Surrey badly underserved by a whole array of government services
Surrey had 517,887 residents in mid-2016, according to
census numbers released last week.
The continued growth makes it the 12th-largest city in the
country, not far behind Vancouver, which sits in eighth place with 631,486
residents. Interestingly enough, Vancouver is not just smaller than the two
largest Canadian cities, Toronto and Montreal. It also smaller than Calgary,
Ottawa, Edmonton and Winnipeg, as well as the largest Toronto suburban city of Mississauga,
which has 90,000 more residents than Vancouver.
The Metro Vancouver area is the third-largest urban region
in the country, and it wouldn’t be that way without large suburban cities such
as Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond and Coquitlam. Burnaby is the third-largest city
in the region, but at 232,755 residents, it is less than half the size of
Surrey.
Yet, if you look at the top eight cities in the country, and
compare their level of urban services, Surrey ranks far, far behind all of them
– in almost every category.
All eight have robust urban transit systems. Most have rail transit
as well as extensive bus networks.
Every single one of them has more than one hospital within
city limits. Surrey has just one, although Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock is
located right on the Surrey border.
It is highly unlikely that any of those eight cities have as
many portable classrooms as Surrey does, because in their cases, local and provincial
authorities have been able to build classrooms as needed. It is likely that in
some of those cities, school population is actually falling, as is the case in
Vancouver.
Surrey’s road network is pretty good, largely due to ongoing
improvements made by the city. But in which of the eight big cities do many residents
have to pay a toll to leave the city? Just one.
Vancouverites don’t pay any tolls, unless they happen to
come to Surrey via the Port Mann Bridge or use the Golden Ears Bridge. Toronto
has just had an ambitious plan to toll two major expressways shut down by the Ontario
government. There is a toll on the private Highway 407 north of Toronto
There are no tolls of any kind in Winnipeg, Ottawa, Edmonton,
Calgary or Mississauga. In the Montreal area, there are two toll bridges, but
there are also free alternatives, as also exist in the Surrey area.
One of the free crossings here is the Pattullo Bridge, opened
in 1937 and slated to be replaced by a toll bridge. Another is the Massey
tunnel, also set to be replaced by a toll bridge. The lone free bridge after those
new crossings are built will be the Alex Fraser Bridge, which is already hopelessly
congested during every peak period.
One can go on and on, but the basic fact remains – the Surrey
area (which can be expanded to include Delta, White Rock and the two Langleys)
is woefully underserved in many areas. It is the fastest-growing part of Metro Vancouver,
yet the projects on the books destined to improve basic government services are
years away.
In which of the top eight cities have there been no rapid
transit, and few bus improvements, since 1994? There is still no decision as to
whether SkyTrain will be expanded in Surrey. An LRT line along 104 Avenue and
King George Boulevard is set to be built, but it will not improve transit service
for those travelling outside of Surrey.
As for bus routes, there has been an expansion of bus services.
But the bus service remains modest, when compared to other areas of the region.
One promised bus service, access from Surrey over the new tolled Port Mann Bridge,
was never rolled out until pressure was applied by transit advocate Daryl Dela
Cruz. Finally, TransLink agreed to add a Surrey stop to the 555 express bus
from Langley to the Millennium SkyTrain line in Burnaby.
It’s great to be part of an expanding and growing city, with
many wonderful attributes, such as amazing parks, vibrant recreational
facilities and a talented and multicultural population. It’s great that there are
two universities directly servicing Surrey students.
However, it is long overdue that Surrey receive a much greater
share of many other government services.
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