Rethinking Scrutiny: Why Tiny Projects Get Oversized Pushback
What We Can Learn From Baffle Gate Removal
On November 3rd, Township of Langley Council approved a pilot project to remove baffle gates (metal zig-zag barriers that block wheelchairs, strollers, bikes) from several locations. It was a unanimous vote and a long-overdue step towards making the trail network accessible to everyone. The discussion around this small decision revealed two bigger tensions that keep holding Langley back: we apply oversized scrutiny to low-cost, high-return improvements and we keep asking for new studies on issues the Province has already settled.
The First Tension: Treating a $100k Pilot Like a Major Risk
On our own Facebook post as well as Mayor Woodward’s post about baffle gate removal there was a constant theme in the comments - how can spending $100,000 be justified? We understand that people want to see their tax dollars used appropriately but small scale projects like baffle gate removal receive higher scrutiny than more expensive projects.
It’s particularly interesting that Councilor Pratt’s trial is targeting the Perry Evan’s trail because at one end is the Langley Events Centre and the new ice & dry floor arenas project. At their September 25th, 2023, meeting, council voted to add $25M in underground parking. This works out to roughly $66K per stall (380 total stalls as per Mayor Woodward’s Aug 24 Facebook Post). At no point did anyone ever discuss the appropriate number of stalls and if adding or subtracting a stall to save $66K would be financially prudent.
We’ve in essence put a price floor on what we think giving people access to the LEC is worth. If even two people decide to bike to the LEC instead of drive because of these changes the Township is saving money because when the LEC expands again it means we can spend less on adding more underground parking. That’s to not even mention that biking along Perry Evans also provides access to many other destinations. The savings from not building new parking dwarfs the cost of this pilot project.
This highlights the scale of difference between investing in biking and walking infrastructure instead of car infrastructure. It’s so cheap to build out a bike network, we should be doing this before road expansion. Putting active transportation first is the path forward to keeping property taxes low.
When small projects face more scrutiny than large ones, it pushes Langley away from sound decision making. A dollar spent is a dollar spent but we don’t treat it that way. This habit will continue to push us away from financial resilience.
The Second Tension: Worrying About Trail Speeding When It’s Already Been Studied
Baffle gate removal is at its heart a struggle between two conflicting values: access and safety. People are right to be concerned about whether baffle gate removal will lead to more high speed bikes and scooters on our trails even though they make access more restrictive. Here is the catch though - the province has already studied this question in the Active Transportation Design Guide and has recommended that baffle gates not be used.
In essence, we’re arguing about a question that senior levels of government have already answered. The Province has significantly more resources than the Township. They have engineers, planners and analysts studying these questions at a scale no municipality could match. Their work is meant to save us from having to re-invent the wheel.
When we expand a street or build a parking lot we don’t have the same debate about engineering standards. We just accept what’s been studied before is right and we go with it. Why don’t we do the same for active transportation?
We already are stretching staff resources with the volume of reports, studies and public engagements that we are asking of them. Why would we ask them to look into an answered question? Let’s save staff resources, save money and let the Township deliver high value improvements faster.
This problem isn’t limited to baffle gates, but is a systemic issue with the Township when it comes to active transportation. The Province has published a guide on everything from how to design multi-use paths, to bike lanes, to cross walks and the Township follows very little of it. Why would we go for our own bespoke design on all these things? It’s more expensive than just adopting the Province’s guidelines and has worse outcomes. Let’s just take the path of least resistance and deliver high quality active transportation infrastructure. Stretch our dollars for the best possible outcomes.
Council ultimately chose to follow provincial best practices and that’s the right call. The opportunity now is to make this our default posture. When higher level research exists, use it. Use staff resources to focus on more local issues that haven’t been addressed.
The Larger Pattern Revealed
The conversation on baffle gate removal reveals a larger cultural habit. We over analyze small human-scale improvements and under scrutinize large auto infrastructure. This habit constrains municipal finances and slows improvement of walkability.
Conclusion
We celebrate Langley Township council making the right call with baffle gate removal. They make many of our trails inaccessible. Looking back at the conversation reveals two things we need to start doing differently to create a more financially resilient Langley.
First, small scale projects and large scale projects should be looked at through the same financial lens. There needs to be proportionate justification for projects. Only scrutinizing small projects creates an environment where incremental improvements go to die.
Second, it’s time to make provincial best practices the default. The Province has studied these issues and simply adopting their best practices saves time, money and delivers better improvements faster. Staff capacity is better spent on local problems that genuinely require local study.
Lets keep this momentum up and keep making Langley better.
Strong Towns Langley is a community group dedicated to making Langley, British Columbia a better place. We advocate for incremental development, sustainable transportation solutions, housing accessibility, public spaces, and responsible growth strategies. Our group is part of the larger Strong Towns movement, focusing on creating financially resilient and people-oriented communities.
To learn more visit
https://strongtownslangley.org
Great article. It might come in handy on the right coast of Canada... Gonna keep it bookmarked!