Surrey and Langley residents are keen on the proposal to extend the SkyTrain down the Fraser Highway, according to survey results released by TransLink on Thursday.
The agency collected the data as the first stage of public engagement on the proposal, which it said attracted a record-breaking 21,267 responses.
Nearly 17,000 people from Surrey and Langley answered the survey between April 4 and April 26, with 85 per cent of them backing the project.
That includes 92 per cent of respondents from the Township of Langley, 90 per cent in the City of Langley and 82 per cent in the City of Surrey.
In the rest of Metro Vancouver, 84 per cent of respondents also backed the plan.
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The survey also asked about people’s values in rapid transit planning, including along the 104 Avenue and King George Boulevard corridors which had previously been slated to get a light rail transit system.
Respondents ranked predictable travel times, efficient use of public money and comfortable and safe travel as the top considerations.
TransLink is in the process of determining how far the line can be built along with Fraser Highway with the $1.6 billion that has already been secured.
Going out the full 16 kilometres to Langley is estimated to cost $2.9 billion.
Based on TransLink’s proposed work plan and pending approval of the business case by senior levels of government, construction is slated to begin in 2021 with service ready by 2025.
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