Transportation and transit

I am very sorry to hear about your relative yesterday, that was an awful tragedy that all of us feel sick about. I wish there was something I could say to help you through that, but please know you have my condolences and we’re thinking of you and your family. When I was 11, my mom and I were driving to piano lessons after school and the vehicle in front of us hit a 5 year old boy on his bike right in front of an elementary school in Walnut Grove. He passed in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. This has shaped much of my thinking on safety; when my wife and I lived a couple doors down from Five Corners in Murrayville, I was always worried about my little ones being out front as people sped down 48th. In our candidate meetings, we talk about this a lot. As I’ve doorknocked with our team across the Township, it feels like every neighbourhood has gaps like this. We are committed to tackling those, adding more sidewalks and safe pathways for kids to get to school, finding ways to slow drivers on neighbourhood roads, and making the community safer. We want to make Langley the most child-friendly place in the region, and that starts with the smaller spends and details like sidewalks. A lot of politicians get hung up on big ribbon cuttings for massive facilities, but we know that livability and safety start with getting the little things right in a community. Sidewalks are a core need; we will look at increasing funding and keep getting these done. On your specific story, please reach out to me at jaylundgren@langleystrong.ca. When I’m elected, I will come walk the route with you and your kids and see first-hand what is going on. And again, our condolences for what your family is going through.

Our Langley Strong platform includes pilot projects to synchronize some series of lights. We will work with the Engineering department on potential corridors to test those out, and share the results with the public. On 200th specifically, that’s made more challenging by the rail line and Langley City, but that shouldn’t preclude us from trying in Willoughby and/or Brookswood. More broadly, we are committed to planning neighbourhoods as complete communities, with services built alongside new homes, not years behind them. We will also identify the Township’s busiest and most dangerous chokepoints and address them: a data-driven approach to making those priorities.

We are committed to building sidewalks, bike lanes and traffic calming with new construction, not added years later. We would also like to pivot staff to identifying gaps in the network, rank them by use/need, and then we can work down the list. This includes fixing buckling sidewalks, like the ones on the south side of 88th Ave. in Walnut Grove. The Arbour Ribbon is a unique opportunity as well. Started two decades ago, the Ribbon was envisioned as a way to buffer the urban areas on the west of the Township from the rural areas. There are still big chunks missing, but we would like to identify opportunities to connect the pieces and work, long-term, toward a natural park with trails and paths that stretch from the Fraser River to the U.S. border.

Barb is awesome! Public safety is more than just an election issue to her, it's what she’s spent her whole life pursuing. I'd love to ride it too. Reach out to me after I'm elected Oct. 17 and we will set something up!

That prioritization comes through consulting with the residents of Langley, and that's something that we really need to open up in Langley. We have one … community association left, where we used to have community associations in every community. So to hear the voices of the residents in Langley and hear what their needs are is a priority of Langley Strong. You'll see that in our platform at langleystrong.ca, which is a 31-page platform plan that outlines how we want to move forward with Langley. It's approximately 31 more pages than the Progress for Langley website has detailed in their plan, which is a four-word plan, Growth Pays for Growth. And I just refreshed my phone while I was sitting there to make sure that we're seven days away from early ballots and early election, or early voting, and we still haven't seen a plan come out from Progress for Langley. So it's important that I note that. Willoughby needs a community centre, 100%. That is our priority one. And we heard that four years ago. That Willoughby was going to be promised a community centre. And for us, it's about priority of projects. Now there's been some great single sport facilities made, built in this time. The amazing new arenas at Langley Events Centre that our four incumbents all endorsed and voted for. The soccer fields at Smith Athletic Park, again, the priority, do we need a huge soccer stadium, or could we have built 10, 15 fields in every community in Langley. With Murrayville, Brookswood, Walnut Grove, Aldergrove, would they have benefited from more fields instead of spending upwards of $150, $160 million on one single crown, beautiful stadium, but it is only one field. So these are priorities that we want to look at. How can we open up, like the mayor just said, there's wait lists for sports. One field doesn't take care of a wait list. 10 to 15 fields do. We could have covered them like Surrey did for a fraction of the cost. So these are things, as a group, we want to look at as a priority. But that, we get back to the priority of Willoughby. Willoughby has been promised a community centre. That should have been a priority, and that's going to be a priority of our team. That we bring a community centre, a pool, and a library to Willoughby, and service the 65,000 people that more people can benefit from than a single sport facility.

Well, I'm going to use my three minutes here because there's one thing I just wanted to mention too regarding that last question. Yes, in election year we did keep our taxes down at 3.97% but what we didn't mention in this answer is that we borrowed 79 million from internal reserves to cover that deficit and that's a huge thing because we can't continue to do that year after year to keep taxes low in an election year. So it's important that we note that. And that we're aware of it, because that 22.8% in their budget is real. It is real. SkyTrain, an amazing thing that's coming to Langley, but it also transports crime. It does bring opportunity, and that's something that we're going to really need to prepare for. It comes in three years, or sorry, two years from now. So the process starts now, bringing everyone to the table, from business associations to RCMP to neighboring communities, especially the city of Langley. We need to work together. Crime knows no borders, so we need to put together a plan that really includes each other and understanding what is coming to our community. Also, the bus transit and the feeder system into SkyTrain. It's important that we're working with TransLink to make sure that we're putting together a great plan that services all the areas in Langley and services SkyTrain. SkyTrain is an opportunity for our community. It's an opportunity for local businesses. It's an opportunity for growth and density in certain areas, like the Willowbrook area. And it all comes down to planning, consultation, and making sure that we are putting together a plan that takes advantage of that opportunity for business growth, for development growth, so that we can invite development back into our community. … communities, development that has been leaving for other communities where they aren't faced with the highest development charges in the province, and where there's cost certainty in development, we need to bring that and attract that back. We need to attract small business back into our community, where we've seen the CFIB give a rating of F for small business and permitting and process and fees. We need to improve that relationship with small business and medium business and attract them back into Langley so that we can take advantage of the amazing opportunities that SkyTrain will bring to our community. Thanks.

Because growth is not paying for growth, families and seniors are paying for growth right now. That's the reality. That's why the taxes are in the situation we're in. That's why they continue to rise. That's why they continue to be projected to rise. And developers that I've talked to as well are leaving Langley. They don't want to do business in Langley. And if you think about it from a business aspect, would you want to do business with a place that has no certainty to their costs? That has no certainty to their timelines? Time is money. We just got a 2.5 out of 10 in dealing with permitting as a township. This is an issue. It's chasing business away. So growth is not there. It's not paying for growth. It is the seniors. It is the families. And it shouldn't be. It should be the growth. It should be the development. And we need to attract it back into Langley. Transit is an important part. Sorry, clearing congestion in Langley is key. Many of the same roads that Mayor Woodward just listed are on our priority list. You can see them at langleystrong.ca. I'll also add 16th Ave to that. We need a widening of 16th Ave. It has now become a major truck route. … also add Fort Langley, the rerouting of the trucks from Fort Langley. Not only is it a nuisance when you're taking a walk through the beautiful area of Fort Langley, but it's a safety hazard, it's a safety concern having semi-trucks on Glover Road in Fort Langley. So these are issues that we need to address: 202nd, 200 Street, we need an widening, we need to prepare for the density and for commercial and for business in that area, and for RBT in that area, or BRT, sorry, Bus Rapid Transit in that area. So these are all things that we want to see. 208, it's great that it's done. It's something that all four mayor candidates campaigned on last election. So it's great to see that it's been done. And we need to continue that progress. We aren't anti-progress. We want to see these things done. That's why we want to put a budget in place that prioritizes things. Because with only a hundred million or so left of debt capacity, we are going to need a plan that pays off debt so that we can do these things, that we can provide infrastructure for Langley, for the residents, for business coming in. And that's important. That's why LangleyStrong.ca and our plan is important for you to research and look at to see that we are addressing all these important topics.

Yeah, the prioritization comes around, you know, what we hear from the residents in the Township of Langley over that eight-year period that I've been on council and watching council for years before that. You know, really listening and understanding and talking to sports groups and parents and consultation, all the open houses, all the feedback after so many years of adding so many people to Langley. Without that infrastructure plan, and one of the basic ones that is a top priority is completing the … the Willoughby Community Centre because of the 65,000 people today, never mind the population of Willoughby is going to be by 2035 or 2040 without that. And it's a chronic deficit around the ability to provide something as basic as swimming lessons for up to 100,000 people, not never mind today, but five years from now. Making sure that we have public safety in place for North Willoughby and Walnut Grove. And these are the top priorities for us next term is to complete a Willoughby Community Centre and show respect for seniors by actually having the first senior centre in the township of Langley. Providing Willoughby with a library, dealing with the chronic indoor training facility issues with gymnasiums and other deficits that Willoughby has to be addressed. And because of the impact it's having on the Walnut Grove Community Centre, W.C. Blair and other facilities throughout the township. If there is no plan, of which there is no plan, to address this, if our plan doesn't get done, the chronic situation in Willoughby is going to continue to impact all of us throughout the township of Langley. Whether you live in Salmon River, or live in South Langley, or live in Glen Valley, … live in Fort Langley. Not providing the facilities necessary, completing the infrastructure plan that we started this term to catch up with chronic lack of a forward-looking plan while the previous councils did open up development all over Willoughby, all at the same time, not finishing roads, Not addressing chronic deficits in youth sports and soccer and ice sheets and ball hockey, lacrosse. Now that those issues are solved and substantially solved for a very long time, we can move on to the next big issue, and that's solving aquatic capacity. Not just for youth swimming lessons, but for seniors, a proper senior centre, a library, gymnasium in a great location in the heart of Willoughby, … we ensure that when we require land for that project, that we don't spend that money and provide it to a land speculator or developer, but do we ensure that that funding remains in the Township of Langley to build a replacement school at Willoughby Elementary. It's a fabulous plan, and we need a board of education and a council that's going to approve it. Not gaslight you, say the debt's $800 million when it's $575, not tell you all kinds of misinformation to get you to vote for them. Please let us continue the infrastructure plan for the future of Langley. That's working.

Yeah, there's some really important aspects to that, but I'm going to come back to it in a minute. No reserves were used to offset property tax. Finance Department wouldn't go along with that. Again, I don't know where he comes up with this stuff. It's completely not true. The internal borrowing is done to defer external lock-ins to reduce costs for everyone. It's very, very smart to do that. And I'm happy … to get more into it if he wants me to. The issue we're having with SkyTrain I think is very clear, that the public safety aspect of it are well understood and well known. Langley City is going to be on the end of the line for the new SkyTrain extension. And this is going to significantly impact the township of Langley if we don't follow through with the action we've taken this term, which is that if the city of Langley, which they've so far made it clear that they're not going to, funding public safety adequately, that we need a Township of Langley RCMP detachment for township of Langley residents and taxpayers. This is critical. It's millions of dollars of tax money we need back for service levels for our residents to prepare for SkyTrain, especially in the Willowbrook and Willowbrook Mall areas and Langley Meadows and Routley. It's really critically important. And sitting on the TransLink board, as I do, I can see firsthand how much work it's going to take to continue to make sure that we have TransLink police in our communities, that we continue to actually see the province fund Bus Rapid Transit on 200 Street to help us finish that corridor and get residents a lower cost affordability option to get around the region for that commute. It's really, really important to us that we see that implemented. So this is why it was so critical that I was able to achieve with the Mayor's Council that 200 Street is the tier two priority corridor behind King George Boulevard. And that was a tremendous amount of relationship building and consultation and work with the TransLink board and the Mayor's Council throughout the region. The problem and the concern I have is that they have labeled the RCMP detachment a mistake in the last by-election. They're making it very clear that they either don't understand it or don't prioritize it. We have to prioritize the township of Langley's RCMP detachment for township taxpayers because of SkyTrain. And the Langley City, they have their position and I respect their position, but I serve the township of Langley and it's really important that we have township of Langley councillors that prioritize the township of Langley's residents. And this is what we are doing and we have to follow through on. They will not. And it's really, really critical that we understand this. They have labeled it a mistake. They have labeled it something that should not be completed. We have to prioritize public safety for SkyTrain. We have to get bus rapid transit done and funded in the next investment plan. And we need someone like myself with the experience that knows how to do that, doesn't know what he's talking about.

Yeah, so I'm going to, again, I don't, again, I don't know where to start. I'll say it again. The debt is about 575. It's not 800 or 900. I'm sure by tomorrow morning, it'll be a billion. You know, we have to get the facts straight. This is not, it's not funny, right? This is, this is real. This is real information that they just continually say this again and again and again as if it's true. See, community amenity contributions are not illegal. They just keep saying it like it is. It's infuriating to me because it just isn't true. Communities all over the province are collecting these revenues. Somehow they're only illegal when we're using them correctly to build facilities for the community. And a handful of people don't want to pay them. A handful of people don't want to pay them. So all of a sudden they're illegal. He just keeps saying it over and over and over again. Meanwhile, since that court ruling, we have collected millions, as a community, millions of dollars in community amenity contributions. How is that possible if they're illegal? It is nonsense. And the irony of the whole thing is it only ends up on the senior citizens tax bill if you vote for him. Because he's going to wipe them away. Hundreds of millions of dollars in development revenues will get wiped away if Langley Strong, is successful. Wiped away. And that's the irony of this whole thing. The taxes only go up to the degree they're talking about if you vote for them. This is how outrageous this is becoming. Again and again and again. Illegal when they're not. Because we've collected millions since this court case. And we have to continue to invest in our community. Such as transportation bottlenecks. Like 216th and Crush Crescent when you come down the freeway. That is the biggest bottleneck we're facing right now. 202 Street, 86th Avenue is a key second north-south corridor we have to finish so that when Bus Rapid Transit is under construction under my leadership hopefully next term in the next investment plan we can finish 200th Street, we have to get 202 Street finished completely first so that when 200 Street is under construction there's two finished north-south corridors. We need to finish 80th Avenue at 196th and 197th for residents on the west side of 200 Street. We need to continue to have a plan for Glover Road Highway number 10 in consultation with the province, the only two-lane section of number 10 highway from 232 to Delta. It's completely unacceptable that the province continues to ignore this, we're going to need as a community to continue to highlight that as the biggest bottleneck we have to address. We have to continue now to incrementally widen and improve roads, so we're not in the situation again in the future, if they were to take charge and have 10 more years of doing nothing, then we'll be back in this situation again 10 years from now while they wipe away hundreds of millions of dollars for their friends.

Well, as you've seen over the last four years, we've taken a lot of pressure off of 200th by finally finishing 208 After, what, over a decade of fooling around with that, we've also put in a very significant amount of bike lanes. And we've improved vital things, like if you look at what happened on 40th Avenue there, when the Atmospheric River in 21 took that down, it wasn't repaired properly and then a couple years later it dropped, it dropped at the wrong time so we had to have that out of service for something like eight months. Compare that to 216 now where we went ahead, that is off for two months because you have to deal with federal government, with DFO, you have to deal with the Ministry of Environment, low water flows and also trying to fit it into a time when there's not a lot of road users. I look at it a different way also too, I look at it for emergency services, made sure that when we're talking to transit that the BRT line is also available for emergency vehicles and that's vital because sometimes when you get into a collision scene you have to make sure you can get through that believes police, fire and ambulance. Thank you.

Thank you Cory, and Lauren Chalus with Langley Strong I think I'll start with BRT I think that is vitally important especially with the expansion that we have seen within the Township and I fully support it with the movement of people going from the Township and back and forth to Maple Ridge But also with the SkyTrain we need to be ready We need to have a plan in place to support the commuters whether that is bus feeder networks across the Township connecting into the core to be able to take the SkyTrain whether that's looking at a parking strategy so that we can make sure that commuters have somewhere to park to be able to safely and properly use the SkyTrain but as well approach or adopting the approach of park once and walk often And this could be having you know employment and commercial centers enforcing this so time limits associated with how long that people can park for better access for commercial and industrial to any new developments that we're planning up 200th because 200 it's likely going to be a commercial and employment hub. And we need to make sure that we are ready for it. Thank you,.

Thank you for the question. And we've been hearing a lot from residents that having better transportation in the township of Langley is something that's extremely important to them, and also specifically in Fort Langley. And our platform is committing to improving regional transportation and making sure that Langley is ready for the Skytrain. Part of that will include working with TransLink to design stronger feeder bus networks, as well as expanding the park and ride capacity, which I think is vitally important for our commuters. As well, we'll be working with neighboring municipalities to advocate for transportation investments across our region. This Skytrain is expected to be done in 2029, and we need to be ready. Good transportation is not just about building a Skytrain. But making sure that every community will actually benefit from it.

Yeah. First of all, some housekeeping. The Chamber's got an awful lot of questions here. You have questions regarding taxes, safety, industrial transportation. The first thing the Progress for Langley is going to do, we'll sit down with you. And rather than a minute and a half trying to solve every Chamber problem there, we'll sit down with you your leadership and we'll go over them as we'll roll up our sleeves or get it done I think the answer is in we've got buses coming we want safety around SkyTrain stations you want all sorts of implementations of things regarding transportation we want to sit down and talk to you about not just for transportation with all the Chamber … that's my housekeeping.

This is an important issue for our community. We've got bus rapid transit … We've been working with TransLink for a number of particular things in Gloucester. We want to improve Salmon River uplands for part and also we want to make sure everything is in play for Skytrain. A little bit of history on Skytrain. If it wasn't for a decision between the township of Langley and Surrey, that would not have come down to the city of Langley. So I'm very committed to transportation for the next three, four years.

Thank you Cory for the question. There are a couple of items that we can do in the Township of Langley. The first is we should support we look forward to supporting the BRT which is going to come across the 200th. Second thing is we need to work on our roads and infrastructure and make sure that our roads are able to handle the traffic volume that comes east-west corridor as well as make sure that businesses are well supported with that. Another thing that we will advocate for is to ensure that we encourage residents … to park so that and then facilitate walk around complete their tour. This would include that they can do their shopping, go to the appointment, and then they can take the transit as well. One thing which is in our platform is restoring relationship with associations. An example is TransLink. We need to work with the Metro Vancouver Transit to make sure that we have routes that feed into the system and our businesses are well supported. A good example is the new bus service that came to Gloucester. That's really helpful. But we need to make sure that there's more service that more stops are added and more businesses are supported. Thank you.

Thank you for the question. I think the most important thing for us is to get ready for the SkyTrain, Langley. And we need to make sure that we have routes for all the neighbourhoods that are in our community. One of the things that our platform speaks on is also respecting our relationship with neighbours. So we need to have alliance with Surrey, Maple Ridge, Abbotsford, and make sure that we work with TransLink as one team. And we kind of bring more direction and traffic here so that we have all the connections that are required as well. Thank you.

Barb Martens, Langley Strong. Yes, I support BRT I'm coming forward on 200th. We need to get ahead of it and be planning for what that's going to look like for us. I think one thing we need to keep in mind is the routes that we're looking at that aren't already a traffic fiasco that we're going to add to those problems. And I think we need to plan around not just the movement of people, but the movement of goods. Every part of the network needs to keep moving Roads, transit, walking, cycling. BRT … be taking up roads and I'm thinking specifically in North Langley of 202 and I do have a concern around that area if anybody lives up there it's a complete traffic chaos. It would be good to pilot smart synchronized signals along the corridor to keep things moving and what we can do more generally is have a regional committee working together to advocate for transit needs in this area in this entire region not just try to do it on our own and when we work together and build bridges with other municipalities. We can have a much more powerful voice in Victoria and with TransLink and in getting funding from those sources. Thank you.

Thank you. Barb Martens from Langley Strong. The Rainbow Crosswalk has been repeatedly vandalized, and simply repainting it every time isn't a solution. After the most recent incident, Council asked staff to come back with options around enforcement, by-law changes, and recovering costs. I brought forward an amendment asking staff to look at crime prevention through environmental design. I'd like us to look beyond paint. Nanaimo installed a more durable thermoplastic pride crossing with the colour built into the material. I would like options that give taxpayers the best long-term value. At the end of the day, this is public property, but it also is a symbol that everyone belongs in our community. We need a practical solution that makes repeated vandalism harder and stops us from simply repainting the same problem. Thank you.

Yeah, well, we've mentioned BRT. It's an important tool that we can use to get around the Township and not just in our cars. We have other options and hopefully we can expand that out. Relieve some of the traffic congestions, make people move faster, be able to get home, spend more time with family rather than sit in traffic like we all hate. I know you do as much as I. It was mentioned Glover. Glover isn't a really important transit through … for our trucks. We need to make sure that is widened that we can actually build that infrastructure out so that trucks, people aren't sitting in traffic, but we can get our goods from the bypass up to … Highway one efficiently and effectively, moving goods. Third is Fraser Highway widening. That is a project that needs to be completed. Again, making sure that trucks and our main arteries we're able to move and drive and have other access points. And the last piece is 202 needs to be completed. We need … That is a quagmire through North Langley that needs to be fixed, needs to be completed, worked on, and I hope we can move forward with that in the next Council. Thank you.

Benjamin Neff, so like what was just said, Council has already put a motion forward in terms of getting a report to get actual concrete solutions for this. And so we have to look forward to that reports return and actually move forward with the recommendations that are there. But more importantly, we also have to recognize that these public symbols, they are public symbols. And this creates a dialogue that we have to engage with every day. This comes about education. It's not just crime prevention. It's about education so that people know what's happening, why it's being happened, and how we can engage better in our community, have better dialogue and avoid these situations from happening in the future, especially if there's certain motives that are behind situations like this.

You know, infrastructure on the roads is a problematic for not just in Langley, but everywhere right now, especially the area that has a rapid population growing. I have a similar experience in, another region working as executive director of Burnaby North Road BIA. Traffic is more horrible there What we did and what I did was talking to the business owners and the residents around the area I get a public hearing a consultation and feedback from the local people who actually gets impacted on the area and what we do is talking with different levels of government municipal provincial and seek for help from MLAs and MPs and finding a great solution to solve the problem and also not just talking to the local governments and provincial government what we should do is talking to TransLink a lot of conversations needed in order to solve the problem because we cannot solve the problem just by looking at just the numbers and the things that on the paper we have to actually listen from the residents who are in trouble with and that's my way of approaching things and make things moving progressively. Thank you.

Hi, June Park, Progress for Langley, thanks for the question. So nobody wants to see any vandalism on the public property. It happens everywhere, but we don't want to see that happening on our public assets, and especially in Fort Langley when the place is so historical. The cameras have been installed, but it doesn't solve the problem. So what we need to do is find the people who did it with the cameras, more cameras needed, and find them accountable for what their actions are. A council, next term, will definitely work with the residents. They should not pay for all the repairs, because it keeps happening, and that all goes to residents' shoulders. And we'll not make that happen again by installing more security systems around the Fort Langley area. Thank you.

Mike Parker, independent candidate. So I believe council's been working this term on adjusting the truck route to bypass Fort Langley already. So I'd continue this work. And once that's established, use our new commercial bylaw vehicle enforcement to make sure that trucks aren't using Glover Road to get around, as well as using enforcement in Glen Valley to make sure that trucks aren't using it for truck parking illegally.

Michael Pratt, progress for Langley. Our team this term has made sure that the detailed design for the new truck route out of Fort Langley is actually ready to go, so that as soon as the TransLink final approval and the ALC approvals before that are granted, we will be able to fund it immediately. We're the only team that's actually committed to funding it. We know how to fund it. We will get it done, and we will get it out of Fort Langley after so many years of waiting.

Yes, I support this. For One of the examples is Mayor … got the Gloucester transit in place. And we'll continue advocating for a BRT. But you need to also put, I think, transit stops in Salmon River, as well as make sure that we build a BRT that would work for the residents and the community. That's why I think the example is that 200 corridor, while continuing to invest in roads, including like widening the 200 street improvement. And improving the 86th Avenue Street as well. Transportation planning has to work to consider parking, commercial access, truck movement, and how employees get to work. So I support the BRT. Thank you.

Sarb Rai for the Progress for Langley team. This is one issue that I heard quite a bit about when I was door knocking and some feedback I took back to Mayor Woodward. I would like to see the truck route moved out of downtown Fort Langley. A lot of the planning, like Councillor Pratt has said, has already been done. The next step would be completing the necessary upgrades, securing the remaining approvals and the funding that the constructions may need to make the route change happen. My focus, if elected on Council, would be to work on this and finish it across the line. Thank you.

By listening very closely and very respectfully to all of their voices because they all have valid points of view and we have we have to move goods via trucks, they need truck parking and they need arterial roads because time is money for businesses. Congestion causes problems and increased … cost for businesses. We also have to take care of pedestrians. Now I'm super happy that we're getting this BRT. … line. It's only been like 15 years in the making. But that's one set of options. We still need roads. We still need those roads to work effectively. And the Chamber's paper did remark on using some new technology initiatives and AI help. Not that I like AI, but that's another story. AI in order to keep the traffic moving. So that's what I would do. At Council table. Thank you.

So transportation is something that affects everybody in this room. You got here today through the use of roads. … But if you work in Vancouver, if you work in Richmond, sometimes it could take up to 10 minutes to just get off Highway 1 at 200th Street. And I feel like that's ridiculous. They haven't been investing in infrastructure. The previous councils haven't. And this is the price that we're paying for now. We really need to be investing in our TransLink corridors. Whether it's 200th Street, the SkyTrain is going to be coming to Langley. We need to reimagine how traffic is going to get to where they need to go. The other thing is from a business perspective, traffic is a handicap when it comes to being competitive in … Lower Mainland Market, If you want to get your goods to Vancouver, to other parts of the region, you need to sit through that traffic. We have a big industrial base here. I'll give you an example. Costco here, they service about eight different warehouses here in the Lower Mainland, and it all comes from this Langley Distribution Center by the Golden Ears Bridge. And we really need to be doing more to get businesses to come here and say, "Hey, we're gonna invest in our roads. You're going to get goods from one part of the region to another in the fastest possible way, and invest in Langley here.

Well, moving forward, I would say Glover Road is a big one for us. And it takes more than one government. It takes more than municipal. It takes several levels of government. So we need leadership that has good relationship with all levels of government. And that's where Progress for Langley is. Eric has been working really hard and diligently at that. Another thing to mention is the truck route through Fort Langley. That's another project that we've been working on. And getting that truck route off that main corridor to protect the people that live there So they don't have to listen to all that noise. Thank you.

So I'm a big fan of BRT. I think it's critical, especially along the 200th street corridor. Having the ability to move people, transportation along that corridor is vital for our community. It's connecting peace to SkyTrain station at Willowbrook mall, and without that kind of coordination and enhanced plan for transportation, It's just going to cause further problems. I think there are problems. That we need to look at In terms of … feeding … transportation lines towards the … corridor, that's going to be a critical component that needs to be evaluated and make sure that we have that done very well. In terms of … what was the other last? … [The moderator repeated the second part of the question.] Oh, … yeah, well, I'm a fan of active transportation of bike lanes. I think they're essential. What we have to do is make sure that, obviously, it's not impeding, uh you know, vehicles and transportation, um major transportation carrying goods. Thank you.

Yes, Blair Whitmarsh with Langley Strong. Certainly, you know, on the transportation topic and getting around, I think it is critical that we recognize that Langley Township is not an island to itself. We are part of a region, And the region is important for transit. So working well with the other communities, restoring relationships that would help us to be much better at developing a regional transit network. As far as other kinds of infrastructure that we need, there are some continuation of widening of roads. I think Fraser Highway, the widening was good. I think we can continue to do that. Glover Road is a real choke point in the Township. Long waits in the line to try and turn left up to 216th. That's an area that needs to be addressed. Can't stay the way it is. We need to address that from a transportation point of view and I do think that we need to have public transit available to some of the wider communities not just here in Willoughby which is an important area and certainly BRT I'm fully supportive of but also better transit to places like Aldergrove Fort Langley into Brookswood thank you very much.