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The City of New Westminster
The City of New Westminster is situated in the central lower mainland; it is located on the side of a hill and on the banks of the Fraser River approx 18 kms about 30 minutes drive from Vancouver. The city was founded in 1859 and still retains its old time charm with street lined character buildings. It has a population of 54,656 (Census 2001) and is adjacent to Burnaby and Coquitlam. There are Picnic Tables and Shelters located at many of the parks, Childrens Playgrounds (for all age groups), the Sports Fields offer a variety of facilities including lacrosse, tennis courts and a running oval. There are eight state of the art Spray Parks located with in the city parks, which are open between May and September. The impressive Queens Park which was constructed in 1886, has excellent attractions including Rainbow Playland, a family play area featuring a petting zoo which is open during the summer months, beautiful gardens and a bandshell which has performances and presentations. An excellent facility is the Canada Games Pool , which has an Olympic sized pool, diving boards, a teach/toddler pool, a swirlpool and a state of the art fitness centre. The Fitness New West offers aerobics, yoga and body conditioning. The Century House facility offers fitness programs for the over fifties. Also, the Queensborough Community Centre has a drop-in fitness centre that offers a weight room, cardio equipment and more. The two Ice Arenas in the City of New Westminster offer skating lessons and hockey. So renowned is the City of New Westminster for the quality of its recreational programs that it attracts many people from the surrounding communities. Educationally, the City of New Westminster is served by School District 40 and has nine elementary schools, two middle schools and a high school. The Pearson Learning Centre and Columbia Square offer adult learning programs. The Douglas College which is located downtown offers full and part time educational programs, while the Justice Institute has courses for fire, police, ambulance, court and correctional personnel. If you are looking for a bargain, then the Westminster Quay Market is located on the edge of the Fraser River and has a good variety of vendors from fresh food and vegetables to clothing and jewellery. Across from the market is Antique Alley where you could spend a day browsing the stores. The downtown area of New Westminster offers a mix of old and new buildings on tree lined streets. There is everything from sidewalk cafes to art boutiques; the restaurants offer fine dining overlooking the Fraser River. The Royal City Centre is the city's newest shopping area which offers an abundance of stores and services including some of the major retailers. There are also a number of smaller neighbourhood shopping areas that have a variety of stores to serve your everyday needs. Health services are provided by Fraser Health Authority and the Royal Columbian Hospital provides 24/7 emergency care. Due to the location of the City of New Westminster all the major Transportation Systems go by the city. It is connected through SkyTrain to Vancouver, a 25 minute trip. The local Translink bus service provides connections to neighbouring communities. The City of New Westminster has a good mix of Housing types, ranging from the historic houses of Queens Park to condominiums located on the banks of the Fraser River. The cost of housing is in the mid range compared to other areas of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the average cost of a detached house is $446,930 (June 05). For more, detailed information please go to the City of New Westminster website. |
