September 11, 2018

Pachal On Light Rail South of the Fraser

Phase One: Surrey-Newton-Guilford Light Rail

Nathan Pachal is a councilor in Langley City, and a friend of Price Tags.  HERE, he discusses the business case (105-page PDF) just released by TransLink on the Surrey-Newton-Guilford light rail project.  This SNG-LRT is Phase One, with Fraser Highway to Langley to follow as Phase Two.

Transportation nerd quiz:  what percentage of trips that originate South of the Fraser end there? Write down your answer, then read on. Prepare to be astonished.

Says Pachal:

A business case summary (The Case for LRT) was also released. It includes other options that were evaluated such as SkyTrain. The business case summary stated that SkyTrain was not selected because “forecasts for population, employment and transit ridership growth in Surrey do not warrant this additional capacity or cost. Additionally, SkyTrain is most effective when there are greater distances between stops, and requires stair/escalator access, resulting in lower accessibility and walkability benefits for customers.”

King George Boulevard — Now and Future Visualization

Quiz answer:

This chart in the business case describes travel patterns in the South of Fraser region, defined as:  Surrey, North Delta and White Rock. 

Yep, based on the 2011 TransLink Trip Diary, 76% of trips originating South of the Fraser end South of the Fraser. Given this, it’s sensible that some of their land should be turned over to rail transportation services offering higher capacity than the bus.

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