Petition aims to boost safety for Surrey nursery staff, visitors
Published 12:01 pm Thursday, June 18, 2026
A drive to boost safety for staff and customers of a South Surrey nursery is gaining traction.
Organizers behind an effort to keep a second, temporary route to and from West Coast Gardens open permanently say a petition bearing more than 500 signatures supporting the measure has been submitted to city hall.
The longstanding nursery, located at 1420 172 St., has historically only been accessible via 172 Street off 16 Avenue. In late April, the city began installing 1.25 kilometres of a new trunk sanitary sewer along 172 Street and 14 Avenue; work that was scheduled to close 172 Street for several weeks.
To ensure continued access to sites including the nursery and Russell Estate Vineyard until the project’s completion, a temporary route was created via a gravel extension of the existing dead-end 14 Avenue – accessible from 168 Street – through to 172 Street.
That access was initially planned to end following the project’s completion, however, “we argue this road should be left open,” Suzanne Smith told Peace Arch News by email.
City officials have confirmed the possibility is being explored.
Smith, who has a clothing pop-up boutique at the nursery, spearheaded the petition alongside nursery owner Jason Vandermey. She described the 172 Street one-way-in-one-way-out situation as “extremely dangerous, especially when exiting… onto a busy 16th Avenue.”
“We are asking the City of Surrey to consider leaving this road open for a secondary, safer access to the Garden Center for 90 staff, thousands of visitors – many of whom are elderly. Complaints about this issue have been coming into the garden centre for years.”
“From staff also, but customers that frequent our garden centre, they complain all the time,” Vandermey confirmed Monday (June 15).
“They say things like, ‘if 16 Avenue wasn’t so busy, I’d probably come more.’ It’s a bit of a hurdle for people because of the safety aspect.
“There’s been some near-misses,” he added.
Vandermey said while 172 Street has recently reopened, the concerns remain. He cited a noticeable increase in traffic along 16 Avenue ever since the opening of the thoroughfare’s on- and off-ramps to Highway 99 more than a decade ago. New traffic from area residential developments and the Campbell Heights business park only compounds the issue, he said.
Retaining the 14 Avenue connection – which opens the door to motorists accessing either 8 or 16 Avenue from 168 Street – would only require paving of some 300 metres, and would also smooth the path for emergency vehicles, should the need for them arise, he said.
Access to the light-controlled intersection at 168 Street and 16 Avenue is another positive for drivers, Vandermey added.
Petition signatures were only collected in-person at the nursery, he noted.
Officials with the city’s engineering department confirmed June 16 that the possibility of maintaining the 14 Avenue connection on a permanent basis is being looked at, “to support local community and business access, and connection to a future signal” anticipated at 16 Avenue and 172 Street as part of the Darts Hill neighbourhood plan.
“Any potential changes remain subject to ongoing design work, municipal budgets and any required Provincial approvals,” an emailed statement notes.