Surrey (British Columbia)

Surrey
; coat of arms	; flag
Location in British Columbia
	Surrey
	Surrey
State :	Canada
Province :	British Columbia
Regional District :	Metro Vancouver
Coordinates :	49 ° 11 ′ N , 122 ° 51 ′ W Coordinates: 49 ° 11 ′ N , 122 ° 51 ′ W
Area :	316.41 km²
Residents :	468,251 (as of 2011)
Population density :	1,479.9 inhabitants / km²
Time zone :	Pacific Time ( UTC − 8 )
Postal code :	V3R - V3X, V4A, V4N, V4P
Mayor :	Dianne Watts
Website :	www.surrey.ca
	; Location in the Metro Vancouver area

Surrey is a city in the southwest of the Canadian province of British Columbia . It is located southeast of Vancouver in the Metro Vancouver region , between the lower reaches of the Fraser River and the border with the United States . Surrey, named after the English county , has around 470,000 inhabitants. It is the second most populous city in the province and one of the fastest growing cities in Canada.

geography

Surrey is bounded in the north by the Fraser River , in the south by the border with the USA and Boundary Bay , a bay in the Pacific Ocean . In an east-west direction, two rivers run through the slightly hilly urban area, both of which flow into Boundary Bay; the Serpentine River and the Nicomekl River. To the southwest, Surrey is bordered by White Rock , to the west by Delta , to the northwest by New Westminster , to the north by Port Coquitlam , to the northeast by Pitt Meadows , to the east by the city of Langley and the District of Langley, and to the south by Blaine , US state Washington .

The city consists of six larger towns that grew together in the second half of the 20th century. The economic center and the most densely populated district is Whalley, in the far northwest of the urban area on the Fraser River. The district is named after Arthur Walley, who was the first to settle here in 1925 and opened a gas station. To the east, also in the Fraser River, is Guildford. South of Whalley and Guildford is Fleetwood, the smallest district in terms of area.

Cloverdale, located between the river valleys of the Serpentine River and Nicomekl River, borders the city of Langley and is the oldest part of Surrey. The city administration is located in the Newton district, which has grown together with the North Delta city, which is part of the Delta municipality. The southernmost is South Surrey.

history

The area on the Fraser River has been inhabited by the Kwantlen for around 6000 years , while the Semiahmoo live on the coast . In July 1791, the expedition of the Spaniard José María Narváez explored the Boundary Bay and came across the lower reaches of the Fraser River . The following year, the coast was surveyed in detail by George Vancouver's expedition. Next, in 1808, Simon Fraser reached the lower reaches of the Fraser River by land.

In 1859, Governor James Douglas ordered the area on the Fraser River to be precisely surveyed to prepare it for settlement. The first British settled in 1860. Other settlers followed only sparsely at first, as the terrain was mostly hilly and densely forested; in addition, the soil first had to be drained before it could be used for agriculture. Over time, several localities emerged.

The official formation of the Surrey parish took place on November 10, 1879, as the area met the legal requirements to do so (more than 30 permanent men eligible to vote). The name of the parish is derived from the English county of Surrey . Between Surrey and Langley District , which had been founded six years earlier, was a strip half a mile wide, which came to Surrey after a referendum in 1882.

Surrey City Hall in Newton

New traffic routes created the conditions for Surrey to grow almost indefinitely, but also for the typical urban sprawl . From the 1950s, more and more people who worked in Burnaby or Vancouver settled here . The individual villages grew together. In 1957, the somewhat isolated village of White Rock was separated and declared an independent municipality. Surrey has experienced a construction boom since the 1980s, aided by immigration from Asia ; In 1993 it received city rights.

population

City of Surrey Museum in Cloverdale

The 2011 census showed a population of 468,251, an increase of 18.6% over 2006. 38.3% of the population were born abroad, the proportion of foreigners was 11.7%.

1.9% of the population were among the original inhabitants, 46.1% more to the statistical authorities so called "visible minorities" (visible minorities) . The largest group is made up of people from South Asia with 27.5%, followed by Chinese (5.1%), Filipinos (4.2%), Southeast Asians (2.4%) and Koreans (2.0%). The distribution to religious groups in 2001 was as follows: 27.0% Protestants, 16.3% Catholics, 16.3% Sikhs, 6.5% other Christians, 2.9% Muslims, 5.2% others.

Surrey is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada. Around 1000 people settle here every month. Surrey is expected to overtake Vancouver and become the most populous city in the province by 2020.

education

Simon Fraser University

The School District 36 , which in addition to Surrey and White Rock, is the largest school district of British Columbia. He is responsible for around 65,000 students, 99 elementary schools and 25 secondary schools. The authority is headed by a seven-member elected school council. There are also three private schools, the Holy Cross Regional High School, the Pacific Academy and the Southridge School.

Surrey has been home to a Simon Fraser University (SFU) campus since 2002 . The SFU took over the building of the Technical University of British Columbia , which had been closed again by the provincial government after only three years. The campus, which can accommodate 4,000 students, is located in the Whalley district of the Central City building complex . The Newton district has been the main location of the Kwantlen Polytechnic University since 1981 with around 11,000 students. Since then she has expanded to Richmond and Langley .

Culture and sport

The Peace Arch , seen from the American side

The most famous attraction of Surrey is the Peace Arch , a peace monument in Peace Arch Park , which stands exactly on the border with the United States. The City of Surrey Museum in Cloverdale deals with local history, particularly with regard to the First Nations and European settlement; it also offers changing exhibitions on various topics. The Historic Stewart Farm is a farmhouse dating from 1894, in which the life is shown that era. For those interested in art there is the Surrey Arts Center and the Surrey Art Gallery .

The largest annual event is the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair in late May, a rodeo with an attached agricultural exhibition. It was first carried out in 1888. Every April 23, the Sikh celebrate the harvest festival Vaisakhi ; the parade each attracts tens of thousands of visitors.

The Canada Cup has been held every summer since 1993 , an important tournament for national softball teams . The South Surrey Arena is where the Surrey Eagles, an ice hockey team in the British Columbia Hockey League , play their home games. Surrey is home to the first stadium in Canada, which was built specifically for the Kabaddi , which is popular in South Asia .

traffic

In the years before and after the Surrey Parish was formed, trails from Fort Langley opened up the area. These were the Semiahmoo-Langley Trail , the Kennedy Trail and the Telegraph Trail . From 1884 there was a regular ferry service with steamers over the Fraser River to New Westminster .

In 1889, the New Westminster and Southern Railway, a subsidiary of the Great Northern Railway , opened a railway line from the south bank of the Fraser River to the Canadian-American border. The connection over the New Westminster Bridge to New Westminster and thus the connection to the rest of the Canadian railway network could not be established until 1904, since the Canadian Pacific Railway had a monopoly on the area north of the river until then. With the Pattullo Bridge (1937) and the Port Mann Bridge (1964) the accessibility of Surrey for motorized traffic increased considerably.

The BNSF Railway , the Canadian National Railway and the Southern Railway of British Columbia operate rail freight services in the area of the city of Surrey; However, passenger transport is not offered. Local public transport consists of the Expo Line of the SkyTrain Vancouver to Whalley and subsequent bus routes. The Highway 99 , a highway runs north-south to the US border, where they in the Interstate 5 passes.

There is also a loading facility for general cargo and a container terminal belonging to the Port of Vancouver in the city .