Surrey mayoral candidate wants to press pause on LRT if elected

There’s another twist in the ongoing debate in Surrey over Light Rail Transit (LRT) vs. SkyTrain.

Integrity Now mayoral candidate Bruce Hayne has now said “it’s time to press the pause button” on LRT.

Hayne said there’s been a lack of transparency and public consultation on the LRT vs. SkyTrain debate, and he feels like the voices of voters aren’t being heard.

“I think there’s an overwhelming number of people in Surrey who have not felt that LRT is the technology of choice for them,” he said.

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“It’s been a long time since LRT was the technology of choice, going back to the Dianne Watts years, and that narrative hasn’t changed. That narrative hasn’t been really properly debated in the public realm.”

He said an Integrity Now council will push pause on LRT to analyze what technology would work best.

Ideally, he said he’d like to take the $1.65-billion committed to LRT and use it instead to extend SkyTrain along the King George Boulevard to Newton.

“But that is a determination that has to be made at the TransLink council table.”

Hayne has also stated once again that he hasn’t seen a business case for LRT from Mayor Linda Hepner, and in fact, doesn’t believe one even exists.

“What we need to see is a business case that says LRT makes sense for this part of Surrey, for downtown, and for years into the future — and I haven’t seen that yet.”

Asked why he didn’t bring these concerns up months ago, he said “I have been asking internally for the business case and I have not seen that business case yet.”