Langley Township’s “civic core”

June 15, 2014 By in Surrey Langley White Rock Tags: , Leave a comment

Church

The Township of Langley website identifies the Murrayville area as the municipality’s “traditional civic core. Murrayville is home to the Langley Memorial Hospital, Langley RCMP Main Detachment, Langley School District offices, W.C. Blair Recreation Centre, and Langley Regional Airport.”

The old Porter's General Store, now a popular café in Murrayville, Langley

The old Porter’s General Store, now a popular café in Murrayville, Langley

The village centre of old Murrayville stands at 216 Street and 48 Avenue. It includes a church (1889) and a former general store that is now a café and bistro. Around this is a modest stock of pre-1930s houses, some converted for commercial uses such as real estate or accounting offices. Continue reading →

2014 property taxes in Metro Vancouver

June 14, 2014 By in Housing, Real Estate and Property Taxes, Metro Vancouver, Urban Life and Local Government Tags: 2 Comments

Queensborough 2012 cropped

In a recent report on property taxes in Maple Ridge, the District of Maple Ridge municipal government has published a table showing municipal tax charges on the “average house” in cities across the Metro Vancouver region. The table is provided below, minus a few explanatory notes.

There are 21 municipalities in the region, and some of the smaller ones are not shown. Mission, which is adjacent to Maple Ridge, is not part of the Metro Vancouver region. Continue reading →

Missing the boat in Queensborough

June 1, 2014 By in New Westminster, Planning and Development Tags: , 1 Comment
New Westminster Quay seen from Queensborough

New Westminster Quay seen from Queensborough

Queensborough lies south of an elevated section of B.C. Highway 91A. From the driver’s perspective, it looks like a jumble of townhomes built on leftover land.

Vintage-style housing, probably mid-'90s, South Dyke Road

Vintage-style housing, probably mid-1990s, South Dyke Road

Viewed more closely, the neighbourhood is pretty in spots,  with dramatic waterfront views of mainland New West. My co-tourist Fred Armstrong was pleased with his photos of river and clouds. Queensborough is a fragment of the City of New Westminster located on Lulu Island, with a long industrial history that has left a working railroad running down its main street. Continue reading →

Port Mann Bridge: The case of the disappearing traffic

April 25, 2014 By in Roads, Bridges and Traffic Tags: , , 3 Comments
Part of the Port Mann Bridge; graphic from the current TI Corp service plan

Part of the Port Mann Bridge; graphic from the current TI Corp service plan

The British Columbia government now predicts heavier short-term financial losses on the Port Mann toll bridge than previously forecast, although it maintains the position that user tolls will eventually pay all costs related to the reconstructed bridge.

The issue here is declining traffic volumes — a pattern of decline that began long before tolls were implemented in 2012. Weekday traffic on the bridge, the primary access point to Vancouver from the rest of Canada, is down an astonishing 20 per cent from the peak levels of 2006. Continue reading →