Surrey’s business community is calling for a massive investment in transportation and transit infrastructure in the city, amid a new survey’s findings that the vast majority of residents still rely on their cars.
On Tuesday, the Surrey Board of Trade released the results of its eighth annual Surrey Roads Survey.
That survey polled more than 900 businesses on how their workers get around, and found more than 84 per cent reported using a personal vehicle to get to work. That’s up more than five per cent from last year.
Respondents said just 1.1 per cent travelled by transit, 1.1 per cent walked, and 11.1 per cent worked from home full time.
“Our population continues to grow, congestion continues to increase, and the movement of people and the movement of goods continues to be compromised with a lack of investment,” SBoT President Anita Huberman said.
“There needs to be a revolutionary shift around transit and transportation investments.”
More than half of respondents indicated their colleagues travelled one to two hours per day for business purposes, and more than a quarter reported driving four or more days a week for work.
Four in 10 reported that congestion had a “significant” impact on their business, while the same number said it “somewhat” impacted their operations.
Respondents’ top choices for upgrades included widening the 152 street overpass over Highway 99, widening 88 Avenue between 156 Street and 176 Street and widening 132 Street from 72 Avenue to 96 Avenue.
Just under half of respondents said they wanted to see the new Patullo Bridge to have six lanes when traffic wait times top 10 minutes.
“I do agree, though — we have to keep building infrastructure. There is no doubt about it,” Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said.
But the mayor said several major road upgrades are currently in the works, including widening 132 Street from 72 to 88 Avenue. Work is ongoing with TransLink to add Bus Rapid Transit on 104 Avenue and the King George Highway as well, she said, along with early work on the new Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension.
Locke said the fact that most Surreyites still get around by car, however, reflects the fact that the city has been “left behind” on infrastructure.
“We’re still really in need of more transit, there’s no doubt about it. We don’t have anywhere near the public transit we need for a community that’s growing at the pace we are growing,” Locke said.
“It’s all about dollars. At the end of the day this is a big financial issue,” she added, saying the city needs more support from senior levels of government.
TransLink has put Surrey at the top of the list for a new Bus Rapid Transit line, though the project is not yet funded. The agency also said it has increased bus service in the city by more than any other areas in the region — though admits there continues to be a need for more.
As for the new Pattullo Bridge, slated to open later this year, Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said he was in “friendly disagreement” over the need for more lanes.
Fleming noted the span is being built with the option to expand to six lanes at some point in the future if needed, but said the current design aligns with the road networks on both the Surrey and New Westminster sides.
“We will look at everything, travel speed, travel volume,” he said of a possible future expansion.
Huberman said that while transportation investments in the city have improved in the last three to four years, “we’re still playing catch up,” and that both the provincial and federal government need to step up with more support.
“We also need to ensure that we are able to prepare for being that largest city in B.C. by 2029,” she said.
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