The City of White Rock will “continue to monitor” pending changes to the city’s transit service, after receiving responses from TransLink about a request for more engagement for residents.
The city is “going to have to persist in this,” Mayor Wayne Baldwin told Peace Arch News Wednesday.
“At this stage of the game, they still do not know how they’re going to deal with the route changes they’re proposing. So until they get something figured out, there’s not really much point in working at it.”
The city requested TransLink conduct a public forum after an assertion by Baldwin that outreach efforts following an Oct. 5 announcement of eight proposed changes in White Rock/South Surrey didn’t “do justice to the residents.”
Two responses to the request were received – one dated Nov. 27, from TransLink acting CEO Cathy McLay, and a second dated Dec. 24 from TransLink’s vice-president of transportation planning and policy Tim Savoie. Both were included in Monday’s council agenda.
According to McLay, nearly 1,200 customers in White Rock/South Surrey responded to an online survey – feedback she describes as “unprecedented.”
McLay goes on to write that TransLink “made additional efforts to ensure that seniors had opportunities to provide feedback,” including through the distribution of 500 postcards, as well as phone surveys. TransLink also had a booth at an Oct. 29 city public forum on an unrelated matter, which drew “approximately 35 people,” according to the letter.
McLay did not specifically respond to the city’s request for more engagement, but did write “the input from your community will be seriously considered before moving forward with any changes.”
Savoie’s letter notes that the transit authority had “heard White Rock’s request for additional engagement on the proposed changes and will account for this as the planning process continues.”
In committing to keep an eye on things as TransLink works to implement changes, Baldwin noted there will be “a bit of time” before any take effect.
Though the window for providing online feedback closed in early November, proposed changes can be found by visiting www.translink.ca/tnc, then selecting ‘South of Fraser.’