ALL ABOARD: Mayors have different perspectives on SkyTrain

In an exclusive, multi-part series, the Langley Advance Times is looking at how and when SkyTrain comes to Langley, and its impact on residents, commuters and businesses. Langley City Mayor Nathan Pachal and Langley Township Mayor Eric Woodward both agreed SkyTrain will be a big change, but expressed different views about the positives and negatives during separate interviews with the Langley Advance Times. Pachal called SkyTrain “transformative” and said the City has been preparing for years. Woodward described SkyTrain as “overall a positive step, as long as we’re aware and prepared for some of the negatives.” One of two Langley stations, the second-last on the new line, is going up on the Township side of Willowbrook Shopping Centre, while the other, at the end of the line, is being built in Langley City next to the Cascades Casino. On the issue of potential crime impacts, and the fear that SkyTrain will bring criminals in search of fresh targets, the City Mayor sounded more positive than his Township counterpart. “The old ‘crime train’ thing is about as old as SkyTrain,” Pachal commented. “As more people come to an area, [you have] more people, more crime. That’s just how the world operates. But it hasn’t been really shown that SkyTrain creates an elevated amount of crime just for the fact of being there.” Pachal added the City already has one of the highest ratios of police to population in the Lower Mainland. “It’s kind of neck and neck with Delta,” Pachal said. A more cautious view was expressed by Woodward, a fierce critic of shared policing with the City, who has moved to separate RCMP in the two communities into separate detachments. “Langley City Centre [station] will, in fact, be the end of the line,” Woodward warned, citing the “impact that that could have on the requirement to fund more public safety for fire and police, and some of the less positive impacts that being at the end of the line can have – such as we’ve seen at Surrey Centre [which] I think is partially part of Langley City’s future.” Woodward said it will be important to keep an open mind to the positives and the negatives of rapid transit, “but ensuring that you’re preparing for it in a realistic way, not living with rose-coloured glasses.” “Is Langley City preparing for SkyTrain, not just issuing positive press releases, but also ensuring that they have a proper plan for some of the downsides?” the Township mayor asked. Pachal said the City has been preparing for the arrival of rapid transit for years. “That’s been the case since, I think, Ted Schaffer was mayor, with the Nexus plan,” Pachal remarked. Adopted in 2018 by the then-Langley City council, Nexus aims to leverage SkyTrain to make Langley City a more walkable, livable, and sustainable community. It views the train as a game changer and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the City into a vibrant, connected hub. “Changes are already happening,” Pachal commented. “A lot of fine-tuning has happened. We’re planning for the next generation, really.” On balance, Woodward thinks “having affordable transportation options for people south of the Fraser is ultimately a good thing.” “SkyTrain down Fraser Highway is certainly going to connect Langley to the rapid transit network that Burnaby, Vancouver and Richmond take for granted,” Woodward commented. “In that way it will change certain parts of our communities for sure.” Due to regulations that require increased residential density near SkyTrain stations, “it will have a big impact on the Willowbrook area, definitely,” Woodward said. On that, both mayors appear to be on the same page. Pachal also predicted the Willowbrook area will see “dramatic” change compared to the City. “I think the vision for that is more akin to Brentwood,” Pachal said, where the large Burnaby mall, which has a Millennium Line SkyTrain station, is being redeveloped with high-rise residential towers.