City of Langley Council Update

At the September 19 City of Langley council meeting, council heard a delegation from the merchants in McBurney Lane that oppose the City's plan to give the areas a much needed update.

According to the latest council minutes Anita Ference and Terry Smith, who stated that they where speaking on behalf of the surrounding merchants, opposed the plan because parking will be removed in the lane even though they will be getting a net increase of six parking spots because of changes on Douglas Crescent. Ms. Ference and Mr. Smith where of the opinion that the removal of parking in McBurney Lane will increase drug use and vandalism. This is interesting because it is not cars that keep areas safe, it's having eyes and ears on the ground. By converting McBurney Lane into a more pedestrian friendly areas, you attract more people to the areas and actually make the place safer.

Also interesting was the fact that Ms. Ference and Mr. Smith believe that transit access is inadequate in downtown Langley. As a transit user, I can say that downtown Langley is the only place in Langley with adequate transit access. There are buses all day long. Heck, the 502 which is only one of a dozen bus in downtown Langley runs even seven minutes during peak periods and every 15 minutes the rest of the day.

I have to give credit to the City of Langley for sticking to their plan to make downtown Langley into a more pedestrian friendly area. Making downtown Langley pedestrian friend is the key for it's future success. If people want parking lots, they'll go to the Langley Bypass.

Since I'm on the topic of downtown Langley, just south of McBurney Lane is Douglas Park. According to tonight's Committee of the Whole agenda, the new cenotaph project originally budgeted at $160,000 is now going to cost $56,500 more to build. The City has applied to Veteran Affairs Canada for a $50,000 grant to cover the change in cost. Here's hoping they get the grant and proceed with this project as the current memorial site in the City is lacking in certain areas.