Surrey rejects Bear Creek Park road

City councillors in Surrey, B.C. voted against pushing a new four-lane road through Bear Creek Park, after several hundred opponents of the plan showed up at Monday night's council meeting.

The vocal crowd filled the council chambers and spilled into the adjoining foyer, prompting Coun. Tom Gill to reflect on the public mood before the final vote.

"My heart changed earlier in the evening," said Gill, referring to a previous council discussion of the issue. "I was described as a lion going into the meeting and coming out as a lamb."

City staff proposed the road through the park to ease congestion at the nearby intersection of 88th Avenue and King George Highway, east of Vancouver.

But opponents of the road said it would threaten a salmon-bearing stream and reduce habitat for the birds and animals that call the two-hectare park home.

In the end, councillors elected to reject the new road by a vote of eight to one.

"We need to find different solutions for this problem and take everything into consideration," said Mayor Dianne Watts, who opposed the plan from the beginning, despite the staff recommendation.

Monday was the fourth time the concept for a road at 84 Avenue and King George Highway has come to council. Opponents say the urban green space needs to be protected permanently, so the idea won't surface again.

"We are happy about the decision, but we are disappointed that this matter has not been laid to rest," said Sayaka Nelson, a member of Friends of Bear Creek Park.

A community discussion meeting has been planned for Oct. 16 to come up with alternatives to the 84 Avenue connector, according to a spokesperson.