Lower Mainland Mayors Approve $2B Phase One Transit Plan (Critical Care Shortsight)

Lower Mainland Mayors Approve $2B Phase One Transit Plan, and once again, the LRT plan is revived; again without oversight or review as to whether LRT is the right choice for a growing city such as Surrey.

Skytrain For Surrey, run by Daryl Dela Cruz, has on quite a number of occasions shown with research just how ineffective LRT would be for Surrey's development as a major city within the Lower Mainland. However the City Hall has plowed on ahead with its LRT plans heedless of the safety concerns; almost to the point of criminal negligence. My question for Linda Hepner is what is she going to say to the families of those pedestrians and drivers mowed down by her LRT when it isn't grade separated, there are no safety measures visible in place to prevent LRT/Driver/Pedestrian collisions. And frankly, practically 95% of LRT collisions are accidental.

When infrastructure such as LRT is put in place, there is no training time to acclimate drivers and pedestrians to the change in traffic flow and collisions are bound to occur. In this case, pedestrians are the most vulnerable as they will be put in a fatal situation should they be hit by a LRT going at 50km/hr as they would be if hit by a car. But unlike a car's responsive brakes where if slammed on, a collision can be avoided, however with an LRT; it will take some time to stop as their mass is much greater than that of a passenger car.

Linda Hepner's plan if implemented, will hem in Surrey's only critical care hospital with LRT lines. Should there be an accident at King George Highway and 96 Avenue, the ambulances will not be able to get through to the hospital and traffic will be backed up all the way down King George Highway. Arterial routes for Surrey Memorial Hospital are 88th, 96th, King George Highway and 140th Street at Fraser Highway. Even the Jim Pattison Day Surgery unit on 140th will be affected.

Linda Hepner, as mayor, owes Surrey a safe transit system, not one that will cause more safety problems than currently viable. It is apparent that no-one has thought this through since they haven't realized the ramifications of an accident on any of the L system on LRT and the Fraser Hwy connector route will impede access to Surrey Memorial Hospital by those who need it.