The University of British Columbia (UBC) has acquired a $70-million property close to Surrey Memorial Hospital for a new three-acre campus.

The new Surrey UBC campus will sit at the intersection of King George Boulevard and Fraser Highway, a 135,000-square-foot plot of land which is currently the Grace Hanin Community Church. This is an ideal location for the post-secondary institution given it is close to SkyTrain and Surrey Memorial Hospital.

UBC has a very strong representation of the Fraser Valley. There are nearly 3,500 students, 750 faculty and staff, and thousands of alumni who live in Surrey.

In addition, with a strong grip on health education, more than 4,900 health student and medical resident rotations take place in hospitals, primary care settings and clinics across the Fraser Valley.

“This is an excellent investment by UBC and will help thousands of students from Surrey and south of the Fraser get access to valuable post-secondary education in an accessible and transit-friendly location,” says Randeep Sarai, MP for Surrey Centre.

UBC’s strategic plan includes developing its presence regionally as well as improving access to post-secondary education in the Fraser region.

“We look forward to working with the City of Surrey, Fraser Health, First Nations Health Authority and regional partners to uncover the many exciting possibilities that this new project holds for the Surrey community and Fraser Valley, as well as UBC students, faculty and staff,” says Santa J. Ono, UBC President and Vice-Chancellor.

Consultations with UBC and the Surrey and Fraser Valley communities will begin next year.

If you weren’t aware, there is an extension planned for the Expo line SkyTrain along Fraser Highway from King George Station in Surrey City Centre to Langley Centre.

This expansion would be 16 kilometres in length. It was originally planned to be completed in 2025, however residents will have to wait longer — three full years in fact — as the extension is now expected to be completed in 2028.

Why The Delay?

TransLink planned to complete the first 7 km of the expansion from funding that has now been cancelled. This $1.6 billion of funding was needed to reach the 2025 completion date. Additionally, the original date was pending a business case approval that was scheduled for the summer of 2020. Since neither happened, procurement of a contractor did not occur.

A contractor should have been procured by early 2021 to start construction early 2022. Hence the delays.

To give some scope, the entire project is estimated to be a $3.96 billion cost. Earlier this summer, the federal government announced $1.3 billion to help move the project along. This funding has not yet been formalized. The remaining $2.65 billion would be committed by the provincial government and TransLink.

Worth The Wait?

By 2028, the Expo and Millennium lines will grow to a combined fleet size of 427 cars. Specifically there will be 30 additional cars to serve the Surrey-Langley Extension.

The Surrey City Centre to Langley SkyTrain extension will increase the size of the network by 24%, it will be growing from 66 km to 82 km. This will add 8 new stations into the network from Surrey to Langley.

This means that, when open, there will be a capacity of 6,800 passengers per hour per direction. It also allows for room for growth, so the system can grow with the population and need. When the expansion is complete, its capacity will be more than 10 times the existing bus services along Fraser Highway.

Commuting time will also be cut down. The new travel time of the extended Expo line is expected to be 25 minutes faster than the existing buses. It will also serve those coming into Surrey. With no transfers, getting from Waterfront station in downtown to 166 Street Station in Fleetwood will take under an hour.

The Future is Bright

Once complete the extension will allow for easier access into Surrey Centre and Langley. Ridership is expected to grow in the area, even suggesting that there may be 62,000 daily passengers by the year 2035.

Needless to say, Surrey Centre in coming years will be getting more traffic without the traffic congestion.

ACTUALLY, IT’S NOT SO GREAT BEING “WANTED” ON VALENTINE’S DAY

HERE ARE METRO VANCOUVER CRIME STOPPERS’ TOP 10 “LEAST-WANTED VALENTINES” FOR 2021

Rewards up to $100,000 are offered for some of BC’s most wanted fugitives

VANCOUVER, B.C.: From the files at Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers, here’s our annual list of the top 10 “most wanted” criminals and suspects who remain on the lam this Valentine’s Day. They could be far away, or in your neighbourhood.

(See below list of Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers’ 10 Least Wanted Valentines. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of these individuals is asked to please contact Crime Stoppers anonymously. Your anonymity is guaranteed by the Supreme Court of Canada. You’ll never be questioned or called to testify.)

Tips to Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and charge of any wanted criminal can lead to a reward of up to $5,000. For three of this year’s most wanted, Crime Stoppers has partnered with the national BOLO (Be On the Look Out) Program to make available extra large rewards of $50,000 to $100,000.

“Some of these fugitives have been missing a year or even longer, and with four million pairs of eyes around the province, someone should eventually spot one of them,” says Linda Annis, Executive Director of Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers.

“Tips work. We received more than 5,000 anonymous tips in 2020 leading to 72 arrests and 135 charges laid. 21 off those arrests came from tips specifically about gang or illegal gun activity.”

Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers is a non-profit society and registered charity that offers rewards for anonymous tip information about criminal activity and provides it to investigators in the communities of Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Anonymous tips may be provided though Crime Stoppers’ downloadable “P3” app for Apple and Android phones, calling Crime Stoppers at 1-855-448-8477 (new number) or 1-800-222- 8477, online at solvecrime.ca, or by following the link on the Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers Facebook page.

Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers accepts tips in 115 different languages and will pay a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of a criminal, recovery of stolen property, seizure of illegal drugs or guns or denial of a fraudulent insurance claim.

Tipsters stay anonymous by using code numbers to check back later and collect their rewards. Find MVCS on Twitter: @solvecrime.

Crime Stoppers “MOST WANTED” is a weekly fan out service based on information provided by police investigators who need public assistance in making our communities safer by identifying individuals involved in committing crimes.

If you have any information regarding the individuals listed here, please contact Crime Stoppers anonymously. You could be eligible for a reward of up to $2000 upon arrest and charge. You will never be asked your name or have to appear in court.

Entering Surrey has always been emotionally interesting to me, it always felt like Surrey was in between everything and lasted forever. You couldn’t get anywhere “cool” in BC without crossing through Surrey. I guess that makes sense, after all Surrey is spread out having the largest land area in BC with over 300 km² and a population over 500,000 2nd only to Vancouver.

Truly one could say in a way that it’s the most central of all cities in British Columbia. It touches the whole of Fraser Valley and forms an umbrella for the lower mainland. When you think of Surrey you think of Bridges such as the beautiful Alex Fraser bridge or the iconic Pattullo bridge. It’s not a hop skip and a jump.

In high school Surrey received honourably the brunt of many jokes perpetuated by stereotypes and the crassness of teenagers. Yes, sadly on occasion I’d find myself snickering with said jokes, sorry…peer pressure is a thing. Living in Vancouver there was a stigma attached to Surrey, not really sure why. If you were ever to date a girl from Surrey, well, you were sure to hear a joke about “Surrey girls”.

Go figure that the first love in my life lived in Surrey. For that matter that thus far the coolest team I work with as a creative happens to be in Surrey (note to the editor remember this when considering bonuses *kisses*:) it’s only recently seen in the last decade that one can say they know someone that lives in Abbotsford or Chilliwack, that’s still kind of novel to hear while living in Vancouver but it’s old news to see you live in Surrey, because doesn’t everybody?

Anyway I think you get the point. But something that has been known for a while is rising above all reasons for why you should as a British Columbian get to know Surrey is that 60% of the population is non-white. It is The ethnic diversity capital of BC, truly beautiful the most colourful city. If you live in Surrey, these facts should fill you with pride.

That said it perhaps should also bring you a moment of pause and reflection on how you view people, persons, different from you whether by to colour of skin, religious background and belief or sexual orientation and so on and so forth. Really it should motivate us to consider how we view our fellow humans and even more importantly how we treat each other.

This last Friday, June 5th 2020, nearly 8000 attended the black lives matter protests in Vancouver BC. Surrey604.com was there to document the event. As I panned my cameras around and took pictures I saw many Caucasians more so than black people, but I also saw a large gathering of black people and I felt for parts of the protests like I was back home in West Africa, Cote D’ivoire, Ghana and Togo (areas which saw much export of slavery to the Americas).

When reflecting back on the stats articulated here I can’t help wonder how many had attended from Surrey. Now as I drive through Surrey I think about the unrest across the world, and through the United States, how it has affected each brother and sister of colour and how perhaps it’s affected many of my caucasian brothers and sisters.

During the protest many speakers took the platform near the water at Canada Place, starting and finishing each speech with a resounding “No Justice No Peace!” Or “Black Lives Matter” for which the crowd would echo back, hands clenched in fists raised high above their head. Some speakers were children, some teenagers, amongst many activists and artists, Black, South Asian, Indigenous, Mixed Ethnicities and White.

Some discussed the abuse and pain they suffered and crowd either cheered in comforting support or chanted “Shame!” after each injustice was described. Some of these young speakers, broke down in tears and could not carry on to speak, some cried out in pain. The masks covering the mouths of so many left only peoples eyes and tears to be observed.

When an experience particularly painful would be spoken out loud, you might have caught the look of a white person towards you (if you were black or a visible minority). All eyes wanted to say something. At one point I needed to get myself up onto a high step to gain a better vantage point in order to capture better footage. A young white man offered to help me up with all my gear.

It wasn’t something that had never happened, that would be an exaggeration…but it was a gesture I knew he sincerely meant as a way to honour me. I was humbled by his kind action. I had been taught with these same values through my parents and in my faith. I had been blessed to associate with folks who strived everyday to show such genuine fellow feeling towards all.

Yet over the years, more so lately than previously, I have noticed begrudging, not genuine, acts of kindness. It’s hard to believe but it feels like now more than ever, the present reality is that the motivation to love our neighbor and to treat others as we wish to be treated has been the exception and not really the rule. Diversity and impartiality is dictated more by corporate risk assessment and political majority votes, than moral obligations.

As I walked through the crowd that day, I slipped through the respectful gathering following black person after black person, and I smiled. People cheered blocks away from the speeches who couldn’t even hear what was being said. They cheered nonetheless. For a moment many I’m sure felt unity in a way not often felt these days, and certainly they rejoiced briefly to be amongst fellow human beings in such a crowd, still during a worldwide pandemic. A historic moment among many in 2020.

So now what? What has been learned so far? We know it’s not over, that’s for sure, but in the year of what’s next…what’s next?

Without directing any opinion towards political and legal reforms which are most likely to come, whether you participate in active protest and vocalizing calls for change through public activism or not, each of us can take some clear responsible steps within ourselves and in the circle of our own families in order to better love and respect our neighbor impartial of the colour of their skin.

Although there are many, for the most part, good suggestions on how you can do this, such as embracing an others culture by trying their traditional food (my favourite thing to do! Especially in Surrey) or engulfing yourself in another’s music or learning a little or a lot of their language, or trying out their fashion, (that’s so much fun when I can find something my size), we can all work on just one to begin with, that can have a lasting impact on our home, our neighborhood, our community our country and indeed the planet earth.

Treat other people, the way you would like to be treated.

And all the people said: “No Justice, No Peace!”