Surrey LRT rendering photoshops out traffic congestion
- Media Release
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- For immediate release — May 26, 2018
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 Avenue. 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 Avenue. 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 104 Avenue.
LINK: City of Surrey’s November 2017 report
According to this report, more than 74,000 vehicles per day (vpd) utilize the three east-west corridors (100 Avenue, 104 Avenue and 108 Avenue) connecting Surrey City Centre and Guildford. 104 Avenue, which links City Centre with the Trans Canada Highway, carries 32,000 vehicles per day 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 Avenue in place, the parallel 100 Avenue and 108 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 vehicles per day through Hawthorne Park.
Pictured in header: Rendering showing traffic congestion on 104 Avenue as a result of construction of the Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT
SkyTrain for Surrey is 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]
