Bus Rapid Transit Planning Continues. R2 RapidBus Extension Launches in Fall.

As you may know, TransLink is completing the planning work for two new bus rapid transit routes. TransLink is also launching an extension to the R2 RapidBus route this September, which will connect Metrotown via Hastings St/Burnaby Heights and Willingdon, with buses every 6 to 7 minutes during the busiest part of the day. Planning is ongoing to convert this route to bus rapid transit in the future.

Bus Rapid Transit means that buses, for the most part, operate in their own right-of-way to avoid congestion and have stations with more amenities, such as real-time information and larger shelters.

Work is also ongoing for the two bus rapid transit routes in the South of Fraser. One along King George Boulevard and the other connecting Haney in Maple Ridge to the Willowbrook Shopping Centre. These lines will have about two-thirds of their routes operating in dedicated right-of-way, resulting in travel times similar to driving and significantly faster than existing bus service.

The following is a typical cross-section for a Bus Rapid Transit system.

Typical cross-section for a Bus Rapid Transit system. Select image to enlarge.

This is the current planned alignment for the King George Boulevard line.

Current planned alignment for the King George Boulevard BRT line. Select image to enlarge.

This is the current planned alignment plan for the Langley-Haney Place line.

Current planned alignment plan for the Langley-Haney Place line. Selet image to enlarge.

Currently, funding is available to complete detailed design work, which is expected to wrap up in 2027. There is no funding to build or operate these lines at this time.

Langley City Council Awards $169,967 in Community Grants

Every year, Langley City Council allocates a portion of the casino revenue the City receives for its community grant program. Community grants support not-for-profit, community-based organizations that benefit Langley City residents and align with the City’s strategic goals. The grants can also be used by informal groups that would like to hold events such as a block party or BBQ to help bring neighbours together. You can learn more about the community grant program on Langley City’s website.

This year, Council allocated the community grants as follows.

Organization	Amount
198A Street Neighbourhood BBQ	$500
Alice Brown Parent Advisory Council	$500
Bard in the Valley Society	$8,500
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Langley	$5,000
Brookswood Dry Grad	$500
Douglas Park CharityPickleball Tournament	$7,500
Douglas Park Community School Society	$1,742
Douglas Park Community School	$500
Downtown Langley BusinessAssociation - Arts Alive Festival	$16,935
Encompass Support Services -Best Babies	$3,000
Fibromyalgia Well Spring Foundation	$640
Fraser Region Community Justice Initiatives	$1,000
Kat Moon Band	$1,150
KidSport	$2,000
Langley Animal Protection Society	$5,000
Langley Community Farmers Market	$2,600
Langley Community ServicesSociety - Best Babies and Global Fest	$8,000
Langley District 4-H SeniorCouncil	$2,650
Langley Environmental Partners Society	$3,000
Langley Fastball Association	$2,500
Langley Field Naturalists	$2,000
Langley Fine Arts School Dry Grad	$500
Langley Flippers Swim Club	$2,500
Langley Lawn Bowling Club	$3,400
Langley Literacy Association	$2,500
Langley Pride Society	$8,000
Langley Rotary Club (RibFest)	$5,000
Langley School District Foundation	$4,950
Langley Secondary School Dry Grad Committee	$1,000
Langley Seniors Resources Society	$20,000
Latincouver Cultural & Business Society	$5,000
Lower Fraser Valley Aboriginal Society	$2,500
Men's Shed Langley Society	$5,000
Nicholas Park Neighbourhood BBQ	$500
PLEA Community Services Society	$1,000
Ron Cares Society	$2,500
Scouts Canada - Camp McLean	$1,500
Seamus Gee Legacy Project Foundation	$1,000
stɑl̓əw Arts and Cultural Society	$5,000
Terry Fox Run - Langley City	$1,700
VAYA Youth Arts Society	$6,000
VISAFF South Asian Film Festival Society	$2,200
Volunteer Cancer Drivers Society	$2,000
Waceya Metis Society	$10,000
Youth Parliment	$1,000

Langley City’s Glover Road Innovation District Plan

Glover Road Innovation District Plan Visualization: Plaza Along Logan Avenue & 203A Street. Select the image to enlarge.

Last Monday, Langley City Council received a presentation and report on Langley City’s “Glover Road Innovation District Plan.” This land-use plan covers the area shown in the map below and ties into the City’s FoodTech and entrepreneur-focused economic development plan.

Glover Road Innovation District Plan Planning Area. Select the map to enlarge.

This plan was co-developed with Kwantlen Polytechnic University and KPU Communities Trust and is aligned with the university's long-term vision for its Langley City campus.

As a land-use plan, it focused on several main concepts:

• Establish two gateway plazas/parks that draw people from the Langley City Centre SkyTrain Station and the KPU Campus
• Establish two hub buildings at the gateways to support entrepreneurs with coworking, shared learning, research, and social congregation areas (beyond typical office space such as labs, kitchens, and workshops).
• Create green streets/boulevards that connect KPU and SkyTrain with wide sidewalks and multimodal paths.
• Add new internal streets to support redevelopment and traffic flow, and service lanes to support loading and industrial traffic
• Create a network of open spaces with plazas, parks, and greenways
• Ensure property size supports industrial and other commercial uses as well as housing
• Ensure that Glover Road and Logan Avenue have ground-level retail storefronts

The Innovation District Plan changes several properties from the regional land-use designation of mixed employment to general urban. This will require the approval of the Metro Vancouver Regional District board. Because mixed-employment land is in short supply, the City would swap general urban land to mixed-employment land in another part of the city to ensure no net loss.

Another key part of the Innovation District Plan is to ensure flexible commercial land uses to support employment, such as:

• Agri-tech/food tech industries
• Food & beverage manufacturing
• Large business and commerce consultancies
• Film post-production
• Entrepreneurial and start-up companies
• Laboratory and research-based uses
• Creative arts
• Advanced technology such as robotics
• Companies with a focus on sustainability or green energy technology

The Innovation District is divided into four precincts or planning areas. For more information, you can read the full Glover Road Innovation District Plan.

The next steps will be for Council to endorse this plan at a future Council meeting, then work to update the Official Community Plan and get Metro Vancouver Regional District approval.

Doggie Poo Bin Pilot Permanent; New Street Garbage Cans

Around this time last year, Langley City launched a dog poo bin pilot program to help reduce the amount of dog waste that ends up in our natural areas, where it pollutes our waterways and kills salmon and other animals. Dog waste also ends up in the garbage, which is not the best practice, as dog waste should be disposed of via the sewage system.

Over the last year, red-lidded dog poo bins have been placed throughout the City. These bins have resulted in a 31% reduction in dog poo ending up in the street garbage bins, which is a success. This program had been made permanent. You will start to see new bins being rolled out throughout the City in the coming months.

The City had contracted out street garbage bins throughout our community, with ads on them. These were installed for free back in the day in exchange for the contractor being allowed to place ads on the bins. There were a few problems with these bins. First, they were placed more for advertising than for where the demand for street garbage cans was the highest. Second, they looked like they had recycling, but it was all just going into the garbage. Third, they were bulky and unslightly. These bins are now end-of-life, and their contract has expired. The City will be rolling out its own bins over the coming year, with a focus on downtown and higher-density areas, to be more useful to more people in our community.

The following map shows the locations of the current bus stop bins (which are being retained), new dog poo bins, and new street garbage cans in the northern part of our community.

Locations of current bus stop bins, new dog poo bins, and new street garbage cans in the northern part of the community. Select the map to enlarge.

These bins will comply with our downtown streetscape standard and have an exterior basket for beverage containers.

Funding is already in place for this renewal program.

The City isn’t installing public street recycling and organics bins because people currently have a hard time sorting where things go, so they end up going into the garbage anyway due to contamination. The City is still committed to finding ways to enable recycling and organics collection in street bins.