The multi-year expansion of Fraser Highway will get much closer to completion following the construction of the northern Serpentine bridge, set to begin in August. Fraser Highway crosses the Serpentine River in Cloverdale near 176 St. The entire stretch through the Serpentine Flats has remained two lanes for years, despite the Highway’s four lanes in both Fleetwood and Clayton. This has created rush hour bottlenecks along the route.

The southern bridge was built at the end of last year, and traffic has since been rerouted onto that crossing. The old bridge to the north has been removed and will be rebuilt under a new million dollar contract. Construction is expected to be complete by the end of November. 50% of funding was provided by TransLink, while the remainder is being paid for by the City.

The old Cloverdale Mall site, which used to commercially anchor the Town Centre before becoming rundown and decrepit, has been undergoing a planning process for redevelopment. As reported last summer, the City has brought in its development division to create a new multi-phased master plan to re-develop the site into a mixed use, residential and commercial area. The first fruits of their year long labour were presented last week by Mayor Watts during the AGM of the Cloverdale Business Improvement Association.

According to information published in Cloverdale Magazine, the site has been split into four/five zones, with their respective phases. The plan is similar in design to the Newton Town Centre revitalization plan, featuring a focus on green streets, public spaces, and a variety of uses. A green street will split the site vertically in two, while a retail street will run through the area horizontally, making a connection with the dead Hawthorne Square. Residential options will include rowhousing, townhomes, and apartments/condos.

The proposed first phase will feature the relocation of the Royal Canadian Legion west to the corner of 176 St and 57 Ave. The 3 storey building will include at-grade commercial units, as well as one and two bedroom residential units above. Parking will be underground.

New details will be provided as I receive them.

The 64th annual Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair is already upon us! One of Surrey’s most popular attractions returns this year with a wide array of activities and events for the entire long weekend.

Festivities begin Thursday with the always-fun Bed Races, zooming down 176A St in Historic Cloverdale at 6pm. Also on the 20th is the ever popular 54-40, rocking out at the Agriplex for $25.

Friday is the Chili Cook Off at Clover Square Village, from 4:30pm to 7:30pm, at Hwy 10 and 177B St. In addition to the food, there’s live entertainment on site, featuring finalists from BC Junior Talent Search.

The Rodeo and Country Fair open on Friday and run till Monday, at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds near 60th Ave and 176 St. The Country Fair features:

• the Fraser Valley’s largest midway
• an assortment of free outdoor entertainment
• the Agri-Zone and Art Zone, showcasing local horticulture, livestock, and artisans
• the Kidz Zone, with children’s rides and entertainment
• a huge Trades Show
• and, for the first time ever, the Desi Mela festival, a mix of Bhangra performers and South Asian cuisine, will be showcased live on site

Rodeo tickets range from $15 to $25, while the Country Fair costs $10 (kids 7 and under are free!). Special tip: buy your admission tickets at London Drugs and save $2!

Saturday is the ever-popular Rodeo Parade, which begins its procession at 10am along Historic Cloverdale’s Main St. But come early, as the Cloverdale Lions are hosting a pancake breakfast at Hawthorne Square across from the Clova Theatre, from 8am to 10am.

Getting into the rodeo spirit, the Clova Theatre is holding a unique vaudeville act – Susie Francis and the Versatiles – at 1:30pm on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday for $5. The live show is the opening act to Shrek Forever After, playing for the next two weeks at the locally-owned theatre.

Last year, the Rodeo brought in over 80,000 visitors to the community and generated an estimated $5 million in economic activity.

The North Creek pedestrian bridge in Clayton will begin construction shortly. The project has been on the financial books since 2007, with half of the $1.7 million bridge’s funding being provided by the Provincial Government. The bridge is a critical connection for families and students on the North side of the ravine to access Adams Road Elementary on the south, as well for cyclists moving between the Fraser Highway and Cloverdale Greenways. It is anticipated to be built by September.

The Olympic Stadium in London for the 2012 Summer Games

Following the announcement that Surrey would host the 2012 BC Summer Games, dialogue began about the lack of a major stadium in the city. At the time, a number of elected officials, from all levels of government, were apparently discussing options for such a facility.

Now, information has been received that the City has continued these conversations and is studying various options for a stadium. According to staff, the City has been working out potential locations for a “spectator arena” in the City Centre. The project may involve land acquisition and they are investigating a number of delivery models for such a facility. The estimated capacity would be 10,000 people, making the arena larger than both the Langley Events Centre (5200) and the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre (7000).

The City had previously been pursuing the development of a 5500 seat spectator arena as part of the redevelopment of the Cloverdale Fairgrounds. That facility was expected to replace the existing ice arena and be part of a new trade and convention centre. The Fairgrounds plan has been left untouched since 2007. The City has since redirected its efforts and resources into building the City Centre, a site much more suitable for such a facility.

TransLink is holding a series of consultations to gather stakeholder opinion on the future of rapid transit in Surrey and Langley. The goal of the study is to determine the corridors and technologies for rapid transit in the South Fraser area.

Ironically enough, despite a commitment to a “comprehensive and open process”, the following meetings have not been posted on TransLink’s website. How they determine who is a stakeholder and who is not is unknown. I for one believe we are all stakeholders in our collective future, and thus am posting the information below.

Be sure to drop in and let your voice be heard on the future of rapid transit in our region.

Thursday, March 11

6:30p to 8p

Cloverdale BIA Boardroom

#202 17687 56A Ave

Monday, March 15

10a to 11:30a

Langley City Hall CKF Room

20399 Douglas Crescent

Wednesday, March 17

6:30p to 8p

Kwantlen University Surrey Campus Room 1240 Cedar Building

12666 72 Ave

Thursday, March 18

2p to 3:30p

South Surrey Rec Centre

14601 20th Ave

Tuesday, March 23

1p to 2:30p

Guildford Rec Centre

15105 105th Ave

Thursday, March 25

2p to 3:30p

Fleetwood Community Centre Boardroom

15996 84th Ave

Tuesday, March 30

3p to 4:30p

Downtown Surrey BIA

#300 10524 King George

In the next two years, it is anticipated that Surrey and KPU will pursue:

- Development of a plan for a new Health Sciences Centre with SFU and Fraser Health. The goal will be to expand the current sciences program and establish a new graduate school in the South Fraser region. Kwantlen currently offers a number of nursing programs.

- Establishment of a Business Incubator to aid in the commercialization of ideas from KPU. A possible location is the Cloverdale campus for Trades and Technology. A partnership with SFU and other levels of government is suggested.

- Encourage the expansion of both the Surrey and Cloverdale campuses, with the goal of establishing a School of Architecture and Engineering.

- Establish a shared-use plan to develop recreational facilities at Newton Athletic Park. This has already resulted in a cost-sharing agreement to develop an artificial turf field in the park.

From the desk of the City Manager comes a new capital infrastructure program named Build Surrey which has the intention of encouraging “city building”. The program will help Surrey facilitate and manage more growth over the coming decade and continue developing the City Centre into a major regional hub. It’s also described as a proactive approach to building infrastructure, rather than the reactive measures in the past, which have resulted in recreation centres being built many years after a new community is established (one need only look at Clayton or Grandview which both lack community centres).

The capital projects are intended to be built throughout the next six years. Most are already funded through the five year capital plan; however, those missing from current financial plans will be added next year. Funding for Build Surrey will come from general revenues, NCP amenity contributions, grants from other governments, developer contributions and loans from the Municipal Finance Authority.

As mentioned, most projects below were already planned for the short term. Build Surrey simply repackages them into one program, and adds a couple more to the pot. The major new projects consist of two swimming pools – one for Guildford and one in South Surrey – as well as a new community arts space in South Surrey.

Hopefully the new “proactive” approach will help prevent major delays in the provision of recreational infrastructure that have plagued the city for decades. For example, the newly promised Guildford Pool, scheduled for completion in 2014, was initially included in the 2003 Capital Plan, with the intention of completion by 2007. Another good example is the Cloverdale Multi-Purpose Rec Centre, now under construction and scheduled to open next year. That project was first included in the 2005 Capital Plan and was planned to be open in 2008.

The entire list of projects is after the jump.

Newton

New Artificial Turf Field and Seating at Newton Athletic Park (2010-2011)
In partnership with Kwantlen Polytechnic University a new artificial turf field will be installed at the Newton Athletic Park and will include grandstand seating for 500 people, lighting for night use and a digital score board and game clock.

New Recreation Facilities in Newton Athletic Park (2010-2016)
Newton Athletic Park remains one of the City’s most well used outdoor recreation venues offering an array of recreational opportunities. The City will construct on an annual basis additional recreational amenities in Newton Athletic Park including volley ball courts, children’s’ play area, additional parking facilities, etc.

New Artificial Turf Field at Tamanawis Park (2011)
A second artificial turf field will be installed at Tamanawis Park that will be focused on providing additional field hockey capacity to meet the growing demand in this area.

Relocation of the Newton Bus Exchange (2011-2012)
The Newton Transit Bus Exchange on 72 Avenue at the north end of the Newton Wave Pool will be relocated to a new location on King George Boulevard south of 72 Avenue to provide additional capacity to accommodate the growing transit ridership in and through Newton and to reflect the opportunities available within the Newton Town Centre to create a vibrant pedestrian-oriented environment.

New Newton District Police Station (2011-2012)
A new building will be constructed in the vicinity of the new Newton Transit Exchange to house the RCMP Newton District Police Station fronting King George Boulevard.

New Newton Fitness Facility (2012-2013)
A significantly expanded fitness facility will be constructed at the Newton Recreation Centre/Wave Pool to better meet the demands of the continuing growth in Newton.

West Newton Community Park Development (2012-2013)
The community park in West Newton will be developed to support the rapidly growing population in the West Newton community. The development will include both passive and active areas including, among other recreational amenities, a cricket field.

Cloverdale

New Cloverdale Recreation Centre Including Multi-purpose recreation space, Three Gymnasiums, Seniors Space and a Fitness Facility (2010-2011):
This project with a floor area of 65,000 sq. ft. is being constructed on the east side of 176 Street at 62A Avenue adjacent to the Cloverdale Fairgrounds. It will contain gymnasiums, multi-purpose rooms, a fitness facility, seniors programming space, etc. It will serve the community of the rapidly growing communities of Cloverdale and Clayton.

Cloverdale Greenway Trails and North Creek Bridge (2010-2011)
The Cloverdale Greenway multi-use and a new bridge across North Creek will be constructed to accommodate the growing demand for passive recreational opportunities in Cloverdale.

New Amenities at Clayton Park (2012-2013)
New amenities will be constructed at Clayton Park to provide new opportunities for recreational programming at this park to meet the needs of the growing Clayton population.

South Surrey

New South Surrey Fitness Facility (2010-2011)
A new fitness facility will be added to the South Surrey Recreation Centre to provide service to the growing South Surrey community.

Kensington Prairie Community Centre (2010)
The former Kensington Prairie School will be converted to a multi-purpose community centre to serve the growing communities of Morgan Creek, Rosemary Heights and Grandview.

Kwomais Point Park Building Renovations (2010-2011))
The existing Sanford Hall and Kwomais Lodge buildings in Kwomais Point Park in South Surrey will be renovated to the provide for recreation programming and community use space.

New Fire hall No. 14 in Grandview (2010-2011)
A new “full time” fire hall will be constructed in Grandview that will replace the existing “volunteer” hall and will provide enhanced fire and emergency services to the communities of South Cloverdale, Grandview Heights, Hazelmere valley, Douglas and Campbell Heights.

New South Surrey Swimming Pool (2011-2013)
This will be the second swimming pool in the South Surrey area to provide service to this rapidly growing community and will relieve some of the high demand currently being experienced at the existing South Surrey Pool.

Community Arts Space (2015)
An addition to the South Surrey Recreation Centre will provide arts-related programming space to serve the active and growing arts community.

Fleetwood

New Fleetwood Recreation Centre Gymnasiums (2013-2014)
A pair of gymnasiums will be added to the Fleetwood Recreation Centre to allow for a broader range of recreation programming to be offered in Fleetwood. These gymnasiums will complement those that are already in place at the Guildford Recreation Centre and those that are currently being constructed in the new Cloverdale Recreation Centre.

New Arena at the Surrey Sport and Leisure Complex (2015-2016)
A fourth sheet of ice will be added to the Surrey Sport and Leisure Complex to add capacity to accommodate arena-related recreational programming.

Guildford

New Guildford Swimming Pool (2013-2015)
This pool will be added to the Guildford Recreation Centre complex and will serve the north Surrey area, particularly the communities of Guildford and Fraser Heights. It will complement the service being provided by the pool at the North Surrey Recreation Centre and the pool at the Surrey Sport and Leisure Complex.

New Artificial Turf Field at Hjorth Road Park (2012)
A second artificial turf field will be installed at Hjorth Road Park to complement that recently installed artificial turf field and provide additional capacity to accommodate the growing demand for outdoor field programming.

Fraser Heights

New Fraser Heights Recreation Centre Fitness Facility and Gymnasium (2010-2011)
A new fitness facility and gymnasium will be added to the Fraser Heights Recreation Centre to serve the citizens of the rapidly growing community of Fraser Heights.

City Centre

New City Centre Flagship Library (2010-2011)
The construction of a new flagship central library in Surrey City Centre with a floor area of 75,000 sq. ft. will act as the hub for Surrey library services. The project is being cost shared with the Federal and Provincial governments. It will add vibrancy to the Surrey City Centre and be a significant new iconic building in the physical profile of City Centre. It will act as a gathering place for the City’s citizens and serve all age groups.

New City Centre Covered Youth Park (2010)
A new covered outdoor youth park will be constructed in City Centre next door to the Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre to provide additional opportunities for outdoor recreation programming for youth, particularly during wet weather.

Parking Facility in City Centre (2010-2013)
The City will be investing in the construction of an underground parking facility in City Centre that will provide parking for the new library and City Hall projects and will have capacity to support additional private sector development in the City Centre area as well. This additional capacity will be sold to private sector development on a fee for service basis such that the City will recover its investment over time. The provision of structure parking on a fee basis will assist in encouraging private sector investment in City Centre since the provision of parking is often an impediment to development. The parking facility will be managed by a Parking Authority on a cost recovery basis (i.e., both capital and operating). A separate report will be forwarded to Council with more detail on this project and on the establishment and operation of the Surrey Parking Authority.

New City Hall in City Centre (2010-2013)
To demonstrate its commitment to and to add vitality and energy to the Surrey City Centre, the City has committed to constructing a new City Hall in Surrey City Centre. The City Hall, projected to have a floor area of approximately 165,000 sq. ft., will act as a catalyst for development in City Centre by adding a high activity use and by creating additional physical profile for the City Centre area. The new City Hall is currently being designed and is expected to proceed to construction by year-end 2010 or early 2011.

City-wide

New Pedestrian and Cycling Trails and Bridges (2010-2015)
In addition to other specific greenway multi-use pathways referenced in this program, to ensure an active and healthy population, the City will be constructing 20 km of multi-use (pedestrian/cycling) trails throughout the City including at least 2 pedestrian/cyclist bridges linking communities across highways and ravines.

New Addition to the RCMP Main Detachment Building (2010-2011)
A 35,000 sq. ft. building is being constructed next door to the Main RCMP Detachment in Newton to house the growing number of policemen that are being hired to serve Surrey’s growing population and businesses. The building will house many of the 641 RCMP members that currently serve the City and others that will be added in future years to ensure the continued safety of Surrey’s communities and businesses.

New artificial turf fields (2013-2015)
Demand for soccer and other field activities continue to grow in Surrey as the City’s population increases. Two new artificial turf fields, in addition to those described specifically within this summary, will be constructed to address the growing demand for outdoor field space. These fields will be constructed at athletic parks in the City at locations still to be determined.

Parkland Acquisition
The City will continue to acquire both active and passive parkland across the City to support the environmental objectives of the City and the demands of growth including land that needs to be acquired to accommodate the other capital projects listed in this summary.