Highway #1 Widening will happen over time BUT it is not the Solution, even if you want to wait 30 years.
Here is Why.
Mayors, Councillors, MLAs and MPs, past and present, have promised us Highway Widening, suggesting it is the priority, that it will happen soon, and solve our problems.
This is totally disingenuous.
Two present examples of the realities of widening: first, 202nd to 216th, and second, the newly added 216th to 264th phase. All discussion has been about adding 1 HOV lane each way, which is what the below calculation is based on. IF it were about two lanes, you could double the time and cost required.
The following is the time reality, in terms of financial, planning and construction phases. These are real numbers and not a politician’s dream. Their promises are impossible.
While the widening is inevitable, and it will happen over time, it WILL take multiple decades. By the time we are finished, we will be worse off than we are today.
That is, unless we initiate an affordable and effective public transit option spanning our region, such as Passenger Rail.
Express Buses on Highway #1 do not work, as they get tied up in the same congestion we are complaining about and trying to solve.
Highway numbers:
- 202nd to 264th = 13 kms at a total cost of $294 million (cost shared, Prov., Feds and TOL) started in 2017 due to finish in 2025 (8 Years).
- Distance, Langley to Chilliwack is 56 kms @ 3.25 kms per 2 years equates to finishing an HOV lane each way by 2051, over 30 years from now!
- The exponential increase in growth and traffic will out strip the benefits of widening by three times than what it is today! Based on projected growth, in 8 years, by 2025 (completion of first project above) traffic will still be worse than it is today!
- The above assumes that all Provincial, Federal, and Municipal budgets align annually, and that planning would start now and not stop until finished.
- Estimated total cost of widening in 2018 dollars – over $1.2 Billion! It will not solve our problem!
- The Township of Langley contributed $41,433,000 on the two projects above. is a precedent now set for Provincial/Federal projects? What will it cost Abbotsford and Chilliwack to do the same? Are they prepared to commit those dollars?
Do you want to continue to put up with this?
OR have the option of NEW Hydrail Service!
Hydrail Passenger Rail…. Some Facts:
- 1,000 Kms per refuel
- 15 minutes to fill a tank
- Up to 300 passengers per train
- The COMPLETE Green Alternative to heavy polluting diesel
- Emissions Free
- Perfect case, showing leadership with CleanBC; Provincial legislation
- Incredibly quiet service
- Estimate 90 minutes travel time, Pattullo Bridge to Chilliwack, or less
- 30 minutes from Langley City to Pattullo Bridge, or less
- 30 minutes from City of Abbotsford to Langley City or less
- 45 minutes from City of Abbotsford to Newton, or less
…. 99 KM Rail Corridor, protected for passenger use, at no cost for use!
…. Serves 16 Communities and 14 Post Secondary Institutions
…. Serves Fraser Valley First Nations, Tourism and Agi-Tourism
The Interurban Passenger Corridor:
Despite the fact Hydrail on the Interurban is a perfect environmentally friendly CleanBCsolution,
There is simply NO other reasonable and affordable option that provides access to affordable housing and supports an improved quality of family life.
Sincerely,
Rick Green
President of SFCRS
Former Mayor of the Township of Langley (2008 – 2011)
On Behalf of the South Fraser Community Rail Society
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connectthevalley/
Contact Rick Green for any additional information: 604-866-5752
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