Surrey council has directed city staff to assess the feasibility, costs, benefits and the impacts of extending 72 Avenue from 152 Street east to Highway 15 (176 Street) after a report on that topic came before the civic politicians on Monday, May 15.
A study is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2024 to then be put before council for consideration.
This comes on the heels of the controversial 84 Avenue expansion between King George Boulevard and 140 Street at the south end of Bear Creek Park opening to traffic this past week.
Coun. Harry Bains said considering the growth Surrey is seeing in Cloverdale, Fleetwood, Guildford and Newton this will be an important link between the west side and east side of Surrey “especially with the increased traffic we’re going to see along Fraser Highway.
“I’m hopeful we’ll see this road come to fruition sooner rather than later,” he told council.
Coun. Mike Bose said that this is typically not something he’d support but as Fleetwood has developed “we actually have a lot of farmland that’s now isolated and doesn’t have really adequate access through residential areas.
“So as much as I hate to lose farmland, especially for a road, because 87 per cent of all land taken from the ALR is taken by the government for infrastructure, I can be supportive of this,” Bose said. “But there’s also the Bear Creek Connector and to me, it’s one or the other, and for connectivity east-west in this city I think 72nd is an important avenue and maybe we could drop the 76/Bear Creek Connector to preserve a little bit of farmland. But as this is being investigated, what’s in it for agriculture? We have to make adequate access, drainage improvements best done when a road is built. So I’d like to see the study for this focus on the benefits that can be achieved for agriculture as we move forward. We do need another east-west connector.”
Coun. Doug Elford said the 72 Avenue expansion is “something that I think needs to happen” and Coun. Mandeep Nagra echoed that. “The 72 Avenue, let’s get this going, we need this,” Nagra said. Coun. Rob Stutt added it’s a connector that’s “long overdue, just to take the stress off of 64th alone.”
Mayor Brenda Locke asked city staff about an “either/or” scenario between the Bear Creek road and the 72 Avenue expansion. Scott Neuman, Surrey’s general manager of engineering, replied that when staff reports its feasibility study findings to council concerning 72 Avenue, “at that time we can then bring forward a recommendation to remove the Bear Creek Connector a la 76 Avenue from the city’s road networks in lieu of 72nd, so to speak, when we bring those forward at that time.”
Council also endorsed a strategy contained in a report entitled Short-Term Transportation Priorities by Neuman concerning plans to widen two sections of 72 Avenue – 144 Street to 152 Street and Fraser Highway to 188 Street – as part of an approved 10-Year Servicing Plan.
“The central segment, between 152 Street and Highway 15, is not within the city’s 10-Year Servicing Plan,” Neuman notes. “Along this five kilometre segment, a 20-metre-wide unopen road allowance exists through the Agricultural Land Reserve; however, a road through this area would require lengthy preloading, raising above the floodplain, and a bridge across Serpentine River.
“The estimated cost for this road segment is $75 to $95 million,” he says.
The aim is to improve east-west traffic flow in Surrey.
Meantime, council also approved a report Monday related to public engagement concerning the fourth phase of the Surrey Transportation Plan.
This second report, also from Neuman, indicates the results of this stage of public consultation will be reported to council this coming fall toward developing a final draft plan to be completed by the end of 2023 with a final plan to be brought to council in early 2024.
“The need for a new and updated plan was in response to a renewed emphasis on road safety, responding to climate change, new innovations in transportation technology, Surrey’s growing densities and urban form, and population growth,” Neuman explains.
“Engagement is anticipated to include key stakeholder interviews, meetings and focus groups, both virtual and in-person, broad community outreach with a robust communications strategy including traditional and social media, signage in parks, community centres, an online public survey, and a scientific probability survey, with the results reflective of the overall Surrey population.”
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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