Langley threatens to ditch TransLink for BC Transit in underserved area

Langley Township threatens to ditch TransLink jurisdiction for BC Transit in underserved area

BC Transit bus (BC Transit)

If TransLink is unwilling to provide a bus service reaching Gloucester industrial park, the Township of Langley has indicated it is ready to carve the area out of TransLink’s jurisdiction and pursue BC Transit services.

Earlier this week, Langley Township Council approved a motion to formalize its grievances to TransLink that there is no bus service to the industrial park, despite many years of advocacy by businesses, employees, and the municipal government.

“Businesses and residents within Gloucester have paid and continue to pay TransLink millions of dollars in annual taxation via property taxes, fuel taxes and other levies without transit service,” reads the motion.

“The lack of transit service impacts the cost of living for thousands of residents and employees unable to access their workplaces via transit, negatively impacting local business, staff recruitment and retention and employment prospects within The Township of Langley.”

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In a statement to Daily Hive Urbanized, Mayor Eric Woodward further added that “it’s time for TransLink to provide that service or for us to look at an alternate model.”

The approved motion calls on the municipal government to perform additional advocacy to TransLink and the provincial government. Alternatively, if TransLink continues to refuse to provide a bus route, the municipal government will pursue the withdrawal of Gloucester industrial park from TransLink’s jurisdiction and the associated property taxes paid by the area and seek BC Transit as the area’s new service provider.

With the exception of most of the services within West Vancouver, TransLink is the public transit authority for the entire Metro Vancouver region. BC Transit, the provincial government’s public transit authority, is the service provider of the Fraser Valley. The eastern border of Glocuster industrial park is also the boundary line between Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, more specifically Abbotsford.

The industrial park is located at the 264 Street interchange of Highway 1, spanning an area of over 700 acres — surrounded by the protected Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).

Location of Gloucester Industrial Park in Langley Township. (Google Maps)

Gloucester Industrial Park in Langley Township. (Frontline Real Estate Services)

Gloucester Industrial Park in Langley Township. (Frontline Real Estate Services)

According to the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce (GLCC), Gloucester industrial park has over 12,000 employees and about 200 businesses. Notable businesses include an Amazon delivery centre, EV Logistics distribution centre, Overwaitea Foods distribution centre, and Masonite International. Currently, the area has roughly 100 remaining acres of developable land before the industrial park is fully built out.

GLCC states Gloucester businesses have told their organization they are facing immense challenges with recruiting workers, including one business that saw an attrition of about 50% of applicants on initial screening after learning their exact location and poor accessibility to public transit. This requires workers to have a vehicle, limiting employment opportunities and the potential workforce supply.

Currently, the closest TransLink bus service to the industrial park is about four km to the south in Aldergrove, which is the No. 503 bus route along Fraser Highway. The route’s closest bus stop is nearly one hour away on foot, along busy roads and highways.

GLCC further adds that they have met with TransLink leadership on the matter of the bus route, urged an expedited Highway 1 expansion project by the provincial government with a bus transit hub in Gloucester, and worked with TransLink to bring a private shuttle operator to the area.

TransLink previously indicated the South of Fraser is leading Metro Vancouver’s public transit ridership recovery, with some industrial business parks in Surrey seeing strong ridership growth.

With a shortage of industrial space availability and growing costs for industrial land uses within Metro Vancouver’s central areas, businesses are increasingly looking to the outskirts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley for their logistics and warehousing needs.

Map of existing TransLink bus routes in Langley. (TransLink)

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