Whalley, Surrey

Whalley (also known as Surrey City Centre) is the downtown district of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, and is the most densely populated and urban of Surrey's six town centres. It is home to the Surrey City Hall, the main branch of Surrey Libraries, Central City, SFU Surrey[4] and the site of Kwantlen Polytechnic University's (KPU) Civic Plaza campus.[5] It is the only town centre in Surrey served by Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. Expo Line stations serving the Whalley include Scott Road, Gateway, Surrey Central and King George.

Whalley

Surrey City Centre
Town centre of Surrey
Skyline viewed from King George station
Whalley
Location of Whalley within Metro Vancouver
Coordinates: 49°11′30″N 122°50′45″W
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
RegionLower Mainland
Regional DistrictMetro Vancouver
CitySurrey
Incorporated1948
Government
 • MayorDoug McCallum
 • MP (Fed.)Randeep Sarai (Liberal)[1]
 • MLA (Prov.)Bruce Ralston (NDP)
Population
 (2016)
 • Total102,555[2][3]
 Including City Centre
Time zoneUTC−8 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (PDT)

Based on the city of Surrey statistics, Whalley is the second-most populous community in Surrey after Newton.[6] As of 2018, the population of Whalley is 75,610,[7] while the population of City Centre, the central subarea in the Whalley core, is 26,945.[8] The total population of the area is 102,555. Whalley is represented in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia by the Surrey-Whalley riding and in the House of Commons of Canada by the Surrey North riding. Randeep Sarai is Whalley's Member of Parliament, and Bruce Ralston is its MLA.

History

As early as the 1880s, people began settling what is now Whalley.[9] In 1908, the municipal council requested a grant to construct a roadway from Fraser Bridge to present-day 108 Avenue. This provided a much safer path to the river compared to the steep, winding Old Yale Road, and the new road later became part of King George Boulevard.[9]

In 1925, Arthur Whalley moved his family from Cloverdale to a three-acre triangle of land at the future intersection of Ferguson Road (108 Avenue), Grosvenor Road and King George Boulevard. After clearing the land and spending their first winter in tents, they built a service station, which included a general store, soft drink stand, and tourist cabins.[9]

The community officially adopted the name of Whalley in 1948, after the board of trade held a contest to rename what had become known as "Whalley's Corner". "Binnieville" had also been recommended, in honour of Tom Binnie, a local real estate and insurance broker who had fostered Whalley's growth as a commercial centre.[9]

In the mid-20th century, Whalley saw numerous debates regarding its secession from Surrey to become a separate city or municipality. In 1976, Metro Vancouver (then known as the GVRD) identified Whalley as one of four regional town centres, sparking revitalization of the town centre.[10] The City of Surrey adopted the "Whalley–Guildford Plan" in 1985, proposing high-density commercial development along 104 Avenue between the Whalley and Guildford areas.[10]

In 2016, Coast Capital Savings moved their headquarters into City Centre at the King George Hub complex.[11] In September 2020, Westland Insurance announced that they planned to move their headquarters into the district in 2022.[12]

Culture and cityscape
Holland Park facing southeast towards the King George Hub

Whalley is home to several public facilities such as Surrey City Hall and the Surrey City Centre Library. On December 22, 2019, the North Surrey Recreation Centre closed for redevelopment. The facility had an indoor swimming pool and two ice rinks.[13]

Whalley also has the largest concentration of high-rises, both office and residential buildings, south of the Fraser River. As of 2021, the tallest building in Surrey is 3 Civic Plaza, at 50 stories and a height of 164 metres (538 ft). It consists of residential and office units, as well as a hotel.

Demographics

In 2016, the City of Surrey began publishing data separately for a subarea of Whalley called "City Centre".[14] City Centre is located directly in the heart of the original Whalley neighbourhood.

Whalley

City Centre

Climate

Temperature extremes range from 37.0 °C, recorded on 29 May 1983, to −21.7 °C, recorded on 28 January 1969.

Climate data for Whalley (Elevation: 83.3m)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 15.6
(60.1)		 19.5
(67.1)		 24.5
(76.1)		 29.5
(85.1)		 37
(99)		 34.4
(93.9)		 36.7
(98.1)		 35
(95)		 36
(97)		 29
(84)		 19
(66)		 16.5
(61.7)		 37
(99)
Average high °C (°F) 5.7
(42.3)		 8.1
(46.6)		 10.8
(51.4)		 13.9
(57.0)		 17.3
(63.1)		 19.6
(67.3)		 22.9
(73.2)		 23.2
(73.8)		 20.2
(68.4)		 14.7
(58.5)		 8.6
(47.5)		 5.7
(42.3)		 14.2
(57.6)
Average low °C (°F) −0.3
(31.5)		 1.1
(34.0)		 2.5
(36.5)		 4.7
(40.5)		 7.7
(45.9)		 10.2
(50.4)		 12.1
(53.8)		 12.5
(54.5)		 9.9
(49.8)		 6.4
(43.5)		 2.4
(36.3)		 0.2
(32.4)		 5.8
(42.4)
Record low °C (°F) −21.7
(−7.1)		 −14
(7)		 −12.2
(10.0)		 −2.8
(27.0)		 −1.7
(28.9)		 2.2
(36.0)		 5.6
(42.1)		 4.4
(39.9)		 0.6
(33.1)		 −4
(25)		 −17.5
(0.5)		 −20.6
(−5.1)		 −21.7
(−7.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 187.7
(7.39)		 169.2
(6.66)		 143.2
(5.64)		 115.4
(4.54)		 88.9
(3.50)		 73.9
(2.91)		 53.7
(2.11)		 53.8
(2.12)		 71
(2.8)		 131.8
(5.19)		 231.8
(9.13)		 228.3
(8.99)		 1,548.5
(60.96)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 163.3
(6.43)		 155.0
(6.10)		 139.3
(5.48)		 115.1
(4.53)		 88.9
(3.50)		 73.9
(2.91)		 53.7
(2.11)		 53.8
(2.12)		 71.0
(2.80)		 131.6
(5.18)		 226.7
(8.93)		 208.1
(8.19)		 1,480.4
(58.28)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 24.4
(9.6)		 14.2
(5.6)		 3.9
(1.5)		 0.2
(0.1)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.2
(0.1)		 5.1
(2.0)		 20.2
(8.0)		 68.2
(26.9)
Source: Environment Canada[15]

Crime

Whalley was once regarded as the one of the most dangerous part of the Lower Mainland and was notorious for its crime.[16][17] After redevelopment of Whalley, since the early 2010s violent crime has shifted south to Newton, which has taken over Whalley's reputation as being the most dangerous part of Surrey.[18]

Surrounding communities

References
  1. http://www.elections.ca/res/rep/off/ovr2015app/41/table11E.html
  2. https://www.surrey.ca/files/Neighbourhood-Profile-Whalley.pdf
  3. https://www.surrey.ca/files/Neighbourhood-Profile-City-Centre.pdff
  4. "Surrey Campus". Simon Fraser University. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  5. "KPU Civic Plaza". Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  6. "Surrey Population Estimates and Projections". City of Surrey. Archived from the original on 18 October 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  7. "Neighbourhood Profile-Whalley" (PDF). City of Surrey. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  8. "City Centre Neighbourhood Profile" (PDF). City of Surrey. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  9. "Whalley". Community Profiles. City of Surey. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  10. "Surrey Central Transit Village Planning Process" (PDF). City of Surrey. 6 January 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2007. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  11. Lam, Elsa (17 February 2016). "Coast Capital Savings headquarters opens". Canadian Architect. Archived from the original on 18 February 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  12. Chan, Kenneth (29 September 2020). "Westland to lease seven office floors as anchor tenant of King George Hub". Daily Hive. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  13. Zillich, Tom (18 December 2019). "North Surrey rec centre doors will close for good this weekend". Surrey Now-Leader. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  14. "Surrey Communities". City of Surrey. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  15. Environment Canada—Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000, accessed 27 January 2019
  16. "Steel-fisted Surrey enforcer who terrorized the streets of Whalley meets his bloody end". The Province. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  17. "Teen beaten, stabbed near Whalley ball park in Surrey". The Now. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  18. "Newton taking over Whalley's crime reputation". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 18 August 2014.

Further reading
  • Natrasony, S.M. & Alexander, D. (2005). "The rise of modernism and the decline of place: The case of Surrey City Centre, Canada". Planning Perspectives, 20(4), 413-433. doi: 10.1080/02665430500239489. Retrieved: /10613/2895
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.