Surrey school expansion piques parking concerns
Published 2:00 pm Thursday, March 26, 2026
Parking lot issues and portable logistics were among the concerns raised toward a secondary school addition at March’s Surrey school board meeting.
Surrey School Board had its monthly meeting on March 11, where sketch plans for a new addition at Clayton Heights Secondary were outlined and discussed.
Executive director of capital project office Dave Riley and principal of KMBR Architects Bassem Tawfik introduced and presented their plans for the expansion to the board.
Tawfik opened by explaining this will be a large addition to Clayton Heights Secondary, with a proposed 1,000 seats added to the school.
Tawfik showed the board a few images showcasing what the school currently looks like and where the additions will be made.
“Addition options were very limited,” shared Tawfik.
Tawfik explained to the board that realistically, there is only one spot to add the extension, and it was on the west side of the school.
As of right now, there are portables and a portion of the parking lot currently in the way of the proposed addition to the school. These portables will need to be moved, and Tawfik informed board members the parking lot will be expanded with additional spots.
More explanation of the sketch plans were shared with the board, but once question period came, the moving of portables and parking lots situation stirred up the most discussion among the board members.
Board vice-chair Garry Thind asked Tawfik how many parking spots will be added with the new addition, and Tawfik told Thind 59 spots are planned to be added.
This question led to school board trustee Laurie Larsen asking a follow-up question.
“I’ve been to the school quite a bit and I can tell you currently there is not enough parking. I have to drive around a few times and wait for someone to leave,” explained Larsen.
She questioned Tawfik that, if they plan on adding 59 parking spaces while also adding 1,000 new seats, whether there will be enough parking.
Tawfik responded to Larsen by suggesting some sort of parking variance could be applied.
Larsen replied that having more students would mean more teachers taking up parking spaces, and noted the addition is at a secondary school, where most students drive.
Tawfik shared that the sketch plan maximized the parking situation and said there are statistics that show many people are not driving as often.
“Not just in Surrey but all over B.C. parking is being reduced in general … I think students don’t drive as much as they used to.”
Riley explained the parking lot is meeting current bylaw requirements, and said there should be no reason for a variance.
Trustee Bob Holmes followed Larsen with questions regarding the portables being moved.
“My ears perked up when I heard moving portables,” Holmes said.
Holmes told Tawfik and Riley that the district already struggles with getting the ministry to fund the moving of any portables, and asked if moving the portables is part of the financial scope of the project.
Riley answered the question, stating that moving the portables is a part of the scope and will be covered by the province as part of the capital project.
Mark Pearmain, the superintendent for the district, followed up with a question after Riley’s comment, and asked if the portables will be moved at the end of the project.
“Because currently they are being moved into the parking lot,” said Pearmain, incorporating the previous parking lot discussion.
Riley responds, saying the portables will not be moved until once the project is completed; the province will not pay for them to be moved until after.
As of right now, Tawfik said they are hoping the projected opening for the addition will be in the summer of 2029.
Surrey school board meetings are open to the public. The next one will be held on April 8 at 7 p.m.
Agendas are posted before meetings; people can attend in person or via video livestream on the Surrey School’s website, surreyschools.ca