First Look at Proposed Enhancements for Brydon Park

One of the keys to creating a happy, healthy, and safe community is by having great public spaces. Having great public spaces is critical in higher density neighbourhoods where people have limited or no private green space.

The Brydon area in the Nicomekl neighbourhood west of 200th Street is undergoing a transformation from an area with primarily single-family housing, into an area that is mostly townhouses and apartments. The neighbourhood’s Brydon Park is in the planning stages for its transformation from a mostly passive park, into a park with high-quality amenities to serve this growing area.

Langley City is hosting an open house to get feedback on the proposed design. The park will be built-out in two phases. Phase one will be built, pending budget approval, within the next few years. Phase two will be built in the next three to five years. The following images show the proposed design for the park.

Proposed design for Brydon Park in phase one. Select image to enlarge.

Phase one is proposed to include a:

• Water play area
• Sand volleyball court
• Group picnic area with picnic shelters
• Community table
• New washroom building
• Outdoor fitness equipment area
• Dog off-leash area
• Perimeter trail lined with trees

Proposed design for Brydon Park in phase two (option one.) Select image to enlarge.

Proposed design for Brydon Park in phase two (option two.) Select image to enlarge.

Phase two is proposed to include an additional:

• Youth activity and social area
• Sports court
• Enhanced play area for children with social area for parents (option two only)

The enhanced play area in option two would be accommodated by relocating the existing playground equipment.

The open house is scheduled for:
Date: November 14, 2018
Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: CKF Room, Langley City Hall, 20399 Douglas Crescent

If you are unable to attend the open housing, please visit the City’s website after November 14th for other ways to submit your feedback.

October 29, 2018 Council Meeting Notes: Final meeting for Mayor Schaffer and Councillor Arnold. Craft Brewery Approved.

Last night was the final meeting of the current Langley City council. The inaugural meeting of the new council will be held at 7pm on Monday, November 5th. This was the last meeting for Mayor Ted Schaffer and Councillor Jack Arnold who were first elected to council in 1990, along with Councillor Gayle Martin.

Councillor Paul Albrecht presented Mayor Schaffer with the UBCM Long Service Awards. Mayor Schaffer and Councillor Arnold gave some words about their years on council. All of council gave both Mayor Schaffer and Councillor Arnold a standing ovation to thank them for their dedication to our community.

Council gave final reading and approved issuing development permits for the following projects. I’ve provided links to the original posts where these projects were discussed.

• 19941,19943,19951, 5444 Brydon Crescent and 5461 199A Street to accommodate a 77-unit, 4-four storey apartment development
• 19607, 19619, 19629, 19649, 19655 55A Avenue to accommodate a 33-unit, three-storey townhouse development
• 5423, 5433, 19900, 19910, 19920, 19930 Brydon Crescent to accommodate a 127-unit, four-storey apartment development
• 19868 Langley Bypass to permit a maximum of 25% of the total gross floor building area for individual commercial tenants to be less than 4,000 sq. feet
• 20555 56 Avenue to accommodate and regulate the development of a microbrewery.

Council also received the results of the Langley City local election. You can view the official results on the City’s website. Councillor Martin presented a motion that staff investigate mail-in ballots for the next local government election. This motion passed with universal support.

New Mayors, SkyTrain, and transit’s future in Metro Vancouver. What does it mean for the South of Fraser and Langley?

In preparation for the transit plebiscite in 2015, the region’s mayors got together and agreed on a transit vision for our region. It was a herculean effort to get a vision that all parts of the region could get behind.

The original vision was to be funded by a 0.5% increase in sales tax, but this was rejected by voters. To move forward, the plan was split into three phases. Phase one was approved in mid-2016, when the federal government, provincial government, and region came to a funding agreement. This took a lot of negotiation.

Funding for phase two of the vision, which included the Broadway SkyTrain extension and Surrey Light Rail along 104th Avenue and King George Boulevard, was approved this spring.

Phase three would have seen light rail built along Fraser Highway between Downtown Surrey and Downtown Langley. Phase three is currently not funded.

It was a difficult 4-year journey to get to where the vision stands today.

With the recent election of the Doug McCallum slate in Surrey, it appears that Surrey Light Rail is off the table. While he alone doesn’t have the power to cancel a project, I can’t see the region forcing a project into a community that doesn’t want it. What does this mean for the future of rapid transit for Langley, the South of Fraser, and the region as a whole?

In one scenario, Surrey Council could look at the numbers and realize that the cost of cancelling Surrey Light Rail would be too much. They would continue with the current vision. This is unlikely.

In another scenario, the majority of the region’s mayors could decide to re-open the transit vision. In this case, most transit expansion stops including the Broadway SkyTrain extension and B-Line service expansion like what is proposed along Fraser Highway.

Another four years is spent coming to a new agreement on what the future of transit should look like in our region. At risk is both federal and provincial money, and delaying much needed transit service as more people get stuck in congestion.

A likely scenario is that the current Surrey Light Rail project will be cancelled with the remaining funding used to build an expansion of the Expo Line along Fraser Highway. The rest of the vision would remain as-is; there would be no rapid transit along King George Boulevard or 104th Avenue for the next 15+ years.

The total budget for the current Surrey Light Rail project is $1.65 billion. The cost to build SkyTrain is estimated at $2.9 billion from Surrey to Langley.

Given the difference in costs, the SkyTrain extension would have to be built in two phases as the federal and provincial government aren’t committing new money to build SkyTrain. The first phase of the SkyTrain extension would likely terminate in Fleetwood. This would be similar to the original 2008 Provincial Transit Plan for Metro Vancouver.

Map of rapid transit expansion as envisioned in the 2008 Provincial Transit Plan select map to enlarge.

Phase three of the ten-year transit vision earmarks around $1.95 billion to build light rail to Downtown Langley. If the rest of the region’s mayors confirm the 10-Year Vision and are able to plug the current funding gap for phase three, there would be enough money to extend SkyTrain to Downtown Langley.

With so many new mayors in our region, I am not confident that phase three will go ahead as currently planned. Over the next year, it will become clear what the future of transit will look like in our region. My hope is that Langley City doesn’t get left behind.

The ideal areas to build affordable housing for families and seniors in Langley City

When people talk about creating affordable communities, housing is generally what comes to people’s minds. While providing affordable housing is a critical component of the affordability equation, so is providing affordable transportation options.

Affordable transportation options include walking, cycling, and public transit.

Based on this fact, Metro Vancouver created a housing and transportation cost burden map. The map shows that people who live near public transit can have a lower cost of living. The provincial government also has a handy calculator which shows how various housing and transportation combination can impact affordability.

A map of transportation costs in Metro Vancouver by census area. Select map to enlarge. Source: Metro Vancouver.

Given the critical link between transportation and affordability, I created a rough map that shows where in Langley City is within a 10-minute walk of frequent transit. It is these areas where the City needs to focus on encouraging affordable housing options.

The map includes some areas that are industrial lands, which are protected from general urban development, but it should give a rough idea of the area within a 10-minute walk of higher-quality transit.

Affordable housing can mean many different things to people. There are three areas that Langley City could focus on when it comes to affordability: working with nonprofits and BC Housing to provide subsidized housing for low-income seniors, working with the Metro Vancouver Regional District to support subsidized housing for families, and zoning certain areas for rental-only. These should all be within the 10-minute walking zone.

Over the next year or so, council will be working on updating our official community plan and zoning. This map will be on my mind when it comes to conversations around affordability.