With a variety of roadway changes, infrastructure improvements, railway hazards, safety initiatives and engineering disasters in South Surrey and Crescent Beach, this TNT brings you up to speed on the following half dozen stories, some old, some new, and others that just won't die.
KGB bridge crash
The King George Blvd. bridge over the Nicomekl River is going to need some repairs and safety improvements after a serious accident there last weekend. A vehicle heading northbound before the bridge left the roadway, crossed onto the wide riverfront sidewalk and crashed head-on into the pedestrian railing. The mangled railing crashed to the walkway below with the car left dangling at the top of the hill. If this accident had happened only metres away, the vehicle would have flown off the bridge abutment, sailed through the air and likely landed upside down in the river. Besides poor driving and probable excessive speed, the lack of concrete no-posts along the road in this area was a major contributor to this crash. It's back to the drawing board for the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure for this glaring oversight. The north side of this bridge by comparison has a long line of no-posts that stretch to the nearby Park & Ride lot.
Crescent Road traffic circle
With no fanfare, the roundabout at 128 St. and Crescent Road had a soft opening this weekend now that the first layer of asphalt has been laid down. The curbing is still to be completed, proper signage installed and sidewalks put in, but this new intersection is quite driveable with caution. Even with all of the traffic cones, barricades and look of an active construction zone, it was still a breeze to roll around this former all-way stop. Of course, this was during a long weekend when everyone was either out of town or visiting the Cloverdale Rodeo. The cold and gloomy weather also kept most people away from Crescent Beach as well. Hopefully this roundabout will be fully completed before the next warm and sunny weekend when hordes of people will descend to the beach. That will be the true test, but for now the traffic flow looks amazing. Remember to flip on your right turn signal when you reach the point in the circle where you are going to turn off so people waiting to enter know you are exiting.
Christopherson Steps railway fence
After recently writing to the Surrey Engineering Department and BNSF Railway about safety concerns, it was nice to see some positive changes being made at the bottom of the Christopherson Steps to help reduce trespassing onto the train tracks. Last year, I sent a letter to Surrey Parks warning them of sharp metal posts and fencing hanging down on the south side of the stairs. They responded by installing a panel of chain link fence over this opening, blocking off the area that people were walking through to access the tracks. The north side was left open with what would be best called an elephant trail leading up to the railway tracks. I'm not sure if it was Surrey Parks or the BNSF Railway but last week crews installed more chain link blocking off most of the north side access. Unfortunately at the far end of this fencing there is a large gap where people can easily crawl under where the fence should have reached the ground. There is another hole near the staircase where several pieces of small boards have been loosely stuck in place. These will soon become kindling for a beach fire and a second hole will be open for people to crawl through.
McBride Avenue railway crossing
The McBride Ave. railway crossing in Crescent Beach is slowly being made safer after my TNT on this dangerous crossing with a laundry list of safety improvements was sent to both Surrey and the BNSF. The Railway responded to my concerns about single "No Trespassing" signs being far down the tracks on either side of this crossing, which is a known focal point for much of the trespassing that happens on the Crescent Beach tracks. The Railway realized I had a valid point about this and has now posted two signs on either side of the crossing and on both sides of the tracks. That being said, trespassers are still using this as a pedestrian walkway with the ridiculous, idiotic and ugly Crescent Beach fence now blocking off the end of Bayview Ave. and forcing people to walk on the tracks instead of safely crossing as had been done for decades. As far as all of the recommendations I have made to the City of Surrey for better signage and road markings at the dangerous McBride Ave. crossing, to date they have done absolutely nothing. I know their traffic division was supposed to deal with this issue but so far their response is zero, zip, zilch, nada. We need a DOGE at the Surrey Engineering Dept.
Crescent Beach fence project - Bayview Avenue
The Bayview fence project that went off the rails so many times it was like watching a slow motion trail derailment continues to roll along. The blackberries Surrey mowed down along this useless and wasteful fence have now sprouted and are already starting to grow through the chain link. An FOI from a group of concerned residents has revealed that while the project was to have cost $650,000 for both sides of the tracks, changes that were made meant $660,000 has been spent on the one side only. Even worse, Surrey used silver chain link fencing instead of the called for black colour and facing criticism along with the possibility of a lawsuit for decreased property values, they are now looking at painting the entire 2,150 feet of this fence. Fed up looking out their window at what locals now refer to as "Alcatraz Beach" one of the Bayview residents has painted some of the chain link fence black, painted the concrete no-post curbing a darker grey and covered the crushed limestone with topsoil and wildflower seeds. I must admit it does look much better but removing this 2,150 foot long eyesore that has made railway trespassing even worse is the only logical solution.
Crescent Beach fence project - Maple Street
I saved the best for last. The west side of the Crescent Beach fencing project has been delayed since changes along Bayview Ave. ate up all the budget for this ridiculous project. It now turns out that due to terrain issues, Surrey will not be able to use the large concrete no-posts along Maple Street and will have to dig fence post holes as was originally planned. This means that an archeological survey needs to be done for the affected area. When this is complete, the digging will have to be monitored and any removed soil checked for indigenous artifacts and human remains. Not only will this delay the completion of all the fencing on either side of the tracks by an estimated 12-18 months, it will also result in skyrocketing costs. Could it be possible that this entire bureaucratic boondoggle will eat up a million tax-payer dollars before it is done? It is quite realistic and that is why I will be submitting the Crescent Beach fence project to the Canadian TaxPayers Federation as a candidate for a Teddy Award on government waste. The last pork-barrel winner we had here was Translink's South Surrey Park & Ride Lot that won back in 2014. In case you were wondering, I nominated that idiotic money pit as well.
Naturally yours,
Don Pitcairn
I wish to acknowledge we live, work and play on the traditional lands of the Semiahmopo People
Local News
May 20, 2025
Have you ever wanted to learn to roast coffee?
Maybe you'd like to learn about what it takes to make a great cup of coffee.
Kingha Coffee Roasters course is designed to take you from the coffee tree to the coffee cup. You’ll get hands-on, professionally guided mentorship every step of the way. Working across multiple coffee roasting machines, we will move through sample roasting up to production roasting, examining the variations in taste, aroma, color and roasting time. You'll get to samples the coffees you roast, and use what you're learning to adjust your roast profile to dial in your best roast.
Join us for a 2 day hands-on, fully immersive coffee roasting and sensory skills course.
Saturday June 21 and Sunday June 22 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Kingha Coffee Roasters 15585 24th Avenue Surrey
Unit 110 - Back of the Building
For more info email us at: kgriffin@kinghacoffee.comor
Click on the below link for more info and to sign up.
Forty five years ago today, residents of White Rock and South Surrey will remember where they were the day Mount Saint Helens in Washington state erupted. The force of the eruption was equivalent to 50 megatons of TNT.
The blast and subsequent floods, landslides and ash killed 57 people. the blast was heard here in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island.
Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel (15269 104 Avenue, Surrey) & online via livestream
Surrey Mayor BRENDA LOCKE and White Rock mayor MEAGAN KNIGHT have State of the City Address events planned.
Join Mayor Brenda Locke as she delivers her annual State of the City address to outline her vision for the future of Surrey.
The State of the City address is an important event to energize the city and build excitement around a renewed economic and jobs plan for Surrey. A state of the city gives business stakeholders and potential investors an inside glimpse of the current economic assets and goals as Surrey becomes the largest city in British Columbia.
During her address, Mayor Brenda Locke will share her thoughts on the City’s emerging policy directions, the progress of capital projects, along with her vision for the future of Surrey.
The day of the address follow the link below to watch the mayor in real time.
The City of White Rock is pleased to invite residents, business owners, and community partners to attend Mayor Megan Knight’s 2025 State of the City Address on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at Oceana PARC.
Hosted in partnership with the South Surrey & White Rock Chamber of Commerce and the Surrey Board of Trade, this annual event provides an opportunity for Mayor Knight to share key updates, reflect on accomplishments from the past year, and outline her vision for White Rock’s future.
Note: The city of White Rock will also stream live the mayor's State of the City.
White Rock By-election
- White Rock council has been informed due to councillor ERNIE KLASSEN'S resignation from council to fulfill his newly appointed MP duties representing us in Ottawa, there will be a by election held here in White Rock.
Staff will bring a report to council on June 09th with a by election expected to be held in September.
Fire In The Sky
It has been the practice since the beginning for the annual Celebration of Light (formerly the Symphony of Fire) to host international competitors, the 2025 event will be all-Canadian.
The dates, and teams, will be:
Saturday, July 19 Team Yukon's "Midnight Sun Fireworks"
Wednesday, July 23 - Team Quebec's "Royal Pyrotechnie"
Saturday, July 26 - Team Nova Scotia's Fireworks FX.
So it's "Go Canada Go" all the way!
Lapu Lapu Remembrance Ceremony
A number of community members gathered yesterday afternoon in the Miramar Plaza. The somber ceremony was held to honour those who died and those that were injured in the terrible incident that occurred a few weeks back at the Vancouver Lapu Lapu Festival.
The Crow and the Peacock is a beautiful story with a lesson that we all need to be reminded of occasionally.
It’s so easy in today’s world to be envious of what someone else has and this often leads to unhappiness.
Happy people tend to be satisfied with what they have and don’t focus on what they don’t have.
Joke Of The Day
A senior citizen decided to take his brand-new Corvette convertible for a spin straight out of the dealership. Feeling the rush, he floored it to 80 mph, the wind whipping through the little gray hair he had left. "Amazing!" he thought as he pushed the pedal harder, zipping down HWY 99.
But when he glanced in his rearview mirror, his heart skipped a beat— the RCMP highway patrol was on his tail, lights flashing and sirens blaring. Instead of slowing down, he gave in to temptation and sped up: 100 mph… 110 mph… 120 mph. Then reality hit him. "What am I doing? I'm too old for this." With a sigh, he pulled over and waited.
The RCMP officer walked up to the car, glanced at his watch, and said, "Sir, my shift ends in 30 minutes. Today’s Friday. If you can give me a reason for speeding that I’ve never heard before, I’ll let you go."
The old man thought for a moment, then said, "Years ago, my wife ran off with an RCMP officer..........I thought you were bringing her back."
Thought For The Day
Community Events
FREE clothes for baby to adult, toys, diapers/incontinence items, linens, personal and smaller household things from Facebook.com/clothes2ubcsociety on Saturday May 24. Come to White Rock Baptist Church, 1657-140 st. South Surrey.
Take as much as you need from the 20 tables. Entry fee is $5 cash, kids 10 and under no charge. Event hours are 11 AM to 12:30 PM on the 24th. Share this post to be entered in the grand prize draw
So excited to say I will be back to teach on Tuesday
I can not express my appreciation for the Cowboy and Jacqui and all the dancers that kept up our class going as well as the wonderful Club 240 and Sylvia
We are hitting the ground with a brand new current teach and can not wait to see you all and meet the new dancers. Love n hugs