Upcoming Event - City in Flux: Panel Discussion

Cypress-Bowl-Development-(3287) by Carolina de la Cajiga

West Vancouver’s Ferry Building Gallery will be exhibiting “City in Flux: Work in Progress” by Carolina de la Cujiga. Her work dives deep into the tension between growth and preservation in the future development of Metro Vancouver.

As part of the exhibition, the gallery is hosting a panel discussion. The panel includes “planning and transportation professionals, artists and architects as they explore the changing landscape of the Vancouver area and its implications for the future.” I will be one of the panel members.

The event details are as follows:
Sunday, April 15, 2018
2:00pm to 4:00pm
Ferry Building Gallery
1414 Argyle Avenue
West Vancouver, BC V7T 1C2

Admission is by donation and space is limited. Call 604-925-7270, noting course #44038 to reserve your spot, or register online.

It’s a bit of a journey to West Vancouver. You could make a day out of it, checking out the great amenities in Ambleside such as their beach, before or after the panel discussion.

South of Fraser Light Rail Early Works Projects Started. Phase One to Open in 2024.

A few weeks ago, the provincial government and our region’s mayors came to an agreement on how to fund two-thirds of the largest investment in public transit for Metro Vancouver in recent memory. This agreement in principle, combined with federal government financial support, means that both the Broadway Extension of the Millennium Line in Vancouver and light rail in the South of Fraser are moving forward.

The TransLink board will be meeting tomorrow, and one of the items on their agenda will be an update on the progress of South of Fraser Light Rail. Light rail in the South of Fraser will be delivered in two phases. Phase one will see light rail operate from Newton to Guildford, and phase two will see light rail operating from Downtown Surrey to Downtown Langley City.

For phase one of light rail, it is now expected that procurement will be completed this year, with construction starting in late 2019. Phase one is expected to start service in 2024.

Various projects must be completed before actual light rail construction begins. These are known as “early works.” The following map shows projects that need to be completed.

Map of phase one "Early Works" projects. Select map to enlarge.

List of Early Works Projects

1. Guildford Exchange Bus Layover Facility
2. 104 Avenue Storm Sewer Relocation (148 to 150 Street)
3. 104 Avenue Watermian Relocation (City Centre to 144 Street)
4. Bear Creek Bridge Replacement
5. Hydro Line Work
   1. 104 Avenue at 140 Street
   2. King George Boulevard at 92 Avenue
   3. King George Boulevard at 84 Avenue

Each project is at a different stage of design, tender, or construction. One of the first projects to get off the ground is the replacement of the Bear Creek Bridge at King George Boulevard —just south of 88 Avenue— to support light rail.

Getting rapid transit service within our part of the region has been a decade long process. It is encouraging to see construction work actually starting.

Provincial and local government housing policy aligned for the most part

The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) is the association that represents all local governments in our province. One of the major roles of the organization is to advocate on behalf of local governments to the provincial government.

Wesbrook Village. Select image to enlarge.

At the beginning of February, the UBCM Housing Committee released a report called, “A Home for Everyone.” This report outlined four key strategies to ensure housing is available for all British Columbians:

1. A Rental Housing Strategy
2. A Demand Management Strategy
3. A Comprehensive Homelessness Strategy
4. An All Government Approach Towards Housing Affordability

The UBCM also called on the provincial government to build 114,000 new affordable housing units over ten years.

As part of the recent budget, the province released “Homes for B.C.: A 30-Point Plan for Housing Affordability in British Columbia.” The UBCM Housing Committee reviewed this document. They presented to the Metro Vancouver Regional District’s Housing Committee this month, noting where the provincial plan aligns with the UBCM recommendations and were there is room for improvement.

For the most part, the provincial plan aligns with the UBCM report as follows:

A Rental Housing Strategy

• Commitment to create 114,000 units of affordable housing
• Retention and renewal of existing affordable housing
• Creation of a new rental-only zone

Demand Management

• Revisit Foreign Buyer’s tax rate and geographic scope of application
• Requirements for declaration of beneficial ownership
• Making the property transfer tax more progressive
• Address tax fairness as it pertains to short-term rentals

When it comes to demand management, there were two items which were not covered in the province’s housing plan: taxation to address rapid speculative resales, and an investigation of options for regulating short-term rentals.

Homelessness

UBCM’s recommendations were focused on prevention and integrated case management. The provincial plan includes funding for housing only. It is expected that further action on a holistic approach will be forthcoming with the provincial poverty reduction plan.

An All Government Approach Towards Housing Affordability

• Collaboration between orders of government, recognizing local governments’ role in defining community need and priorities

It is encouraging to see that provincial policies and local government housing priorities are, for the most part, aligned. The real test will be if the provincial government continues to follow through with its plan over the next decade to ensure that there is housing available for all people who live in our province.

Seattle’s light rail sheds light on what to expect in Surrey and Langley

With phase two funding approved in principle for the Mayors’ Council’s Ten-Year Transportation Vision, light rail will now be a reality in the South of Fraser. This funding will allow light rail to be built and operated along King George Boulevard and 104th Avenue. It will get pre-construction work completed for the Fraser Highway line, ensuring that construction can start the instant that the third and final phase of funding is approved for the Ten-Year Transportation Vision.

King County is served by Link Light Rail which opened in the summer of 2009. Some sections of their light rail network run in a tunnel, some sections run at-grade, and some sections run above-grade like SkyTrain.

My friend Paul Hillsdon and I decided to head to Seattle over the weekend to check out Rainier Valley. This part of King County is served by Link Light Rail where the stations and track are at-grade. This section is similar to what is being planned for South of Fraser light rail.

One of the first things that Paul and I noticed was that the trains don’t stop at intersections. All the traffic signals were set to prioritize light rail. The following clip shows light rail going through a signalized intersection. Link Light Rail runs in its own dedicated right-of-way which is how light rail will operate in the South of Fraser. While some cars passed the train in this clip, they had to queue at subsequent traffic signals.

Paul and I stopped at the Othello Light Rail Station where redevelopment has occurred around the station. We when into Cafe Red where we had a good chat with its barista who was very knowledge about light rail in Rainier Valley. I asked him if trains ever had to wait at traffic lights. He told me that this was a rarity. He stated that cross-street traffic and left-turning traffic gets delayed to prioritize light rail vehicles going through intersections. One of the balancing acts will be to ensure that light rail is prioritized while also ensuring that cross-street traffic gets some love too.

New development around Othello Station. Select image to enlarge.

The following pictures show Rainier Beach Station. This station is the best example of what light rail stations will look like in the South of Fraser.

Rainier Beach Link Light Rail Station: Platform and ticket-vending machines. Select image to enalrge.

Rainier Beach Link Light Rail Station. Select image to enlarge.

Pedestrian access to Rainier Beach Link Light Rail Station. Select image to enlarge.

Travelling along Martin Luther King Jr Way on light rail shows how light rail can function efficiently at-grade. I know that many South of Fraser folks are concerned about light rail getting jammed up with regular traffic. In Seattle, they have figured out how to prioritize at-grade light rail to ensure smooth sailing for its riders.

The number of homeless seniors has doubled over the last decade in Metro Vancouver. There are solutions to reverse this trend.

When you think about homelessness in our region, what mental image do you have of a person who is experiencing homelessness? For many people, it is likely that of a middle-aged person, or maybe even a younger person. What about the following picture?

An image of a senior. Source: Seniors Services Society Presentation

While seniors (people who are 55+) have always experienced homelessness in our region, the number of seniors who are experiencing homelessness has more than doubled over the last decade.

Homeless Population (55+)	Number	Percent of Homeless Population
2008	212	9%
2011	268	16%
2014	371	18%
2017	556	23%

Seniors Services Society recently delivered a presentation to the Metro Vancouver Regional District’s Housing Committee about seniors who are experiencing homelessness.

The rising cost of living, especially the rapid increase in rent, is causing seniors to become homeless. According to Seniors Services Society, over 90% of people 60+ who experience homelessness have never experienced homelessness in their past. Plainly, there simply aren’t enough affordable and safe housing units for seniors.

At the same time, many seniors have secondary factor which increase their risk of experiencing homelessness such as:

• Physical or mental health problems
• Loss of a loved one
• Depleted finances
• Not knowing what to do when faced with prospect of moving
• Victims of violence, abuse and discrimination
• Isolation

What can be done to reverse this trend of increasing homelessness amount seniors? Seniors Services Society noted that the federal National Housing Strategy is a good start, and that together with the provincial government through BC Housing, seniors housing projects can start to get built. At the end of the day, the federal government and provincial government must work together to fund and set policies to rapidly expand the number of affordable housing units.

Another area that needs to be addressed is to increase the number of temporary shelter spaces for seniors.

Local governments have a role to play as well. We can put policies in place that lower the barrier to building affordable housing. These polices can include waving development and permit fees, and by accelerating processing times and inspections. Municipalities can also ensure that zoning is in place to support affordable housing, and will support rezoning for new affordable housing units.

Another role of local government is to act as a coordination point, bring together all levels of governments, non-profits, and residents. This is why Langley City is working to hiring a social planner.

Reducing homelessness is possible, and I’m hopeful that the renewed interest by all levels of government to tackle this issue will result in people of all ages and incomes being able to have a place to call home.

Wire theft is increasing in Langley City. You can help reduce theft, keeping our streetlights on.

In a previous career, I looked after television transmitter sites. These remote sites contain copper wiring and accessories. Even though transmitter sites are extremely dangerous places with high voltage and high power, these sites were targeted by people who would risk their lives to steal cooper to sell to unsavoury recyclers.

Sometime these people would steal cooper, but most of the time they would end up with other worthless material. The cost of repairing the damage was high, as was the safety risk these people would create during and after the theft.

Stealing wiring is nothing new in Langley City, but it has intensified over the last little while. The City normally budgets around $12,000 to repair the damage caused by wire theft of its own infrastructure. To date, there has been over 2.5 kilometres of wire stolen, and the repair bill stands at $23,000.

Langley City is doing its part by installing anti-theft devices inside of new streetlights, using less valuable aluminum wiring, and having Langley City stamped on new wiring. These new streetlights are mainly being installed in the Downtown area.

Example of a new streetlight with anti-theft features. Select image to enlarge.

The City needs your help as most parts of our community still have older cooper wiring. If you see anyone messing around with a streetlight or wiring, and they don’t look like they work for BC Hydro or Langley City, please call the RCMP non-emergency line at (604) 532-3200.

If you see a non-functioning streetlight, please let the City know by using the Request for Service portal.

Replacing stolen wiring is costly, and stealing wiring decreases the safety of our streets. With the help of the community, we can curb wire theft.

March 19, 2018 Council Meeting Notes: Donating to improve parks, business development, and redevelopment proposals.

Monday night’s Langley City council meeting started with business and tourism-related updates. Discovery Langley City, the new destination marketing organization for our community, continues to ramp up its activities with a focus on encouraging overnight stays at local hotels. Councillor Albrecht noted that social media and web traffic are increasing for Discovery Langley City, with top queries being around things to do and places to eat in our community.

One of the other initiatives of council is regular business walks. During these walks, members of council visit various businesses to keep a pulse on our commercial sector. Councillor Martin stated that several businesses are relocating to Langley City due to our community being at the centre of the Cloverdale-Langley area. Langley City is launching a new series of videos which highlight why businesses choose to locate in our community. These videos are being posted online.

For close to 40 years, Langley City has accepted donations from individuals and originations that want to contribute to a park amenity. These amenities includes things such as trees, benches, panic tables, and drinking foundations. These amenities are generally gifted with plaques dedicated to an individual.

Up to this point, there has been no formal policy in place around these gifts. City staff developed a new policy. As an example, the new policy includes terms which state that the City will maintain gifted amenity for at least 10 years. This policy was approved by council last night.

Council approved a request for the City’s Director of Engineering, Parks & Environment to attend the American Water Works Association 2018 Annual Conference.

Council gave first and second reading to two re-zoning bylaws. These readings will allow a public hearing to be scheduled for these zoning amendments.

The first zoning amendment is to accommodate a 39-unit, 3-story townhouse development at the end of 199A Street.

Proposed site plan for 5520, 5521, 5511, 5501, & 5591 - 199A Street. Select plan to enlarge.

The second amendment is to allow 25% of the total gross floor area of 19868 Langley Bypass (City Square) to be used for commercial tenants that are less than 4,000 sq. ft. Currently only tenants larger than 4,000 sq. ft. are permitted.

Council gave final reading to discharge a land-use contract which was covered at the March 5th council meeting. Council also gave final reading, and issued a development permit for 19753 55A Avenue, to accommodate a 14-unit townhouse development. The public hearing for this proposal was held in October of last year.

Two-thirds of TransLink 10-Year Investment Plan now approved in principle, plus getting to 100% funding.

On Friday afternoon, the provincial government and the Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation announced that they had come to an agreement in principle to fund phase two of the three phase 10-Year Transportation Investment Plan. The following map shows the location of the expected investments.

10-Year Investment Plan map. Select image to enlarge.

The following table shows a more detailed view of the transportation investments for our region over the life of the plan.

10-Year Investment Plan details. Select table to enlarge.

Phase one of the plan was funded by a bump in property tax, fare increases, and from TransLink internal revenue sources. Another proposed funding source was a regional development cost charge, though this was not implemented at the time phase one started moving forward.

Phase two investments are to be paid for with another increase in property tax, additional bumps in transit fares, the regional development cost charge, and an increase in parking lot sales tax. This is in addition to TransLink internal revenue sources.

New funding sources for phase two of investment plan. Estimated annual revenue.

The parking lot sales tax is charged whenever you pay for parking in a parkade or surface parking lot.

The new source of revenue is the development cost charge for transportation. This charge will be levied on new construction in our region. The original plan was to have the development cost charge set to generate about $20 million in revenue per year. The latest information states that it will generate around $7.5 million per year.

Implementing the new development cost charge will require a change in provincial legislation, as will the increase in parking lot sale tax.

This increases in revenue still doesn’t close the funding gap for the full 10-Year Investment Plan. One of the asks from the Mayors’ Council has been for the province to contribute annually to help offset the operating costs in the plan with a provincially-controlled source. This is shown in grey on the following graph.

Funding gap for 10-Year Investment Plan. Select chart to enlarge.

TransLink was originally going to replace the Pattullo Bridge. Tolling was going to be a revenue source, but it would still have to be subsidized. The Golden Ears Bridge and the Port Mann both cost more to operate than they were receiving in tolling revenue. The Pattullo Bridge would have been no different.

The 10-Year Investment Plan included the cost of the new Pattullo Bridge. Last month, the province announced that it would take over the Pattullo Bridge replacement, plus own and operate the new bridge. This helped close the “provincially-controlled source” funding gap.

At Friday’s press conference, the province said that it would further relieve financial pressure. It was mum on how, but I think that most people can take an educated guess on how.

As long as the province is able to get enabling legislation passed to fund phase two, all that remains is funding phase three. While I don’t have the exact numbers, it seems that the “provincially-controlled source” funding gap will be plugged.

By 2021/22, the Mayors’ Council wants to implement mobility pricing with $50 million per year, growing to $75 million per year, used to fund the full investment plan which includes light rail to Langley. With significant federal dollars committed to projects like Fraser Highway Light Rail, I am hopeful that all levels of government will once again be willing to work together to fund the full investment plan.

Insight into where people walk and cycle in Langley City

At the end of February, there were a few significant snow events in Langley City. One of the things that I noticed was that there were bike tracks left in the snow as it was falling. While looking at tire tracks in the snow is not a scientific way of measuring cycling lane usage, it provided me with some semi-permanent evidence of their use, even when the weather is unpleasant.

Fresh tracks on 203 Street in February. Select image to enlarge.

Fresh tracks on 53 Avenue in February. Select image to enlarge.

Earlier this week, the weather was warm and sunny. I take transit between home and work during the week; 203 Street and 53 Avenue are on my walking route to transit. I noticed along these corridors an increase in people walking, cycling, and scootering in the nice weather. Just a few years ago, these corridors were not very friendly for active modes of transportation. In fact, I used to avoid 203 Street due to its narrow sidewalks.

Strava is a social network and activity tracker used by many people who run and cycle. Strava has been in the news recently because they provide a publicly available map which shows popular routes of its users. Unfortunately, it led to some unintended disclosures of military bases.

I looked at this map years ago, but I didn’t think about it much again until the recent new stories. I decided to take a look at the map around Langley City.

Strava heatmap of popular cycling routes in Langley City. Select map to enlarge.

The map looks at two years worth of data, and is updated monthly. It is certainly not surprising that direct routes around our community such as 53 Avenue are the most popular. What is really interesting to see is cycling usage by Strava users on Grade Crescent, jutting down to 48 Avenue. 48 Avenue received bike lanes a few years back. Strava makes more detailed information available to local governments than is publicly available online.

While tire tracks in the snow and Strava maps don’t paint the full picture of everyone who walks and cycles, it provides some insight into popular routes in communities.

Metro Vancouver provides feedback to province on preserving farmland in our region

The Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) was created by the Dave Barrett NDP government in the 1970s to protect farmland in our province. It was created in response to the rapid urbanization of our limit, high-quality farmland in the province. This urbanization was particularly prevalent in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, and Okanagan.

Farmland in Metro Vancouver. Source: Stephanie Vacher

While most people are aware that ALR exclusions permanently remove land from being farmed again, there are other things that happen within the ALR that also prevent land from being farmed. These non-farm uses can range from highways being built within the ALR, to illegal fill dumping, to people “farming” to take advantage of a lower tax rate for their mini-mansions and country estates.

The current provincial government has launched a review of the ALR with the following goals:

1. Preserve the productive capacity of land in the ALR.
2. Encourage farming of land in the ALR for uses related to agriculture and food production.
3. Strengthen the administration and governance of the ALR and ALC to both increase public confidence and to ensure that land use regulation and land use decisions are preserving agricultural land and encouraging farming and ranching in the ALR.

Farming in an important industry in Metro Vancouver. Our region has the highest gross farm receipts per hectare in Canada. Our region is also home to half the population of BC. This means that farmland is under constant threat of urbanization. The Metro Vancouver Regional District believes that the following key initiatives will help perverse farmland in our region.

• Strengthen the ALC legislative framework to prevent non‐farm activities in the ALR.
• Create financial disincentives for non‐farm uses in the ALR.
• Modernize requirements for the classification of farm for assessment purposes.
• Encourage more agriculture economic development and value‐added enterprises.
• Expand avenues to maintain ecological services on agricultural land.
• Implement policy reform specific to the Metro Vancouver region.

The provincial government will be seeking input from the public and other stakeholders until the end of April. Recommendations resulting from this review will be put forward during Winter 2018/19.

Positive events and activities in Langley City on the rise; Timms Community Centre continues to see massive growth in usage

One of the big pushes for Langley City Council is to bring more positive activities into our community. Programming more events and activities benefits our community in three broad ways. It gives people somethings to do, builds a sense of community, and reduces crime.

One of the things that I hear from people regularly is that there is traditionally nothing to do in our community. By providing more positive activities in the community, it gives people a chance to get out and discover their community. Because city-supported activities are subsidized, it also provides opportunity for people who might otherwise not have the funds to pay for other entertainment options like seeing a movie, or going into Vancouver to see a show.

When people get out and about in their community, they start to get to know their neighbourhoods. This builds a sense of ownership in a community. There is a rise in loneliness among Canada’s seniors. Providing opportunities for more social interaction improves seniors’ quality of life. When young people have positive activities they can take part in, they are less likely to take part in negative activities.

Negative elements don’t like being visible. More positive activities draws more people out into the community. This means that there are more eyes and ears in our Downtown, our neighbourhoods, and our parks. This results in less negative activities in our community.

Langley City has been ramping up the number of events, tournaments, and other activities in our community. The following table shows the significant increase over the last three years.

Events	2017	2016	2015
Events - City Free	37	24	21
Events - City Paid	7	7	5
Events - Outside Organizations	40	35	25
Tournaments	12	8	7
Seasonal Programming	88	37	45

The following list shows some of the events and activities directly run by the City in 2017. This list doesn’t include events that the City supported, but didn’t run such as the Arts Alive Festival or the McBurney Plaza Summer Series.

• Bike to Work Week
• Canada 150 - Canada in our Backyard
• Canada 150 - Canadian Mosaic Project
• Canada 150 - Canadian National Film Day
• Caroling in the Plaza - 4 dates
• City Walks - 32 sessions
• Community Concerts at the Spirit Square - 2 dates
• Community Day
• Creative Kids - 18 sessions
• Family Day
• Family Fun Day
• Food Truck Festival
• Holiday Chaos
• Langley Walk
• Local Government Day
• Lunch & Lounge in McBurney Plaza - 18 sessions
• Magic of Christmas Festival
• Move for Health Day
• Movie in the Park - 3 dates
• Penzer Youth Action Park Grand Opening
• Pitch-In Day
• Push Play - 20 sessions
• Seniors Week
• Sounds of Summer Concert Series - 9 dates
• Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day
• Youth Halloween Party
• Youth Ugly Christmas Sweater Party
• Youth Week

Another huge success has been the new Timms Community Centre. The following table shows the massive 33% growth in usage between 2016 and 2017.

Drop-ins (with pass)	2017	2016	2015
Seniors	36,539	26,380	9,532
Adults	53,029	40,022	29,116
Students	5,011	2,212	12
Youth	17,377	12,630	5,045
Children	5,741	6,499	985
Family	2,862	1,335	n/a
Total - All Ages	120,612	89,078	44,690

The recently adopted 2018 Langley City budget continues the trend of increasing investment in events and activities in our community. Based on the response seen so far, I’m excited for the coming year.

Data shows Michaud Crescent and 201A Street traffic calming success, speed significantly down

At the beginning on the year, Langley City staff installed traffic calming at the intersection of 201A Street and Michaud Crescent as shown in the following picture.

Traffic calming at Michaud Crescent and 201A Street. Select image to enlarge.

City staff has been monitoring the speed of westbound traffic through that intersection for some time. This allows for a good comparison of motor vehicle speeds through the intersection before and after traffic calming was implemented.

85 percentile speed westbound at Michaud Crescent and 201A Street, September 10, 2017 thru September 15, 2017. Select chart to enlarge.

In September, the typical speed through the intersection was 50km/h.

85 percentile speed westbound at Michaud Crescent and 201A Street, January 28, 2018 thru February 7, 2018. Select chart to enlarge.

After traffic calming was installed, the typical speed dropped between 30km/h and 40km/h.

This is a significant reduction in speed. The following chart shows the likelihood of a fatality when someone walking in struck by someone driving a car.

The risk of pedestrian death when hit by a car or light truck, by age of victim. No surprise, #seniors are at greatest risk. V/@Com_Mobility pic.twitter.com/B24D22GIux

— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) June 26, 2017

As a note, traffic engineers use the 85 percentile speed when designing road infrastructure, and when measuring speed. According to the BC Ministry of Transportation the 85 percentile speed is “the speed at or below which 85 percent of the motorists are traveling.” No matter what design measures that are put in place, some people will choose to drive recklessly.

March 5, 2018 Council Meeting Notes: Redevelopment proposals, park improvements, and walking safety enhancements

So far this week, I have posted about the Langley Urban Agricultural Demonstration Project and the changes coming to transit service along Fraser Highway. Both items were topics covered at Monday night’s Langley City council meeting. Today, I will be posting about the remaining items that were on the agenda.

Redevelopment proposals continue to come in at a steady rate for the area of our community bounded by 200 Street, 53 Avenue, 56 Avenue, and Surrey. There were two rezoning applications to support proposed townhouse projects that were up for public hearing on Monday.

The first proposed project is located along 55 Avenue. Huntsfield Green was one of the first townhouse projects in the area, built in the early 1990s. When redevelopment in the area picked up a few years ago, the residents of this complex were concerned about the impact redevelopment would have on their quality of life. At the public hearing on Monday, Keith Green who is the president of Huntsfield Green, commended the developer of the proposed 55 Avenue project for being a good neighbour.

The proposed project is phase three of their “Terraces” townhouses. This proposed project will contain 64, 3-storey townhouses. As part of the proposed project, the developer also committed to contributing funds to enhance the western half of Brydon Park.

Render of proposed townhouse project located along 55 Avenue at 198 Street.

The second proposed 33 unit, 3-storey townhouse project is located along 56 Avenue at 196 Street. All access to the units will be via a lane way.

Rendering of proposed townhouse project at 56 Avenue and 196 Street. Select image to enlarge.

One of the features in both projects is that they will be electric vehicle-ready which will allow for easy EV charging station retrofits. Council gave third reading for rezoning for both proposed projects.

Land-use contracts were used back in the 1970s. These contracts supersede bylaws. In 2024, all land-use contract will be eliminated in BC. In the meantime, Langley City will terminate land-use contracts earlier at the request of an owner. The owner of 20217 44 Avenue asked for their land-use contract to be discharged to enable the underling zoning which permits secondary suites. As a note in Langley City, secondary suites are only permitted in owner-occupied houses. Council gave third reading to discharge the land-use contract.

Langley City council also provided consent to allow Abbotsford to leave the parks function of Metro Vancouver.

A slide showing one of the new LED lights installed at Douglas Park. Select image to enlarge.

Our Engineering department continues to be extremely busy with projects. A few of the projects that I wanted to highlight include:

• Two new pedestrian crossing signals which will be installed at 204 Street at 54 Avenue, and at 208 Street at 50A Avenue, by the end of March.
• New LED lighting in Douglas Park
• New Michaud Park Community Garden that will be ready for the growing season
• New Penzer Park washroom which will be completed by the end of July
• New Penzer Park parking lot which will be completed this spring

March 5, 2018 Council Meeting Notes: Fraser Highway B-Line plus a big change for Aldergrove transit customers coming in 2019

Sarah Ross, who is the Director of System Planning for TransLink, gave a presentation to Langley City council on Monday night about upcoming changes to transit service along Fraser Highway. As part of the Mayors’ Council’s 10-Year Vision for Transportation in our region, 11 new B-Line routes will be rolled out throughout the region.

Fraser Highway will see B-Line service introduced between Surrey Central and Langley Centre in 2019. Ross explained what this would mean for residents along the corridor.

Currently, the 502 and 503 provide primary bus service between the SkyTrain network and Langley City. The 502 is a local service along Fraser Highway which comes every 5 minutes during peak hours, 15 minutes outside of peak hours, and 30 minutes in the night and into the early morning.

The 503 provides express service along Fraser Highway between the SkyTrain network and Langley City, with local service to Aldergrove. This bus run every 30 minutes.

Because the 502 is a local service, and due to the extreme congestion along Fraser Highway, the total travel time between Surrey Central and Langley Centre is between 45 minutes and 60 minutes today. The 503 is an express service with a travel time between Surrey Central and Langley Centre of between 28 and 51 minutes depending on congestion.

Ross explained that the total travel time on the new B-Line between Surrey Central and Langley Centre will be around 40 minutes, and will stop as shown.

Proposed Fraser Highway B-Line stops. Select slide to enlarge.

From a customer perspective, this will provide faster access for more people along the Fraser Highway corridor. The new B-Line service will run every 8 to 10 minutes until 9pm. This will provide more frequent off-peak transit service than today. The new B-Line service will use bigger buses which will result in less crowded buses along this corridor.

There will be some changes that will impact customers negatively. The 502 service frequency will be reduced to 15 minutes between start of service and 9pm, with 30 to 60 minute service at night.

The biggest change will be to the 503 which provides service to Aldergrove. Ross stated that 20% of 503 customers travel beyond Langley Centre. TransLink is planning to discontinue express travel between the SkyTrain and Langley Centre, converting the 503 back into a local service along the whole corridor. This means that Aldergrove customers will have two choices: endure a longer commute between the SkyTrain and Aldergrove on the 503, or take the new B-Line between the SkyTrain and Langley Centre, then transfer to the 503 in Langley.

As I stated earlier, travel times along Fraser Highway vary significantly due to congestion. The following map shows average speeds. TransLink will be working with both Langley City and Surrey to implement transit priority measures to reduce this variability. The section of Fraser Highway through Green Timbers experiences the most severe congestion; it can be faster to walk. I hope that Surrey and TransLink are able to get buses moving faster along that section of Fraser Highway.

Speed & Reliability along the Fraser Highway Corridor. Select slide to enlarge. 

Ross stated that TransLink, in partnership with municipalities, will ensure that all B-Line stops have proper bus shelters. TransLink is also working to provide real-time next bus displays at these stops.

In the longer-term, Ross said that TransLink will be exploring installing other amenities at stops such as off-board fare payment.

TransLink will be seeking public feedback about these service changes along Fraser Highway over the next few months.

March 5, 2018 Council Meeting Notes: Langley Urban Agricultural Demonstration Project Not Moving Forward

The Langley City council chamber was packed on Monday night as council navigated a dense agenda which included three development related items, a report from TransLink, and the final report about the Langley Urban Agricultural Demonstration Project along the BC Hydro right-of-way.

The idea of investigating urban agricultural along the BC Hydro right-of-way was part of the 2009/11 City Strategic Plan. At the end of 2011, the City and Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) completed a preliminary plan for the concept. Based on this early work, KPU and the City were awarded $50,000 from Metro Vancouver’s Sustainability Innovation Fund to refine the earlier concept into a detail site and project plan.

Between February 2017 and 2018, the project team worked on creating the project plan. This included hosting a series of community open houses. What became clear as the project moved forward was that there was limited support for this project from residents in the area.

Based on the feedback received from the community, the project team refined the plan which included setting aside 76% of the land for non-food production uses such as a pollinator corridor, buffer planting areas, and habitat restoration.

The follow image shows the site plan that was ultimately suggested by the project team.

Langley Urban Agriculture Demonstration Project Proposed Site Plan. Select image to enlarge.

One of the elements of the plan that intrigued me was the pollinator corridor. As stated in the plan, “the pollinator corridor is specifically designed to attract and support a diversity of wild pollinators including; bees, butterflies, birds, and insects. These garden areas would be planted with a mix of native and non-native species.”

Rendering of proposed micro food production plots and tool storage area along BC Hydro right-of-way. Select image to enlarge.

This 23 acres plan would require around $1,000,000 to built out, and around $100,000 per year in annual operating support. The food production components would need to be managed by a non-profit agency, and by people from the community.

As I stated earlier, it was made clear to council that there was no desire by residents in the area to move forward with this plan. Council voted to receive the report for information, but to not move forward with the next steps as identified in the plan.

From a regional perspective, this plan could provide guidance to other communities that might be interested in exploring small-scale, local food production and education.

Throughout this week, I will be posting about Monday night’s Langley City council meeting.

100,000 reasons to start up a new business in Downtown Langley

The heart of any community is its downtown. If a community’s downtown is doing well, the whole community is doing well.

The Downtown Langley Business Association (DLBA) is one of the most active Business Improvement Area associations in our province. The DLBA organizes events like Arts Alive, Fork & Finger, and the McBurney Plaza Summer series. While Langley City does provide partial funding for these events, it is the strong partnership we have with the DLBA that ensures there is an increasing amount of positive events and activities happening in our downtown. The DLBA is also the new destination marketing organization for our community via Discover Langley City.

Independently-run, local businesses contribute back to our community more so than chains. Local business owners are more invested in their community as they usually have one location, and live in the same community where their business is located. These independent businesses create a sense of place with experiences that you won’t find at a mall. This is what makes each downtown a special place.

While most BIA’s have a business recruitment strategy, the DLBA has taken attracting a new independent retailer to the next level.

The DLBA has launched the “Start It Up Langley!” contest. For the entrepreneur with the winning idea for a new retail business, the DLBA will give them $100,000 in prizes to get off the ground.

The following package of prizes are included:

• 6 Months Free Rent
• Interior Contracting
• Exterior Signage
• Interior Merchandising
• Business Banking Account with $500
• Promotional Car Wrap
• Professional Business Coaching
• Brand Asset Development
• Website Development
• 6-Months Marketing Support
• Print Media Advertising
• Full Security System
• City Fees
• New Business Set-Up Legal Fees
• New Business Set-Up Accounting Fees
• Grand Opening Reception

If you’ve ever thought about starting your own retail business, or know someone who is thinking about starting a retail business, check out this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m excited to see who will win this contest, and what new retail concept they will be bringing our downtown.

Find out how to pay less property tax in Langley City with a prepayment plan

If you own property in Langley City, you must pay your property tax bill by the beginning of July. The majority of Langley City property owners pay their taxes as a lump sum payment, but over a quarter of property owners take advantage of the City’s tax prepayment plan.

Starting in July of every year, the City estimates what your following year’s property tax bill will be. Based on that estimate, on the 15th of every month, an equal instalment is withdrawn. By taking advantage of the City’s prepayment plan, you can avoid having to pay a lump sum of property tax.

There is another benefit, the City will actually pay you to use the prepayment plan. The City will pay you interest on your prepaid balance at a rate of prime minus 3%. As of today, the interest rate would be 0.45%.

More details on the prepayment plan are available on the City’s website. You can also download the Pre-Authorized Tax Prepayment Plan application form to get started.