'Richmond' is an incorporated city on the
Pacific coast of the
Canadian province of
British Columbia. It is located at and forms part of the
Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD). Its neighbouring municipalities are
Vancouver and
Burnaby to the north,
New Westminster to the east, and
Delta to the south, with
Strait of Georgia on the west. Richmond is the location of the
Vancouver International Airport.
Geography
The city comprises most of the islands in the
Fraser River delta, the largest and most populated island being
Lulu Island (the eastern tip of which forms the Queensborough neighbourhood, which is actually part of the neighbouring city of New Westminster). The next largest island,
Sea Island, is home to the
Vancouver International Airport (YVR). In addition to Lulu and Sea Islands, 13 smaller islands make up the city's land area. The former village of
Steveston takes up the far southwest corner of the city.
Since all of Richmond's land occupies islands in a
river delta, the city has plenty of rich,
alluvial soil for agriculture, and was one of the first areas in British Columbia to be farmed by Europeans in the 19th century. The drawback of Richmond's geographical location, was that since all the land averages just one metre above
sea level, it is prone to
flooding, especially during
high tide. As a result, all the major islands are now surrounded by a system of
dykes (quite different from the dykes of
the Netherlands or the
levees of
New Orleans), which were created in the early days of European settlement. There is a possibility that, during an
earthquake, the dykes could rupture and the alluvial soil may
liquefy, causing extensive damage. Richmond is also at risk of a major flood if the
Fraser River has an unusually high spring
freshet. Recreational trails run along the tops of many of the dykes, and Richmond also supports about 1,400 acres (5.67 km²) of parkland.
[1]
Climate
Richmond enjoys a temperate climate, and actually receives 30% less rain than neighbouring
Vancouver because it is not as close to the mountains. It rarely snows in winter and the summer temperatures are mild to warm. Richmond is also very prone to fog in the cooler months.
History
Fishing boats in Steveston village, Richmond, BC
The city was named after a local Richmond Farm established by Hugh McRoberts. A daughter of his chose this name after one of the Richmonds in
Australia (it is unknown exactly which one it is). The wife of the first reeve of
Richmond, England later claimed that the city was named in honour of her birthplace. However, modern historians proved this claim to be false, since the Boyds immigrated to Richmond in 1863, but there had already been a pamphlet called "A Visit to Richmond" made in British Columbia in September 1862.
★
November 10,
1879 — Richmond was incorporated as a District Municipality.
★
March 25,
1910 — The first flight in British Columbia was made from
Minoru Racetrack.
★
December 3,
1990 — Richmond was designated as a City.
An early centre of European (and
Japanese) settlement in Richmond was the old fishing village of
Steveston on the southwestern tip of Lulu Island. Steveston is now home to several museums and heritage sites, as well as a working harbour for fishing boats. Currently, the
Gulf of Georgia Cannery in Steveston highlights these parts of Richmond's diverse history.
Demographics
Richmond's estimated population in 2005 was 181,942 people. It is a city within the
Greater Vancouver Regional District. After
Vancouver (587,891),
Surrey (455,900) and Burnaby (193,954), Richmond is the fourth largest of these
GVRD cities.
Richmond has a
visible minority population of 59%, the second highest in
Canada after
Scarborough, Ontario.
[1] More than half of its population is of Asian descent, most of whom immigrated in the early 1990s, many of them from
Hong Kong,
Taiwan, and
Mainland China. Other
Asian Canadians in Richmond include
East Indian Canadians,
Filipino Canadians and
Japanese Canadians,
[2] the latter having a long history in
Steveston dating back to the 1800s. The Japanese Canadian community was devastated following the
Pearl Harbor attack by
Japan in 1942: the Japanese Canadians were "relocated" to
internment camps in the
BC Interior and
Alberta and their property was auctioned off. Richmond is also home to one of the largest Buddhist temples in North America, the
Lingyen Mountain Buddhist Temple.
According to
Statistics Canada, residents of Richmond have the greatest
life expectancy in
Canada at 83.4 years, and the lowest
obesity and
smoking rates as well.
[2] Serious violent crime is very rare in Richmond, and Richmond was ranked as the third safest city in British Columbia for 2002.
Government and politics
Richmond City Hall.
With a mostly middle-class to upper-middle-class demographic, Richmond has voted quite regularly along centrist lines, being a stronghold for the BC Liberal Party. The city's politics are well known in the Vancouver area for how seldomly political upsets or surprises occur and incumbents have tended to enjoy long tenures:
'Municipal Elections'
The current mayor is
Malcolm Brodie, first elected in October 2001. Local government consists of an 8-member
City Council and a seven-member
School Board. The last elections were in November 2005.
[4]
Like
Vancouver, but unlike most cities in
British Columbia or even
Canada, Richmond runs on a political system of locally-based
political parties. For the most part, however, their organization is weak and they may form or collapse frequently between elections.
In the November 2005 elections, the main local parties were: the right-wing
Richmond First party (RF) , the centrist
Richmond Independent Team of Electors (RITE) and the left-wing
Richmond Citizens Association (RCA).
[5]
In the elections for City Council, the RF won 3 seats, the RCA won 2 seats, the RITE won 1 seat and there were 3 independents (including the mayor). For school board, the RF won 5 seats and the RITE won 2.
[6]
'Provincial Elections'
In provincial politics, Richmond is a stronghold of the
BC Liberal Party. In the
2005 provincial elections, the Liberals easily won all three of Richmond's
electoral districts.
'Federal Elections'
In the
Canadian House of Commons, Richmond is divided between two
electoral districts:
Richmond and
Delta—Richmond East. In the
2006 federal election, the
Liberal Party of Canada and the
Conservative Party of Canada each won one seat.
Transportation
Richmond is connected by a system of bridges and tunnels to Vancouver and Delta, and through the New Westminster suburb of Queensborough (on eastern Lulu Island) to the "mainland" portion of New Westminster.
Three bridges (one of them twinned) connect Lulu Island to Sea Island and the Vancouver International Airport; one bridge connects Sea Island and the Vancouver International Airport to Vancouver; two bridges connect Lulu Island to Vancouver; one bridge connects Queensborough (on eastern Lulu Island) to New Westminster; one bridge connects Queensborough to Annacis Island in Delta; one twinned bridge connects Richmond to Annacis Island; and one of the few
underwater tunnels in British Columbia connects Richmond to Delta.
Richmond is served by two freeways:
Highway 99, which connects Vancouver to the
United States, and
Highway 91, which connects Delta, New Westminster, and Richmond.
Railway bridges connect Lulu Island to Vancouver, New Westminster, and
Annacis Island, and serve the
Canadian National and
Canadian Pacific Railways, as well as the Southern Railway of British Columbia (although the latter railway's Lulu Island trackage is entirely within Queensborough).
The public transit system in Greater Vancouver, planned and funded by
TransLink, currently has bus connections from Richmond to
Downtown Vancouver, Surrey, New Westminster, Burnaby, Delta and the
University of British Columbia. A rapid, light rail transit line called the
Canada Line (formerly the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver (RAV) Line) is scheduled for completion in late 2009 and will connect Richmond Centre and the airport to downtown Vancouver and points between, and is expected to replace the
bus rapid transit 98 B-Line.
Vancouver International Airport, located on Sea Island (part of Richmond) to the north of Lulu Island, provides most of the air access to the region. The airport (YVR) is the second busiest in Canada and one of the busiest international airports on the West Coast of North America.
Economy
Richmond supports about 100,000 jobs in various areas including services, retailing, tourism, light manufacturing, airport services and aviation, agriculture, fishing, and government.
[7] Richmond also is a leading centre in the region for high-technology companies, including the
Nintendo Corporation of Canada.
Microsoft has announced plans to open before the end of 2007 an office for software development that will eventually employ hundreds of highly-skilled workers from around the world.
[8]
Agriculture
The
Agricultural Land Reserve preserves 4,800 hectares within the city as farmland, an area that makes up most of east Richmond.
[9] Highbush
blueberries and
cranberries are the dominant crops grown. Among the other crops grown are
strawberries,
corn, and
potatoes.
Blackberries are also very common, but because of their rapid invasive growth are treated by many as a common weed.
In 2001, Richmond made up approximately 47% of BC’s cranberry area.
Shopping malls
Richmond is home to many Asian-themed shopping malls, most of them along No. 3 Road from Alderbridge Way to Capstan Way. This area is officially termed as the "
Golden Village" by Tourism Richmond and includes malls such as
Aberdeen Centre,
Continental Centre,
Union Square,
Ethen Centre,
President Plaza,
Parker Place, and
Yaohan Centre.
Non-Asian-themed malls in Richmond include
Richmond Centre and the
Lansdowne Park Shopping Centre.
Many businesses display their store names in large characters both in English and Chinese (including non-Chinese businesses such as Staples).
City Centre development plan
As of June 2007, Richmond city planners are one year into their update of its official plan for the city centre. The plan is anchored by the
Canada Line, currently under construction, and includes the development of nine transit-oriented village centres. The population of the area is expected to grow from about 40,000 to 120,000 residents.
According to a senior planner for the city, the goal of the plan is to "turn the middle arm of the Fraser River into a focus instead of an edge."
A Richmond parks manager said that for "too long residents have felt contained by the river, seen it as being to their backs. Now, They want people to face the river and embrace the waterfront."
[10]
[11]
Fraser River Development
'The Olympic Oval'-
In March 2007 Aspac Developments Ltd purchased 7.5 hectares (18.6 acres) of land adjacent to the Fraser River and the unfinished $178 million
Richmond Olympic Oval. The $1 billion plan includes 16 high-density towers, up to 14 stories in height.
The towers will be stepped toward the waterfront and will include trees and green space. Aspac's plans are for "probably the highest-end development Richmond has seen to date" said Mayor Brodie.
[12] A $2.3 million hard-surfaced path will be constructed along the river to link the project to Aberdeen Centre.
Aspac's initial plan includes constructing the development in four phases, with the first phase comprising 65,000 square metres (700,000 square ft) of residential development, and 2,300 square metres (25,000 square ft) of ground-level commercial space. Some construction will not begin until after 2010, and will take up to 12 years to complete. The warehouses and commercial parks near the development are also slated for redevelopment.
'The John M.S. Lecky Boathouse'-
The
University of British Columbia recently constructed a new boathouse along the river. The popular John M.S. Lecky boathouse
[2] draws crowds from rowing regattas and Dragon Boat Races.
'Cambie Road Pedestrian Bridge'-
A possible pedestrian bridge where Cambie Road reaches the river is also being included in a future vision of the area. It would link nature trains on the north and south banks, and make Aberdeen Centre within walking distance for BCIT's aerospace campus students.
Capstan Way Development
The planned Capstan Way development (with the proposed Canada Line station in the foreground)
Developer Pinnacle International is planning a 16-building development on a seven hectare (17.2 acre) property near Capstan Way and No 3 road. The mixed use development would include over 2,100 residential units, various commercial uses, and a hotel.
The Canada Line is considered critical to the project. However, a fifth Richmond station at
Capstan Way is only proposed for construction at an indefinite future date. This station is considered so critical to the development that the developer has offered $15 million to build it ahead of schedule. With a station adjacent to the development, the city would consider reducing the parking space requirements by 35%.
Also included will be 100 affordable housing units, a 25-space daycare, and a 0.6 hectare (1.4 acre) park.
Live-work dwellings are also being proposed by the developers, where shop owners would live above their ground level operations.
Aberdeen Centre
Aberdeen Centre expanded to meet the future Canada Line station.
Fairchild Developments is planning an eight floor expansion to its Asian-oriented shopping centre. The plan includes a 150 room hotel, and a link to the Canada Line's
Aberdeen station, currently under construction. The mall is also considering purchasing transit coupons for staff and customers to encourage them to use the new line.
Bridgeport Station
The
River Rock Casino Resort, located near the future Canada Line Bridgeport Station, plans to build a 12 story hotel, and 1,200 parking space complex for casino patrons and for park-and-ride transit use.
The 1,200 stall parkade will cost $33 million CAN to build. TransLink (the Canada Line operator) will give the Great Canadian Casino Corporation land worth $9.5 million, and $4.5 million in cash in return for building the park-and-ride facility. Transit uses will be charged $2 to use the facility.
[13]
Film and television production
Steveston Village has played home to several major American movies such as
Blade II and
The 6th Day, and television series such as ''
Supernatural'', ''
Outer Limits'', ''
Killer Instinct'', ''
X-Files'', ''
Smallville'', ''
Stargate SG-1'', the ''
Final Destination'' series and the ''
Scary Movie'' series.
Fantasy Gardens (an old amusement park which is largely unoccupied now) served as Halloweentown in the popular
Disney Channel television movie ''
Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge'' and was also featured in the TV series ''
Killer Instinct'' and ''
Stargate SG-1''.
Vancouver International Airport on Richmond's Sea Island has also been featured in numerous films and television series, commonly standing in for
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (as it does in ''
The Cleaner'' and ''
Dead Like Me''). It is also featured as stand-ins for other airports in films such as ''
Final Destination'', ''
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'', ''
The L Word'', ''
The Lizzie McGuire Movie'' and ''.
Education
The head offices of the Richmond School District #38, on Granville Avenue.
Richmond is home to a campus of
Kwantlen University College. In addition, the
British Columbia Institute of Technology runs its aircraft maintenance courses at facilities at Vancouver International Airport.
School District 38 Richmond has 11 secondary schools and 38 elementary schools, including two late French Immersion schools and six early French Immersion schools.
[14] The school district also hosts one
International Baccalaureate World School, located at
Richmond Secondary School.
Parks and Recreation
Community/Recreation Centres
[15]
★ Aquatic Center
★ Cambie Community Centre
★ Hamilton Community Centre
★ Lang Centre (City Centre)
★
Minoru Aquatic Centre
★ Minoru Arenas
★ Minoru Sports Pavilion
★ Richmond Ice Centre
★ Sea Island Community Centre
★ South Arm Community Centre
★ Splashdown Outdoor Park
★ Steveston Community Centre
★ Thompson Community Centre
★ Watermania
★ West Richmond Community Centre
★ South Arm Community Center
[3]
Sports
Richmond is home to the Richmond Sockeyes Junior B hockey team, and the Richmond Budgies Senior Men's Baseball Club.
Richmond also has two swim clubs: the Kigoos summer swimming club and the Richmond Rapids (winter) Swim Club.
As of October 01, 2006, the middle arm of Richmond’s Fraser River became home to both the UBC Thunderbirds varsity rowing program and St. George’s School rowing program, with the completion of the new $6 million
CAD John M.S. Lecky UBC Boathouse.
[16] In additition, this facility will also function to enhance participation in the sports of rowing and dragon boating for the greater community, including youth, adults, and rowing alumni.
[17]
Richmond and the 2010 Winter Olympics
Main articles: Richmond Olympic Oval
For the
2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the City of Richmond is also constructing an 8,000-seat speed-skating oval near the No. 2 Road Bridge, close to Vancouver International Airport. The estimated construction cost (paid for by the city, the provincial government and the federal government) is around $178 million
CAD but is an issue of debate right now due to rising construction costs. After the Games, the oval is to serve as a recreational structure for residents. It is scheduled to open in the summer of 2008.
[18] The city received $141 million
CAD from ASPAC Developments for city owned land next to the Oval. The sale more than covers the unfunded portion of the Oval's price tag.
[12]
Sister cities
★
Pierrefonds,
Quebec,
Canada
★
Wakayama,
Japan
Holidays, events and festivals
On
Canada Day, Richmond has an annual festival in
Steveston called the
Salmon Festival. In this event, there is a
carnival set up and there is a huge
barbecued salmon sale in front of the Steveston Community Centre. Locally-based municipal, provincial and federal politicians frequently show up at this event, usually as part of the
Canada Day parade or to hand out
Canadian flags.
From 8 to 12 August, 2002, Richmond hosted a
tall ships festival which attracted an estimated 400,000 people to Steveston. The success of this event surpassed many expectations and caused traffic chaos in the usually-quiet area.
[20][21] There was insufficient parking in the area, which gave locals the idea of selling "parking space" by using their driveways and front yards.
[22] Despite the event's popularity, there was a revenue shortfall and the city decided not to host the event again.
[23]
During the summer weekends, Richmond holds its annual
Richmond Night Market. Toys, clothes, cell phones, and food are available along with live entertainment. It is very popular and is usually crowded.
Richmond also hosted the 2006
Gemini Awards, which were be held at
River Rock Casino. This marked the first time the ceremony has taken place on the West Coast, as it traditionally takes place in
Toronto.
[24]
Notable people
The following notable people were born in, live in or have resided in Richmond for a long period of time:
★
Aaron Ashmore, actor
★
Shawn Ashmore, actor
★
Nicki Clyne, actress
★
Coco Rocha, Canadian supermodel
★
Charlotte Diamond,
Juno-winning children's singer
★
Sherry Fraser, curler
★
Scott Hannan, professional
NHL hockey player with the
Colorado Avalanche
★
Rick Hansen,
disability activist and former
Paralympian
★
Chris Haslam, professional skateboarder
★
Jason Jordan, striker for the
Vancouver Whitecaps
★
Alexa Loo,
Olympic snowboarder
★
Brent Seabrook, professional
NHL hockey player with the
Chicago Blackhawks
★
Bobby Singh, professional
CFL football player with the
British Columbia Lions
★
Ryan Stiles, comedian
★
Brittany Tiplady, teen actress
★
Bjarni Tryggvason, astronaut
★
Bill Vander Zalm, former Premier of British Columbia
★
Sisi Wang, Canadian model and contestant on
Canada's Next Top Model
External links
★
Ciy of Richmond Official Website
★
Steveston Community Portal
★
Discover Vancouver article on Richmond
★
Richmond Night Market
References
1. City of Richmond Profile
2. Richmond at Statistics Canada
3. Richmond at Statistics Canada
4. Richmond Council Members
5. Richmond local parties: RF, RITE, NDP
6. 2005 Civic Election Results
7. BC Statistic Factsheet
8. http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2007/26/c9770.html
9. Greater Vancouver Book - Richmond
10. Vancouver Sun, June 09 2007, "On the waterfront"
11. Richmond News - Canada Line drives massive development - May 08, 2007
12. Vancouver 2010 News article
13. Richmond News - Casino gets 'sweet deal' from TransLink - December 2006
14. Richmond School District
15. Richmond.ca - Parks and recreation
16. UBC Athletics
17. John M.S. Lecky UBC Boathouse
18. City of Richmond Olympic Oval Information
19. Vancouver 2010 News article
20. Richmond News: "Richmond Tall Ships 2002 attracts 400,000 people"
21. Richmond News: "'Holy mackerel,' tall ships festival draws huge crowd"
22. Richmond News: "Parking woes lead to anger and profits"
23. Royal City Record: "Small - but Tall - better"
24. CKNW AM 980: "Richmond's River Rock Casino to host this year's Gemini Awards"
Surrounding municipalities
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