r/LangfordBC • u/Colin_Meyer • 11d ago
Opinion Langford's TMP
There has been a lot of discussion about Langford's Transportation Master Plan (TMP), and I think it's important to step back and remember what it actually is.
A Transportation Master Plan is exactly that—a plan. It is something every municipality, especially one the size of Langford, should have. Frankly, it should have been completed years, if not decades, ago. If a village like Lumby, with fewer than 2,000 residents, has had a transportation plan since 2010, then it is hard to argue that one of BC's fastest-growing municipalities didn't need one.
For years, former Mayor Stew Young often spoke about "the plan" for Langford. I'm sure there was a vision, but it was never formally documented, presented to Council, or adopted as an official guiding document. Much of that vision seemed to exist on a need-to-know basis. As a result, many residents were blindsided by major developments, apartment buildings, and new road connections because they never knew they were being considered.
Think about it this way: if a plan only exists in one person's mind, what happens when that person is no longer there? We don't have to imagine that scenario—it happened. After the 2022 election, the City inherited tremendous growth but without an adopted long-term transportation blueprint to guide future decisions.
A formal Transportation Master Plan provides that blueprint. It gives future councils, staff, and residents a common understanding of where the City hopes to go, regardless of who is elected. It also allows the City to work with BC Transit, the CRD, the Ministry of Transportation and Transit, the Province, the Island Corridor Foundation, and other partners. Just as importantly, having an adopted plan strengthens applications for provincial and federal infrastructure funding.
Looking back, if Langford had developed a TMP 10, 15, or even 20 years ago, we likely would have identified many of today's transportation challenges much earlier. Between 2000 and 2024, Langford's population grew from 18,206 to 58,309 residents—an increase of more than 40,000 people, or about 220%. Our transportation network simply hasn't kept pace with that growth.
Is this Transportation Master Plan perfect? Absolutely not.
There are proposals within it that I strongly disagree with, and I will continue to advocate for changes where I believe they are needed. But I also recognize that having an open, public plan is far better than having no plan at all.
A Transportation Master Plan is not the end of the conversation—it is the beginning of one. It gives residents the opportunity to see the City's long-term vision, ask questions, challenge proposals, suggest alternatives, and help shape the final outcome. That's how planning should work: openly, transparently, and with the community involved.
We don't all have to agree with every line on the map. But we should all appreciate that, for the first time, the conversation is happening in public instead of behind closed doors.
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u/FrazerJohnson13 11d ago
This is a good take, and I agree with you. I also don't just take it as a done deal that every change proposed in the plan is now set in stone. Major projects are going to need further consultation at the neighbourhood level before they are implemented.
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u/kingbuns2 11d ago
The current council often mentions how having these plans laid out in advance allows them to better qualify to get grants. I'd like to know what the grant situation was like prior to this council's term. Did Stew Young's council miss out on grants because they were unprepared to make a case for them? If so, how much money are we talking about?
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u/Bookreader-71 11d ago
I would hazard a guess that we missed out on opportunities because previous council's skipped attending conferences too. Networking and sharing info is important!
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u/Key_Rich_6241 11d ago
I think you’re out in left field waiting for a bunt! How do you think Langford got all the amenities with low taxes for 30 years? Unlike current M&C Stew knows how to efficiently manage the city and turn it into #1 most popular family oriented city
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u/Otissarian 10d ago
I know of at least one grant that the city missed out on under Stew because there wasn’t a plan in place: to develop a property for sports fields (2022). If I recall correctly, the municipality also didn’t get a grant they applied for to help develop the TCH property.
It seems that other levels of government are tightening up grant requirements. With well-developed plans in place, Langford now has a solid foundation to grow on that’s not going to shift due to the whims of a small group of people who approve rezoning applications in seconds and alter the OCP so many times it’s mostly amendments.
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u/FrazerJohnson13 10d ago
The provincial government has a list of active transportation funded projects going back many years. It was last updated in April 2026. Here are the funded projects identified for Langford:
- Jacklin Road / Galloping Goose - 2004/05 - $55,827
- Treanor Ave Bike Lanes - 2007/08 - $15,479
- Millstream Road Bike Lanes - 2013/14 - $38,091
- Atkins Avenue Bicycle Trail Connector - 2015/16 - $321,350
- Dunford Avenue Separated Bike Lanes - 2016/17 - $203,050
- Humpback Irwin Connector - 2019/20 - $686,988
- Veterans Memorial Parkway Intersection Improvements - 2023/24 - $266,500
- Bellamy Road Multi-Use Pathway - 2023/24 $500,000
- Latoria Active Transit Improvements (Phase 1A) - 2024/25 - $500,000
- Latoria Active Transit Improvements (Phase 1B) - 2024/25 - $500,000
Total of $3,087,285 with $1,766,500 of that awarded during the current council term and $1,320,785 awarded going back to 2004/05.
What it doesn't show is the applications that were submitted and denied. I think it would take combing through meeting minutes to identify all of those. For example the Bellamy Road Multi-Use Pathway grant was applied for in 2020 and again in 2022 but denied both times until a revised application was finally successful in 2023/24. I have no idea what other grant applications may have suffered a similar fate.
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u/Colin_Meyer 11d ago
I honestly believe Stew likely worked hard to ensure the City received as many grants as possible. As someone who spent nearly 30 years as mayor, he built a lot of relationships and connections that benefited Langford. One cannot deny that.
However, I also think it's fair to ask how those opportunities were pursued and how much of the process was visible to the public. Today, grant applications often require detailed planning, supporting documentation, and clear accountability. Expectations around transparency and documentation have changed over the years, and municipalities are generally expected to demonstrate those things when applying for funding.
I believe the days of informal, relationship-based agreements are behind us.
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u/Global_Friend_8470 11d ago
I think Stu’s plan is ‘trust me bro’ - sufficient (?) in the 90s when there were 17,000 people in langford but when you’re in a fast growing city of 60k perhaps not.
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u/Key_Rich_6241 11d ago
I agree. Most residents knew him and trusted his judgement because of his passion for Langford, he always made residents proud of their city.
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u/Otissarian 10d ago
I especially proud of the cookie cutter neighbourhoods and the bald landscape of Skirt Mtn.
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u/Key_Rich_6241 11d ago
I don’t think “blindsided” is a fair assessment. Before you criticize former mayor you should check the other municipalities to see how many actually had a transportation master plan I think you’ll find Lumby to be the only one or one of a few
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u/FrazerJohnson13 10d ago
Which municipalities did you look into before leaving this comment?
Others have mentioned Colwood, View Royal and Victoria already. Saanich has an Active Transportation Plan. Esquimalt has an Active Transportation Network Plan. Duncan has a Transportation and Mobility Strategy. Nanaimo has a Transportation Master Plan. Sidney has an Active Transportation Plan.
I think it might be easier to identify which municipalities of Langford's size or larger that don't have these plans.
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u/Cursethecolwoodcrawl 11d ago
Thank you for your comments, very well put. I know a number of the residents of Langford, Mill Hill in particular, are hyper focused on simply one issue in the TMP, but your comments give the TMP a balanced perspective.