Editor: Township engineer Paul Cordiero has brought forward legitimate concerns about light rail that deserve the attention of Langley residents and council.
He is correct to question the travel time estimate for at least two reasons.
First, light rail is not planned to be in exclusive rights-of-way throughout. Much like streetcars, trams will share lanes with general traffic for two kilometres in Green Timbers Urban Forest.
Second, the City of Surrey wants the light rail system to have more stations than initially planned, which would facilitate local access but slow down commuters from Langley.
It would be impossible for light rail to maintain the initially promised travel time of 29 minutes, instead requiring 35 to 40 minutes.
SkyTrain does not mean we’re getting less. A high-quality bus rapid transit (BRT) service can meet demand on King George Boulevard and 104 Avenue, permitting SkyTrain to Langley for the same cost as proposed light rail.
But, even if it does cost more initially, we shouldn’t dismiss the value of faster service.
Studies, surveys and the results of our transit projects have repeatedly demonstrated that travel time affects our commute choices the most.
Consider the Canada Line. After opening six years ago, it exceeded ridership projections and “broke even” (fare revenues cover all operating costs) three years earlier than expected.
According to subsequent rider surveys, its speed and reliability as a grade-separated system was the number one factor in attracting ridership.
SkyTrain would let Langley residents commute as far as Waterfront Station within the span of 60 minutes, with essentially every regional centre accessible within an hour and a half.
With a light rail system, one hour’s commute would only go as far as the first community across the Fraser, New Westminster.
Light rail riders will be at the mercy of potential vehicle-train collisions, because our system is expected to run entirely at-grade, on-street, and through busy intersections.
The six light rail systems that Nathan Pachal referenced in his letter (The Times, May 1) largely don’t run on-street and are often completely grade-separated.
Accidents on light rail systems affect reliability, which affects ridership.
There are no light rail systems of any length in Canada or the U.S. that match the ridership of SkyTrain, in terms of both the entire system, and on a per-kilometre basis.
Daryl Dela Cruz,
Surrey City for Better Surrey Rapid Transit