Area residents voice opposition to planned truck route
A Walnut Grove woman is appealing to TransLink’s board of directors to stop the Township of Langley’s bid to turn 216th Street into a truck route.
Geraldine Jordan, who brought her two young daughters to last week’s board meeting, said changing the street’s designation from a minor collector to a truck route after a new overpass and interchange are built at Highway 1 will cause serious problems for nearby residents.
“Residents in north Langley living in proximity to 216th Street will be at significant risk of increased pollution, noise and safety hazards due to the predicted large volume of truck traffic associated with the 216th Street and Highway 1 interchange,” said Jordan.
Construction is underway on the overpass and four-lane interchange at 216th Street. The project, which is being led by the provincial government, but has long been on the books for the Township of Langley, also includes the expansion of Highway 1 between 202nd and 216th streets.
The idea is to improve traffic on Highway 1 and connect Walnut Grove to Willoughby and other communities on the south side of the highway.
The project is expected to cost $59 million, with $22.3 million coming from the each of the federal and provincial governments and $14.3 million from the township. Construction is scheduled to be complete by fall 2019.
The neighbourhood around 216th Street between 88th Avenue and the highway has long been opposed to the construction of an overpass and interchange, but since the project has gone ahead, residents have focused on preventing the now-residential street from becoming a busy truck route.
Residents have met with council, attended meetings and information sessions and collected more than 1,700 signatures on a petition.
“There has been no consent given by the residents in our municipality for designating 216th Street north of Highway 1 as a truck route with highway connectivity, nor part of the MRN (major road network),” said Jordan.
According to a May 2017 Township of Langley staff report, the municipality plans to designate the length of 216th Street, from 88th Avenue to Highway 10 as a truck route, and remove six truck route designations and add two others in Fort Langley.
Designating 216th as a truck route would make it eligible to be added to the major road network, which is planned by TransLink and municipalities. TransLink staff must review proposals for additions to the major road network against a number of criteria, and then make a recommendation to the board of directors, which makes the final decision.
Jordan asked the board to reject any application for 216th Street to become part of the major road network.
The township report states that if the road was included in the major road network, it would be eligible for operations and maintenance revenues to the tune of just over $300,000 per year, and annual capital funding for required upgrades.
A TransLink spokesperson said the township has not yet applied to have 216th Street included in the major road network. The decision to designate 216th a truck route is one that rests with the municipality.