“TransLink’s like the mafia — you can get in but you can’t get out and you  have to keep paying.”

Has Watts looked into options for Surrey to leave TransLink? It sounds like it.

“For the betterment of the region, (Gregor Robertson and I) should probably work on having a better working relationship.”

While it is known that Watts and Robertson operate on opposite sides of the political spectrum, and have previously butt heads on several issues, it is interesting to hear that they do not work together as closely as one might hope.

Dianne Watts says she will run for another term as Surrey mayor and prefers opportunity to build a city over provincial politics.

Watts had previously denied jumping into provincial politics, but as far as I know, this is her first official announcement of her intentions to run for the mayoralty next year, although it is hardly surprising.

Building Vancouver into a world-class city has been good for B.C., but we’re at the point where it has to stop being all about Vancouver — Watts.

Vancouver animosity has grown within the suburbs in recent years, especially within the Tri-Cities and the South of Fraser. It is obvious that a new regional relationship and balance between the core and the burbs will have to be developed within the next few years to ensure that the Metro remains competitive on the global stage. Unfortunately, based on Watts’ comments with regards to Vancouver Mayor Robertson, it does not seem as if Surrey is prepared to take the lead in shaping that regional future.

No question, transportation is THE biggest issue in Surrey, Watts says. Nearly 500,000 people, four SkyTrain stations.

Although it may be “the biggest issue,” Watts had little details to provide the live chat. Of the 17 questions posed, 4 were on transportation. Her responses to each were vague and sometimes contradictory:

Q: I hope you can speak out regarding the transportation in GVRD. This is important to Surrey.

A: Transportation continues to be a major issue for all communities south of the Fraser. We continue to work with TransLink and the provincial government to ensure the people south of the Fraser are served well.

Her response underlines Watts’ philosophy of partnerships. Rather than approach the transport deficiencies with a public outcry of dissent, she continues to prefer a cooperative and conciliatory method behind closed doors. While that approach has resulted in the expansion of some bus routes, with TransLink’s current budget woes, it is unlikely that Surrey will receive any further improvements in the near future without new funding agreements to ensure the City receives its fair share.

Q: You’re on record for supporting Light Rail in Surrey. I’m wondering what is being done to bring LRT to the City.

A: There is a significant lobby from south of the Fraser to use the existing interurban lines and light rail. Given Surrey’s vast size, we can have double the kilometres of track using light rail than we can have with SkyTrain.

Apparently, the only solid effort being made to improve transport is the work of rail supporters in the south Fraser. Unfortunately for the lobbyists, their work does not seem to have translated into political support. As you’ll see below, Watts no longer believes that Light Rail is the best option for the City.

Q: Why have we not pushed for the sky train to come up Fraser Highway and have a stop at 176th street?

A: We have been pushing for SkyTrain. The analysis is being done regarding routes currently. If you look at Fraser Highway, you will see an urban forest and down further, agricultural land. The thought is to densify around transportation corridors and you can’t do that within urban forest and agricultural land, so there is a challenge in that regard.

This was a common line by former Minister of Transport, Kevin Falcon, used to explain why he did not support the Interurban line. Overall though, it is a weak argument, as transport corridors, whether they are roads or rails, will undoubtedly travel through non-developable areas. This is even more of an issue in the south Fraser, as it is the location of most of the region’s agricultural land. These constrictions have not stopped us from building roads through these green zones however – why should rail transit be any different?

You can read the rest of the live chat archive over at The Province online.

In the past six months, and in particular since the spring, the City has made great strides in embracing social media as a tool to inform and engage residents. Social media, that fabulous democratizing phenomenon that you are experiencing as you read this, is a broad term, but is commonly used to describe the online platforms of Twitter, Facebook, and blogs.

Twitter was adopted quite early by news organizations and non-profits as a new and cheap method to reach and build a captive base of supporters. The Surrey Leader has championed twitter for over a year, posting the latest news stories via their feed, while the Surrey Now has only recently started consistently updating their feed, with personalized teasers meant to drive traffic to their printed paper.

Politicians of all stripes took to Facebook following Obama’s historic 2008 campaign. Currently, you can friend Mayor Dianne Watts, as well as Councillors Barinder Rasode, Tom Gill, Mary Martin, Barbara Steele, and Linda Hepner. All use facebook to varying degrees and with varying degrees of true personalization. Mayors across North America have adopted Twitter as their primary channel of communication with supporters, revealing through 140 characters, and many times with live photos, the day to day life of a civic leader. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson is prolific tweep, posting updates every night, and is joined by his compadres Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, Portland Mayor Sam Adams, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, and Toronto Mayor David Miller.

However, it’s two departments within the City that have been the most aggressive with their use of social media. Both the Library, and more recently, the Events Department, have experimented with the medium extensively.

The Library first adopted social media for its consultation process on the new City Centre building. It built a blog, encouraged citizens to send in photos of their favourite libraries to a flickr group, and opened a facebook page for the project with construction updates (including pictures!). Additionally, it runs a well maintained Twitter page, sharing information about its events and programs, as well as those from other libraries in the region.

The Events department began its Twitter page during the Olympics, using the service sparsely. However, with the advent of Surrey’s Canada Day celebrations, they kickstarted their social media outreach and did Evan Williams proud. Not only did they post sneak peeks behind the scenes of the event’s set up, with pictures and videos (!), but they live tweeted Canada Day thoroughly. On July 1st, the team updated twitter at least a couple times an hour, announcing the latest entertainers on stage, providing updates on the weather conditions, and checking in with some of the community sponsor booths. This was all supplemented by a flurry of tried and true twitpics, shot from a real smartphone (not the fake, prepackaged photos shared by our PM).

Big props to both City departments for becoming local champions of social media! If there was a regional awards ceremony for social media adoption, they would undoubtedly be at the top of the list. Their success, however, begs the question of which department should embrace social media next. Here’s where you come in. Vote in the poll below and let the City know what else they should be sharing via social media.

Last year, the City introduced single-stream recycling, removing the need to separate newspapers and cardboards into their respective plastic bags. Now, in an effort to double compost rates, the City is planning to introduce an expanded organics pickup service and the Engineering Dept. wants your input!

Under the proposal, the City will pickup meats, vegetables, fats & bones, paper towels and other organic kitchen waste, in addition to your yard waste. It will be taken to a facility to be processed into biofuels or compost. Pickup options to be determined include the size and provision of the new waste receptacles, ranging from personal store bought bins with City-provided organic stickers (like the existing yard waste program), to a City-provided large outdoor bin and small indoor kitchen bucket.

Another option is to change all existing waste bin policies (garbage, recycling, and organics) to a City-wide, City-provided standard extra-large bin, which could speed up service as it would be designed to interface mechanically with the garbage trucks, requiring fewer workers. With the additional size of this new bin, the City proposes to reduce pickup to every two weeks.

All these options and more are currently up for debate. Provide your input to a City survey here.

Beyond the previously announced details, City Hall will be a two-phased building, with the second phase seemingly planned to include the hotel/office tower component. The Performing Arts Centre, planned to start construction after City Hall Phase 1 ends in 2013, does not have a final design yet. The previously mentioned Museum does not appear to be part of the plan anymore. Furthermore, the long rumoured SFU expansion space is mentioned in the brochure to be included in the Library, although that seems doubtful unless the university plans to rent the initially-empty fifth floor.

The new City Hall building, to be constructed along the north edge of City-owned property along 104 Ave between University Drive and City Parkway, will be about 180,000 sq. ft. It will include an adjoining civic plaza with a capacity of 5000 people. Construction will begin in early 2011 and is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2013. Initial plans include connection to the Library to form a district energy system.

It is estimated to cost $50 million, most of which will come from a loan with the Municipal Finance Authority. It is unknown whether the final design is the same L-shaped monolith that has been featured in City documents recently (included above).

As part of the long term City Centre land use plan under development, a recreational “Green Network” was proposed to facilitate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists in the area. The Green Network is a more than just bicycle ways though; it also incorporates natural habitat enhancement, sustainable stormwater management, placemaking through public art and historical markers, wayfinding, and street furniture. Among the projects:

• a pedestian priority core near City Hall and SFU
• an art walk along University Drive
• a history walk along the Quibble Creek Greenway
• a culture corridor along King George
• a series of new plazas and “pocket parks”
• a new “urban greenway” with separated bike paths along 105 A Ave
• higher quality greenways

Click on through for way more!

The plan outlines 5 priority projects to begin the Green Network:

1. The enhancement of King George Boulevard between 112 and 108 Ave. This section of the road acts as a gateway to the City Centre and will feature new trees and planting installations.

2. New high quality bike lanes installed along 100 Ave from City Parkway to the Quibble Creek Greenway. Within the “Urban Core” zone, the 1.5m bike lanes will be painted in a solid colour and features bike boxes at major intersections to give cyclists safe priority on the road.

3. 105A Ave, between 138 and 140 St, will be the first section built of this new east-west urban greenway. It will feature a 3m bikeway separated from traffic by both a 2m boulevard and a 1.5m planted zone.

4. 112 Ave is planned to eventually incorporate a separated bikeway along its northern edge. In the short term, to facilitate a safe cycling route, new bike lanes are to be painted along 140St north of 105A Ave, and continue along Hansen Road and 112 Ave to King George.

5. Quibble Creek Greenway, between 100 and 102 Ave, is flagged as a demonstration project that will set the new standard for greenways in the area. The pathway will be expanded to provide cyclists with a 3.5m section and pedestrians with a 1.5m zone. New shrub and trees will be planted along the route to enhancement the natural habitat. Other ideas include bird boxes, benches, a BMX bike park for kids, and a “nanotower” – a vertical green tower which provides new bird habitat and facilitates placemaking and wayfinding.

Check out all the plans below:

According to the City’s Engineering Dept. 10 Year Plan, Surrey will spend over half a billion years in the next decade on transportation infrastructure. Almost 90% of that money will be put into roads.

So much for “balanced” transportation.

If you’ve been following the progress of the City’s NCP areas through the years, you will have noticed a steady increase in the density of these massive redevelopment projects. Although surrounded by primarily single-family homes, Clayton has a number of mid-rise buildings near its commercial core (large in and of itself). Grandview, in South Surrey, incorporates many planning elements learned in Clayton, with an even larger commercial component, as well as so-called lifestyle urban centres, featuring mock Main Streets along mid-rise buildings.

Now, the large rural area between Tynehead and Port Kells is set to take density to a whole new level. As the last major parcel of land in the City that can be redeveloped, nearly the entire project will be medium densities or higher.

The staff report on the Tynehead-Anniedale NCP reveals the increased transport access as a major impetus for the redevelopment of the area. In other words, the Gateway Highway 1 expansion, as well as the Golden Ears Way/Golden Ears Bridge project have prompted this development effort.

Within the planning process, the City has approached both TransLink and the Ministry of Transporation to discuss changes to the road infrastructure. The City requested that the MoT plan to build a cloverleaf interchange at 96th Ave and 176 St, so that traffic could continuously flow, despite a massive increase in population, and thus cars, in the area. The request was denied because of the intersection’s proximity to the existing Hwy 1 interchange just north, which would raise safety concerns.

To TransLink, the City requested that they install new intersections along Golden Ears Way so that industrial parks could be built along the route. TransLink denied the request, stating that doing so would simply increase congestion along the route. Instead, the City has planned a significant commercial component to be built west of 176 St, along 96 Ave.

What frustrates and frightens me about this planning proposal is how inherently suburban sprawlish it truly is. Port Kells is so disconnected from the rest of the City right now, and consists of a tiny, rural population, much the same way most of Grandview is. What the City wants to do is massively increase the population is one of the most disconnected areas of Surrey, which will only increase traffic congestion on Highway 1 and the Golden Ears Bridge as there is no easy way to connect this area to transit anytime soon! For all the touting Council is doing about the Town Centres, this type of planning is in complete contradiction with urban, transit connected development. This is Sprawl 101 point blank. It’s sickening.

The Canadian Council of Learning recently released the results of its fifth annual Composite Learning Index survey, revealing that educational improvements across Canada, on average, have stalled. In Surrey, after significant gains in 2007, bringing our score up from 75 to 81, the City’s score dropped down to 77 in 2009 and remains plateaued there. As the CLI describes it, the Composite Learning Index is:

Canada’s annual measure of progress in lifelong learning. It is based on a combination of statistical indicators that reflect the many ways Canadians learn, whether in school, in the home, at work or within the community.

Victoria and Saskatoon have shown consistent improvement in the past five years and now sit at the top of the Index with rankings of 95 and 90, respectively. Calgary (88), Ottawa (87), and Regina (84) follow behind.

There are four major indicators:

• Learning to Know – almost exceeding the National Average
• Learning to Do – within the National Average
• Learning to Live Together  - almost below the National Average
• Learning to Be – within the National Average

In terms of specifics, Surrey exceeds the National Average in our high school dropout rate, and ranks below the National Average in workplace training, participation in clubs, exposure to reading, and access to broadband internet.

The interior of the under construction City Centre Library

A better look at the proposed design for the new City Hall

The long term Quattro master plan

The Surrey Outpatient Hospital under construction at Green Timbers