Residents, businesses along Surrey-Langley SkyTrain route brace for change
SkyTrain route that connects King George station to Langley City Centre expected to operate in 2029
Surrey, B.C., resident Donald Wade carries a camping chair from his Clayton condo to a sidewalk along Fraser Highway to watch construction crews get to work on the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension.
Massive drills pierce through the ground as the senior watches from across the street.
"I'm really fascinated by this kind of stuff, because I was in heavy industry all my life," Wade told CBC News.
The Surrey-Langley SkyTrain will connect King George Station to Langley City Centre. Two of the eight additional SkyTrain stations will be built in Surrey's North Cloverdale and Clayton communities, traditionally rural areas near farmland.
Residents like Wade expects the SkyTrain will dramatically change the community.
"All these trees will be coming out of here, and this will be heavy residential," said Wade.
Residents in the community have mixed feelings on how the SkyTrain will alter the fabric of the community as heavy construction work on the project begins. The SkyTrain extension is expected to be completed by 2029. Until then, businesses along Fraser Highway have to navigate lane closures, traffic diversions, and heavy machinery.
At the popular Honeybee Centre, owner Cassie Gibeau says her customers have had difficulty accessing the store.
"People are complaining a little bit about getting into Honeybee Centre and the amount of traffic on Fraser here," said Gibeau.
Gibeau said it hasn't affected the bottom line, and she hopes the SkyTrain proves to be a short-term pain for long-term gain.
"Being able to get people over here on public transit will be a huge bonus for us," she said.
CBC News spoke with other business owners along Fraser Highway who declined interviews but had experienced drops in business, and raised concerns about the long-term impact of the construction.
Residents split
In 2023, the province introduced a bill encouraging the creation of more housing near transit hubs, referred to as transit-oriented development areas. The province estimates it could add as many as 100,000 new homes near designated transit areas over the next decade.
Residents like Clayton renter Corey Richie fear the SkyTrain will urbanize a once rural area.
"In a nutshell, the city has come to the country," said Richie. "There's horse paddocks down the hill, there's a bee farm down the hill, there's a cow farm up the hill, and the SkyTrain is going to run through all of it," she said.
"The noise has arrived."
For Wade, while he expects more density in the years to come, he says he hopes the SkyTrain improves livability.
"The rapid transit is going to be amazing because there's so many cars, it will allow people to leave their cars at home," he said.
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