By September, a new bus route will be established between Langley and the nearby Surrey neighbourhood of Clayton Heights.
The announcement came down today (Thursday) from TransLink, as a direct result of public consultation held back in February, said Peter Klitz, a senior planner with TransLink.
“We received several hundred completed surveys,” and based on that feedback, he said this area was designated for a needed bus route that he said will eventually tie into a B-Line bus that will travel along Fraser Highway every 15 minutes from Langley Centre to Surrey City Centre. The B-Line announcement was made last fall and is expected by 2019.
In the meantime, Klitz explained that a number of existing bus routes along Fraser Highway and 200th Street have been upgraded in recent years, but this will be the first new bus route in the area in some time.
The proposed new route would run from Clayton Heights, starting in the area of 188th Street and Fraser Highway, then following east along 72nd Ave. to 202B Street, travelling south to 64th Avenue, then east along 64th and Mufford Crescent to Glover Road, and down Glover to the bus loop known as Langley Centre (at Logan Avenue). (See map included)
While the route will tie in with a number of existing bus stops along the route, Klitz said TransLink will be working with the municipalities of Langley and Surrey to have additional stops constructed this summer. The stops are expected to be 250 to 400 metres apart, on average.
At least initially, the route will be serviced by a 20-seater community shuttle. The addition will translate to the addition of a new bus, as well as the hiring of at least five to six new drivers to ensure this route is covered every 30 minutes from about 6 or 7 a.m. to 9 or 10 p.m. daily – depending on the day, Klitz said.
There are about 19,000 people who are going to get improved transit from this new route, he explained, 2,000 who have never before been located within a five-minute walk of a bus route.
The expectation is that this service will cater to people on both ends of the route, including students travelling to Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and others connecting with other buses at Langley Centre.
The new service is set to begin Sept. 4.
During the public consultation process, TransLink reached out to areas of Surrey’s Clayton Heights and Morgan Creek, as well as the Maple Ridge neighbourhood of Silver Valley. Changes were also imminent to routes in Port Coquitlam and South Coquitlam.
