If you checked out either Phase 1 or Phase 2 of the Surrey Rapid Transit studies, you’d know that there are a number of options to chose from when we look at how to improve transit south of the Fraser River.
Christina DeMarco and the Metro Vancouver Regional Land Use Designations map
Amongst all these choices is one thing we know for sure: the population south of the Fraser is growing fast. We know that Surrey and the surrounding areas will grow by roughly one million people over the next 30 years. With growth like that, transit will have to change dramatically to serve this increased need.
Like TransLink, Metro Vancouver has been doing their own study on regional growth and have their own take on how to help shape growth south of the Fraser, a take that includes transit. It’s called the Regional Growth Strategy: Metro Vancouver 2040.
I sat down with Christina DeMarco, the Manager of Regional Development with Metro Vancouver to get a better idea of the challenges the area faces in terms of development and transit as well as the role Metro Vancouver plays in what south of the Fraser will look like in 2040. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Metro Vancouver, I started the interview with some fundamental questions. Read more »
The Surrey Rapid Transit May/June 2011 summary report (click on ‘What We Heard’ to get the report) is now available on the TransLink website. The month-long public consultation process included in-person workshops, a questionnaire and a webinar all focusing on the alternatives, trade-offs and designs for possible future transit in Surrey. There are a bunch of posts on both Phase 1 and 2 if you’d like to read and/or hear about the studies to date. Below is a snippet of some of the questionnaire results and comments received during the process. Of course, more detail is provided in the report.
Public consultation took place from May 26 to June 24, 2011, on the preliminary design assumptions and evaluation of the alternatives. Thousands of page views and almost 400 feedback questionnaires were submitted, and over 750 comments received. The following results were recorded:
63% did not feel there was need to add, move or remove a proposed station location
67% did not feel there was need to change the proposed alignment (that is, whether the alternative is at street level, the location on the street, in a tunnel or elevated)
Providing sufficient space for station platforms and sidewalks were the highest priorities for how road space is shared among the different uses
67% agreed or strongly agreed with giving rapid transit priority at intersections; 17% disagreed or strongly disagreed and the rest were neutral
56% agreed or strongly agreed with the preliminary evaluation results, 16% disagreed or strongly disagreed and the rest were neutral
Phase 2 will finish up next year with a refinement of the alternative designs based on public input and a finalized evaluation. TransLink will be back out again next year for further discussions and public consultations. I’ll let you know more about future consultations once I know.
The UBC Line Rapid Transit March/April summary report (click on ‘What We Heard’ to get the report) is also available to download now. This was a very well-attended consultation process with a lot of feedback. Consultation was done in the form of workshops, a questionnaire and a webinar. Take a read of these posts for a backgrounder on the study and links to more information. Here are a few highlights from the report:
From March 30 to April 22, 2011, public consultation took place on the preliminary design assumptions and evaluation of the alternatives. There were fifteen-hundred feedback questionnaires received and many discussions during the workshops. The following results were recorded:
Varying levels of agreement with the design assumptions for each of the seven alternatives
Many agreed or strongly agreed with restricting left turns to facilitate rapid transit movement (47%), 37% disagreed or strongly disagreed and the rest were neutral
Sidewalks was ranked the highest priority among the different road space uses by most people (45%)
Most people agreed or strongly agreed with the preliminary evaluation results (62%), 10% disagreed or strongly disagreed and the rest were neutral
As with the Surrey Rapid Transit Study, the alternative UBC Line designs will be refined based on feedback given, and a finalized evaluation will be presented in early 2012. A big thanks to everyone who participated in these consultations! The feedback will help shape these potential projects and hopefully get more people using public transit in Metro Vancouver.
An informative and varied discussion was had online during our Surrey Rapid Transit – Phase 2 webinar last night. Jeff Busby, Manager for Infrastructure Planning, and Erin McConnell, Manager of Corporate Communications, discussed issues of alternatives, priorities and the environment with the public who logged into the event. Above is the recording of the webinar. However, the best way to understand all the details of Phase 2 is to watch the video along with the slide deck by going here. If you didn’t get to take part in the live webinar last night, you can still participate in the consultation process by attending the in-person workshops planned for today (info below) and June or by filling out the questionnaire. You can also leave a comment on this post.
Reminder: first public consultation is tonight, Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday May 31, 2011, 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Langley Hampton Inn, Rooms A, B & C, 19500 Langley Bypass, Surrey
*Please note, we needed to change the date of the consultation at Newton Seniors’ Centre due to a certain home team playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs! Please mark your calendars with the new date below:
Date Change: The consultation at the Newton Seniors’ Centre has been rescheduled to Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Tuesday June 14, 2011, 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Newton Seniors’ Centre Auditorium, 13775 70 Ave, Surrey
Jeff Busby, TransLink's Manager of Infrastructure Planning...he will not be talking about gondolas
A quick reminder that we are holding a webinar for Surrey Rapid Transit – Phase 2 tonight, Monday, May 30, 2011 from 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. PST. This is your opportunity to talk to one of the main people involved in the study, so tell your friends, family and neighbours!
Jeff Busby, TransLink’s Manager of Infrastructure Planning, and Erin McConnell, our Manager of Corporate Communications, will talk about the latest work the team has done to develop the preliminary design and evaluation of the alternatives, plus the feedback we are looking for. There will be lots of time for questions!
Here’s a few things you might want to do in advance of the webinar:
do a bit of homework: see our Surrey Rapid Transit – Phase 2 page to review the alternatives and evaluation information, so you’re familiar with the topic
and submit your questions in advance in the blog comments. (You can ask during the webinar too, but advance notice helps ensure we get to the most popular inquiries! Use the Like comment function to vote on questions you’d really like answers on.)
We’re all looking forward to the event. See you there!
We’d love to hear your feedback on the different alternatives for Surrey rapid transit. Please fill out our questionnaire. You’ll want to check our feedback page for the type of information we are looking for. The questionnaire will remain live until June 24.
Webinar May – 30, pre-register and do your homework!
If you’re planning on watching the webinar, you’ll want to pre-register. You can do that here. You may also want to read up on the all the new material and the feedback page, and think about your questions beforehand.
A screenshot of the Rail Rapid Transit Alternative 3
The first in-person consultation is at the Langley Hampton Inn on May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Langley Hampton Inn, Rooms A, B & C, 19500 Langley Bypass, Surrey
As you’ve read on this blog, in partnership with the Province of BC, our staff have been working with the public and stakeholders on different alternatives for rapid transit service for the rapidly growing City of Surrey since our first public consultation last October. Today we’re announcing the next phase of the process which is to review the alternatives that came out of the last consultation and ask the public and stakeholders to help determine the best rapid transit solution for Surrey.
Information about the public consultations, the webinar, the questionnaire, and a recap of the results of Phase 1 can be found on our Surrey Rapid Transit Be Part of the Plan page.
May 26th – June 24th
This is when you can be part of the process in-person, online, and in your own words. Again, please take note of the specifics on the Be Part of the Plan page. Here are the important dates to remember:
So now is your time to think about what the future of Surrey transportation should and could be. To recap, you can preregister for the webinar now, and get ready to roll up your sleeves and to help us figure the best options for Surrey transit come the end of the month!
It’s in four parts, since the webinar was an hour and YouTube has a 15 minute time limit for clips. So check out part 1 above, and parts 2-4 below.
If you’re looking to skip around the clips, here’s some guidance. The initial presentation is 35 minutes long (parts 1, 2, & a bit of 3), and the Q&A part goes for 25 minutes (parts 3 & 4). I’ve made a list of the questions asked in clips 3 and 4, and you can find those listed below the relevant clip.
As well, we’ve put together answers to submitted questions that did not get covered during the webinar. Check out this PDF to see those questions and answers!
A screenshot from the Surrey Rapid Transit webinar held on Tuesday October 19, 2010.
Just a quick note to say thanks to everyone who attended the Surrey Rapid Transit webinar!
It’s our first time doing something like this, so if you attended, please let me know how you thought it went in the comments. Or any related discussion about the project you would like to share!
You can currently watch a recording of the webinar on our provider’s server — you still have to register to access it at this time. But I’ll also have the webinar up in video clips at YouTube shortly, once the recording is passed on to me as a file. The video will be posted on our site, and I’ll put some clips up on the blog for further discussion.
Sorry to harp on this, but come to the Surrey Rapid Transit webinar tonight, Tuesday October 19, 2010!
The webinar is at 7pm, and Jeff Busby, our manager of infrastructure planning, will run you through a presentation on Surrey Rapid Transit. He’ll also have plenty of time for questions.
A reminder that we’re holding a webinar for the Surrey Rapid Transit study, and we want your questions in advance!
The webinar is a live, one-hour session led by Jeff Busby, TransLink’s Manager of Infrastructure Planning. You can join us on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 from 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. PST at this link.
You can ask questions during the webinar too, but gathering your questions in advance will help us make sure Jeff answers the most popular questions. Please hit this post and put your questions in the comments! (If you prefer e-mail, feel free to send questions to thebuzzer@translink.ca.)
Don’t worry if you can’t attend the webinar, either — we’ll be recording it and the video will be available after the event. I will also do follow-up blog posts for discussion based on clips from the webinar!
Just a heads up that the Surrey Rapid Transit Study consultation workshops start tomorrow, Thursday October 14, 2010!
I mentioned the Surrey Rapid Transit Study on Tuesday — after a year of work with stakeholders and partners, we have nine concepts for rapid transit in Surrey that we want your feedback on.
So, join us at an in-person workshop if you can! Our planners and consultation staff will be out to discuss the alternatives and answer your questions. Make sure you know what feedback we’re looking for, as well!
October 14, 2010
6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Langley Hampton Inn Rooms A, B & C
19500 Langley Bypass, Surrey
October 19, 2010
1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Surrey Sport and Leisure Complex
Rooms MP1 & MP2
16555 Fraser Highway, Surrey
October 25, 2010
6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Newton Seniors Centre
Auditorium
13775 70 Avenue, Surrey
Also, if you can’t make it to an in-person session, join us online at our webinar on Tuesday, October 19, 2010. Submit your questions in advance for the webinar to this blog post.
Tell us what you think about rapid transit in the Surrey area!
This week, we’re launching a public consultation to get your feedback on nine rapid transit alternatives for the Surrey region.
We’ve come to these alternatives after a year of hard work with the Province of B.C. Stakeholders from the Surrey region helped us get to know the key issues, and with their help, we’ve identified these nine preliminary concepts for rapid transit in the Surrey area.
So now it’s your turn to have a look and tell us if we’re on the right track!
How to get involved
Before you dive in, I’d really urge you to watch these two videos first! See the video at the top of this post to learn more about the study, and see the video above to learn more about what we’re looking for in this consultation.
The webinar is a new addition to our consultation toolbox this year!
If you can’t make it to one of the in-person sessions, join us online for this live, one-hour session led by Jeff Busby, TransLink’s Manager of Infrastructure Planning.
We’ll be holding the webinar on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 from 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. PST. Jeff will do a presentation about the Surrey Rapid Transit Study, and he’ll leave lots of time for your questions.
Don’t worry if you can’t attend the webinar, either — we’ll be recording it and the video will be available after the event. I will also do follow-up blog posts for discussion based on clips from the webinar.
In the meantime, feel free to visit our webinar page to pre-register for the session.
As well, please do submit advance questions for the webinar through the comments in this post!
You can ask questions during the webinar too, but obviously gathering your questions in advance will help us make sure Jeff is getting to the most popular questions. You can even use the Like function in the comments to vote on questions you’d really like answers on.
And of course, if you prefer e-mail, feel free to send your questions to thebuzzer@translink.ca.
The month-long public consultation process included in-person workshops, a questionnaire and a webinar all focusing on the alternatives, trade-offs and designs for possible future transit in Surrey. There are a 
