Langley, British Columbia (city)

Early European settlement in the area was known as "Innes Corners" (after homesteader Adam Innes); in 1911, the area became known as "Langley Prairie", part of the Township of Langley a.k.a. Langley Township since 1873. Twentieth-century improvements in transportation access, including the construction of the British Columbia Electric Railway in 1910, Fraser Highway in the 1920s, and Pattullo Bridge in 1937, profoundly impacted the area, transforming it from rural into the main urban and commercial core of the Township.[2] In turn, this birthed the need for upgraded and new amenities, especially with respect to health, infrastructure, safety and sanitation.

The municipal government, however, refused to finance these projects as it bowed, instead, to politically influential farming communities and smaller, mostly rural, business centres, like Fort Langley, Milner and Murrayville, that viewed such spending as unnecessary.[3][4] Talk of secession began in Langley Prairie in the 1930s, as a result. Headed by a panel of important residents and businesspersons, including Richard Langdon, president of the Langley Board of Trade, the push for independence came to a head in the 1950s.[4]

Specifically, two issues decided Langley's future. Street lights, which Langley Prairie argued were not only needed for safety but also progress, but on which reeve George Brooks declared "not a nickel" would be spent. As well, Langley Prairie's belief that it did not have the political sway or its fair share of municipal services that it deserved relative to its local tax contribution.[3][4] Langley Prairie by now constituted 20% of the Township's tax base.[4] A referendum on secession was therefore held in September, 1954. It passed with over 85% of the vote.[4] Langley Prairie officially seceded and became the City of Langley on March 15, 1955.[2]

The Langley Rams of the British Columbia Conference of the Canadian Junior Football League are based at the MacLeod Stadium in the Township of Langley.

The Langley Rivermen of the British Columbia Hockey League and the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League are based at the Langley Events Centre in the Township of Langley.

The Langley Blaze of the Premier Baseball League is based at McLeod Park.

A local Little League baseball team represented Canada in the 2011 Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA.

Brett Lawrie, an infielder for the Chicago White Sox is from Langley, as is professional cyclist Svein Tuft of the Greenedge Cycling Team.

The Langley Thunder is a Senior A team in the Western Lacrosse Association, part of the Canadian Lacrosse Association.

School District 35 Langley operates public schools.

The City of Langley is home to six Elementary schools and one Middle school, H. D. Stafford Middle School. Five major high schools are located in the surrounding area; Brookswood Secondary School, Langley Secondary School, D. W. Poppy Secondary School, Walnut Grove Secondary School, & R. E. Mountain Secondary School. They are located in the Township of Langley.

The Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique operates one Francophone school: école des Voyageurs primary school.[12]

Kwantlen Polytechnic University also has a campus in Langley as well Trinity Western University (TWU) which is a private Christian liberal arts university. TWU is a member of Universities Canada.

Major roads in the City of Langley include 200 Street, 64 Avenue, Fraser Highway, Glover Road, and the Langley Bypass which carries part of British Columbia Highway 10. These roads serve as the backbone of the road infrastructure network by handling traffic from the west in Surrey, Delta, and Ladner, as well as from the east in Aldergrove and Abbotsford.

Trains from across the country pass by the city on a regular basis. A major rail corridor runs alongside the Langley Bypass and towards the Roberts Bank Superport, which handles the export and import of various commodities coming in and out of Asia. [13]

The City of Langley is served by TransLink, which operates the regional transportation network of Metro Vancouver. Langley is served by several regular bus routes, and six "community shuttle" routes operating smaller capacity mini-buses.

The Fraser Highway is one of the major east-west corridors servicing the City of Langley and the Township of Langley. The "502" bus route operates on a 15-minute headway (12 minutes during rush hour) from the Surrey Central Station in north Surrey to the Langley Centre bus loop in the City of Langley via Fraser Highway. The "503" Express service, launched on June 23, 2014, provides express service between Surrey Central Station and Langley Centre and local service through the Township of Langley into Aldergrove.[14] In September 2019, the 503 was upgraded to provide service every 8 minutes during peak hour. Riders are now given the benefit of being able to board and get off the bus at any 503 stop.[15]

The other major routes include the "320 Surrey Central Station" (via Cloverdale), "341 Guildford" (via Cloverdale, & Newton), the "364 Scottsdale" (via 64th avenue), and the "501 Surrey Central Station" (via 200 St, Carvolth Exchange, Port Kells Industrial and to Surrey Central Station via Guildford Exchange. The "595" to Maple Ridge heads along 208 street, and across the Golden Ears Bridge.

As of December 1, 2012,[16] TransLink had created a new "555 Port Mann Express / Lougheed Town Centre Station" rapid bus service which operates between Carvolth Exchange (in Langley) and Lougheed Town Centre Station[17] (in Burnaby, British Columbia) via Highway 1, with just one stop along the way in Surrey. This bus takes approximately 20 minutes from start to finish in one direction. It runs frequently; approximately every 7–10 minutes during peak times, and every 20 minutes during off-peak times.

Street banners in Langley's commercial district

Langley is the home of a very large annual car show, the "Langley Cruise-In".[18] This event is held each September. Langley is also home to the Arts Alive Festival in August, and the Langley Ukulele Ensemble.

Langley City Council has seats for one mayor and six councillors. Each serves a 4-year term and attends council meetings on a bi-weekly basis. Other governmental departments include the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, Corporate Services, Development Services & Economic Development, Engineering, Parks & Environment, Recreation, Culture and Community Services, and the Langley City Fire Rescue Service. The City of Langley has a joint RCMP detachment with the township of Langley.

Langley is also a key component in the Canadian federal electoral district of the same name, which was formed in 2004. The Member of Parliament for the constituency is Liberal John Aldag.

Langley's community facilities include:

• Timms Community Centre
• Al Anderson Memorial – 25-metre public swimming pool
• Douglas Recreation Centre
• Langley Fire Rescue Hall
• Langley City FVRL Library
• Cascades Casino, Coast Hotel & Convention Centre
• Numerous parks

The City of Langley's Community Profile[21] identifies six neighbourhoods based on elementary school catchment area: Nicomekl, Douglas, Simonds, Blacklock, Alice Brown and Uplands.

• Dennis Cholowski, NHL defenseman for the Detroit Red Wings
• Amanda Crew, actress
• Danton Heinen, NHL player for the Boston Bruins
• Carle Hessay, painter
• Brett Lawrie, baseball player
• Georgia Ellenwood, 2018 NCAA Heptathlon champion
• J. Jill Robinson, author of fiction and creative nonfiction
• Brian Smith, the guitarist for the rock band Trooper.
• Dallas Smith, the lead vocalist for the rock band Default and country music singer.
• Tom Thacker, guitarist and vocalist with Gob and Sum 41
• Shea Theodore, NHL defenseman for the Vegas Golden Knights
• Jacob Tremblay, actor known for leading role in Room
• Jose Figueroa took refuge in Langley

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Langley, British Columbia (city).

• Official website