oa 1 Eels tate Greg Waldock Staff Writer Transink has released an updated plan for the construction and route of Surrey’s upcoming Light Rail Transit system. In response to public controversy surrounding the LRT route, its path along 104th Avenue has been revised to prevent congestion and restore previously-blocked car lanes along this significant road during and after the construction of the system. Other changes include improved LRT shelters with LED lighting, larger overhangs, and ATMs, lighting on trains for improved safety, and increased public communication with businesses and private citizens who operate along the route and will be impacted by construction. The LRT has been a controversial project since its announcement in 2015, with its opponents arguing that a full SkyTrain expansion from King George Station across Surrey would be safer and less interruptive to the existing bus routes, and that the LRT will not provide sufficient carrying capacity to justify its cost as Surrey and Langley continue to grow at a rapid rate. The project was started under the municipal Liberal government and, as a result, received pushback as the provincial NDP government took power earlier this year. Despite this, there are no signs that the City intends to roll back on its LRT plan. i F x! TransLink project director Stephan Mehr said TransLink is “working with the City of Surrey to make a truly integrated service,” and part of this will be syncing LRT operations with bus and SkyTrain departures, according to the Vancouver Sun. This means that during peak hours, five-minute intervals between LRT departures will line up with SkyTrain arrivals, allowing for a quick 27-minute commute along the entire route. With these new changes, the cost of the project has risen from its original 2015 estimate of $1.03 billion to $1.65 billion. Despite this, Mehr said that TransLink is “comfortable with the cost estimates we have now,” indicating that further major changes Futurist speaks at Douglas College > Talk provides glimpse at near-future technology Jake Wray News Editor hat could the next few decades have in store for New Westminster? That was the central question of a talk by Nikolas Badminton, a Vancouver-based researcher and futurist, at the Laura C. Muir Theatre in Douglas College May 31. Humanity is in the midst of exponential technological expansion, Badminton said, and this technology is being integrated into city systems to create “smart cities,” a crucial process as more people move to cities. “By 2030, nearly 9 per cent of the world will live in 41 megacities,” he said. “That’s a huge responsibility that the people have running those cities to make it as efficient as possible, and comfortable, and humane.” Cities will use more solar power as the cost of producing solar power plummets with improved technology and global reliance on oil for energy diminishes, Badminton said. He pointed to a transparent solar panel prototype developed at the University of Michigan that can double as a window. “What if every window in every city was a solar panel?” Badminton asked. “[The prototype is] not as efficient as normal solar panels, but you can have a larger area of coverage and it’s not really an issue.” The issue of solar panels only being effective on sunny days is effectively solved, according to Badminton. “People in Finland have actually built a black silicone solar cell using nanotechnology that works as efficiently in cloudy days as it does in sunny days,” he said. “It’s a game-changer.” Cities are increasingly using sensors, cameras, and other smart technology to increase the efficiency of various civic fC « CHAMBER systems, Badminton said. Barcelona sought to save money by using smart technology in response to the Spanish financial crisis and managed to save $95 million annually after implementing smart technology in things like city lights, water systems, and parking. The global market for smart city sensor technology and consultancy will be $3.48 trillion in 2026, according to Badminton, up from approximately $622 billion today. nae Surrey mah Ere improves stops, traffic congestion Photo by Analyn Cuarto BPEL URS Artistic rendering of a Surrey Light Rail station via TransLink i jf are unlikely before construction fully begins in late 2019. If there are indeed no major changes to the LRT plan, its route will take it on an L-shaped path from Guildford Town Centre to Surrey City Centre, and from there it will turn south along King George Boulevard until it reaches Newton. TransLink will continue to accept public feedback for consideration until the project is formally submitted and funded later this year. Coupled with the even larger and more expensive SkyTrain expansion along Broadway, the next several years promise to be dynamic for the all the communities of the Lower Mainland and the TransLink projects bringing them together. Cities could eventually have central operating rooms with dashboards displaying city-wide data, similar to a NASA control room, Badminton said. There are also a number of technological advances coming in the transportation sector, including self- driving cars, electric vehicles, and increased use of car-sharing services, according to Badminton, and housing density will also see technological improvement in coming years. Approximately 50 people attended the speaking event, hosted by the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce, including Jonathan Coté, mayor of New Westminster. “Technology seems to be changing faster and faster,” Coté said to the audience prior to Badminton’s talk. “I think it’s very critical, from my perspective and those in the community, to really say ‘how are these changes going to impact us?” Dave Taylor, associate vice president, public affairs from Douglas College, also spoke at the event. “At Douglas we have the somewhat challenging task of educating a generation of young people for jobs that haven't been invented yet using technology that we can’t yet currently even imagine,” he told the crowd. “The task is daunting, but it’s also extremely exciting.”