Wrangling Solid Waste in Metro Vancouver

While a combination of public and private service providers in our region collect garbage, recycling, organics and other solid waste, it is the Metro Vancouver Regional District that manages the overall solid waste system. The Regional District is in the process of updating its Solid Waste Management Plan, which, if adopted, will impact Langley City.

I’ve posted about the overall goals of this proposed updated plan last summer: rethink, reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover. In short, it means thinking about how we design products and packaging to prevent waste in the first place and do everything we can to prevent waste from being burned at an incinerator or buried in a landfill.

To that end, the Regional District is proposing new waste-reduction targets for the next decade.

The plan’s target is to:

• Reduce per capita waste generation by 10% from 1.22 tonnes to 1.1 tonnes
• Reduce disposal per capita by 30% from 430kg to 300kg (burned or buried)
• Increase the recycling rate from 65% to 70% (material recycled into new products, including compost)
• Increase the diversion rate from 65% to 75% (includes all material recycled, plus any material used to create alternatives to fossil fuels)

Recycling and diversion rates have always been lower in our region for attached housing (townhouses and apartments) than detached housing, so one of the focus areas is to boost these rates. There is also significant waste generated during the demolition and construction of buildings, so another focus area is preventing the disposal of valuable building materials.

Our region has a strong track record of reducing waste. I’m optimistic that we will now be able to address reducing waste generation and further reducing disposal under this proposed new plan, if it is adopted.

Extending Funding for Project Black Festher: Keeping Langley Students Out of Gangs

Last fall, I wrote about Project Black Feather. The federal government funded this program through their Building Safer Communities Fund, and it is a joint program between the City, Township, and Langley School District. Project Black Feather’s mission is to reduce the likelihood of young people going down a dangerous path of gang and gun violence.

Project Black Feather, as of last fall, has worked with 400 young people in the Langley School District, with over 150 experiencing positive changes, including addiction recovery and reduction in gang-affiliated behaviour. By all accounts, it has been a success.

Funding for this program was set to expire at the end of March. In the fall, Langley City Council went on an Ottawa mission, where one of our goals was to see the extension of Project Black Feather.

The federal government has extended funding for this program, which is great news, though Council would like to see it become permanently funded. With that in mind, Council approved sending a letter to the federal government, including the Minister of Public Safety, asking for an opportunity to meet to talk about making the Building Safer Communities Fund permanent to support programs like Project Black Feather, and to help support a Canada-wide knowledge sharing network for programs like Project Black Feather.

I look forward to hearing back from the federal government.

A Closer Look at An Expanded Timms/Performing Arts Centre and Al Anderson Memorial Pool

Invest Langley City is our community’s vision for infrastructure projects, including water, sewer, transportation, parks, public safety, and recreation facilities to meet the needs of residents and businesses over the coming decades. There are two key projects that the City is seeking voter feedback on during the upcoming fall municipal election: an expanded Timms Community Centre with a Performing Arts Centre and an expanded Al Anderson Memorial Pool.

Over the coming months, the City will be doing all it can to reach out to residents and businesses in our community to provide information about the benefits and impacts, including costs, associated with these projects, and to seek community feedback in preparation for the fall municipal election. I previously posted about some upcoming in-person and online open house events.

Last week, Council received an information package about the proposed Timms Community Centre with a Performing Arts Centre and expanded Al Anderson Memorial Pool.

An expanded Al Anderson will include a new building for an indoor leisure pool, hot tub, steam room, and sauna, and will change the operation of the existing outdoor pool from seasonal to year-round. The expanded facility will cost about $71.7 million to build. If approved, including construction and ongoing operating costs, it will increase the average annual property tax for a detached home by $357 and for an attached home (townhouse/apartment) by $151.49.

An expanded Timms Community Centre with a Performing Arts Centre will include a new half-gymnasium, over a half-dozen new multi-purpose rooms, including spaces for fitness and arts programming, a new 500-seat theatre, and a smaller black box studio. The facility will also have commercial retail units fronting Fraser Highway. The expanded facility will cost about $107 million to build. If approved, including construction and ongoing operating costs, it will increase the average annual property tax for a detached home by $618.24 and for an attached home (townhouse/apartment) by $262.11.

These projects would likely need to be funded by a loan. Municipalities in BC have a maximum debt ceiling, determined by total debt service costs. The following graph shows that if both projects were built 100% with a loan, the City would still be well below its maximum debt ceiling.

Graph showing the maximum debt service limit and debt service cost for the proposed aquatics and Timms Community Centre with Art Centre expansions. Select the graph to enlarge.

My hope is that in the fall municipal election, people will feel that they have all the information they need to make an informed choice on whether they want to move forward with both, one, or none of these projects.

Council Endorses Transportation 2050, Langley City’s Transportation Plan

Last Monday, Langley City Council endorsed Transportation 2050, the long-term transportation plan for our community. Work on this plan began in 2021 and has since gone through a series of community engagements that have helped shape it.

Transportation 2050 has four main goals:

• Make transportation safer and more comfortable
• Build a transportation network that is connected and accessible for all
• Increase the proportion of trips made by walking, rolling, cycling, and transit to support the health of community members and the environment
• Work towards, and advocate for, a transportation system that is resilient and adaptive to change while being cost-effective, efficient, and forward thinking. (such as around e-scooters and sharing programs)

Transportation 2050 includes many transportation projects, some of which are priority projects. The following map shows the priority projects for Langley City.

Map of High Priority Projects. Green = Roads, Blue = Multi-Use Path, Purple = Cycling, Yellow = Sidewalk. Select the map to enlarge.

The following outlines the priority projects.

While the provincial government is responsible for the Langley Bypass (between the Surrey border and Glover Road), the City would advocate to the province to continue making safety improvements and to build a multi-use path on both sides of the highway.

Along Fraser Highway, the City would enhance all intersections to improve traffic flow, add queue jumper lanes to enhance bus speed and reliability as appropriate, and build safe cycling infrastructure. The City would install a multi-use path along Industrial Avenue and new sidewalks and cycling infrastructure on 203A to improve access to the SkyTrain. Douglas Crescent would also get safe cycling infrastructure.

The City would enhance walking, rolling, and cycling safety on sections of Grade Crescent, 50th Avenue, 53rd Avenue and 201A Street.

On 56th Avenue toward Langley Secondary School, the City would look to work with Township to build a multi-use pathway to improve student access to that high school.

Some of these high-priority projects, such as building a multi-use path on Grade Crescent and Industrial Avenue, are already funded with construction pending.

Transportation 2050 also includes details on further plans the City should develop, such as:

• Increasing support for Safe and Active Routes to School Programs to make it easier for kids to get to school without needing drop-off or pick-up
• Developing a Micromobility Strategy for personal e-transportation devices
• Developing a Slow Streets Program for neighbourhood streets
• Updating the City’s traffic calming policy

For more information, please read Transportation 2050.