Central Transit Village Plan

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JANUARY26,20

07

SURREYCENTRALTRANSITVILLAGEPLAN


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Surrey Central Transit Village PlanUrban Transportation Showcase Program

Prepared for:

City of Surrey

TransLink

Greater Vancouver Regional District

Transport Canada

Prepared by:

Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden Architects + Urbanistes

Bruce Haden - principalNorm Hotson - principalKevin King - planner

Urban Forum Associates

Lance Berelowitz - principal

Coriolis Consulting Corp.

Blair Erb - vice-presidentJay Wollenberg - principal

Don Wuori Design

Don Wuori - landscape architect

Opus Hamilton

Sany Zein - presidentKamala Rao - transportation planner

TransLink

Jarrett Walker - consultant

January 2007

Acknowledgements:

City of Surrey

Judy McLeod - Manager; Long Range Planning and PolicDevelopment

Lynn Guilbault- Senior PlannerGreg Mitchell- Associate PlannerJaime Boan- Manager; TransportationPhilip Bellefontaine- Transportation EngineerTiina Mack- Manager; Parks Planning, Research, and

DesignDan Chow- Senior Planner

TransLink

Tamim Raad- Transportation Showcase Project ManagerMoreno Rossi- Transportation Showcase Senior PlannerSarah McMillan- Transportation Showcase Project Planne

GVRD

Christina DeMarco- Division Manager; Policy and PlanninDepartment

Transport Canada


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Executive Summary 1 Key Elements of the Plan 2

Summary of Phasingand Implementation 4

Land Use Plan 5

1.0 Introduction 7

2.0 The Plan 11

2.1 Analysis of Existing Conditions11

2.1.1 Market and FinancialAnalysis 11

2.1.2 Land Use 14

2.1.3 Transit Service 17

2.1.4 Street Network 18

2.1.5 Public Open Space 21

2.1.6 Utilities 21

2.2 Planning Principles 22

2.3 Proposed Plan 23

2.3.1 Market and FinancialAnalysis: Implications forPlanning 23

2.3.2 Proposed Land Use 24

2.3.3 Transit Service 27

2.3.4 Transportation Network/ Streets 31

2.3.5 Public Open Space 39

2.3.6 Annotated Plan 43

3.0 Design Guidelines 47

Table of Contents

4.0 Implementation StrategySubmitted as a separate document

Appendices

Submitted as a separate document titled:Surrey Central Transit Village Plan-

Background Information.


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The Surrey Central Transit Village Plan is part of the

Urban Transportation Showcase Program:The Showcase Program is a federal program designed to encourageCanadian municipalities to adopt transportation and land use patternsand practices that promote sustainable forms of transportation (i.e. transit,walking, and cycling) thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The goal of theSurrey Central Transit Village Plan:

...is to create a livable urban neighbourhood around the Surrey CentralSkyTrain station based on the principles of Transit Oriented Development(TOD). The intention is to take a critical step towards creating a vibrantdowntown for Surrey.


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SURREY CENRAL TRANI VILLAGE PLAN

cessful implementation will also be a key stepin the creation of a dynamic new urban focusfor the City of Surrey, and a vibrant new down-

town. This new urban heart will be an exampleof what makes great cities great: finely scaledstreets and richly textured built fabric contrast-ed by dramatic public spaces, and a broad mixof urban uses. All of this will occur in a way thataccommodates and celebrates the multiplemodes that people will use to move around: onfoot, bicycle, automobile, and most importantlyfor the future of this region, public transit.

An added strength of the SCTVP design and im-plementation strategy is achievability. Throughdirect discussions with the private developmentcommunity and a detailed market and eco-nomic analysis, the plan has identified thoseeconomic and symbolic elements that are mostlikely to catalyze private developer interest.

The Surrey Central Transit Village Plan (SC-TVP) is an initiative of the Urban TransportationShowcase Program. The Showcase Program is

part of the federal governments overall GreenPlan for Canada. It is designed to encouragemunicipalities to adopt transportation and landuse policies, patterns and practices that pro-mote sustainable forms of transportation suchas transit, walking and cycling, thereby reduc-ing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.The common term for this agenda is Transit Ori-ented Development (T.O.D.).

The SCTVP proposes an integrated plan thatfuses a distinctive public space strategy of highquality streets and a major civic square, with anefficient transit strategy and appropriate landuses, to the mutual benefit of all. This integra-tion of land use and transportation strategieswill be unique in the Lower Mainland. Its suc-

xecutive Summary

The SCTVP proposes:

A finer-grained urban street grid that supports a more walkable, pedestrian-oriented centre, pedestrian-scaled block sizes and enhanced security

An optimized transit network that permits removal of the existing bus loop andintegrates bus routes into the street network on a new transit couplet

A major civic space that creates a new downtown centre, a unique public icon anda source of community pride, and also serves as the transit interchange

A high-density, mixed-use, livable urban centre that enhances public security byputting more activities and more eyes on the street

An improved pedestrian and cycling environment that encourages alternatives toauto use and thus contributes to reducing greenhouse gases

A retail and commercial strategy that serves regional, citywide and local needs,and creates a unique downtown destination

A high quality public realm and open space plan that demonstrates civiccommitment, enhances community pride and encourages private development


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Key Elements of the Plan

The Surrey Central Transit Village Plan includes the following key elements.

1. Two new east-west streets connecting West Whalley Ring Road to King GeorgeHighway and, over the longer term, potentially extending further east and west.

2. A new north-south street connecting 102 Avenue and 104 Avenue, located betweenCity Parkway and King George Highway.

3. Additional east-west and north-south streets that provide significant enhancementsto pedestrian, cyclist, and vehicular circulation, and create efficient, practicaldevelopment parcels.

4. Relocated transit (on-street buses) along the two new east-west streets (transitcouplet) to replace the bus loop.

5. An enhanced City Parkway to accommodate a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and futurepossible Light Rail Transit (LRT) route within the public right of way.

6. A greenway along City Parkway that connects with the larger greenway system inSurrey City Centre.

7. A bus layover facility at West Whalley Ring Road and the northwestern end of the

transit couplet.

8. A Civic Plaza east of Surrey Central SkyTrain Station between the east-west transitcouplet streets, which will become the focal point and heart of the city centre as wellas facilitate efficient transit transfers between local bus, SkyTrain, and Rapid Bus.

9. Densities of up to 6.0 FAR permitted on all development parcels in thecore study area.

10. Conditional increased density permitted provided that commercial office space isincluded as part of a mixed-use development.

11. A wide range of uses, including mixed-uses, permitted on most development sitesincluding retail, commercial office, residential, institutional, cultural uses, etc., withsome sites reserved for office or educational uses only above the ground level.

12. Strong pedestrian connections, notably from Central City Tower to the North SurreyRecreation Centre and to the Civic Plaza

13. Convenient and safe connections for cyclists to/from the SkyTrain Station includingnew streets that are designed to accommodate cyclists.

14. Secure, conveniently located bicycle storage and end-of-trip facilities.

15. Retail and service uses required at-grade on all development parcels alongthe east-west transit couplet and facing onto the Civic Plaza.

16. Regional retail on sites fronting onto King George Highway.

17. Development parcels south of the Recreation Centre designated for major office andinstitutional developments plus street-oriented retail.

18. Mosaic Green created and enhanced as a neighbourhood park.

19. New built form to provide for flexibility over the long term, ensuring that streetfrontages are active, safe and vibrant, as social conditions change.

20. Managed parking supply and pricing at levels appropriate for a city centre, withreduced amounts of off-street surface parking.


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102 Avenue

104 Avenue

Create an east-west transitcouplet that runs along

new streets between WestWhalley Ring Rd. and KingGeorge Highway.

Create intersection spacingthat is consistent with otherurban centres, allowingfor enhanced pedestriancirculation and safe crossingsof King George Highway.

Redevelop the core-studyarea at densities attractive todevelopers and amenable totransit village goals.

Create a civic plaza as afunctional centre piece totransit operations. It also

serves as figurative heart ofthe city centre.

Enhance Mosaic Green intoa neighbourhood park.

Provide a high-quality BRTsystem that operates throughthe city centre on CityParkway. The possibility ofLRT is maintained for futureconsiderations.

KingGeorge

WestWhalleyRingRd.

New Road

New Road

Surrey Central Transit Village Plan:Annotated Plan

Note: all development forms are conceptual only for illustrative purposes


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Summary of Phasing and Implementation

The development of the Surrey Central TransitVillage is a long-term undertaking. However, an

initial first phase of infrastructure investment isimperative for the future success of the plan.The plan identifies the minimum capital worksrequired in the first phase. A detailed phas-ing and implementation plan is provided in theSurrey Central Transit Village Plan Implemen-tation Strategy, submitted separately from thisreport.

In summary, the following phasing plan isproposed:

Phase 1:

Lands need to be assembled to permit the fol-lowing:

Develop two new east-west streetsconnecting West Whalley Ring Roadand King George Highway, on the northand south sides of the Recreation Cen-tre.

Develop a transit couplet (for buses)along these new streets.

Develop a bus layover facility at thenortheast corner of West Whalley RingRoad and the northerly east-weststreet. The layover facility should beincorporated into a larger developmentthat could potentially include a publicparkade, a civic building or a privatedevelopment above.

Create a Civic Plaza between thetransit couplet streets adjacent to theSkyTrain station on the eastern side ofCity Parkway. There should be at leasttwo developed edges fronting the plazato ensure that there is informal surveil-lance of the plaza.

Develop a north-south street along theeast side of the Civic Plaza between thenew east-west transit couplet streets.

Reconfigure the Surrey Central SkyTrainstation to permit exit and entry directlyinto the Civic Plaza.

Bring any residual development parcelscreated by the new streets to market.

Phase 2:

Create remaining east-west and north-south streets, as private development

permits

Reconfigure City Parkway to include agreenway and a BRT (potential futureLRT) route.

Phase 3:

Continue to encourage redevelopmentto occur in the core study area as laidout in this plan, ensuring that pedes-trian corridors and key connections areestablished.

Create Mosaic Green as a neighbour-

hood park suitable for neighbourhooduses concurrent with the redevelop-ment of adjacent land.

Ongoing

Throughout the implementation process it isrecommended that:

highest densities are reserved forthe core study area, and that the cityrestrict surrounding areas to lowerdensities, in order to stimulate and fo-cus development within the core studyarea.

the marketing, monitoring and evalu-ation of the plan are carried out bythe City or by an authority set up andmandated by Surrey City Council.


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104 Avenue

102 Avenue

WestWhalleyRin

gRd

New Road

New Road KingGeorge

NewRoad

NewRoad

Proposed Land-Use Plan


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IntroductionThe Planning Imperative

The area around Surrey Central SkyTrain Stationhas long been recognized as needing significant

investment in order to realize its full potentialas the emerging centre of downtown Surrey. Inaddition, Surrey Central SkyTrain Station is themost significant transit interchange south of theFraser River, with the largest number of localand regional bus routes converging here. Whilethe area is at the centre of Surreys City Cen-tre designated area, it has not developed intoa true downtown and has a dispersed, low-den-sity built form, and large-scaled street blocksresulting in an over-reliance on private auto-mobiles. Though a high-quality regional transitsystem (SkyTrain) services the City Centre, theexisting transit interchange functions are largelybased on a suburban model bus-loop which isnot suitable for a high-density urban context.

As a result, pedestrian movements are often inconflict with bus movements and bus circula-tion. The area has also been associated withsignificant social problems.

Past planning efforts in Surrey City Centre in-cluding the Surrey City Centre Plan (1991), Sur-rey City Centre Urban Design Concept (1993),the Surrey City Centre Social Strategy Report(1993), Surreys Cultural Strategic Plan (1999),

and the Whalley Parks, Recreation and CultureMaster Plan (2001) have initiated some en-hancements to the area and created a frame-work for future interventions. However, a dra-matic revitalization of the Surrey City Centrehas only just started with the development ofthe Central City office tower- the location ofthe SFU Surrey campus- and an increase in thenumber of multiple residential development ap-plications.

In November 2004, Surrey City Council au-thorized staff to proceed with a planning and

public consultation process leading to a plan,based on Transit-Oriented Development prin-ciples, for a Surrey Central Transit Village onlands within an 800 metre radius of the SurreyCentral SkyTrain Station.

The Urban Transportation Showcase Program

The Surrey Central Transit Village Plan is beingkick started by seed money from the Urban

Transportation Showcase Program. The Show-case Program is part of the federal governmentsoverall Green Plan for Canada and is designedto encourage Canadian municipalities to adopttransportation and land use policies, patternsand practices that promote sustainable formsof transportation such as transit, walking, andcycling, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emis-sions and air pollution. As part of this program,the Surrey Central Transit Village Plan benefitsfrom being a joint partnership between the Cityof Surrey, TransLink, the GVRD and Transport

Canada.The Vision

Surrey Central, located at the most importanttransit interchange south of the Fraser Riverrepresents an opportunity for positive change.

To achieve a vibrant new downtown centre forSurrey, the Surrey Central Transit Village Planproposes an integrated plan that fuses a dis-tinctive public space strategy of high qualitystreets and a major civic square with an efficienttransit strategy and appropriate land uses, tothe mutual benefit of all. This integration of landuse and transportation strategies will be uniquein the Lower Mainland. The Plans successfulimplementation will be a key step in the cre-ation of a dynamic new urban focus for the Cityof Surrey, and a more sustainable region.

This new urban heart of Surrey will be an ex-ample of what makes great cities great: finelyscaled streets and richly textured built fabriccontrasted by dramatic public spaces, a broadmix of urban uses, and higher densities. All ofthis will occur in a way that supports and cel-ebrates the multiple modes that people will use

to move around: on foot, bicycle, automobile,and most importantly for the future of this re-gion, public transit.

The Surrey Central Transit Village Plan providesfor mixed-use, high density development withinwalking distance of a diversity of high-qualitytransit options. Accordingly, the Plan calls forthe enhancement of the public realm and the


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102 Avenue

104 Avenue

OldYaleRoad

The Core Study Area

An 800m radius around Surrey Central

SkyTrain Station

Core Study Area

KingGeorgeHi

ghway

WestWhalleyR

ingRoad

Holland Park

Proposed Concept Plan

Surrey Central

SkyTrain Station

100 Avenue

Core Study Area

CityParkw

ay

creation of a transit-, bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly environment. At build-out, Surrey Cen-tral Transit Village will encourage residents,

workers and visitors to choose green modes oftransportation such as transit, walking and cy-cling more often.

Just as importantly, the Plan will create a trueurban centre for Surrey achieving the vision ofan emerging downtown for British Columbias

second largest, fastest growing city.


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Achieving the Plan - A Core Study Area

Transit Oriented Developments typically focuson areas within an 800m radius (or 10 minute

walk) of a transit facility. By limiting the scopeof this plan to a smaller core study area, ahigher likelihood of success is created with anachievable strategy for a more limited area ofintervention.

The Surrey Central Transit Village Plan is fo-cused on a more targeted core study area thatis located within approximately 300m of Sur-rey Central SkyTrain Station and is boundedby 104 Avenue to the north, 102 Avenue to thesouth, King George Highway to the east, andWest Whalley Ring Road to the west. The Plan

maximizes the opportunities for actual posi-tive change, rather than dissipating efforts overa much larger area. It also enhances the likelyimpact of the initial investment of seed moneyfrom the Urban Transportation Showcase Pro-gram. The successful enhancement of even afew blocks in this area would be a catalyst forchange in the broader City Centre. If the planproves successful, then the successful strate-gies can be applied to lands beyond the corestudy area.

At the same time, the Plan ties into the wider

surrounding area with proposals for linking tothe Citys greenway and bikeway networks andsurrounding public open spaces such as Hol-land Park to the south. The Plan study area alsoincorporates the section of King George High-way between 102 and 104 Avenues.

The delineation of the study area also takes intoconsideration property ownership patterns. Itincludes several large and smaller parcels inprivate ownership, many of which are likely tobe redeveloped under the right circumstances.

A substantial part of the core study area alsoincludes parcels in public ownership, whichprovides an opportunity for the City to play aproactive role in the areas redevelopment.

Realizing the Plan - Implementation

The Plan focuses not only the development ofa physical plan, but on a strategy for its imple-

mentation.

The Plan recognizes that trade-offs will be re-quired in order to achieve the objective of trans-forming this area into a truly urban, pedestrian-oriented city centre. For example, it proposeschanges to the existing street network and traf-fic movement patterns that will impact exist-ing free-flowing traffic and transit movements,and emphasize pedestrian enhancements. Thisrepresents a cultural shift that will need politicalas well as technical leadership. In order to suc-ceed, the Surrey Central Transit Village Plan will

require champions and a new way of buildingthe city.

An added strength of the design and implemen-tation strategy is achievability. Through directconversations with the private developmentcommunity and detailed market and economicanalysis, this work has identified those eco-nomic and symbolic aspects of the plan thatare most likely to catalyze private developerinterest.

Although the Plan builds upon previous plan-ning work, it does differ from past work in its

proposed treatment of the SkyTrain guidewayalong City Parkway. Rather than continue topursue a retail High Street along the SkyTrainguideway - a strategy that had to deal with theimpacts of the guideway structure and has notbeen realized - the Plan proposes to create anorth-south greenway along the SkyTrain guide-way/City Parkway. The principal retail streetsare proposed to be oriented along the two neweast-west streets, which will not be impactedby the overhead transit guideway structure.


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Scope

In addition to an assessment of the existingconditions in the core study area, this report

provides direction in multiple areas for achiev-ing the Plans objectives. It includes:

a set of Planning Principles

a Land Use Plan

a Street Network Plan

a Pedestrian Network Plan

a Bicycle Network Plan

a Transit Network Plan

a Vehicular Circulation Plan

a high-level Parking Strategy

Street Cross-Sections

Design Guidelines

an annotated and rendered overallSite Plan

an Open Space Plan

an Implementation Strategy that

includes:

a Phasing Plan

Capital Works Recommendations

a Financial Strategy Incentives and recommendations

for implementing, monitoring andevaluating private sector development


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The Plan2.1 Assessment of Existing

Conditions

A detailed analysis has been undertaken of theexisting conditions in the core study area. Thisanalysis included a review of:

market conditions

existing land use

transit service

transportation network

public open space

and utility infrastructure.

This assessment has contributed to a compre-hensive understanding of the core study areaissues and challenges.

2.1.1 Market and Financial Analysis

This market and financial analysis of develop-ment opportunities in Surrey City Centre wascompleted in September 2005 (updated 2007)by Coriolis Consulting Corp. as input to the Sur-rey Central Transit Village Study. The marketand financial analysis examines opportunities inthe overall City Centre, with an emphasis on thecore study area. This section of the final report

provides a summary of the main findings.

Multiple Residential Analysis: Potential

Demand

The City of Surreys 2006 population was ap-proximately 402,150, with the Whalley area(which includes Surrey City Centre) having apopulation of about 80,000. A very small por-tion of Whalley residents actually live near thecore study area, with no residents within thecore study area.

The Citys population grew at an average an-

nual rate of about 2.7% per year from 1994 to2006. Population growth is anticipated to con-tinue at a high rate in Surrey over the next de-cade or more. This will lead to high demandfor new housing in Surrey and opportunities formultifamily residential development in Whalleyand the core study area.

Based on the analysis of residential develop-ment trends and projected population growth,

it is reasonable to anticipate demand for newapartment units in Whalley to average 300 to500 units per year from 2006 to 2016. In addi-

tion, there will be demand for ground-orientedhousing. Apartment demand could be evenhigher over the short term (as illustrated byrapid absorption at new projects in the Whalleyarea during 2005 - 2006 and current plans forseveral new projects) due to a variety of factorsincluding high levels of interest from investorsin multifamily housing, potential pent-up de-mand due to the low rate of new multifamily de-velopment in the neighbourhood over the pastseveral years, and possibly some housing de-mand generated by SFU students and faculty.To achieve this rate of development, it will be

important to continue to enhance the image ofthe area and improve public perception aboutcrime and safety.

The demand for new apartment units is antici-pated to be 300 to 500 units per year in Whalley.The core study area is in a good position to at-tract a share of this demand (if developmentsites are available) as it offers convenient ac-cess to transit plus proximity to park space,recreation/civic facilities, and commercial ser-vices.

Financial Viability of Multiple

Residential Development

One of the main obstacles to new housing de-velopment in the core study area is the lack ofvacant or under-developed properties. The pri-vately owned properties in the study area are allimproved with existing commercial buildings.

Although developed at a low density, most ofthe properties have relatively high values underexisting commercial use. To encourage rede-velopment in the core study area, permittedresidential densities will need to be high to helpensure that redevelopment to residential use

supports a higher land value than holding theproperty in its existing use.

Based on the financial analysis, allowable resi-dential densities in the range of about 6.0 FAR(derived from an FAR of 4.0-5.0 on existinggross site area) would make roughly 50% of theproperties in the core study area developmentcandidates in the short term (subject to marketdemand). The remaining properties will require


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even higher densities to be attractive for rede-velopment in the short term because they havemore valuable existing improvements. How-

ever, it is probably not necessary for all of theproperties to be redevelopment candidates inthe short term because market demand will notbe sufficient for the entire study area to rede-velop in a short time frame.

In addition, developers will require permissionto build tall buildings (likely in the range of 25to 35 storeys). This creates the opportunity tooffer a high share of view units and to lowerconstruction costs per square foot as there areusually cost advantages associated with tallbuildings.

Retail and Service Analysis: PotentialDemand

Surrey City Centre includes a large inventory ofretail and service space, including the 700,000sq. ft. Central City Shopping Centre. Overallvacancy is relatively low in the area, but thereare some pockets of vacancy in certain loca-tions including Central City Shopping Centre.

The King George Highway corridor in the CityCentre acts as the main retail and service lo-cation for the residents, businesses and em-ployees of the Whalley trade area. This loca-tion offers convenient access to a large andgrowing residential trade area as well as nearbybusinesses and employees. In addition, re-tail and service businesses in the City Centredraw spending from commuters using the KingGeorge Highway.

The City Centre is a popular location for busi-nesses that place a premium on high exposure,convenient access to large sub-regional tradearea populations and convenient parking forcustomers. Examples of some of the largersub-regional oriented retailers in the trade area

include Best Buy, Canadian Tire, Zellers, Toys RUs, Future Shop, Staples and automobile deal-ers. Central City Shopping Centre also includesnumerous smaller scale retailers that serve thesub regional trade area.

There are several large-scale retailers that donot yet have a location serving the Whalleytrade area, which may be interested in locat-ing in the City Centre if sites are available. Ex-

amples of potential candidates could includehome furnishings and dcor stores (such as Ho-meSense, Home Outfitters, Linens n Things),

Chapters, Petsmart, and Winners.The City Centre also includes local oriented re-tailers that serve the day to day needs of near-by residents such as grocery stores (Safeway,Price Smart Foods), drug stores (London Drugs)and numerous smaller scale business such asrestaurants, cafes, salons, convenience stores,video rental, pet supplies, and florists. As thelocal population continues to grow, there willbe interest from additional local oriented retailbusinesses.

Many of the local oriented businesses will be

interested in sites that provide exposure to KingGeorge Highway. However, some may be inter-ested in locations off of King George Highway.For example, restaurants, cafes, pubs, florists,salons, video rental, small book stores, specialtyfood stores, and other small scale retailers andservice provided will be interested in sites off ofKing George Highway if the location is on a ma-

jor pedestrian route for the residents, students,office workers, and transit users in the area. Asthe residential, student and employment basein (or near) the core study area increases, theopportunity for retail and service development

in the study area will also increase.

Financial Viability of Retail Development

As demonstrated by recent new retail develop-ment in the area, retail and service developmentis financially viable on vacant sites in the CityCentre. Within the core study area, new retailand service development could be incorporat-ed into mixed-use residential and commercialprojects if the site offers good retail frontage.

Office Analysis: Potential Demand

It is estimated that the City of Surrey includesabout 3.3 million sq. ft. of existing office space.Approximately 1.4 million sq. ft. is located in (ornear) the City Centre. A further 600,000 sq. ft.is located in the nearby Guildford commercialarea. The remainder is located in other com-mercial centres (mainly Newton, Fleetwood,Cloverdale and South Surrey) or in businessparks.


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Between 1991 and 2005, demand for new of-fice space in Surrey City Centre averaged about65,000 sq. ft. per year. Demand has been higher

in recent years with the opening of the CentralCity office building in 2003. Since early 2003,office space demand in Surrey City Centre hasaveraged about 180,000 to 200,000 sq. ft. peryear. However, it should be noted that most ofthis space was rented at low lease rates.

It should also be noted that demand for newoffice space in the City Centre has been gen-erated primarily by government tenants andgovernment initiatives. This includes the Sur-rey Tax Centre building (federal government),the Central City building which was developedoriginally to accommodate ICBC offices (partof this building is occupied by government ten-ants and part is occupied by private tenants),and the Gateway office building, which is large-ly occupied by the Coast Mountain Bus Com-pany. Government and institutions are likely tocontinue to generate demand for office spacein the City Centre in the foreseeable future. Forexample, the RCMP is planning its new E Divi-sion headquarters just east of the City Centre.

Private sector office demand has made up arelatively small share of total demand in the CityCentre, although the higher quality buildings in-

clude some notable tenants, such as JP Mor-gan Chase, Financial CAD Corp., Coast CapitalSavings, Colliers, PricewaterhouseCoopers,Bank of Nova Scotia, London Life, plus someeducational tenants.

Demand for additional office space in SurreyCity Centre will come from two sources:

Businesses interested in serving the localresidents, employees and businessesin the Whalley area plus other nearbyparts of Surrey. As the population

of Whalley grows, demand for officespace from local serving businesseswill grow.

Businesses and government agenciesserving a broader geographic marketthat are interested in space in one ofthe GVRD Town Centres and/or officespace in close proximity to transit.

To help evaluate the potential demand for officespace in Surrey City Centre (and the core studyarea), a detailed analysis was completed of

trends in the amount and geographic distribu-tion of new office development in the GVRD overthe past 15 years with an emphasis on demandin Town Centres and in office locations outsideof the CBD that are served by SkyTrain.

Based on the analysis, demand for new officespace in the GVRD Town Centres plus otherlocations served by SkyTrain (excluding Down-town Vancouver), averaged about 200,000 to250,000 sq. ft. per year between 1991 and 2005.Demand was fairly consistent throughout thistime frame. In comparison, demand for officespace in Downtown Vancouver/Broadway cor-ridor averaged about 550,000 sq. ft. per yearand demand in other locations (business/officeparks plus scattered commercial areas) aver-aged about 750,000 to 800,000 sq. ft. per yearover the same time frame.

We do not anticipate average annual officedemand in Town Centre locations to increasesignificantly without a corresponding decreasein the share of demand captured by businessand office park locations. In the long term, thebusiness park market share may decline due toa lack of well located business park land that

is attractive for office use and possibly due totransportation constraints at business parks(such as increased traffic congestion and lackof transit service in comparison to Town Cen-tres). However, in the short term there is sub-stantial office development capacity in GVRDbusiness park locations, so business parks willlikely continue to remain an attractive option formany office users.

Therefore, it is anticipated that Surrey City Cen-tre will be competing for a share of the regionaloffice demand that has historically been cap-

tured by Town Centres and transit accessibleoffice locations (outside the Downtown/CBD).This market totals about 250,000 sq. ft. peryear on average.

Surrey City Centre (along with Metrotown) iswell positioned to capture a significant shareof this office space demand because of itslarge existing office inventory (in comparisonto other Town Centres), strong transit links to


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other commercial centres (including DowntownVancouver) and transit links to residential areas(providing access for potential employees). In

the longer term, transit accessibility to other of-fice locations in the region will improve (suchas Richmond Town Centre and parts of theBroadway corridor due to the Canada line andCoquitlam Town Centre due to the planned ex-tension of LRT to the Northeast Sector). Thiswill create increased competition for SurreyCity Centre.

Based on historic demand in Surrey City Cen-tre, the outlook for office demand in Town Cen-tre and transit accessible locations in the re-gion, the City Centres advantages as an officelocation, and the number of potentially compet-ing office locations, it is anticipated that futureoffice demand in the City Centre will averagebetween 50,000 sq. ft. and 100,000 sq. ft. peryear over the next 10 years or so. The corestudy area could attract a large share of this es-timated demand.

Demand could be higher if government agen-cies or major institutions (such as SFU) decideto locate or expand in the City Centre.

Financial Viability of Office

Development

Office lease rates are currently low in the CityCentre because office vacancy has been highin Surrey (as well as other parts of the GVRD)for the past few years. Net effective lease ratesfor new and high quality office space in the CityCentre is currently about $15-$20 per sq. ft.,but new high-rise office construction requiresminimum net effective lease rates in the $25 to$30 per sq. ft. range. Therefore, under currentmarket conditions, private sector office devel-opment is not financially viable in the City Cen-tre. Lease rates will need to increase before

office development is attractive to private de-velopers.

The supply of good quality vacant office spacein Surrey City Centre (and other parts of theGVRD) has been declining. This is beginningto put upward pressure on office lease rates.If this continues, office development should befinancially viable in the City Centre over the me-dium to longer term.

2.1.2. Land Use

The study area is located within the City of Sur-reys City Centre designated land use area.This land use designation is intended to fo-cus the development of a mixed use and highdensity downtown. This designation allows fora wide range of retail and office uses, employ-ment, entertainment, cultural and educationservices and facilities, government services andmultiple residential housing, to serve the needsof business and residents throughout the Cityand the region.

Currently the core study area is characterizedby low-density retail commercial and some in-stitutional uses, with large amounts of surfaceparking. The existing land parcels are typicallydeveloped with one- or two-storey buildings.

There is no residential housing in the core studyarea. The prevailing land use can be character-ized as low-intensity suburban retail strip mallsand small commercial complexes, as well assome large format retail oriented towards KingGeorge Highway. Most of the retail does notfront directly onto the adjacent streets, but istypically set back behind the surface parking.The one exception to this pattern of dispersedlow-rise land use is the recently completed sig-nature Central City Tower, which fronts onto102 Avenue across from the study area.

Public and institutional assets within the corestudy area include the SkyTrain station andbus loop, the North Surrey Recreation Centre(NSRC), the Sunrise Seniors Centre and theSurrey Public Library Whalley branch. SimonFraser University recently established its SurreyCampus in the Central City Tower, adjacent tothe southern boundary of the core study area.The Surrey Central Transit Village Plan recog-nizes these existing assets to be of significantvalue to the area and seeks to enhance their rolein the proposed plan. In particular, the NSRC isseen as a significant civic use anchor and SFUis seen as an equally significant institutional an-chor. Both SFU and the NSRC are anticipatedto be expanded and/or enhanced in comingyears. The plan accommodates aspirations forenhancing and expanding these important in-stitutional uses.


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An aerial photo indicates that large areas in and around the core study area are being used as surface parking. This is in-

dicative of a more suburban land-use pattern rather than a high-density urban city centre. (The Core Study area is indicated

by the red-dashed line).


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Existing Transit Interchange and Circulation

Local buses SkyTrain

Core Study Area

Bus Loop


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2.1.3 Transit Service

The existing transit interchange functions arelocated to the southwest of the Surrey Cen-tral SkyTrain Station between the North SurreyRecreation Centre and the Central City Tower.The bus loop configuration with a central islandfor loading, unloading, and passenger connec-tions is largely a suburban model which is notsuitable for a high-density urban context asproposed in this Plan. Moreover, a number ofpublic complaints have been registered regard-ing the pedestrian connection between SurreyCentral SkyTrain Station, North Surrey Recre-ation Centre and Central City Tower. Pedestri-ans circulating between these locations are re-

quired to pass through both the bus exchangeand a parking lot. Though pedestrian prioritizedroutes exist, users often find themselves in con-flict with vehicular and transit traffic.

Improvements to enhance the efficiency andfunctional operation of the current transit op-erations also need to take general issues of liv-ability into consideration. As Surrey City Centregrows, the number of buses circulating throughthe city centre will also increase. While theconcentration of buses into a single locationor street is optimal for connectivity functions,it can create an atmosphere perceived as toonoisy and busy for local residents or business-es, or an environment that is perceived to bedominated by transit functions.

The Surrey Central Transit Village is centredaround the primary regional transit hub for areassouth of the Fraser River and one of TransLinksmost important transfer points in the network:the Surrey Central SkyTrain Station. This hubis characterized by frequent local and regionalbuses connecting passengers with SkyTrainservice and providing a diversity of transit op-tions.

A critical consideration of the Surrey CentralTransit Village Plan is the operational efficien-cy of buses, including their connectivity withSkyTrain, passenger comfort, and ease of use.However, there is an opportunity for Surrey CityCentre to benefit from the high volume of transitriders by integrating them into the urban envi-ronment. This integration will benefit passen-

ger comfort, pedestrian safety, and contributeto a sense of activity and vibrancy in the area.

Local Buses

Local buses currently use a suburban modelbus loop incompatible with a high-densitymixed-use urban environment and creates anobstacle to pedestrians accessing amenities inthe area. This transit exchange should be re-configured to better accommodate passengeraccess to the City Centre and connecting tran-sit services, as well as to better integrate transitinto the urban fabric.

Bus Layover Facility

Buses currently layover in this bus loop creatinga physical and visual barrier as well as addingnoise and exhaust while idling. To reduce thenegative impact of this necessary transit func-tion, a new bus layover facility will be requiredin close proximity to the relocated bus trans-fer area. Also, removal of the bus loop will re-

FutureB-Line

Bus Exchange

103A Ave

103rd Ave

102A Ave

102nd Ave

13

3A

St

13

5th

St

Kin

gG

eo

rg

eH

wy

104th Ave

Old Yale Rd

Surrey

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t t .t , t t t t t .

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Local and Regional Bus-Routes currently serving the SurreyCentral SkyTrain are indicated by the coloured route arrows

in the diagram above. The majority of the higher-frequencyroutes enter and exit the bus-loop from the north. Image:TransLink


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quire the provision of improved transit facilitiesat other locations including Guildford, Newton,and Semiahmoo Town Centres.

SkyTrain

SkyTrain service will continue to function as ahigh-quality, regional transportation system.Modifications to the SkyTrain station are re-quired in order to optimize access, and theseimprovements have been included in investmentrequirement estimates for the Plan. These ac-cess modifications are intended to ensure op-timal passenger connectivity between SkyTrainand other transit operations, as well as to better

integrate the station into the urban fabric andproposed public open space.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

A new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service is be-ing planned that will connect with this transitinterchange. The proposed BRT route will con-nect major transit corridors to the Surrey Cen-tral SkyTrain station: south to South Surrey andeast to Guilford. While BRT service will improveaccess to Surrey Central from other parts ofSurrey, it will introduce a significant increase inthe number of large buses to this area and to-

gether with the other local bus routes will needto be provided in a way that does not negative-ly impact any one street. A single continuousrouting will reduce the need for BRT end-of-linefacilities in the Surrey Central area. The Plananticipates and accommodates the proposedBRT service.

2.1.4 Street Network

There is a very limited street network withinthe core study area, as shown in the figure tothe left. The existing street network consists ofCity Parkway (following the SkyTrain guidewayalignment), the bus loop between City Parkwayand West Whalley Ring Road, a service lane-way connecting West Whalley Ring Road andCity Parkway and another laneway connectingCity Parkway and King George Highway. 104

Avenue, 102 Avenue, King George Highway,and West Whalley Ring Road form the perim-eter of the study area. This street network isvery weak and discontinuous, with very large,over-scaled block sizes that are not conducive

to pedestrian movement. It reflects a subur-ban rather than an urban context, and is a keyimpediment to creating a more pedestrian-ori-ented urban setting. As a point of comparison,the block length along King George Highway inthis area is approximately 400m, whereas blocklengths along Georgia Street in downtown Van-couver are typically 80m (both streets are partof the same Route 99A).

A key planning principle of the Surrey CentralTransit Village Plan is to create a finer grained,pedestrian-scaled street grid, with many morestreets and shorter, walkable block lengths. Afiner-grained street grid is more appropriate foran emerging urban city centre, offering pedes-trians, cyclist and drivers a number of routesand alternatives. A finer street grid will also im-prove pedestrian safety by providing additionalopportunities for crossing major streets such as104 Avenue and King George Highway. It willalso create more typically scaled, efficient landparcels for urban development.


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Existing Street Network

Existing Street

Core Study AreaBoundary

SkyTrain


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Existing Public Open Space

Public Open Space

Greenway

Core Study Area

MosaicGreen

Entry

Plaza

to Holland Park

to Tom Binnie Park and

Whalley Athletic Park

KingGeorgeH

ighway


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2.1.5 Public Open Space

Two public open spaces currently exist withinand adjacent to the core study area: an informalgreen space between the North Surrey Recre-ation Centre and the Whalley Library / SunriseSeniors Centre informally known as Mosa-ic Green and the entry plaza to Central CityTower. Mosaic Green, while not an official park,provides green space and pedestrian walkwaysthrough a large block. However this space issomewhat hidden, with blank walls on the ad-

jacent buildings and parking lots between thegreen space and the surrounding streets. Theentry plaza to Central City Tower has significantpedestrian activity from students, shoppers and

office workers. This activity is complementedwith outdoor restaurant seating on the plazaand the hosting of special events in the plazasuch as lunch hour concerts. Holland Park currently being reconstructed to the south tobecome Surreys first urban park also contrib-utes to the public open space network, but willneed to be connected to the core study area.It will serve as a key anchor to the open spacesystem and a gateway to the City Centre. It willprovide spaces for large scale city events andinformal recreation. It is also being expandedto provide active recreation opportunities for

residents.

The area generally has poor pedestrian connec-tions between these open spaces. Sidewalksare limited in scope and modest in scale, andthe streetscape quality is poor, with the excep-tion of recent streetscape enhancements alongCity Parkway.

There are plans to incorporate a public art walkthrough Surrey City Centre that will include aseries of public and community art pieces thatcould create visual and physical linkages be-tween public spaces.

The Surrey Central Transit Village Plan recog-nizes the need for high quality public spacesand sidewalks that contribute both to the liv-ability of the neighbourhood and to the civicsignificance of Surrey City Centre.

2.1.6 Utilities

City of Surrey staff have advised that there issufficient existing service capacity in the corestudy area to support the growth called for inthis plan. Therefore no significant additionalservice or utility requirements are anticipated tosupport the planned growth.

New underground services and utilities willneed to be installed as part of the proposednew streets, to serve both the street themselves(e.g. street lighting, storm sewers) and the adja-cent new development parcels.


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2.2 Planning Principles

The following Planning Principles derive from the assessment of existing conditions describedabove, and underpin the Surrey Central Transit Village Plan. These Planning Principles were de-veloped with stakeholder input.

Create an urban redevelopment plan that is based on a solid financial strategy.

Make planning choices that can be implemented. (The plan needs to be practical in theshort, medium and long-term, while remaining consistent with the long-term transit-ori-ented development goals.)

Reduce greenhouse gasses by encouraging modes of transportation other than the pri-vate vehicle.

Create a place that works as a neighbourhood as well as a City Centre.

Build on existing institutional and public assets (SkyTrain, SFU, Recreation Centre, Li-

brary, Holland Park, Mosaic Green, seniors centre, the citys land holdings) where this isappropriate in both the short and long term.

Create a mixed-use neighbourhood with jobs, homes, services, and amenities centred onrapid transit service.

Support transportation priorities as follows:

- For trips of 1000m:

1. Transit2. Cyclists

3. Private Vehicle

- Commercial goods movement will be accommodated to a sufficient degree tosupport vibrant economic life in the area.

Enhance community livability as well as the quality of transit experience by improving thephysical environment throughout the neighbourhood and around transit stations.

Promote a high quality, green, lively and safe pedestrian environment.

Enhance the image of the area, helping to create a desirable location to live, work, shop,study and visit.


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2.3 Proposed Plan

2.3.1 Market and Financial Analysis:

Implications for PlanningMultiple Residential:

Implications for Planning

Analysis of the multifamily residential markethas led to the following implications for thePlan:

1. It will only be attractive to redevelop prop-erties in the core study area if relatively high-density high-rise multifamily residential projectsare permitted. Minimum residential densitiesof about 6.0 FAR should be considered for thecore study area.`

2. Developers will likely be interested in con-structing tall apartment buildings, possibly withpodium levels. Most streets in the core studyarea will likely be more attractive for street frontcommercial space on lower levels rather thangrade level residential units. However, if attrac-tive residential streets can be created, town-house podiums could be considered for thesestreet blocks. In these circumstances, guide-lines should mandate that townhouse buildingforms include higher ceiling heights for groundlevel floors. This will allow for the conversion of

these units into office and retail uses.

Retail and Services: Implications for

Planning

Analysis of retail and service development op-portunities leads to the following implicationsfor the planning process:

1. Large amounts of residential developmentare needed to generate opportunities for localoriented retail and service businesses in thecore study area. The key to encouraging retaildevelopment in the core study area is to create

a large nearby residential population.

2. One of the most important pedestrian links inthe core study area is the connection betweenfuture retail streets in the study area and the re-tail space in the Central City project. Given thatCentral City has the largest concentration of re-tail space in the city centre, a high quality con-nection between existing and new retail spacein the core study area and Central City will helpimprove retail prospects in the core study area.

3. On the east side of King George Highwaythere are large sites that are redevelopmentcandidates. Therefore opportunities to improve

the pedestrian crossings from the east side ofKing George to the core study area should beexamined. Ideally one or more new signalizedcrossing opportunities should be introduced onKing George between 102nd Avenue and 104th

Avenue. In the long term, this will improve theretail opportunities in the core study area.

4. New east-west streets introduced to the corestudy area should be planned to extend acrossKing George Highway to the east and acrossWest Whalley Ring Road to the west. Thesenew side streets will offer locations for smallerscale retail and service businesses that are in-terested in serving the local residents, studentsand employees in the area. To be successful,the new streets should extend into any futureresidential areas to the east and to the west.

5. King George Highway frontage should beused to accommodate larger retail and servicebusinesses serving the sub regional trade area.

6. Retail businesses place an emphasis on con-venient customer parking. There will need tobe convenient on-street and/or off-street cus-tomer parking for new retail space in the core

study area.

Office Uses: Implications for Planning

Our analysis of the office market leads to thefollowing implications for the planning process:

1. The market for private sector office space issmall so office developers will probably be in-terested in building relatively small office build-ings (100,000 sq. ft. or less). Otherwise, lease-up will span several years making developmentunattractive. A large scale high-rise office proj-ect will only be successful with a large anchor,

such as a government or institutional tenant/partner or a large private business.

2. To encourage private sector office develop-ment in the short term, the City will need to ex-plore opportunities to provide incentives. Someexamples of implementation strategies and in-centives might include:

Making publicly owned land availableand reserved for office development (to


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help minimize land assembly costs and

to ensure land is available at office landvalue rather than residential land value).

Changing regulations to help reducedevelopment costs, such as reductionsin off-street parking requirements (Itshould be noted that parking is requiredto make the office space marketable sothis option could require creation of apublic parking facility).

Introducing policies to reduce buildingoperating costs, thereby creating roomto increase lease rates. One option

could be property tax rate reductionson office buildings.

Using a density bonus system to en-courage office development as part ofmixed-use residential and commercialprojects. Under this strategy, develop-ers could be offered additional density(beyond the density identified in thisplan) for including office space in theirprojects.

3. If the City wants to encourage private of-fice development in the core study area over

the long term (other than as part of mixed useprojects), sites intended for office use will needto be designated and zoned with office as a re-quired use. If residential is a potential use for aproperty, an office developer will not be able tooutbid a residential developer for the propertyso the site will likely end up being developedfor residential purposes. Therefore such siteswill have to specifically exclude residential as apermitted use or require a minimum amount ofoffice space in a mixed-use building. The Citycould consider designating and zoning publiclands for office use and private lands for resi-

dential or mixed-use (which has more marketpotential in the short term).

4. The City should identify and evaluate oppor-tunities to create a municipal office presence inthe core study area.

2.3.2 Proposed Land Use

A wide range of land uses is proposed in theplan, consistent with this area emerging as Sur-reys downtown:

High Density Residential:

- maximum 4-storey Multiple Residential housing (RM)

- high-rise RM

Retail:

- City Centre Retail (local/destination serving)

- Regional Serving Retail

Commercial Office/Institutional

Mixed Use Residential/Office/Retail

Community/Cultural/Recreational

Public Open Space

High Density Residential + PublicTransit Use

These land uses are discussed in more detailbelow and illustrated by the graphic on the fol-lowing page.

High Density Residential

The Surrey Central Transit Village Plan calls for

a substantial amount of land to be made avail-able for high-density multiple residential de-velopment. Almost all blocks within the corestudy area permit high density residential, withnet densities of up to 6.0 FAR. The only excep-tions are a portion of Block CC-9 (Public OpenSpace), Block CC-12 (Public Open Space)) andBlocks CC-14, CC-15, and CC-16 (reservedfor commercial retail, office, and institutional.)Blocks C-17 and C-18 can be mixed-use resi-dential and retail, but will be required to includea minimum amount of office and/or institutionalspace.

Some development parcels are more suited tolower rise RM (up to 8 floors) and others to high-rise towers (up to 30 floors). However, while thePlan illustrates possible tower locations, thespecific location of high-rise towers and lower


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104 Avenue

102 Avenue

WestWhalleyRin

gRd

New Road

New Road

NewRoad

NewRoad


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rise RM apartments should be made on a caseby case development basis, to maximize thedevelopers flexibility and ability to respond to

market demand.

Mixed-Use:

Retail, Office and Residential:

The following blocks are proposed for MixedUse Residential/Office/Retail use: CC-7, CC-10, CC-13, CC-17 and CC-18, with some officeuse being required to be included in the devel-opment on CC-17 and CC-18.

Local Serving Retail

Mixed Use Retail, Office and Residential usesinclude restaurants, bars and cafes, stores,

professional services, clinics, entertainment,etc. but not big-box format or highway-orientedretail. It also includes specialty or destinationretail that serves a citywide market. The LandUse Plan mandates street-fronting retail on allblocks facing the Civic Plaza and facing ontothe two East-West streets between City Park-way and King George Highway City Centre Re-tail can also include second floor retail uses.

Regional Serving Retail

Regional Serving Retail provides regional serv-ing retail including larger format retail uses. Thiskind of retail typically relies more heavily onauto access and has a larger catchment marketthan just the local or downtown community. Itis located adjacent to King George Highway, onthe eastern portion of blocks CC-7, CC-13 andC-18.

While Regional Serving Retail has traditionallybeen single use, it will be reformatted into moreurban types of mixed-use developments alonga more pedestrian oriented King George High-way, and could include office and residentialuses above.

Commercial Office and Institutional:

Commercial Office provides for commercialand institutional office uses and educationaluses. Recognizing that current market forcesare unlikely to result in office use over residen-tial use in this area, blocks CC-14, CC-15, andCC-16 are specifically reserved for commercial/institutional office and educational uses only,

with some street-fronting retail required. Theseblocks are located between the North SurreyRecreation Centre and SFUs emerging Surrey

campus.

Public, Residential, Office, and Retail

Block CC-11 is proposed to accommodate fora broad range of public uses including Recre-ation Centre, Community Centre, Indoor Pool,

Arts and Cultural facilities, Library, City Hall,Police Station, Courthouse, Museum, othercivic facilities, etc.

This block currently houses the North SurreyRecreation Centre, which is anticipated to re-main in the short to medium term but may berenovated, expanded, or redeveloped to includeadditional public uses. As part of any such re-development of Block C-11, the land use wouldalso permit residential and commercial officedevelopment to a maximum density of 6.0 FAR.Such residential or office uses could form partof an expanded and redeveloped RecreationCentre, but may not be developed on its ownon this block.

Public, Institutional, and Retail

Block CC-12 and a portion of Block CC-9 areproposed for Public Open Space. Block CC-12

is reserved for the Civic Plaza, and a portion ofBlock CC-9 is planned to accommodate Mo-saic Green Park.

The land use also permits local serving Retailand public amenities within the Civic Plaza,as illustrated on the Annotated Plan (Section2.3.6).

High Density Residential and Public

Transit Use

Block CC-8 is proposed for High Density Resi-dential and Public Transit Use, to accommodate

the bus layover facility required in the town cen-tre. This facility will be at grade and could bepart of a high-density residential development.The bus layover facility could be screened fromview and located within the bulk of the overalldevelopment, with a separate one-way entryand exit for buses.


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2.3.3 Transit Service

The Surrey Central Transit Village Plan propos-es a major civic square, unique to the regionboth in terms of public open space and the op-erational efficiency of transit. The civic squarewill not only serve as a premier civic space inthe region, it will also enable the Surrey Cen-tral SkyTrain Station to function as a successfulmajor transit hub. This means:

providing direct connection betweenbuses and SkyTrain, for travel betweenSurrey and the rest of the region;

providing direct connections betweenbus routes as a primary means of lo-cal travel within Surrey. Local transitservice will become increasingly moreimportant as Surrey grows and diversi-fies;

supporting and benefiting from a highlevel of development density thataccommodates future transit require-ments

Transit facilities will need to accommodate alarge and growing number of users. Similarly,public space that also functions as part of atransit interchange benefits from the animationof transit passengers as they complete connec-tions.

It is proposed to replace the bus loop with atransit couplet on two new parallel east-weststreets. A transit couplet on adjacent parallelstreets provides a balance between meetingtransit operations requirements, achieving ahigh-level of service for passengers, and hav-ing minimal negative impacts on the surround-ing areas. An east-west transit couplet focusedaround a Civic Plaza offers the opportunity toprovide passenger drop-off and pick-up in acentralized location immediately adjacent tothe SkyTrain station as well as allowing for the

inclusion of the proposed Bus Rapid Transit(BRT) route below the SkyTrain and adjacentto the Civic Plaza. The core study area accom-modates the integration of local bus, BRT, andSkyTrain service for the area south of the FraserRiver.

A critical consideration of the Surrey CentralTransit Village Plan is the operational efficien-cy of buses, including their connectivity with

SkyTrain, passenger comfort and ease of use.

Local Buses

Local buses will travel along two new east-weststreets and stop adjacent to the Civic Plaza. Atransit couplet centred on a public plaza will:

reduce pedestrian / bus conflicts. Pas-sengers connecting to other routeswill no longer need to cross the pathof buses in operation. Instead, con-nections can be made across the CivicPlaza;

improve the sense of safety of passen-gers. All passengers waiting for busesare in view of other transit users and

less likely to feel alone; integrate transit and urban design con-

siderations in a seamless way.

BRT

In the short to medium term, TransLink is pro-posing to implement a BRT service connectingGuildford Town Centre, Surrey City Centre andthe Semiahmoo Peninsula. This will provide op-portunities for citywide connectivity that focus-es on the Surrey Central SkyTrain Station. ThisBRT route may eventually become a Light RailTransit (LRT) route in the long-term.

The proposed alignment is along City Park-way continuing south across 102 Avenue untilreconnecting with King George Highway andnorth until 104 Avenue, at which point it turnseast. Having the BRT service on City Parkwaywill provide for good connections to other tran-sit services without over-burdening the localbus service on the east-west transit coupletroads. This meets the functional requirementsof BRT including:

Protection from auto congestion,

through a largely exclusive right of wayand signal priority;

adequate pedestrian capacity at sta-tions;

geometrics and protection of right-of-way consistent with future light rail (topreserve the long term possibility ofreplacing rapid buses with a light railtransit system).


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The Surrey Central Transit Village Plan hasidentified a potential location for a bus layover

facility at West Whalley Ring Road on the northside of the transit couplet. This is expected tobe an at-grade covered facility with a residentialtower above. This facility will allow buses ter-minating / starting here to be stored off of thestreet with break facilities for bus drivers. In-corporating residential uses above and aroundthis bus layover function will help to provide amore attractive street facade.

A site is reserved for a transit layover facility. Upper levels ofthis facility may be developed for residential or commercialuses.

New Road

WestWhalley

RingRoad

104 Avenue

New Road

NewRoad

IN

OUT

Transit Connectivity

Transit services will include SkyTrain, BRT (BusRapid Transit- a high quality regional transit bus

system), and local buses that will serve the Sur-rey Central Transit Village.

All transit in the area would stop adjacent to theCivic Plaza, as follows:

SkyTrain at the station on the west sideof the plaza;

BRT on City Parkway beneath the SkyTrain station, on the west side of theplaza;

Eastbound non-BRT buses on the eastbound couplet street, which is on the

north side of the plaza;

Westbound non-BRT buses on thewestbound couplet street, which is onthe south side of the plaza.

In addition to providing optimal connectivityfunctions, the Civic Plaza component of thetransit couplet will be the symbolic and physi-cal heart of the city, a public space unique inthe Lower Mainland. The presence of transit onthree sides of the plaza will also help to ensurethe animation and safety of the space: plaza us-ers will feel more comfortable with other users

in the area and the high number of passengersthroughout the day will ensure constant eyes onthe street. The portion of City Parkway betweenthe two couplet roads can be designed to pro-mote pedestrian priority over other modes byproviding pedestrian crossing tables over ve-hicular lanes that make the roadway even withadjacent sidewalks.

TransLink has confirmed support for the con-cept of using the Civic Plaza as a transit inter-change, and a viable alternative to the existingbus loop.


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Proposed Transit Infrastructure and Circulation

Local buses SkyTrain

BRT Core Study Area

SkyTrain Connectivity

To improve connectivity between SkyTrain ser-vice and other modes, several improvementsare proposed:

A new connection between the civic plazaand the SkyTrain platform;

Modification to the existing southernmostSkyTrain platform access as part ofredevelopment;

A new entrance access to the north end ofthe SkyTrain platform when required inthe future.


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Proposed Transportation Network

Proposed Street

Core Study AreaBoundary


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retail prospects in the core study area. The pe-destrian network connects the Civic Plaza to thesurrounding streets and other activity nodes. Apedestrian corridor is proposed to link the CivicPlaza and the Central City Tower entry plaza.

A second pedestrian corridor links the NorthSurrey Recreation Centre and the Central CityTower entry plaza.

The proposed greenway network includes anorth-south greenway that follows the route ofthe elevated SkyTrain line and connects Gate-way SkyTrain Station to the north and Holland

Park to the south. The greenway system willalso serve to enhance the Civic Plaza at SurreyCentral SkyTrain Station. The Civic Plaza cre-ates a destination for those traveling along thegreenway while the location of the greenway inrelation to the plaza strengthens the role of theplaza as the civic heart of Surrey City Centre.

Additional considerations include significantimprovements to the pedestrian environment

Central City Tower

Civic Plaza

A pedestrian linkage connects the Central City Towerto the Civic Plaza and recreation centre. Pedestrian

linkages will need to be wide with appropriateadjacent building heights, well-lit, and attractive.

2.3.4 Transportation Network /

Streets

The Surrey Central Transit Village Plan proposesthree new east-west streets, two of which con-nect West Whalley Ring Road and King GeorgeHighway. The proposed streets should have aright of way to adequately accommodate ve-hicular, transit, bicycle and pedestrian circu-lation in an urban environment. These streetscould extend beyond the core-study area in thelong term. These extensions have already beenearmarked by the City as future streets.

The plan proposes two new north-southstreets. East of City Parkway, a new north-south street will connect 102 Avenue and 104

Avenue. A second north-south street is locatedwest of City Parkway although it would onlyrun from 104 Avenue as far as the North Sur-rey Recreation Centre. These two north-southstreets should have a right-of-way that is wideenough to accommodate a variety of uses, butslightly narrower than other city streets to con-tribute to a more pedestrian friendly, domesticneigbourhood scale. These streets will be qui-eter in nature and more local serving. Buildingsalong these street frontages should be 4 sto-reys or less and flexible in use to permit either

residential, retail, or office space, ensuring anactive public realm.

This new street network will create a morenormalized urban infrastructure of streets andbuilding blocks, suitable for pedestrians as wellas vehicles and transit.

Pedestrian Network

All new streets will be designed to have gener-ous, safe sidewalks on both sides. Sidewalksshould be designed to downtown urban stan-dards, with a generous zone for unobstructedpassage as well as a service zone (street utili-ties, poles, furniture, parking meters, trees,etc.), dropped curbs at intersections, and wellmarked and signed crosswalks. Accessibilityfeatures on all new sidewalks, crosswalks andpedestrian routes will be required.

High quality pedestrian connections betweenexisting and new retail space in the core studyarea and Central City Tower will help improve


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along King George Highway, particularly sig-nalized crosswalks at existing and proposednew intersections. One or more new signal-

ized crossings should be introduced on KingGeorge Highway between 102nd Avenue and104th Avenue. This will improve retail opportu-nities in the core study area as well as providebetter access to new retail on the east side ofthe highway.

Components of this section are more fully discussed in OpusHamiltons SURREY CITY CENTRE TRANSIT-ORIENTEDDEVELOPMENT PLAN Transportation Memorandum: Re-view of the Draft Preferred Option. The full report is avail-

able in the supporting technical document titled SurreyCentral Transit Village Plan Background Information.

Surrey Central Transit Village, centred around the SurreyCentral SkyTrain station, is a centre piece of a north-south

greenway network that extends throughout Surrey City Cen-tre.


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102 Avenue

104 Avenue

Kin

gGeorge

Surrey CentralSkyTrain Station

King George

SkyTrain Station

All new roads in the city centre, including thetwo new east-west roads in the core study area,

will be designed to ensure that cyclists can en-joy comprehensive and safe access throughoutthe city centre.

SkyTrain Line /City Parkway Greenway

SkyTrain Station

Bicycle Route(existing)

Bicycle RouteLinkage Needed

Core Study Area

Bicycle Network

The following diagram illustrates the proposedbicycle network in the core study area.

The plan proposes an extensive network of bi-cycle routes. The bicycle network connects be-yond the core study area to existing designatedbicycle routes. Also, end of trip facilities includ-ing secure bicycle storage and shower facilitiesand frequent bicycle parking are encouraged inall new development and in the public realm.

Cycling routes from the east and west will con-nect into the principal north-south greenway/bikeway route, thereby enhancing the existingbicycle network.


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Full signal, all movements

Full signal, all movements

Signalized Intersection

Signalized Intersection

Intersection Movements

The following illustration represents possibleintersection laning for private vehicles and bus-es.

Vehicular Circulation

As noted previously, the current street con-figuration in and around the core study area is

suburban in character. It is therefore importantto understand the implications of an emergingCity Centre on transportation and to acceptthat a successful City Centre requires a differ-ent transportation network context than a sub-urban network. Increased trip generation by allmodes from new development will likely resultin more congestion, consistent with an urbanenvironment. In an urban context, traffic con-gestion is accepted and indeed can be a posi-tive contributor to inducing other travel modes.It also means traffic moves more slowly, whichsupports a safer pedestrian environment.

An operational analysis was conducted basedon both existing conditions and comparativeanalysis to ensure that the continued mobilityof private vehicles and trucks is maintained.While pedestrian, bicycle, and transit mobilityare the highest consideration in this Plan, pri-vate vehicles and trucks will continue to servicethe core study area efficiently and effectively.This will ensure easy delivery of goods to busi-nesses and stores, opportunities to drop offpassengers to connect with SkyTrain and othertransit operations, as well as to provide daily

need trips into and through the City Centre.

It should be noted that while the Surrey CentralTransit Village Plan focused on a relatively smallcore study area, the transportation analysis in-volved a much broader geographic scope. Thisensured that both local and regional consider-ations were taken into account in assessing thePlan.

Vehicular mobility is maintained by:

maintaining 3 lanes per direction onKing George Highway;

making better use of and connectivityto East Whalley Ring Road and WestWhalley Ring Road;

creating several new two-way east-west and north-south streets that willdistribute traffic within the City Centre.


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Future Signal to support BRT


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Truck mobility is maintained by:

utilizing King George Highway, EastWhalley Ring Road, and West Whalley

Ring Road to, from, and through theCity Centre.

The transition of the Surrey Central Transit Vil-lage from a suburban context to an urban en-vironment depends partly on the reduction ofblock sizes and intersection spacing. Thesereductions will encourage multi-modal trans-portation options (walking, cycling and transit)and enable a more livable urban environmentto emerge. Of particular interest is how theproposed intersection spacing might impactvehicular circulation on King George Highway

and West Whalley Ring Road. A comparativeanalysis of major corridors (King George High-way under current conditions, Georgia Streetin Vancouver, and King George Highway underthe proposed conditions of the Surrey CentralTransit Village Plan) indicated that:

the reduced distance between intersec-tions will not necessarily affect currentdaily capacity on King George Highway;

the average daily traffic throughput onKing George Highway can be main-tained with the addition of two new

intersections. The number of intersec-tions within the core study area will beless than that of a similar section ofGeorgia Street, which has greater trafficvolumes;

adjacent streets (West Whalley RingRoad, for example) have the potentialto absorb a significant amount of addi-tional traffic when traffic growth occursin the area.

While some impact on traffic is expected, themore pedestrian-friendly environment that willresult represents a critical step towards the

transformation of the core study area into anurban downtown.

New intersections on West Whalley Ring Roadare expected to:

contribute to an improved pedestrianfriendly environment;

reduce potential conflict points andreduce collision risks by employingturning movement restrictions wherenecessary.

Additional factors to consider include the fol-

lowing: maintaining three through lanes in each

direction, plus one left-turn lane in eachdirection;

maintaining or improving KGHs cur-rent people-moving capacity with theintroduction of Bus Rapid Transit andimproved transit operations.

taming King George Highway in orderto make Surrey City Centre a moredesirable and livable area.

providing a full signal on one of the newKGH intersections with the other beinga bus- and/or pedestrian-activatedsignal;

reducing queuing by introducingshorter signal phases.

Components of this section are more fully discussed in OpusHamiltons SURREY CITY CENTRE TRANSIT-ORIENTEDDEVELOPMENT PLAN Transportation Memorandum: Re-view of the Draft Preferred Option. The full report is avail-

able in the supporting technical document titled SurreyCentral Transit Village Plan Background Information.


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A 400m length of Highway 99A in Surrey (King George Highway) fits a suburban context with nointersections and limited opportunity for multi-modal mobility. A 400m length of Highway 99A inVancouver (Georgia Street) includes shorter block lengths and three intersections, helping to create a

more pedestrian friendly environment while still maintaining vehicular mobility and circulation.

Comparative Block Lengths

400m

400m

80m

80m

80m

80m

Seymour

Granville

Howe

Hornby


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Parking Strategy

Appropriate parking supply and pricing will bea critical element to achieve the goals of the

Surrey Central Transit Village Plan. The Planprovides opportunities for the provision of un-derground parking, shared parking, and parkingratios more suitable for a transit-served, urbanCity Centre. The Plan also creates new oppor-tunities for on-street parking with new streetsadded to the area. It should be noted that thecurrent ample supply of free parking encour-ages automobile use as the primary mode oftransportation, and a clearly-defined parkingpolicy is required to achieve a more balanced,multi-modal City Centre.

Current Parking Supply and Demand

In Surrey City Centre, a large amount of land iscurrently dedicated to surface parking. Muchof the parking supply appears to be unusedfor large portions of the day. Several caveatsshould be kept in mind as development of thenew City Centre proceeds:

In urban settings, rationalizing parkingpolicies in relation to transit-orienteddevelopment is essential to influencinghow a SkyTrain station will be accessedand used, and to avoiding conflicts

over whether land goes to parking ordevelopment.

Surface parking lots strongly influencethe character of an area, making it lesspedestrian friendly and much more dif-ficult to create a compelling, safe publicrealm.

Increased parking around rapid transitstations also increases peak hour con-gestion and pollution on local streets,which runs counter to the Urban Trans-portation Showcase Program goals of

reducing greenhouse gases. Associatedtraffic also has a negative impact onlocal residents.

Studies of parking policies within transit-orient-ed development areas have shown that when

large parking garages are provided for park-and-ride purposes, it does not bring a com-mensurate number of new riders. Rather, thosewho use the parking lots tend to be existingpassengers who used to take local transit toreach the station, but switched to driving whenit became more convenient. Shared parking(e.g. between a daytime use, such as an officebuilding and an evening use such as a movietheatre) can economize on development costsand land consumption.

Residential parking requirements within the

core study area should be reduced and/or bemore flexible to reflect the tendency of manyhouseholds in transit-oriented developments tohave lower car ownership rates.

Short- to Long-term Recommendations

Over the short- to long-term, the following park-ing initiatives are recommended for Surrey CityCentre:

Introduce parking maximums to limitthe oversupply of parking; over thelong-term, lower the maximums to fit

with an increasingly urban context; Review the current minimum parking

bylaw requirements and determinewhether they can be further lowered inCity Centre;

Strongly discourage the amount ofoff-street surface parking available,through incentive zoning strategies.Restrict surface parking in new devel-opments within the core study area;

Develop incentives to encourage sharedparking between land uses with oppos-

ing peak demands; Accommodate on-street parking.


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2.3.5 Public Open Space

The proposed Open Space Plan consists ofseveral interconnected public open spacesand the pedestrian-oriented street network thatconnects them.

The Surrey Central Transit Village Plan is con-sistent with previous planning work in its rec-ommendations for enhancements to the publicopen space for Surrey City Centre. The WhalleyParks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan(January 2001) recommends a pedestrian sys-tem running north-south through Surrey City

Centre from the Gateway SkyTrain Station in

the north to King George SkyTrain Station andHolland Park in the south. The proposed routeroughly follows the SkyTrain line. The centrepiece of this pedestrian system includes a ma-

jor new public plaza centrally located and de-veloped in conjunction with the Surrey CentralSkyTrain Station. The Civic Plaza is proposed tobe located just east of the existing SkyTrain sta-tion. It is defined by City Parkway to the west,the two new east-west streets to the north and

Proposed Public Open Space

KingGeorge

102 Avenue

104 Avenue

WestWhalleyRin

CityPark

way

Public Open Space

Greenway

Core Study Area

Mosaic

Green

Civic

Plaza

Entry

Plaza

To Gateway Plaza, WhalleyBall Park / Tom Binnie Park

To Holland Park


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The above diagram illustrates how the Civic

Plaza forms part of the pedestrian open space

network through Surrey City Centre, is support-

ed by commercial and retail functions, and is

centrally located within the new street network

to service a variety of transit options, including

BRT, SkyTrain, and local buses.


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New Street A

New Street B

Plaza

Retail

Bus-Shelter

Mosaic Green

Alternative Location

Surrey Central

SkyTrain Station

BRT Station

Access to

SkyTrain

Enhanced North SurreyRecreation Centre

Bus-Shelter

C

ityParkway

Mixed-Use with

Ground Level Retail


The plan above illustrates

Documents

Central Transit Village Plan