A musical carnival page 32
United in race for first place page 29
Friday October 29, 2010 Serving Surrey and North Delta www.surreyleader.com
RCMP release annual report
Fright in the forest
Crime down in Surrey – again
Rick Belanger and his granddaughter Zoe Moore, 8, get a scare on the Bear Creek Park Haunted Forest Scream Train. The haunted train runs every night until Oct. 31. For a list of other spooktacular Halloween attractions, see page 41.
Black Press NEW FIGURES released by the Surrey
EVAN SEAL / THE LEADER
Levy: Would you win or lose? Vehicle fee for transit makes ‘green’ sense, but would hurt the car-dependent by Jeff Nagel FAMILIES WITH three or more cars in the driveway will be the big losers if TransLink shifts gears and imposes a vehicle levy instead of higher property taxes to finance transit expansion. The vehicle levy – referred to as a Transportation Improvement Fee – has been put back on the table as an option by the TransLink board after mayors balked at the idea of funding their $400-million share of the Evergreen Line from property taxes alone. It’s still far from clear that the province will allow TransLink to collect the levy, even if both
TransLink and the mayors council ultimately agree to it. But what is certain is that the move would be great news for urbanites who live on pricey real estate, particularly if they get by with one or even no car thanks to a walkable amenity-filled neighbourhood and good transit. They’ll pay much less under a vehicle levy than they would in property taxes, while families in more distant suburbs, who may live on cheaper land but must rely on cars for transportation, stand to be hit the hardest. Take, for example, a suburban detached house worth $500,000 in one of the more affordable neighbourhoods of Surrey, Langley, Port Coquit-
lam or Maple Ridge. Under the property tax-only scenario, that family would pay an extra $26 a year for the Evergreen Line, or $46 if the mayors agree to raise more money to add a broader set of transit upgrades. An equivalent house on Vancouver’s west side or parts of the North Shore could be worth $1.5 million. Its owners will cough up $78 for the Evergreen Line, or $135 for the broader ‘Option B’ package. But if a vehicle levy is used instead, property values no longer matter. See VEHICLE LEVY / Page 3
RCMP show another drop in the city’s crime rate. The number of Criminal Code violations recorded by the Mounties fell 2.6 per cent from 2008 to 2009, according to the statistics in the justreleased “Report to the Community” issued by the Surrey detachment Tuesday. There were 44,392 Criminal Code incidents reported last year compared to 45,583 the previous year. However, the number of homicides rose from 16 to 20, and the number of attempted murders rose from 18 to 20. There was a substantial View the increase in the number full report at of incidents where police surrey.rcmp.ca officers were assaulted, from 63 to 112 – an increase of 77 per cent. Assaults involving civilians were down slightly. Auto theft was down from 3,890 to 3,827 vehicles, a decrease of 1.9 per cent. The report says the City of Surrey’s crime rate is the lowest it has been in 10 years and has decreased every year since 2003. Property crime is also the lowest it has been since 2000 and has decreased every year since 2003. Violent crime is the lowest it has been since 2004.
Editorial 6 Letters 7 Sports 29 Arts 32 People 38 Classifieds 42 NOW PLAYING CLOVA CINEMA
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