BC NDP's Surrey-Langley SkyTrain funding commitment must be matched by other provincial parties​

SkyTrain for Surrey welcomes today’s announcement by John Horgan that a re-elected BC NDP government will build the full Surrey-Langley SkyTrain as a provincial project. The most important aspect of today’s announcement is the funding commitment to ensure the full SkyTrain project—spanning 16 kilometres from King George Station to Langley City—is completed in a single phase instead of two, and does not hinge on TransLink’s ability to deliver a regional funding share. Today we are calling on the BC Liberals and BC Greens to match this commitment.

Today’s commitment by the BC NDP to deliver the full Surrey-Langley SkyTrain represents the minimum commitment required to address issues on transit access, affordability and quality of life in Surrey and the Langleys. In recent years, numerous public consultations, opinion polls, a trip data study and a strong business case have all strongly indicated the need for not only the full 16km Surrey-Langley SkyTrain built in a single phase, but also the need to begin planning further expansions of the SkyTrain system and for more RapidBus lines.

In addition, significant demand for higher density has been demonstrated on the Fraser Highway corridor – with numerous transit-oriented residential and mixed-use developments already underway [1][2] and one concept calling for high-rise buildings of up to 57 storeys adjacent to a future station. SkyTrain is needed to meet this demand now and ensure that new developments along the corridor are transit oriented.

For decades, expansion of the region’s SkyTrain system has been conducted north of the Fraser River, despite massive population growth in communities South of the Fraser River including Surrey and the Langleys. Building the 16km Surrey-Langley SkyTrain as soon as possible, and in a single phase, is the most important step that can be taken now to put our cities in balance after years of transit service shortfalls.