A proposed Surrey-91原创 SkyTrain business case will be going to the Mayor鈥檚 Council on Regional Transportation on Jan. 30.
Project director Jeff Busby and vice-president of transportation planning and policy Geoff Cross gave a technical briefing on the business case to media Friday (Jan. 24).
If the mayor鈥檚 council endorses the business case next Thursday, it will then be submitted to senior government. TransLink then expects final approval this summer, with construction beginning in roughly two years, some time in 2022.
That timeline, however, only applies to the first phase of the project, which will only be built out to 166th Street in Fleetwood.
The first phase would take about five-and-a-half years from the approval date, with the anticipated opening date in late 2025.
At the Jan. 30 meeting, the mayor鈥檚 council will also be asked to endorse a 鈥淪upportive Policies Agreement鈥� that 鈥渃ommits the City of Surrey to policies and initiatives which will help ensure the project鈥檚 success鈥� such as land-use planning, urban design, housing and transportation near the corridor.
It鈥檚 meant to 鈥渋ncrease certainty鈥� on the corridor growth to 鈥渕aximize the investment performance of SkyTrain.鈥�
Cross said the agreement is an 鈥渋mportant aspect鈥� for this particular project because of the change in priorities: the switch to SkyTrain to 91原创, instead of LRT in Surrey.
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鈥淎 number of the efforts that theCity of Surrey has already started along the corridor to ensure that the growth, which has long been predicted to be supportive of rapid transit, is now appropriate for the level of intensity of investment for a SkyTrain project. It鈥檚 TransLink staff鈥檚 opinion that it is,鈥� Cross said.
鈥滻t鈥檚 similar or higher than what we鈥檝e seen in recent expansions of the SkyTrain, whether it be into the Tri-cities or down along the Canada Line.鈥�
Busby said the business case 鈥渞eally sets out the benefits of delivering鈥� the Surrey-91原创 SkyTrain extension.
By 2035, he said, 80,000 people will live within a short walk of the proposed stations. It would connect people to 380,000 jobs and 23,000 post-secondary education spaces, Busby said.
鈥淭his is twice the number of jobs and about 10 times the number of post-secondary educational opportunities that are available without the project.鈥�
As for the environment, Busby said it will have a reduction of greenhouse gases by more than 17,000 tonnes through the diversion of people in vehicles and diesel bus service.
鈥淧eople in Surrey actually drive 11 million kilometres per day in single-occupant vehicles,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is 64 per cent more vehicle kilometres than residents drive in Vancouver, even though Surrey is three-quarters of the size. Because the trips in Surrey are very long and they don鈥檛 have the type of transportation alternatives, it means that it鈥檚 difficult to get around without a car.
鈥淭his project will help to address that deficiency.鈥�
Busby said that while there aren鈥檛 highrises along the Fraser Highway corridor, it is a 鈥渧ery dense community.鈥�
鈥淭here are almost 70,000 people that live in Fleetwood near the proposed four stations. That鈥檚 similar to the size of New Westminster鈥� Already there are a lot of people in the Fleetwood community that would benefit from the project.鈥�
Currently, there is about $1.63 billion in available funding which is enough to construct the extension from King George Station to 166th Street and Fraser Highway.
The full line, TransLink previously noted, would cost about $3.1 billion.
However, if TransLink is unable to secure that funding within the next year, that cost would go up.
鈥淐osts go up with time, so as more time elapses, we鈥檒l need to update our cost estimates,鈥� Busby said.
With the Surrey-91原创 SkyTrain project, TransLink will be using a 鈥渄esign build finance鈥� model, which means TransLink will be responsible for project delivery, a contractor will complete the final design and construction, some construction costs will be financed privately with repayment 鈥渦pon completion鈥� and it will be operated and maintained by BC Rapid Transit Company.
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