Take the survey on the Surrey–Newton–Guildford LRT
Take the survey on the Surrey–Newton–Guildford LRT
UPDATE – Nov, 06, 2018: In light of the resolution passed by the City of Surrey council we are pausing work on the Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT Project and suspending the RFQ process while we await direction from the Mayors’ Council and the TransLink Board. Read the full statement from TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond here.
As part of the Mayors’ Council’s 10-Year Vision, we’re delivering new rapid transit to the region, including the construction and operation of the Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT Line!
This will introduce modern, street-level light rail transit (LRT) along King George Boulevard and 104 Avenue, connecting Surrey City Centre, Guildford and Newton with high-quality rapid transit.
Through June 14, TransLink and the City of Surrey want your input on key aspects of the LRT project and how light rail will help transform Surrey.
LRT is new to our region, so naturally there are some who are concerned about how it will work, and others who prefer alternative technologies for a variety of reasons. We’ve heard you. Here’s some information about the common topics that have been raised:
Why not bus rapid transit?
LRT supports the City of Surrey’s vision for complete, connected and livable communities, which was established after extensive consultation. With a vibrant and safe streetscape, easy “hop-on, hop-off” street-level service that boosts “eyes on the street” and enhances green space with grassy and tree-lined boulevards.
TransLink supports this vision because it dovetails well with the regional transportation strategy. As well, cities around the world are increasingly turning to LRT as a city-shaping form of rapid transit.
By 2041, the South of Fraser sub-region is expected to grow by more than 300,000 new residents and 200,000 new jobs.
LRT connects Surrey City Centre, Guildford and Newton, supporting the current and future transportation needs in the fastest growing city in BC. It provides the flexibility to grow both in terms of capacity and network coverage over the long-term that is unmatched by bus rapid transit.
Will the LRT cause congestion?
Quite the contrary! The fast, frequent and reliable Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT will help shift people away from single occupancy vehicle use and reduce the overall number of cars on the road.
LRT runs in its own dedicated lane with signal prioritization, helping to ensure consistent travel times for transit users.
The current 96 B-Line is highly popular, but variability of travel times is already a problem. Average travel times currently range between approximately 29 minutes and can be as high as 50 minutes during peak congestion.
On opening day, the Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT will have 30-metre trains that are capable of moving between 2,000 to 2,400 people per hour in each direction—more than four times the 96 B-Line’s current peak capacity, with consistent run times of 27 minutes, and possibly shorter.
The LRT is expected to run approximately every 5 minutes during peak periods, and 7.5 minutes off-peak As a result, LRT will help reduce congestion as reliable train service will encourage drivers to choose transit over personal vehicles.
Without an improved rapid transit network to serve this population growth communities south of the Fraser will experience greater traffic congestion as Surrey continues to grow, with an expected 300,000 new residents within the next 25 years.
Will the LRT corridor be prone to accidents?
The LRT will be safe and reliable since it will travel in dedicated lanes, which are curb-separated from other traffic, and follow the rules of the road, obeying traffic signals just like all other drivers. The difference is that LRT will have its own signals that are integrated with signals for other road users—like an advanced green left turn, or bus priority intersections. Since the LRT travels in a dedicated lane, it also won’t be held up by congestion or accidents in the other lanes.
In the event of an accident that does block the LRT lanes, operational staff and emergency responders will work to clear the site safely and quickly so that service can continue. And if an LRT vehicle does break down or otherwise can’t continue, there will be spaces along the route where LRT vehicles can cross over to the other lane and pass—similar to how SkyTrain single-tracking works when there’s a stalled train.
Have questions? You’ll want to stop by at an upcoming open house to ask the experts directly and learn more about the project:
- Thursday, May 31, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., at Surrey City Hall (13450 104 Avenue, Surrey)
- Saturday, June 2, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Peoples Church (14455 104 Avenue, Surrey)
- Tuesday, June 5, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at Surrey Arts Centre (13750 88 Avenue, Surrey)
You can also leave a comment below and we’ll try our best to answer them!
And of course, take the survey! We want your feedback on refined designs and the results of the environmental and socio-economic review. We also want input to proposed measures to minimize disruption during construction, and assist with planning for future public art.
Learn more and take the survey through June 14 at surreylightrail.ca/community!
Id rather they extend the skytrain
I agree. Check out the petition at https://www.change.org/p/extend-skytrain-and-not-street-level-light-rail-to-langley
Hi there, ultimately, LRT best supports the City of Surrey’s commitment to creating a complete, connected and livable community. As mentioned in the post, LRT creates a vibrant and safe streetscape, easy “hop-on, hop-off” street-level service that boosts “eyes on the street” and enhances green space with grassy and tree-lined boulevards.
If you’re so confident that the LRT won’t cause congestion and it will get people out of cars, why did you restore 4 lanes on 104ave in the revised plans? Doesn’t make sense.
This project is a huge waste of money and it seems to me like TransLink and the City of Surrey are making things up as they go to make this project viable when it should never be built to begin with.
Hi Mark, great question. Ultimately, we wanted to be responsive to residents’ concerns based on their feedback during the previous round of consultation. This feedback and further technical work informed the refined design. As I mentioned in the post, South of Fraser is expected to grow by more than 300,000 new residents and 200,000 new jobs by 2041. This is an important project. Without an improved rapid transit network, Surrey and the communities South of Fraser will experience even greater traffic congestion than they do today. The LRT is about helping to shift people away from single-occupancy vehicles onto transit today and absorbing new demands on our transportation network as the population grows. By adding LRT to the 104th Avenue, the amount of people that can move through the corridor on transit is expected to double. It will have a capacity that’s four times the 96 B-Line’s peak capacity on opening day.
The consultation is a false consultation and will provide no meaningful results. Translink posts about the consultation, which is only two weeks long, on the same day as the first open house.
Not only that, but looking at the online survey, respondents are being asked to provided an opinion on the fact that improvements have been made on various issues, but no details whatsoever are provided about what exactly was changed or what the plan was in the first place.
Hi Bob, thanks for sharing your concerns. We are definitely listening. This latest round of consultation builds on what heard the last round of consultation. For example, we heard from the public that they wanted to see longer shelters, enhanced accessibility features, and improve seating and other amenities at stations, so we’ve updated the conceptual design to include these. Not only that the conceptual design now includes wider lanes on 104 Ave, more right-hand turning lanes and protected left-turn signals at key intersections—all based on feedback and technical work.
As for details on what we’re consulting on this round, we have all the materials for the survey—including the engagement display boards, the draft Environmental and Socio-Economic Review report and a simulation video—available at https://surreylightrail.ca/community for the public to review before accessing the survey. Documents from past consultations can be found at https://surreylightrail.ca/DocumentLibrary.
Your input, combined with that of other consultation participants, will be used to refine the draft project design and environmental requirements for procurement, which is the next stage of the project implementation. Hope this answers your questions and concerns.
How long after this thing is running does the first heavily intoxicated junkie wind up underneath it causing hours of delays while police close the scene to investigate? Such a huge mistake having this at grade.
Hi Alan, as I mentioned in the post, the LRT will be safe and reliable since it will follow the rules of the road, obeying traffic signals just like all other drivers. It will no different than SkyTrain and there will be pocket tracks and switches where the LRT vehicles will be able to cross over to the other lane and pass the affected area.
Allen Tung’s responses so far amount to “We’ve committed to doing Linda Hepner’s bidding in creating her own legacy.”
LRT is a terrible idea, the costing is ridiculous, the traffic congestion is going to be monumental, and NO ONE WANTS IT.
Linda Hepner and her cronies don’t seem to understand that people who work outside of Surrey do so because the jobs they do DON’T EXIST IN SURREY. LRT won’t change that.
https://www.change.org/p/extend-skytrain-and-not-street-level-light-rail-to-langley and https://www.skytrainforsurrey.org and Vote Linda Hepner out in the next election. This is a total sham.
Hi Charles, thanks for taking the time to engage with us on the project. Here’s what I can tell you from what I know:
• The Surrey-Newton-Guildford project is being advanced as part of the Mayors’ Council’s 10-Year Vision. The Mayors’ Council consists of representatives from each of the 21 municipalities that TransLink is responsible for. TransLink’s delivering on this vision.
• South of Fraser is expected to grow by more than 300,000 new residents and 200,000 new jobs by 2041. This will create new demand on the transportation network as residents need ways to move around in their city and to access these jobs. Without an improved rapid transit network, traffic congestion will be even greater than it is today.
• Consultation and independent polls continue to confirm support for this project. Earlier this month, as part of TransLink’s Phase Two Investment Plan public engagement, 61% of Surrey residents and 60% of all South of Fraser residents surveyed believe this project is important.
A few comments. Why is Newton a split platform? As the end of the line, wouldn’t an island platform make more sense, so passengers can stand in one location and board a train from either track.
This line was billed a urban to create a walkable city – yet King George is six lanes wide with the train in the middle. That’s not walkable by any stretch. In fact, the train at ground-level is creating more of a barrier to walkability.
“Hi there, ultimately, LRT best supports the City of Surrey’s commitment to creating a complete, connected and livable community. As mentioned in the post, LRT creates a vibrant and safe streetscape, easy “hop-on, hop-off” street-level service that boosts “eyes on the street” and enhances green space with grassy and tree-lined boulevards.”
Allen – I think you’re dream if you believe this nonsense. Easy hop-on, hop-off in the middle of six lanes of traffic is not going to help. The LRT has nothing to do with the streetscape or safety – other than the money spent on beautifying the street as part of the project. Take the rails out and you’ll still have a great streetscape. A slow train is not going to improve mobility. I
Hi David, thanks for sharing these comments with us. I don’t have a personal position on the project. In my role, I do my best to share and comment on what I know about the project, but I’m not a planner. That’s why I encourage you to attend today’s open house to engage with the project team directly or drop them an email at surreylrt@translink.ca about these concerns. I can tell you, though, that the renderings you see are only for illustrative purposes of what the stop and LRT could look like, and not representative of what it will actually look like. And of course, please do take the survey.
I’ve lived in Surrey/Guildford my whole life but if Surrey continues with its ridiculous LRT plan I will be moving out of Surrey. I don’t want to be anywhere near that clusterf**k.
NO SURREY LRT
I have several questions. The first is why proper bus BRT alternatives were not seriously studied. The forecast peak capacity at 2030 of 1500pphpd seems pretty low to justify a LRT, especially a 1.6 billion dollar LRT (why is an at grade system on generally wide streets so expensive?). The next is about the stretch from 104th/King George to King George station. Was grade separation for this stretch studied? How much extra would it cost. The design for this section is guaranteed to be a giant pain in the **** and will forever limit the speed/capacity/reliability of the entire route.
And a comment under no circumstances should the Fraser Highway section be LRT, that is just stupid.
Hi Rico, here’s what I can tell you from what I know: the Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT on opening day will be capable of moving 2,000 to 2,400 people per hour per direction during peak hours already. I encourage you to attend today’s open house to engage with the project team directly about your concerns about the 104th Avenue and King George stretch, or drop them an email at surreylrt@translink.ca. As well, the business case is currently with senior government for review, so we’ll have more information to share once it’s been finalized.
BRT can deliver the same “hop-on, hop-off” service that’s mentioned. The people who came up with the City of Surrey’s “connected” vision will not be using the LRT in their everyday lives. An overwhelming majority of daily transit users are strongly against this project yet both TransLink and the City of Surrey are choosing to ignore the voices of the transit users who want BRT along King George & 104th and SkyTrain along Fraser Highway. Spending over $1.6 billion for 0-2 minutes in time savings is not worth the money of taxpayers. Put bus lanes and traffic priorities on the existing 96 B-Line and it will be even faster than the proposed Light Rail project, and it will cost less than $1 billion. This project also ignores the residents living in South Surrey and White Rock, the 96 could easily be extended to White Rock Centre with the suggested features I mentioned and it would still be cheaper than the Light Rail that no one wants.
Back in 2012/13 TransLink did a study on different transit types that would be best for the 3 corridors (104th, King George, and Fraser Highway), the study identified that RRT 1 (BRT from Guildford to White Rock via 104th, King George, and SkyTrain to Langley Centre via Fraser Highway) is the best option for South of the Fraser’s rapid transit and that having LRT along all 3 corridors was in fact the worst option, so how do you justify choosing the WORST rapid transit option for South of the Fraser?
Hi Tarquin, absolutely, as with any project, there’s some people that support it and some who have reservations about it. Here’s what I can tell you from the information that I have: consultation and independent polls continue to confirm support for this project. Earlier this month, as part of TransLink’s Phase Two Investment Plan consultation, 61% of Surrey residents and 60% of all South of Fraser residents surveyed believe this project is important.
The 2013 study you referenced ultimately informed the Mayors’ Council 10-Year Vision and further study and technical work has informed the business case for the Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT project. The business case is currently with senior government for review, so we’ll have more information to share once it’s been finalized.
Here’s what I know: what we’ve learned from further study and technical work is LRT is the right solution for these corridors – it provides the flexibility to grow both in terms of capacity and network coverage over the long-term. As I outlined in the post, on opening day, the LRT will already operate 30-metre trains capable of moving between 2,000 to 2,400 people per hour in each direction, that is about twice as frequent and more than four times the capacity of the current B-Line service. Again, we’ll have more information to share once the business case is approved.
Hope this answers some of your questions or concerns.
Hi Allen
Personally I have tried to take the bus and it’s dismal failure to follow schedules for the last 18 years. Interesting how everyone is an armchair planner. Hopefully the plans to build LRT from Newton towards Surrey Central are still in place so the naysayers can see the immediate benefits. Maybe the road pricing for cars will change driver behaviour. Let Langley pick up portion of “Skytrain” to Langley if that’s what they want.
The highest taxes come from South Surrey- White Rock and the infrastructure to connect all malls. Change the density all along King George right to the South Surrey Park and Ride. Many jobs are in the light industrial Campbell Valley and young workers need scheduled reliable access- not buses. Move quickly before fear mongering opposition politicians destroy all the Surrey progress. Surrey for Surrey – not Surrey for Langley. That’s Phase ll.
It looks like this essentially replaces the 96B line express bus, following the exact same route. Here’s my question. What about traffic moving perpendicular to the train. For example, 88th ave? Will the train stop traffic every time it crosses an intersection, or will it wait for the light to turn green, and move with the cars?
If it stops traffic, this will be a disaster for commuters working out of Surrey.
Hi Aleem, great question. The LRT will be different from the existing 96 B-Line service in that it will have its own signals that are integrated with signals for other road users, and it will run in its own dedicated lane that’s curb-separated from other traffic with signal prioritization. The LRT will be safe since LRT operators will follow the rules of the road, obeying traffic signals just like all other drivers.
Looking forward to LRT in surrey – have traveled on it throughout US and Australia….much more convenient and accessible than BRT and Skytrain. It will shape the region and spur urban planning and jobs focused south of fraser so we don’t have to commute downtown every day
Thanks for sharing Dean!
Hi, why can’t Surrey LRT be like Ottawa’s Confederation Line and have the interchange points like Montreal’s Berri-UQAM?
Hi Christian, the Surrey-Newton-Guildford LRT will allow for easy connections to SkyTrain at King George and Surrey Central Station.
Why does the Newton station dead end to the east. In this configuration it cannot be extended to the south in the future
Hi Matthew, the renderings you see are only for illustrative purposes and not representative of what they will actually look like. Stay tuned for more information on specifics as the project progresses.
Hi, I have a few questions:
1: What is the proposed location for the operations and maintenance facility? Is there more then one site being considered?
2: Are the proposed alignment drawings of the entire route available to be viewed online anywhere?
3: Is Guildford Exchange going to get a bus loop as part of this project or will it be some variation of an on-street exchange much like it is currently?
Hi Andrew, here’s the info I have to your questions:
1. The Facility will be located in the Newton area. The exact location will be confirmed once property negotiations with the current owner are complete.
2. The website has a map of the alignment – check it out! There’s also the simulation video that’s included in the post.
3. There will be changes coming to the Guildford Exchange to improve safety and customer experience in advance of the LRT going into operation. Stay-tuned for more details.
Hope this is helpful!
Thanks for your response…
1. Alright, based on that info and the site layout drawing of the OMF in one of the display board documents, that narrows it down to any triangular shaped piece of property in Newton :P
2. I already know what the overall route is going to be, I was looking for detailed drawings that show the layout of the tracks, road lanes, sidewalks, intersections, etc. I’ve seen some photos of such drawings from past open houses of sections around Surrey Central but I was wondering if there were such drawings for the whole route available online. If not, then perhaps you can pass the word along to make them available when possible so that the public can give input on the actual alignment.
3. I read that to mean that the plans for Guildford Exchange are still in the design stage, is that correct? Can you shed any light on the scope of the changes that are being proposed?
Hi Andrew,
2. Thanks for clarifying! We did have this level of detail in design drawings available at the open houses, but we do not have these materials online or in a sharable format. If that changes we can let you know.
3. That’s correct—we continue to work with the City and refine the design. Once plans are confirmed we will be out in the community to share more details.
I see in some material that the line is colored red/purple. Is this the confirmed branding colour for the line? Because if it is, I would seriously recommend revisiting the colour scheme for the “Canada” Line and give it the red as is more logical… The L line can use green or something else, and the rebrandings could take place at the same time as the opening of the LRT since all maps and signs would need to be updated anyways…
Hi Mike, what you see in materials and the renderings you see are only for illustrative purposes and not representative, so no, the branding colour for the line has not been confirmed. Cheers. :)