Whalley, British Columbia
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Whalley/City Centre Surrey City Centre |
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|---|---|
| Town centre of Surrey | |
Central City Shopping Centre in Whalley
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 Whalley/City Centre
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| Coordinates: 49°11′30″N 122°50′45″W / 49.19167°N 122.84583°WCoordinates: 49°11′30″N 122°50′45″W / 49.19167°N 122.84583°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
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| Province |
 British Columbia
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| Region | Lower Mainland |
| Regional District | Metro Vancouver |
| City | Surrey, British Columbia |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Linda Hepner |
| • MP (Fed.) | Randeep Sarai (Liberal Party of Canada) |
| • MLA (Prov.) | Bruce Ralston (NDP) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 95,433 |
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25,602 in city centre June 2009 |
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| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) |
25,602 in city centre
Whalley/City Centre is the city centre of Surrey, British Columbia and is the most densely populated and urban of Surrey's six town centres. It is the only town centre in Surrey currently serviced by rapid transit (SkyTrain Expo Line via Scott Road, Gateway, Surrey Central and King George stations) and is home to the SFU Surrey campus within the Central City Shopping Centre, the main shopping centre in Whalley.
Based on City of Surrey statistics, Whalley is the second-most populous community in Surrey after Newton Town Centre.
As early as the 1880s, people began settling what is now present-day Whalley.
The municipal council in 1908 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 the King George Highway.
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 the King George Highway. 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.
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.
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 off revitalization of the town centre. 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.
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Wikipedia