The Livable Blog

A letter by Highways Minister Kevin Falcon in today's Province claims that the provincial government and municipalities "will study together the potential use of the Southern Rail Corridor (the Interurban) for transit."

Valley residents and groups like VALTAC and Rail for the Valley have been advocating for a revived Interurban to serve Surrey, Langley and the Valley with a community rail service. The Livable Region Coalition fully supports the revival of the service and we will work with our partners and concerned citizens to help make it a reality.

We will have to see what the process will look like, there is a real danger that the approach taken will be secretive and exclusive, this provincial government's MO. Regardless, what is significant is that we have witnessed two shifts on transportation policy in just over a week. The embracing of RapidBus (bus rapid transit or BRT) is also a very encouraging sign. Your voices are being heard, your hard work is starting to yield results- forward!

Transport minister responds
Letter
Published: Wednesday, January 23, 2008

The Fraser Valley is growing, and we know people want more transportation choice, including transit. Our $14-billion transit plan will add 600 frequent buses outside Metro Vancouver -- a 60- per-cent increase. B.C. Transit will be working with communities on detailed planning.

It is our duty to taxpayers to ensure the plans we make are fiscally responsible by allowing for a service that is appropriate for the population and density.

Chilliwack and Abbotsford have a combined population of 200,000. As these communities grow, density must increase to justify higher levels of service.

Ultimately, we expect to have new RapidBus B.C. service out to Chilliwack. These buses may run in separate lanes, have signal priority. And underpasses and overpasses will be built so these buses can zip by the normal traffic. It's a very exciting, innovative, economically viable and appropriate option for the valley.

By 2030, SkyTrain will extend out to Langley, integrating rapid buses with rapid transit in Metro Vancouver.

Also, the West Coast Express runs from Mission in the valley directly into Downtown Vancouver. The province and local governments will study together the potential use of the Southern Rail Corridor (the Interurban) for transit.

Kevin Falcon,

Minister of Transport

© The Vancouver Province 2008