Surrey is being badly shortchanged on transit
Public transportation has become a key issue in many lower mainland civic elections, but nowhere is the lack of service more acute than in Surrey . Surrey has become a have-not city when it comes to public transit. Residents are understandably fed up with abysmal transit service. We are not prepared to wait any longer. It’s time to get our fair share now. For two decades, Surrey has been growing at an unbelievable pace of over 10,000 new residents each year. But transit – like schools, hospitals and other infrastructure – has not kept pace. Surrey has become the poor
Op-ed on TransLink fare hike, broken governance structure
Translink’s Board continues to show it has lost touch. Commissioner Martin Crilly recently confirmed that Translink will hike fares by a whopping 12 per cent in 2013. TransLink likely doesn’t care that most Surrey residents take exception to a 12 per cent fare hike on top of what are already some of the highest per-kilometre fares in the country. Combine fare increases with a recently-announced two-cent-per-litre gas tax, tolls on the Golden Ears, Port Mann and Pattullo bridges upwards of $3 each way, and inadequate public transit service, and it’s clear Surrey is paying more and getting less. Every transportation
To tree or not to tree
A neighbourhood concept plan that will bring 9,000 new people – in Grandview Heights is 100 per cent opposed by the city’s own ecological management study. Surrey City Council is set to once again bulldoze a forest the size of Redwood Park.
Surrey Leader, Feb. 24 2011: Former SET ‘gang’ is back together
I see the old SET gang has re-united. Now we know who’s on First. Marvin Hunt supports secret deals for George Bush, overcrowded schools, and $200 million in intentional debt – an all-out free-for-all for those with money to pull the strings. But enough about SET/First. Click here to read the full story.
Made-in-Surrey portables crisis – Opinion
Surrey school district superintendent Mike McKay has gone public. Recently, McKay went to the media in Surrey to point out that the district needs—not wants—$250 million. This money would go toward building two new high schools and four to five elementary schools, and would begin solving the city’s notorious portables crisis. Surrey’s school district, like the city, is still growing rapidly. McKay argues that we need a “made-in-Surrey” solution. Frankly, we have a made-in-Surrey problem. City council, dominated by Surrey First, has continued to approve virtually limitless development despite knowing that there has been no new capital funding for Surrey
Time for a Living Wage in Surrey – Opinion
The time has come for Surrey to follow the lead of New Westminster and endorse a living wage policy. A ‘living wage’ is meant to reflect the actual income required for a two-earner, two-child household to live above the poverty line. Adopted at the civic level, it would apply to anyone working for the city. As most city staff are all already above this level, the policy is aimed at independent contractors working for the city. The living wage policy passed unanimously by New Westminster Council last September will see workers paid at least $16.74 per hour. This month, Esquimalt
Educational funding formulas should be a key leadership issue – Opinion
These days in B.C. politics, most people’s attention is on the pending leadership races taking place in both major provincial parties. Serious contenders have declared their intention to seek the leadership of the B.C. Liberals and the New Democratic Party, yet the debate around policy, ideas, and the changes they will bring to their party (and potentially government) have been somewhat lacking. This is especially true of any serious discussion around fixing the education system, and nowhere is it more apparent than in Surrey. Potential leaders need to be asked about the widespread funding gaps and school closures taking place
Light Rail Transit for Surrey – Opinion
Surrey residents were invited to “be part of the plan” as TransLink held public consultation sessions on various technology options for future rapid transit service. The four technology options proposed at the meetings were rapid rail (SkyTrain), light rail, rapid bus transit, and what TransLink calls “best bus” service, where all dollars are funnelled into expanding bus service to a much higher capacity, without any capital investment in rapid transit infrastructure. At this point in the planning process there is no plan for where the dollars for these transit service expansions will come from. But what was most obvious at
SCC calls for a solution to portables crisis – Opinion
Surrey has not done a good job of ensuring its infrastructure keeps pace with its rapid growth. The pace of growth—about 1,000 new residents per month for the past 20 years—has helped Surrey build a bigger tax base, create jobs at home, and generally assume its rightful place as the urban centre south of the Fraser River. But in terms of services for its citizens, Surrey continues to fall further behind. Perhaps nowhere is the infrastructure deficit felt more than in education. Surrey has been the province’s largest school district for many years now, but no capital funding for a
Arts Investment in Surrey – Opinion
In the new knowledge economy, cities that are most able to attract the highly skilled, intellectual and creative people who drive society’s innovation, are the ones that will thrive economically. Just ask Richard Florida, one of my favourite authors and writer of The Rise of the Creative Class. Success in a knowledge economy will depend largely on a metropolitan area’s ability to draw intellectuals, artists, professionals and skilled immigrants from around the world. So given that most people in Surrey want the city to succeed economically, from a business standpoint, what should be done? Well, the answer doesn’t seem to