【It’s with this logic that Surrey is choosing, wherever it can, to push cars aside for double tracks taking up seven metres in the centre of roads. That amount of space — and the additional three to four metres needed for platforms — would likely mean Surrey will end up having to widen some roadways, at least in tighter areas like 104 Avenue. For 104 Avenue, this would also mean that road traffic will likely be restricted to one lane each way after the LRT line is built.
The track itself is expected to be embedded into the ground or raised slightly off the road, according to Paul Lee, Surrey’s rapid transit and strategic projects manager. Regular vehicle traffic would be prohibited from driving on the tracks to give the trains a constant dedicated lane, except where there’s a signal intersection. In some cases, emergency vehicles would likely be allowed to travel on the tracks to get around regular traffic.
An issue that would impact many drivers, however, is how almost every single side street perpendicular to the LRT track would be restricted from turning left, since they’d have to cross the tracks to do so.
The same goes for traffic driving parallel to the track wishing to turn left — these cars would be prohibited from doing so to prevent them wandering onto the LRT route.
This means access in and out of any side street that doesn’t have a traffic signal will likely be reduced to right turns only, Lee said.
To avoid confusion for drivers, the city has planned for raised curbs on the outer edges of the tracks that would separate traffic from the LRT route.】