Enhanced Lighting Coming to Langley Centre Transit Exchange

The Langley Centre Transit Exchange has been the site of increased criminal activity over the last year. This is no surprise as the major tenant of the strip mall that the exchange is located by closed down, leaving the mall derelict. As a result, there are no “eyes and ears” on the street. The lighting is also poor at the transit exchange.

RCMP patrolling Langley Centre Transit Exchange

The long-term solution will be the eventual relocation of the transit exchange. You can read more about this in a previous post. The relocation will not be happening anytime soon.

This past April, Langley City Council was asked to spend $11,500 to upgrade the light bulbs at the exchange from 150 to 250 watts. Council at that time declined. Council Martin didn’t want to spend the money until a funding partnership was establish with TransLink.

An article in the Langley Times appeared earlier this month about a man who was beaten and robbed at the exchange. Since that article was publish, I’ve noticed that the RCMP and transit security have been more visible at the transit exchange.

Last Friday, funding became available from TransLink to spend $54,000 to upgrade not only the power of the lighting, but also install new lighting at the transit exchange. At Monday night’s council meet, council approved $29,000 as its contribution to this $54,000 project. TransLink will be funding the remainder.

Mayor Ted Schaffer said that he wants to “light that place up like an airport runway.”

While lighting and increased police presence will help reduce crime at the transit exchange, the root cause of the issues with the transit exchange is that the transit exchange is around a poor built environment. If the City or Translink are not moving the transit exchange anytime soon, the City needs to look at ways to encourage redevelopment of the derelict mall, bringing more positive activities to the area.