One of three notices of motion made by Surrey Coun. Linda Annis at a council meeting Monday (May 15) is aimed at resolving summer parking and traffic issues at Crescent Beach in South Surrey.
“The Crescent Beach community is the only beachside community in Surrey that has only one access point to the community from Crescent Beach Road and 128 Avenue,” she noted at the meeting.
“During the spring and summer months, traffic becomes gridlocked and there is no availability for parking for residents without off-street parking or visitors to the beach.”
The neighbourhood was never designed for the sort of traffic and crowds it sees today, Annis said, and it’s time the City dealt with the issues in ways that accommodate residents and visitors alike.
READ ALSO: BNSF train blocks access in and out of Crescent Beach Saturday
She called for a better plan to be created.
“There is a concern among residents and visitors to the beach that, with the gridlock traffic and potential (for the) only access being blocked by a train should the train de-couple and an emergency occur down at the beach, it would be difficult for emergency vehicles to gain access to the Crescent Beach area,” Annis said.
“Therefore, I’m making the following notice of motion that the city staff conduct and present to council a comprehensive plan on how traffic flow, parking and emergency access to Crescent Beach can be improved.”
Examples that might help, Annis said, could be working with TransLink to provide a special summer shuttle to Crescent Beach from park-and-ride lots as a way to reduce the volume of traffic in the community, as well as distributing residents-only parking stickers that would give residents a single parking spot outside their home, as many of the original homes don’t have driveways.
“We need to find a balance that provides easy public access to Crescent Beach while not turning the neighbourhood into a gridlocked parking lot every summer,” Annis said.
Her notice of motion is expected to be dealt with at the June 5 council meeting.
The two other notices of motion made by Annis concern fast-tracking development applications from non-profit organizations and the future of the Fraser Valley Heritage Rail Society.
@Canucklehedd
tricia.weel@peacearchnews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
