Coquitlam is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Coquitlam is mainly a suburban city, and is one of the 21 municipalities comprising Metro Vancouver. The steady growth continued throughout the first half of the 20th century, helped in part by the region’s strategic position on Canada’s west coast. The opening of Lougheed Highway in 1953 made the city more accessible and set the stage for residential growth in the early 1960s. Coquitlam experienced a period of boom in the mid-1970s that continues today.

Coquitlam, with a land area of about 150 square kilometres (58 sq mi), is the largest municipality in the Tri-Cities region. Compared to other cities and municipalities in Metro Vancouver, this area had a late start in economic development. It was not until the 1950s that the region’s land began to be tapped for extensive use.

Central Coquitlam contains Como Lake, a renowned urban fishing and recreation area, and headwaters for the Como watershed. The watershed represents one of the last urban watersheds in the Tri-cities that supports wild stocks of coho salmon as well as other species at risk such as coastal cutthroat trout (both sea-run and resident) and bird species such as the great blue and green heron.

Coquitlam has a considerable number of open green spaces, with the total area of over 890 hectares (2,200 acres). There are over 80 municipal parks and natural areas, with Mundy Park being among the biggest, located roughly in the centre of the city; Ridge Park is another major park located in the highlands near the city’s northern edge.

Port Coquitlam

Located 27 km east of Vancouver, Port Coquitlam sits at the confluence of the Fraser River and the Pitt River. Coquitlam borders it on the north, the Coquitlam River borders it on the west, and the cities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows lie across the Pitt River. Port Coquitlam is almost entirely bisected by a Canadian Pacific Railway yard with two underpass crossings. Port Coquitlam is often referred to as “Poco.”

Port Coquitlam has now become mostly suburban housing, especially on its northern and southwestern sides. The economy has diversified with a variety of industrial and commercial developments, including metal fabrication, high technology industries, and transportation.

Port Moody

Port Moody, British Columbia is a small, crescent-shaped city in Metro Vancouver, located at the east end of Burrard Inlet in British Columbia, Canada. Port Moody is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south, and Burnaby on the west. The villages of Belcarra and Anmore, along with the rugged Coast Mountains, lie to the northwest and north respectively.

In 2006, the City of Port Moody had 27,512 people in 10,125 private dwellings living within its borders . This population growth was a 15% increase from the last census taken in 2001.[1] Booming residential construction may account for part of this population growth; 8,015 residential dwellings are owned while 2,115 are rented. Port Moody also has the fourth highest municipal median family income at $70,239, with its largest employers being the Eagle Ridge Hospital and Health Care Centre and School District 43.

Port Moody’s economic development focus in recent years has been on the arts and culture sector, including the development of a new Port Moody identity as the “City of the Arts.” An estimated 6% of employment in Port Moody is in arts and culture, which is one of the highest concentrations of arts and culture employment in the region.

Port Moody is home to beautiful Rocky Point Park. 3.8 hectares of space, the park has hiking trails, a newly renovated spray park, a skate park, a bike trials park, a playground, a picnic shelter, a boat launch and a recreational pier. Home to Golden Spike Days, the park is a popular destination in the summer.

Bert Flinn Park is a mountain bikers’ paradise. 138 hectares of largely undeveloped parkland, there is an extensive unmarked trail system along old logging roadbeds: look closely to see evidence of this industry which flourished here in the early 1900s. The park also has an off-leash dog walk.

Finishing construction in 2008, Port Moody has renovated its recreation complex. Home to an Olympic size ice rink, this new facility will have an indoor running track, a state-of-the-art gym, a curling rink and an athlete’s lounge. The Port Moody Happening, a quarterly publication, features all recreation programs offered at this new facility.

The city of Surrey, British Columbia surrounds White Rock on four sides, with the dividing lines between the two municipalities set at 136th Street (Bergstrom Street) to the West, 16th Avenue (North Bluff Road) to the North, 160th Street (State Road) to the East, and 8th Avenue to the south. Even though the area to the south from 160th Street westward to where 8th meets the water is Semiahmoo First Nations Reserve land, it lies within the bounds of the City of Surrey. From the point where 8th Avenue meets tidewater, the boundary between the two then heads south to the US border within Semiahmoo Bay, and the remainder of the southern border is (technically) the US border.

Because of its moderate, almost Mediterranean climate (on a good day), White Rock is a preferred place to live. The average summer temperature is twenty-three degrees Celsius while the average winter temperature is six degrees Celsius. White Rock is often referred to as either ‘the gem’ or ‘one of the gems’ of the Lower Mainland, in local real estate advertising, particularly if you have money. Pilots accustomed to flying around the area often refer to it as ‘the hole in the sky’, referring to the fact that White Rock is often bright and sunny, while the rest of the Lower Mainland peers through rain and cloud.

White Rock is named for a distinctive large white boulder found on its beach near the promenade. A glacial erratic that migrated south during the last glaciation. The 486-ton granite boulder was kept white by shellfish-eating seabirds, whose guano covered the rock, so much so that sailors in the 19th century used it as a beacon. However, it now remains white through frequent applications of white paint by the city parks department, as it has been a popular graffiti target for over thirty years.

Current mayor Judy Forster was elected in November 2002 and re-elected in November 2005.

As of 2001, the population of Surrey was approximately 340,825 (up from 304,477 in 1996), a 14.2% increase. In 2004, the City of Surrey estimated that the city’s population officially reached approximately 400,000. Visible minorities account for 127,015 of Surrey’s citizens, with around 184,000 of these being immigrants. According to the 2006 census, Surrey’s population was 394,976 in June, 2006.

South Surrey

South Surrey is a town centre of Surrey, British Columbia. It borders on the city of White Rock, and at 10,535 people, South Surrey has the largest concentration of persons over the age of 65 of all Surrey’s town centres. According to the 2001 census, the total population of South Surrey was 53,980.

South Surrey is home to the neighbourhoods of Crescent Beach, Crescent Heights, Elgin, Grandview Heights, Hazelmere, Johnson Heights, Morgan Creek, Ocean Park, Semiahmoo and Sunnyside. South Surrey has a BCHL hockey team called the Surrey Eagles, which play at the local South Surrey Arena.

Richmond supports about 100,000 jobs in various areas including services, retailing, tourism, light manufacturing, airport services and aviation, agriculture, fishing, and government. Richmond also is a leading centre in the region for high-technology companies, including the Nintendo Corporation of Canada. Microsoft has opened an office in September 2007 for software development. It will eventually employ hundreds of highly-skilled workers from around the world.

As of June 2007, Richmond city planners are one year into their update of its official plan for the city centre. The plan is anchored by the Canada Line, currently under construction, and includes the development of nine transit-oriented village centres. The population of the area is expected to grow from about 40,000 to 120,000 residents. According to a senior planner for the city, the goal of the plan is to “turn the middle arm of the Fraser River into a focus instead of an edge.” A Richmond parks manager said that for “too long residents have felt contained by the river, seen it as being to their backs. Now, They want people to face the river and embrace the waterfront.”

Maple Ridge is a District Municipality in British Columbia, located in the northeastern section of Metro Vancouver. Maple Ridge has a population of approximately 73,000.

The District of Maple Ridge was incorporated September 12, 1874, it covered an area of 33,000 acres (130 km²) yet only had approximately 50 families living in the town. Maple Ridge is British Columbia’s sixth-oldest municipality (after New Westminster, Victoria, Langley, Lake Cowichan, and Chilliwack). Until the expansion of Metro Vancouver (the GVRD) it was part of the now-defunct Dewdney-Alouette Regional District with the city of Pitt Meadows and District of Mission and other north-side communities east to Chehalis.

In the past 20 years, Maple Ridge has grown very rapidly, with a 12.5% population increase between the 1996 and 2001 censuses. The construction of new residential subdivisions has threatened many sensitive wildlife habitats as well as the District’s limited agricultural land. About two-thirds of those who work outside the home commute into other suburbs or downtown Vancouver. Because of burgeoning growth connected to the expansion of the Vancouver metropolitan area, Maple Ridge joined the GVRD in 1995 (now Metro Vancouver), having historically been a member of the Dewdney-Alouette Regional District (DARD). The recently-started construction of the Golden Ears Bridge and the announced new high level Pitt River bridge span also signals growth.

Demographics
Demographics according to Statistics Canada 2006 census.

Population: 68,949

2001 to 2006 population change (%) : 9.2%

Area: 265.79 km² (102.62 sq mi).

Density: 259.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (671.8/sq mi).

Location: 49°13′12.0″N 122°35′56.1″W

The Township of Langley is largely a suburban community, but, while the center is increasingly urban, the periphery (particularly in the South and Southeast) maintains its agricultural nature. The neighbourhoods of Willoughby and Walnut Grove are quite suburban, and feature large numbers of big-box stores, the Willowbrook Shopping Centre, and the Famous Players Colossus Theatre Complex.

Delta comprises three distinct, geographically separate communities:

* North Delta (pop: 52,000) is home to over half of Delta’s population. It is a largely suburban area in north-east Delta bordered by the Burns Bog and Surrey.

* Ladner (pop: 25,000) is a 19th century fishing village in north-west Delta that has expanded into a suburb. Fishing and farming are important industries. Ladner Trunk Road is its main street.

* Tsawwassen (pop: 25,000) is a suburban community in south-west Delta that calls itself the sunniest place in Greater Vancouver. Luxury waterfront homes line Tsawwassen’s coast. Tsawwassen is also home to the busy Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal which links the mainland to Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Tsawwassen, together with Ladner are also known as South Delta.

Burnaby occupies 98.60 square kilometers (38.07 sq mi) and is located at the geographical centre of the Metro Vancouver area. Situated between the City of Vancouver on the west and Port Moody, Coquitlam, and New Westminster on the east, the City is further bounded by Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River on the North and South respectively. Burnaby, Vancouver and New Westminster collectively occupy the major portion of the Burrard Peninsula. The elevation of Burnaby ranges from sea level to a maximum of 370 metres (1,200 ft) atop Burnaby Mountain. Overall, the physical landscape of Burnaby is one of hills, ridges, valleys and an alluvial plain. The land features and their relative locations have had an influence on the location, type and form of development in the City.

Burnaby is a maturing, increasingly integrated community, which is centrally located within a rapidly growing metropolitan area. Burnaby’s characteristic has shifted from rural to suburban to largely urban. Still, Burnaby’s ratio of park land to residents is one of the highest in North America, and it maintains some agricultural land, particularly along the Fraser foreshore flats in the Big Bend neighbourhood along its southern perimeter.

Burnaby parks and lakes

Major parklands and waterways in Burnaby include Burnaby Lake, Still Creek, the Brunette River, Central Park, Deer Lake, Squint Lake, Robert Burnaby Park, Kensington Park, and Burnaby Mountain Park.

Activities

The very rugged nature of the North Shore Mountains, including, predominantly, Grouse Mountain and Mount Seymour, have contributed to this area’s reputation for hiking, skiing, and perhaps most famously, mountain biking. Many trails are featured in popular mountain biking videos. The Baden-Powell Trail runs from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove. This trail is host to the annual Knee-Knacker, which is a half day long run along the trail’s entire length of 50 kilometres. (The race is so named for the cuts and bruises frequently covering the runners knees when they cross the finish line.) The District is also home to the renowned Grouse Grind hiking trail, a steep vertical climb.

The North Shore is also the birth place of “Shore Riding”; a specific style of riding that involves hand made ladders, bridges and logs. The structures range from the simple to the elaborate, the best being made of cedar. They are used to navigate difficult terrain, rivers, swamps and muddy areas. The Shore is also known for its steep, slippery, wet, technical, rooty and generally nasty terrain.

The Capilano River is the site of the Capilano Suspension Bridge, one of the biggest tourist attractions on the North Shore. Indian Arm, an offshoot of Burrard Inlet, is well known for its sea kayaking and is the setting for Deep Cove. Other prominent tourist attractions include Lynn Canyon Park, the Capilano Fish Hatchery at Capilano River Regional Park, and the Maplewood Flats conservation area.