The future of 200th Street

Since I moved to Langley about eight years ago, the 200th Street corridor has whole-scale changed from rural to urban. It really is shocking at how fast things are changing. For many years the Township has been talking about making 200th Street a mixed-use, transit-friendly corridor. As I've been watching 200th Street grow, I've noticed that there is a lack of mixed-use, transit-friendly development. Currently the 200th Street corridor is lined by single-use business parks, strip malls, and townhouses. It seems that as each year passes, there is less chance that 200th Street will be a transit friendly corridor.

200th Street @ 72nd Avenue. Is this the future of 200th Street?

The latest "blow" to a transit friendly 200th Street is yet another residential townhouse development, this time at 70th Avenue. While these developments aren't bad, they represent the "death by 1,000 cuts" for a transit friendly 200th. I fear that we'll collectively wake up one day and realize that we squandered away 200th into just another suburban road. With the civic elections coming up in the fall, it will be the next council will decide within 3 years whether 200th Street will be business as usual or if it will be a corridor that we can all be proud of.

McCallum Road in Abbotsford is transforming into a mixed-use corridor.