Surrey LRT rendering photoshops out traffic congestion

A recently updated rendering of the Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT omits the serious increase in traffic congestion that would be caused by the reduction of 104 Avenue’s travel lanes.

The rendering shows a pair of LRT trains traveling down a re-modelled 104 Avenue with trees, wider sidewalks, and new developments on both sides. The rendering however shows very little traffic on the roadway, even though it is reduced from two lanes in each direction to just one lane in each direction.

SkyTrain for Surrey believes that these renderings are misleading and do not reflect the actual outcome of the Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT project on city roadways such as 104 Avenue. As such, we have prepared alternative renderings that demonstrate what these corridors with LRT would actually look like.

Right: The City of Surrey’s rendering of LRT on 104 Ave. Left: What it would actually look like.

Similar omissions were made in a new LRT simulation video released by TransLink. The Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT train is shown traversing down a 104 Avenue that is almost entirely devoid of traffic.

Right: TransLink’s rendering of an LRT on 104 Ave. Left: What it would actually look like.

City previously admitted LRT congestion problems

Although these renderings have portrayed a 104 Avenue that is free from any traffic congestion with an LRT in place, the City of Surrey has previously admitted that LRT will create a congestion problem.

In late 2017, the City of Surrey released a report related to the 105 Avenue Connector (Surrey’s “road through Hawthorne Park”) which offered details on projected traffic volumes with LRT on 104th Avenue.

View the City of Surrey’s NOV 2017 report

According to this report, more than 74,000 vehicles per day (vpd) utilize the three east-west corridors (100 Ave, 104 Ave and 108 Ave) connecting Surrey City Centre and Guildford. 104 Avenue, which links City Centre with the Trans Canada Highway, carries 32,000 vpd and is the busiest of the 3 corridors.

The report noted that the reduction of 104 Avenue travel lanes will induce diversions of up to 50% of existing 104 Avenue traffic onto 100 and 108 Avenues, straining these already busy roadways with the addition of thousands of additional vehicles each day.

Furthermore, although Surrey’s expectation is that traffic volumes would be managed through the construction of 105 Avenue, the report notes that traffic volume growth between City Centre and the Trans Canada Highway will still outpace the available capacity.

Despite both “growth in ridership” on the LRT line and 105 Ave in place, the parallel 100th and 108th Avenue corridors will be “approaching capacity” by 2030 – just 6 years after LRT operation is expected to begin.

According to the report, 105 Avenue is expected to handle a traffic volume of up to 12,000 vpd through Hawthorne Park.