The Township of Langley is taking issue with a British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA) survey that rated 13 roads in the community among the worst in B.C.
The Langley routes were among 581 in the province identified as “unsafe, heavily congested or in desperate need of repair” by the association’s annual “worst roads” survey of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians conducted this summer.
The survey used Google Maps to allow participants to pick stretches of road online.
In Langley, the survey cited 0 Avenue, 200 Street, two sections of 208 Street, 267 Street, 48 Avenue, 80 Avenue, Crush Crescent, Glover Road, Langley Bypass, Old Yale Road, Production Way and Saddlehorn Crescent.
Complaints included potholes, poor signs, lack of pedestrian safety, traffic congestion and badly-timed traffic lights.
The list was sent to the Township on Oct. 29 by Mark Donnelly, the president and COO of the BCAA Road Safety Foundation.
In a three-page letter of reply sent on Nov. 18, Township transportation engineering manager Paul Cordeiro offers a road-by-road response to the survey that begins by noting a number of the problems mentioned are the responsibility of other agencies, such as the traffic signals at Crush Crescent and Glover Road, which are under provincial control, and Production Way, which is within the City of Langley.
The Cordeiro letter goes on to say that 80 Avenue is “believed to be in good condition,” repairs to Old Yale Road have been delayed because it has a heritage designation as one of the first concrete roads constructed in the Lower Mainland, 200 Street is being widened and traffic signals on the busy roadway are being adjusted to deal with congestion and the traffic signals on 48 Avenue are timed to favour the higher volume of traffic on Fraser Highway.
Zero Avenue pavement is in good shape, but it will require “significant upgrades” before it meets Township standards for a cycling route, Cordeiro says.
He says 208 Street is being widening to accommodate increased traffic in the Willoughby area and work to fix potholes on 267 Street and Saddlehorn Crescent is subject to “available funding as part of the Township’s annual operating and capital budgets.”
None of the Langley routes made the the 10 worst list for all of B.C.
Top of the list was Westside Road in West Kelowna, cited for potholes and crumbling pavement.