A survey of Surrey Board of Trade members highlights the urgent need to invest in transportation in the city.
Jasroop Gosal, Surrey Board of Trade (SBoT) Interim Spokesperson and Policy & Research Manager, said there is an pressing need to "develop a comprehensive, sustainable inter-regional transit transportation plan for the South Fraser economic region, that would not change with election cycles."
Surrey is on track to be the largest city in British Columbia by 2029 and traffic congestion will only get worse unless something is done.
“We need planning and action that anticipates the needs and that results in infrastructure construction well in advance of the increased demand, not long after the capacity is exceeded,” said Gosal.
78 per cent of respondents said traffic congestion had a moderate to severe impact on their business operations.
"This trend is continuing on an upward trajectory. Specifically, businesses are impacted by some major capital projects such as construction or major infrastructure projects like the Surrey Langley SkyTrain construction, but also, in general, road use is up, especially because our population is growing," Gosal said.
The 9th annual Surrey Roads survey asked SBoT and South Surrey & White Rock Chamber of Commerce members their perspectives on the state of Surrey roads. Results from the survey will be shared with the City of Surrey staff.
78 per cent of respondents said that the Pattullo Bridge should have six lanes of traffic from day one and over 55 percent indicated support for the Massey Tunnel replacement project.
The “top 3 choices for corridors to be improved” are the 152 Street overpass of Highway 99 (should “widen to 4 lanes with transit, walking and cycling facilities”), 88 Avenue (should "widen to 4 lanes with walking and cycling facilities"), and 16 Ave (should "widen to 4 lanes with walking and cycling facilities from Highway 99 to 176 Street").
42 per cent of respondents said they face barriers to “choosing alternative modes of transportation." This is down from last year, but areas with no transit and limited transit service hours continue to be a top concern for the business community.
Over 58 per cent of respondents live and work in Surrey, which "has been consistent over the past nine years." The survey results noted that 1.1 per cent more people opted to use transit this year for their daily commute.
The survey was released Thursday (Jan. 30) at the Sheraton Guildford, during the SBoT and the South Surrey & White Rock Chamber of Commerce luncheon with B.C. Minister of Transportation Mike Farnworth.
Farnworth spoke about the province’s transportation plan and how it relates to Surrey.
The minister agreed that transportation needs to keep up with Surrey's growing population.
"Well-planned, efficient transportation networks are essential to ensuring communities of the future are livable, affordable, accessible and as environmentally friendly as possible," Farnworth said.
He added that the provincial government understands the issues that many Surrey residents face on their daily commute.
"We're addressing them by making record transportation investments here in Surrey and throughout the Lower Mainland and across the province, certainly the most important and exciting project for us here is the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension," he said.
