Langley Township councillors talked about policing and street lights as a study on 16th Avenue neared completion.
The 16th Avenue Corridor Study was launched by TransLink in November 2013, upon request from Langley Township, and involves Surrey, Abbotsford, the Ministry of Transportation, and ICBC.
The goal is to provide a high level overview of the corridor and prioritize enhancements that can be made in the short, medium, and long term.
During a Monday afternoon update on the study’s progress, Councillor Charlie Fox suggested more traffic lights and “green wave” technology should be revisited.
Coun. Kim Richter wanted to know more about a proposal to consolidate driveways that come out onto 16th Avenue, while Coun. Bob Long worried about increased traffic in the near future from Abbotsford.
The concern was shared by Coun. David Davis who said South Langley would be almost “dissected” by traffic.
The Township contributed $47,000 towards the study, which is looking at 16th Ave. through multiple jurisdictions, from Highway 1 to Highway 99.
Traffic volumes have increased from 8,800 vehicles per day in 1992 to about 12,400 a day in 2011.
“That’s an average annual increase of 2.1% per year, a large percentage of which is truck traffic,” said Paul Cordeiro, manager of transportation engineering for the Township.
There have been plans afoot since 1986 to widen the road to four lanes.
In addition, as much as 13-16 per cent of the traffic is trucks, compared to five-eight per cent for other Langley arterial roads.
Preliminary results and recommendations are developing from the study, which should be concluded within a couple of months, Cordeiro said.
The study suggests short term improvements to be done over the next five years would include improving sightlines through additional signage and lighting, more speed enforcement, pull-out lanes for slow moving farm vehicles, a policy to reduce the number of driveways on 16th Avenue and through Campbell Valley Park, and wildlife fencing where feasible.
Proposed medium term improvements recommended for a six to 15 year timeline would aim to reduce unsafe passing and side road delays by adding two-way left lanes in sections with the most driveways and upgrading and installing signals at certain intersections.
Long term improvements recommended for 15 years from now would focus on widening the corridor to four lanes.
Approximate costs for the improvements within the Township are currently estimated at $3 million in the short term, $11.5 million in the medium term, and $119 million in the long term. The Township will likely seek funding from outside sources to help with the costs.
The public’s input has been added into the 16 Avenue Corridor Study draft and an additional public consultation period will be held in late October. Township staff expects to report back to council with the finalized study later this year.
