Letter to PM, Minister of Transport: redirect funding for cancelled Calgary Green Line LRT to Surrey-Langley SkyTrain
SkyTrain for Surrey, the community organization central to early advocacy for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain project, has reconvened due to the significant opportunity that now exists to capture additional federal funding to support the SLS project.
The Province of Alberta’s rejection and cancellation of the Green Line LRT project in Calgary due to significant cost escalations of that project means that a significant federal funding allocation may be made available to other transit projects. In a recent analysis done by our organization, we concluded that federal transit money would be significantly better spent on the SLS, given its significantly lower cost-per-kilometre, higher travel time savings, and higher opening day ridership compared to the Green Line LRT and other LRT projects.
With the recent announcement of a new $5.996 billion cost to build the SLS, the Province of British Columbia has recently asked the federal government to consider increasing its funding contribution to making the SLS happen. Our organization has implored the federal government to do this by utilizing the available funding from the cancelled Green Line LRT.
To this effect, SkyTrain for Surrey’s founding director has written and submitted an open letter to the Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, asking them to support a reallocation of federal funding to support and build the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain.
4th September, 2024
Subject: Redirecting funding for cancelled Green Line LRT (Calgary) to Surrey-Langley SkyTrain
Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister
Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
CC: The Hon. Rob Fleming, British Columbia’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure
CC: Members of Parliament on Surrey-Langley corridor: Hon. Randeep Sarai (Surrey Centre); Hon. Ken Hardie (Fleetwood-Port Kells); Hon. John Aldag (Cloverdale-Langley City); Hon. Tako Van Popta (Langley-Aldergrove)
Dear Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister Rodriguez,
I am writing today to urge you to consider increasing the federal funding contribution to the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain (SLS) project, including through reallocation of funding from other transit projects in the country that may not be going ahead.
The Province of British Columbia has recently announced a new cost of $5.996 billion and 2029 opening timeline for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain light metro project, and it is our understanding that the province is hoping for a higher federal contribution to the project cost. Despite the significant increase, the SLS remains one of (if not the) best value public transit investments in Canada today. At just under $375 million per kilometre, the SLS costs less per-kilometre than numerous other transit proposals in the country, including surface light rail transit (LRT) projects that offer fewer travel time savings and have lower ridership projections than SLS.
As an example, the SLS cost-per-kilometre is just 60% that of the proposed Green Line Phase 1 in Calgary, and yet SLS is still expected to deliver higher ridership per km on opening day. With the Green Line now essentially cancelled due to the recent cost increases not being supported by the Province of Alberta, there will remain a significant federal funding allocation that, if made available to other projects, I implore you to consider redirecting to the SLS.
I am sure that the need for this project is thoroughly understood by the federal government, especially as the SLS has become central to addressing a housing crisis in Metro Vancouver and in the province of British Columbia.
Throughout the 2010s, my organization (SkyTrain for Surrey) conducted local advocacy calling for the construction of this extension, particularly during the 2018 municipal elections in Surrey, after which the then-elected municipal government under Mayor Doug McCallum carried out significant project advocacy alongside counterparts in Langley City and Langley Township.
To date, there have been several major transit-oriented development proposals associated with SLS; including the first high-rise development application close to Fleetwood Station, and larger scale projects such as the redevelopment of the Langley Mall (2000 homes). The SLS is also expected to support a new campus of the University of British Columbia in downtown Surrey; a 12,000 seat stadium that could be used to host FIFA 2026 events; and of course, the development of downtown Surrey as the region’s second metro core and commercial hub.
It is absolutely crucial that project partners see to it that SLS go ahead without further delay, as the need for it remains higher than ever. We are encouraged by the federal government’s support for the project, including with the previous funding commitments, and wish for the continuation of this partnership so that this project can finally get done.
Best regards,
Daryl Dela Cruz
Founding Director of SkyTrain for Surrey
Surrey, British Columbia
About SkyTrain for Surrey
SkyTrain for Surrey is the community organization that advocated for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension (SLS). From our beginnings as a petition calling for the scrapping of a street-level LRT proposal, we grew into a community of like-minded folk, taking on various projects such as making SkyTrain an election issue in 2018 as a registered advocacy group. Today we are pushing for the construction of the SLS as well as the King George SkyTrain extension (KGS).
Media Contact:
Daryl Dela Cruz – Founder, SkyTrain for Surrey
Phone: +1 604 329 3529, [email protected]