Transportation, affordable housing top issues for voters in Langley
Posted October 9, 2018 5:00 am.
Last Updated October 20, 2018 5:58 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
LANGLEY (NEWS 1130) – It used to be that you could move from places like Vancouver or Burnaby to buy a home on a lot in Langley.
However, with benchmark prices for both the Township and City sitting at more than a million dollars for a detached home, some say that’s no longer really the case.
“That is a big concern to a lot of younger people, and I think because of that it puts pressure on rentals and it puts pressure on other things,” says Langley Times columnist Frank Bucholtz.
With more and more people being forced to moved farther away from major cities in an effort to find cheaper options, Bucholtz says it’s just one of the many factors contributing to ever-increasing prices — not just in the Langleys, but across Metro Vancouver.
“Relatively recently, it was possible to leave the city, closer in, and find a condominium apartment/townhouse — particularly in Willoughby, which is a fast growing area close to the freeway,” he tells NEWS 1130.
While it was expensive, it was relatively affordable, he adds.
The City and Township, however, both face slightly different challenges when it comes to housing affordability.
“The Township has land. It has some areas that can be developed,” explains Colleen Clark, executive director of the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce.
“First off, everybody has to figure out what is affordable housing — there’s that big question out there — and what types of housing are needed. Is it below market? Is it rental purpose?”
In the City, the problem is the lack of available land.
“Everything is taken, so do we start looking at things like New Westminster and Burnaby where you’re having to tear down old buildings to replace them with new buildings that does not make them affordable?” she says.
According to the most recent data available, 61 per cent of the population of the City of Langley is between the age of 20 and 64. In the Township, that is also the demographic that makes up the largest percentage at 59.
The population is expected to double by 2040.
Transportation: people, goods and services
The issue of affordability is directly linked to other problems locals in the Langleys are struggling with. Transportation — not just on the topic of transit — is arguably one of the biggest growing pains for those living there.
If you live in or pass through that region regularly, you’ve probably found yourself stuck in your car along Highway 1 during rush hour more than once along with thousands of other people, as NEWS 1130 has often reported in Traffic on the ones.
“People are moving further and further out, and a related problem is transportation,” Bucholtz notes.
The province has looked at addressing the issue of congestion, but it’s a problem that doesn’t have a quick fix.
“The province under the B.C. Liberals had a plan to widen [Highway 1] to three lanes in each way as far east as Whatcom Road in Abbotsford,” he says. “That has been put on hold by the NDP government, and there is a lot of concern by a lot of Langley residents, firefighters, other people, and people in Abbotsford and Chilliwack, that this is creating much more congestion than has ever been the case on that stretch of road.”
Meantime, Clark says congestion is not just a concern when it comes to moving people — but also when it comes to moving goods and services.
“All of these things we’re seeing as an issue as we are increasing our population in the area, but yet we’re not increasing services,” she says, adding the majority of the concerns she’s hearing from the group’s membership revolve around transportation.
“We have one of the highest agricultural areas in the Lower Mainland, the most farms. Getting those goods off of the farms and getting them to where they need to be, moving of manufactured goods, access to the port, Highway 1… in the mornings, almost every day there’s an incident between 272nd and 200th,” Clark adds.
The number one mode of transportation in the Langleys is by car, truck, or van. In the City, that mode of transportation sits at about 86 per cent, while the number skyrockets in the Township, with the majority of people driving sitting at 91 per cent. The average commute time in both Langleys is about a half hour.
“We’re really looking at a way to increase our road structure, get Highway 1 increased as it was promised by the previous government,” Clark says. “Now we just need to get this government to look at it as a priority.”
This is all separate from the issue of SkyTrain versus LRT, something most candidates aren’t really divided by, Bucholtz explains.
“Almost every one of them says it should be SkyTrain, that’s what needs to come along Fraser Highway because there are so many people in that corridor in both Surrey and Langley who really need the ability to use rapid transit, and quickly,” he says.
Clark, who along with Bucholtz, has been speaking with candidates and says they’ve all expressed the same concern: “if we’re going to build more density and increase housing, we still have to have a way to transport people,” she says.
The Metro Vancouver Mayors’ Council says it’s looking to improve rapid transit south of the Fraser through its 10-year transportation vision, as populations continue to grow across various municipalities.
The second phase of its plan includes potential early works for the Surrey to Langley LRT line.
With the quickly approaching legalization of pot, another issue the Township has seen gain more attention is the topic of marijuana growth on ALRs.
Meantime, homelessness is a concern in both Langleys.
The candidates: Who’s running and how they can gain an edge
In the City, Ted Schaffer is hanging up his hat after serving as mayor since 2014.
Former B.C. Liberal MLA Peter Fassbender is among those looking to fill that position. He’s hoping to reclaim his old job as City mayor after stepping down during his third term as mayor back in 2013 for provincial politics.
Fassbender is going up against two others: Val van den Broek — an incumbent councillor — and Serena Oh. Sixteen candidates are vying for six council spots. Five others are running for the two school trustee positions.
Click here to view the candidates in Langley City
Meantime, incumbent Jack Froese is looking to secure his third term as the Township mayor, going up against two other candidates: Anna Remenik and Alex Joehl.
In the Township, 22 candidates are looking to secure any of the eight spots open for council. Seven seven others are hoping to be voted on as school trustees, of which there are five slots.
Click here to view the candidates in Langley Township
In a recent column for the Langley Times, Bucholtz had said the Langley election will be “interesting, if not overly exciting.”
“In the Township, four years ago, there were some pretty hot topics, and we had a very active online, ‘unelection’ campaign to throw out some incumbents and it actually worked,” he says. “Three incumbents lost their seats for the first time since 2002.”
This time around, there’s nothing like that happening. Bucholtz says many of the burning issues that were in the spotlight in 2014 have, for the most part, “disappeared.”
He adds the issues that are outstanding — many listed above — are more generic ones that go beyong the boundaries of the Langleys.
“They’re things that the local government can do something about, but can’t do a lot about,” Bucholtz says.
And while there are some familiar names back on the ballot sheets, he points out there are also a number of new faces. For those newcomers, it may be more difficult to break into city hall against some veterans.
So what do candidates need to do to win voters over? It comes down to connecting with voters as much as possible.
“They probably have to see if they can connect with them personally, either at the doorsteps — which is quite possible in Langley City — or online, or engage them somehow,” Bucholtz says, adding locals need to also do their own research in order to make the most informed choice.
Connecting “at the doorstep” might be trickier in a place like the Township, where Bucholtz believes candidates need to do what they can to engage with voters.
Incumbents on issues
While transportation and housing affordability are up there in terms of the biggest concerns for locals, City incumbent mayor Ted Schaffer points to other pressing matters: homelessness and crime.
“In my community, we struck up a homelessness task group with community engagement as well as discussions with Fraser Health and the Province,” he wrote in an email statement to NEWS 1130.
“I believe the Province must step up and put more resources into helping the less fortunate as a City may assist through different programs but the mandate for a City is roads, sewers and general government with the responsibility of the hospitals and health being that of the Province.”
Schaffer would like to see the City “continue to move forward in a positive direction,” and would like an emphasis on parks and recreation to be considered.
“This would create a focal point for families and seniors to relax and enjoy life.”
Meantime, Township Mayor Jack Froese says development is something he hears many concerns and questions about. That all ties in to aforementioned issues like transportation, and even schools and health care.
As the Township’s population continues to grow, he tells CityNews that land resources are limited, and there’s only so much land you can build on.
“The last Census showed that we grew about 13 per cent over five years, and it’s just under our growth projections that we have of about 3 per cent,” Froese says. “There’s lots of growing pains. New neighbourhoods require new roads, require new infrastructure, and sidewalks, and parks… It takes time.”
That contributes to congestion, which Froese says the municipality is trying to keep up with.
