12 years later, proposal for road through popular Surrey park back on the table

Currently in Surrey, there's just one east-west arterial road through the heart of the city between 72nd and 96th Avenue the busy 88th Avenue thoroughfare.

Mayor Doug McCallum would like to make a second one.

"The population has really increased," he said, explaining why the city wants to connect84th Avenue through Bear Creek Park.

"The traffic congestion has gotten a lot worse, so therefore it's got to the point where it's a necessity."

In February, council voted 5-4 along party lines to revisit the idea of connecting the road, which has been debated several times in the city's history. A final report is expected to council in late May or June, and McCallum believes the project is integral.

According to ICBC statistics, the intersection at 88th Avenue and King George Boulevard had 193 accidents in 2019, the fourth-highest total for any location in the entire Lower Mainland."I think if we could improve the road safety, which is a major commitment of this council, then we need to make this connection," said McCallum.

Opposition forming

But not everybody agrees.

"It is totally incompatible with Bear Creek Park," said Ken Bennett, part of a group called Friends of Bear Creek Park.

"It will have such an environmental impact, it will completely destroy the south end of the park and the peace and quiet and serenity."

The group has put together a video and a letter-writing campaign to promote preservingthe park as is. And theydon't believe a connecting road would do much to alleviate safety and traffic issues.

"You cannot build your way out of congestion," said Deb Jack, another member of the group.

The city says the road would go along a BC Hydro power line right of way, and staff are looking at how to make sure bridges over the creek don't displace animalhabitat. But Bennett argues a road would have a hugeimpact on the creatures that make the park home.

"This area has a unique interface of five habitat types that are rarely found in urban parks," he said.

"Whether it's a 10 metre road or 18 metre road or whatever, the impacts are still going to be the same."

2009 vote was negative

A previous proposal to connect the road in 2009 was eventually defeated.

"Residents in the area were up in arms, rightly so, and here we are again," said Dianne Watts, who was mayor at the same and eventually voted against the proposal.

"I don't disagree that there's more cars on the road and that just comes from lack of integrated transportation. So I would suggest that we need to be looking at how we get people out of their cars?"

A number of controversial votes in Surrey have been decided on a 5-4 split in the last two years, with McCallum and his four Safe Surrey Coalition members carrying the day.

Jack is hopeful this decision goes differently.

"This is an extremely high value ecological system for biodiversity," she said.

"There are 27 species. I keep repeating that, because it's extraordinary in a small area. To put a road through, quite frankly, will destroy [its] ecological integrity."