Results from fall public consultation on Fraser Highway One-Way redesign

The water and sewer lines that are under the one-way section of Fraser Highway between Glover Road and 206th Street are in need of replacement. Because this will require extensive roadwork, Langley City decided that it would make sense to upgrade the streetscape/public realm while the underground infrastructure is being renewed.

During the summer, Langley City reached out to business owners, residents, and people who visit our downtown to ask what they would like the public realm to look like along the renewed Fraser Highway One-Way. Based on that feedback, two preliminary options were presented:

Option 1: Angled parking on both sides with larger clusters of trees at key locations. Select image to enlarge.

Option 2: Angled parking on north side, parallel parking on south side, with continuous street tree corridor. Select image to enlarge.

In September, the city gathered feedback from people about these two options. Recently, the results of this feedback were made available.

Based on the responses received, 54% of people preferred option one. The primary reason was because people thought option one had more parking than option 2. Both options have the same amount of parking. When adjusted for this fact, option two became the preferred option. Neither option stood-out as the clear choice from people that provided feedback.

The top reasons why people liked the proposed designs were due to:

1. Parking Changes
2. Wider Sidewalks
3. Increased Patio Space
4. 206 Street Entrance to Parking
5. Catenary Lighting (Like in McBurney Plaza)
6. Raised Pedestrian Crossings
7. Columnar Trees
8. Curbless Design

The biggest concern for people was around the changes in parking proposed in the options. Some people were concerned about the removal of 40 parking spaces, and the proposed introduction of 1-hour parking along the one-way. Langley City commissioned a parking study that suggested with better wayfinding to point people to underutilized off-street, long-term public parking, this would not be a concern. I would like to see a parkade in Downtown Langley though this is out of the scope of this project.

Some people thought that all motor vehicle traffic should be banned from the one-way.

Another area of concern was around the reduction of accessible parking from the current 10 spaces to 8 spaces.

Finally, people were also concerned about how allowing westbound motor vehicle traffic from 206th Street to the one-way would function. This will require more education.

Based on the feedback received, more work will be done to develop a preferred option for the Fraser Highway One-Way public realm.