Surrey’s choice of street-level light rail technology over SkyTrain is an incredibly politically driven matter.
The idea of placing rail at-grade down existing roadways was born in 2011 when it was first proposed by then-Mayor Dianne Watts, the former leader of the Surrey First civic party which dominates all Surrey Council seats today.
In the last election in 2014, Surrey First campaigned on a promise to complete a first-phase LRT system in Surrey by 2018 (next year). When Surrey First made this promise during the civic elections, we pointed out that trying to deliver any rapid transit project on such a timeline would be unrealistic—while other critics pointed out that senior-level governments had made no concrete commitments to an LRT line and an actual business case had not been made ready.
The latest comments from TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond suggest that the earliest that the first-phase Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT would be up and running is in 2024. If it really were to take until then to deliver the first-phase LRT line, then the LRT line would be 6 years late.
Reality Check
Reality Check is the online blog run by the founder of SkyTrain for Surrey, a BC-based community organization that has advocated for expanding the Vancouver SkyTrain system, including our successful advocacy for the under-construction Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension and the proposed SkyTrain expansion to Newton.
Media Contact: Daryl Dela Cruz – Founder, SkyTrain for Surrey ・ Phone: +1 604 329 3529, [email protected]
