Proposal for up to 7 towers near Langley Skytrain station

Global news BC posted an article discussing proposals to build up to seven high-rises near Willowbrook Station. The Proposal is raising concerns in some quarters the city is growing too quickly.

The article discusses the proposal, stating that the applications could come before council next year. Any proposals would likely be years away from execution.

The Skytrain extension will start full construction in 2024 and be fully operational in 2028.

The future Willowbrook station, is going be see redevelopment, with a proposed 7 high-rise development. The high-rises, if approved, will be built along Willowbrook drive and range in height between 28-44 stories in height.

The concern would the approximately 2500 new residents to the area and 225,000 residents in the Township, could put a strain on the already strained roads. There would also be overcrowding at local schools. Township Mayor Eric Woodward said the city is gearing up to develop a new Willowbrook Community Plan. The plan will consider the SkyTrain, council would also need to assess all proposals in light of that process.

“I believe there’s lots of issues with it that need to be addressed, from maybe the scale, the form and character, some of the traffic issues in the short term,” he said.

“I think it’s appropriate to really start that Willowbrook community plan update along with considering this application and let council have a chance to make that decision about how we are going to look at the Willowbrook area.”

“Council really needs to start to consider are we growing too quickly, along with some of these highrise applications. To have the province step up and build the schools we need to build expansions on Highway 10. Also finish the Highway 1 corridor. Along with transit, so that we have a range of transportation and goods movement options,” he said.

“We have to really consider the growth, making sure the province is a true partner with us.”

You can read the Global news article here

My thoughts on this proposal is this. We need to build more housing to help address the issues of homelessness in the country. By building 7 towers right close to the skytrain, it means more people that can conveniently take public transit. It would basically give people a one a seat ride into downtown Vancouver in approximately an hour.

With the extended skytrain system and the improved bus network in the area, it will be a good step to reducing gridlock on the roads. Especially in the area near Willowbrook mall and the downtown Langley area. They are building rapid bus built from Langley to Maple Ridge where there are connections also to the Evergreen extension at Coquitlam Central Station. As long as the province is helping to build schools and other services necessary then this proposal should go through.

The skytrain extension to Langley will spur a lot of development and with a full functioning mall, with a Safeway and a T&T Supermarket on the property and a Superstore across the street from the mall, plus Walmart and Save-On-Foods nearby, there are already 4 grocery stores available plus the Walmart. The mall has several restaurants in and around the mall. There will be a hub of activity, with the new plaza that has restaurants, such as Red Robin, Tap and Barrel, AO Ramen. Within a few blocks of the mall there is a lot of medical offices, and other services already existing.

My thought is building 7 towers in that area is for sure a good thing for the region. When the plan is complete then I think it would be time for a decision on the 7 towers.