Whalley 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 Shopping Centre, Simon Fraser University's Surrey campus and the site of Kwantlen Polytechnic University's Civic Plaza campus. Based on the city of Surrey statistics, Whalley is the second-most populous community in Surrey after Newton. As of 2018, the population of Whalley is 75,610, while the population of City Centre, the central subarea in the Whalley core, is 26,945. Combining the two neighbourhoods increases the total population of the area to 102,555. It is the only town centre in Surrey serviced by Metro Vancouver's SkyTrainrapid transit system. Expo Line stations serving Surrey include Scott Road, Gateway, Surrey Central and King George stations.
History
As early as the 1880s, people began settling what is now 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, 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 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. In 2016, the City of Surrey began publishing data separately for a subarea of Whalley called "City Centre". City Centre is located directly in the heart of the original Whalley neighbourhood.
Whalley is home to several public facilities such as Surrey City Hall, Surrey City Centre Library and North Surrey Recreation Centre with indoor swimming pool and two ice rinks. It is also the largest concentration of highrises, both office and residential buildings south of Fraser river. As of June 2017, the tallest building in Surrey is the 3 Civic Plaza at a height of 50 stories and. It consists of residential and office units as well as a hotel.
Events
Attracting 15,000 people every February since 2004, WinterFest is a day of live music, sporting activities, food, and fireworks, held at the Central City Plaza. Due in part to having one of British Columbia's youngest populations, with nearly one-third of all citizens under 18, Surrey has become known for its annual Children's Festival, which began 2004. The free, multi-day festival features circus and clay arts, world rhythm music and movement, popular children's performers, storytelling sessions, and a parade. In 2008, the City, thanks to the federal government's designation of Surrey as Canada's Cultural Capital for the year, put on a three-day multicultural festival. The Fusion Festival celebrated over 60 different cultures through food, music, and dance. The event attracted 60,000 attendees, Whalley is also home to the city's Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Festival. Previously held at Holland Park, it was moved to Central City Mall plaza. Whalley also welcomes the annual parade of lights in 2011, which used to be held only in Cloverdale.
Demographics
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.
Crime
Whalley was once regarded as the one of the most dangerous part of the Lower Mainland and was notorious for its crime. After redevelopment of Whalley in recent years, violent crime has shifted south to Newton which has taken over Whalley's reputation as being the most dangerous part of Surrey.
