Surrey’s Fleetwood neighbourhood braces for sweeping changes with SkyTrain extension

Residents of Surrey’s Fleetwood neighbourhood are looking ahead to future SkyTrain construction with a mixture of optimism and apprehension.

Preliminary work is underway on the future Surrey-Langley SkyTrain line which will connect the current King George Station terminus with Langley City via 16 kilometres of track along the Fraser Highway.

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The $4-billion project promises to bring a wave of development along the line, with Fleetwood as no exception.

“We expect there to be 8,000 to 10,000 residents, probably a couple of hundred styles of business, more retail shopping, because we don’t have a lot of non-essential retail,” Fleetwood Business Improvement Association executive director Dean Barber told Global News.

“It’s going to change, and we’re hoping to create these neighbourhoods where people can come visit, shop, learn, play, live and spend time.”

Barbour said proposals are in the works for 20 to 30 towers in proximity to Fleetwood’s three planned stations.

While he is optimistic about how that development could invigorate the area, Barbour said there are also major concerns about whether enough work is being done to prepare for an estimated 30,000 new residents expected in the coming decade.

“For me the biggest concern is more to do with the challenges of construction, the challenges of congestion. Our sidewalks are not very good in most of the area here,” he said.

“Schools are going to be a big issue given they’re pretty much at capacity right now. And there’s no public land in Fleetwood for the government to come in and build, so we’re going to have to think differently.”

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Fleetwood resident Doug Mackinnon said he was looking forward to having access to SkyTrain to travel, but said he had concerns about its capacity to bring crime into the area.

He, too, said he worried about the pressure development could put on Surrey’s already overcrowded schools.

“With the thousands and thousands of people that are going to be moving into the area, I don’t know how that’s going to be resolved. It’s definitely an issue that needs to be addressed right away, it needs to be planned for before any development is done,” he said.

“I hope that the ratio to police or whatever safety protocols are put in place to handle the volumes of people that will be residing here,” he added.

The Surrey School District warned last week that without more capital funding from the province and a speed-up on school construction, it may have to look at double stacking portables.

The district is already adding up to 2,200 new students per year, a number that doesn’t factor in new development along the SkyTrain line.

The province maintains that 12 new projects or expansions are in the pipeline for the city.

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Megha Sharma, who owns an immigration consulting business in the area, said she didn’t see a downside to the new train, adding many of her customers rely on poor bus service or expensive taxis to get to her.

“I think it will be a more developed area,” she said.

“Fraser (Highway) is developing already. We have so many townhouses here, apartments coming. I think the population is increasing and if we introduce SkyTrain it will be very easy for everyone.”

In a statement, the City of Surrey’s Planning and Development department said it was looking carefully at the projected number of new homes along with school demands and the area’s traffic network.

“The plans are adjusted as needed to make sure that there are sufficient parks, school sites, pedestrian networks and streets to accommodate the projected densities,” the city said.

“And, as each development application comes forward over the coming years, the public needs will be taken into account to ensure the neighbourhood evolves in a coordinated way.”

The Surrey-Langley SkyTrain line is projected to start service by late 2028.