Plans for a new Fraser Highway bridge over the Nicomekl River have left some significant gaps where a treasured system of walking trails and one of B.C.’s most historic roads are concerned, says a group of local citizens.

Area residents, members of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church and the Arboretum and Botanical Society of Langley are calling for a signal light at the intersection of Fraser Highway and Old Yale Road, just east of the Nicomekl River, among other changes to the City’s plans for its new bridge.

“We want a traffic-controlled light to make it possible to turn left or cross to the (Derek Doubleday) arboretum,” said the Rev. Scott Gould, minister of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church on Old Yale Road.

Gould and longtime Langley resident Eric Bysouth spoke on behalf of the group, and the men stressed that while they are in favour of the new span, they believe some of the design aspects surrounding the structure lack foresight.

“Our main concern is council doesn’t seem to see the impact on residents, church members and the arboretum,” said Gould of plans to limit Old Yale Road access to and from Fraser Highway.

Not allowing Old Yale Road traffic to turn onto Fraser Highway will mean residents who live within City limits near the church would have to travel up Old Yale Road and into the Township in order to get into the City, adding several kilometres to each round trip.

“They’ve looked very narrowly at the bridge itself and haven’t looked at the way people live in Langley. We want them to see the bigger picture,” said Gould.

“It’s an opportunity to make a smooth connection between the arboretum and the Nicomekl trails,” added Gould, who sees the arboretum as one day developing into something to rival Butchart Gardens.

The trails are near and dear to Bysouth who, through Rotary Club of Langley, had a personal hand in helping to fund and build them.

Ideally, he too, would also like to see the paths extended to reach the arboretum on the north side of Fraser Highway, which will be four-laned east of the bridge by the Township.

“If they don’t put in a light, it will turn the bridge into a big obstacle (for pedestrians and cyclists),” Bysouth said.

“We understand the technical concerns regarding the distance between lights,” said Gould.

The men suggested the Old Yale intersection be shifted slightly east to address that issue.

They also object to plans to increase the height of the structure by an additional two and a half to three metres, to raise the bridge deck above 200-year flood levels, saying the hump will create poor visibility and could lead to rear-end crashes if a light is installed at Old Yale.

While Gould and Bysouth see a lot of potential in the Nicomekl bridge project, they fear much of it will go unrealized.

“They’ve got an opportunity to do something really great here, and I don’t see it happening if we don’t speak up,” Gould said.

That was the idea behind the public open house, held on Sept. 30 at St. Andrew’s church, said project manager Doug Hyde.

“The point of the meeting was public consultation.”

“We wanted to hear from the stakeholders regarding their concerns. We heard quite a wide range of opinions on what is needed,” added Gary Vlieg, the City’s director of engineering, parks and environment.

“I think the public appreciated the opportunity to ask questions and get answers, though they may not have always liked the answers.”

A meeting of invited stakeholders was held on Tuesday night, Oct. 6, to further discuss the bridge project.

It included representatives from the Nicomekl Enhancement Society, Langley Enviromental Partners Society, Langley Field Naturalists and the ABSL.

“Some residents (including Gould and Bysouth) chose to stop by and add their comments,” said Hyde.

“It was a very robust meeting, but a very valuable one.”

Public input has been passed on to Delcan, the owner’s engineer, which represents the interests of the City.

Hyde said he hopes to know more about any suggested modifications to the design today.

“We’ve scheduled a meeting with (Delcan) Friday morning,” he said.

The design, as it was presented at the public open house, included a right-in only configuration for the intersection, meaning traffic could turn right off Fraser Highway onto Old Yale Road, but could no longer make a left turn on or off either road, nor turn right off Old Yale Road onto Fraser Highway, explained Vlieg.

He said feedback about the intersection ranged from requests to maintain complete access and egress in every direction with the addition of a traffic light, to ‘No, close it off completely from Fraser Highway.’

However, there is a set of national standards regarding minimum thresholds to be met before installing a light, said Vlieg. A certain number of pedestrians and vehicles must be present and a certain number of crashes have to have occurred, to warrant the installation of a traffic light, he explained.

“We had (Delcan) evaluate the intersection and it doesn’t meet any of the criteria.”

As Gould and Bysouth suggested, proximity to the intersection of Fraser Highway and 208 Street/Langley Bypass is another consideration.

High volumes of southbound traffic make the left turn from the Bypass east onto Fraser Highway, and a red light at Old Yale, would quickly begin backing traffic into the intersection 208/Bypass intersection, Vlieg said.

The raised bridge would indeed impede visibility of the queue, creating additional danger, he agreed.

But the hump is staying, Vlieg stressed, because it addresses concerns about potential damage to the bridge deck from the force of water and debris.

But there is room for discussion surrounding concerns over the trail and footbridge, Vlieg said.

The City has no objection to extending the Nicomekl walking trail underneath the new bridge, provided it meets with the approval of federal and provincial environmental authorities, said Vlieg.

“We’ll wait to hear from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Ministry of Environment.

“If they say it’s not an issue, we’ll go ahead and build it.”

With respect to the footbridge on Old Yale Road, Hyde said it will have to be looked at from an operational and maintenance perspective and hydraulic issues taken into consideration, but in all likelihood it will remain in place, as many people have requested.

“I think it’s well used. I believe the recommendation will be to leave it as it is,” he said.