Mayor George Harvie is asking Surrey counterpart Mayor Doug McCallum to make several considerations when it comes to Surrey’s revived plans for 84 Avenue.
After a heated debate, Surrey council recently voted in favour of a plan to connect 84th Avenue to King George Boulevard and 140th Street at the south end of Bear Creek Park.
The plan requires the construction of two missing sections for the road to be continuous on the Surrey side, but Delta is concerned about a flood of additional traffic that would spill over from Surrey.
The avenue on the Delta side is currently identified as a collector road, but on the Surrey side it is identified as an arterial roadway.
Noting Delta council continues to be concerned about an increase in commuter traffic as a result of such an extension, Harvie said public safety is “the utmost importance on this significant corridor.”
Harvie asked McCallum to consider reclassifying 84 Avenue as a collector road, provide cycling and pedestrian facilities along the corridor to encourage multi-modal transportation, as well as features incorporated into the road design to reduce speeds.
Harvie also asked McCallum to engage TransLink on the provision of enhanced bus service along 84 Avenue, connecting to a future SkyTrain extension.
“Delta staff have also been directed to monitor the traffic volumes along 84 Avenue and to bring forward additional traffic mitigation measures for consideration if warranted, especially if the future number of vehicular lanes were increased beyond the two-lane cross-section currently being envisioned,” added Harvie.
According to City of Surrey staff, the 84 Avenue plan represents a critical east-west corridor alternative, having the least environmental and property impacts as there are only two segments unconstructed between 120th Street and the Fraser Highway.
“Since 2009, the City has grown by over 100,000 residents and severity of traffic collisions and congestion is becoming increasingly worse in the area of 88 Avenue and King George Boulevard, further necessitating the need for completing the remaining two segments of 84 Avenue,” a Surrey report this year noted.
Surrey had considered completing the missing segment of 84 Avenue between King George Boulevard and 140 Street in previous years but didn’t proceed due, in part, to opposition from Surrey residents concerned about increased traffic and potential impacts to the park.
