Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Are Gems (Even if Not Hidden)

Metro Vancouver Regional Parks are among the best-maintained parks I’ve been to and offer unique experiences, diverse ecosystems, and areas to explore. I know that many people rediscovered or discovered the regional park system for the first time over the last 6 years or so.

A friend of mine made it a mission to visit every publicly accessible regional park, and they accomplished that goal.

The Regional District publishes an annual report on the parks system, and I want to highlight some of the work done in 2025.

The Regional District completed a restoration of Imperial Trail in Pacific Spirit Regional Park, opened a new three-kilometre regional greenway in Campbell Valley Regional Park, and opened Widgeon Marsh Regional Park to public access. The Regional District added 3.5 hectares to its parks system by expanding Widgeon Marsh Regional Park and Widgeon Marsh.

There were 14.7 million visits to regional parks and greenways in 2025, which is significantly higher than pre-2020 levels.

Annual visit to Metro Vancouver Regional District Parks from 2005 to 2025. Select the chart to enlarge.

Lynn Headwaters Regional Park and Crippen Regional Park on Bowen Island received a record number of visitors in 2025. While it is great that people enjoy our parks, it can also create localized capacity challenges, such as on Bowen Island, which is only accessible by BC Ferries or private boat.

The following table shows the number of visits to each park/greenway in 2025.

Park Name	2025 Visits
ƛéxətəm Regional Park	386,900
Pacific Spirit Regional Park	3,888,800
Boundary Bay Regional Park	1,148,200
Capilano River Regional Park	1,097,000
tәmtәmíxʷtәn/Belcarra Regional Park	927,500
Campbell Valley Regional Park	887,600
Derby Reach Regional Park	881,700
Tynehead Regional Park	604,600
Lynn Headwaters Regional Park	578,400
Grouse Mountain Regional Park	545,300
Kanaka Creek Regional Park	528,000
Aldergrove Regional Park	464,600
Crippen Regional Park	429,400
Burnaby Lake Regional Park	422,900
Deas Island Regional Park	362,800
Brunette-Fraser Regional Greenway	292,300
Iona Beach Regional Park	287,900
Pitt River Regional Greenway	229,700
Brae Island Regional Park	227,900
Minnekhada Regional Park	188,900
Surrey Bend Regional Park	130,800
Delta South Surrey Regional Greenway	63,200
Seymour River Regional Greenway	53,600
Glen Valley Regional Park	49,700
Barnston Island Regional Park	11,500

For more information, please check out the 2025 Regional Parks Annual Report.

RCMP Auxiliary Program in Langley - Call for Volunteers

At the last Langley City Council meeting, we heard from the Officer in Charge of the Langley RCMP detachment, Superintendent Harm Dosange. One of the key things he raised with Council was ramping up the RCMP Auxiliary program for his detachment.

There was a previous RCMP Auxiliary, but it was paused back in 2020 due to safety concerns. An updated program has been rolling out throughout detachments in BC over the last little bit. The new program has three tiers of Auxiliary volunteer members, based on the level of training.

In Langley, the RCMP Auxiliary program is not only a good opportunity for those who want to volunteer to help make their community safer, but it also helps our community meet its public safety objectives.

Some of the major responsibilities include helping out during community and special events, including traffic and crowd control. Program members also take part in disaster planning and emergency preparedness in cooperation with members of the Langley City Emergency Program (which you can also volunteer for), search for missing people, and perform home and business safety checks, safety talks and related activities.

To learn more about the program's tiers, please visit the RCMP. The Langley RCMP is hosting two information sessions on May 13th and May 21st about the program. Please email langleyauxiliaryprogram@rcmp-grc.gc.ca for more information.

2026 Lower Mainland Local Government Association Conference

Last night, today, and tomorrow, elected representatives from local governments across the Lower Mainland are at the annual Lower Mainland Local Government Association (LMLGA) conference and annual general meeting in Whistler. About 190 people are attending the conference, including members of Langley City Council, Paul Albrecht, Mike Solyom, Rosemary Wallace, Leith White, and me. Paul is the current president, and I am the Metro Vancouver Regional District representative on the LMLGA board. Paul delivered opening remarks last night to kick off the conference, and then we heard from former Lieutenant Governor of BC, Janet Austin, on the role of local government and the lack of funding for it.

Paul Albrecht, the president of LMLGA, delivers the opening welcome.

Today and tomorrow, there is a series of educational panels. Some of the highlights included a panel on “Lessons Learned from Municipal Council Conflict”, which I will be moderating. Other sessions include how we can help build sustainable and inclusive government, the top concerns of people in BC, and how to strengthen citizens' participation in local government decision-making.

One of my favourite parts of the conference is the resolution session, where we debate motions submitted by local governments throughout the Lower Mainland that typically call on the provincial government to take action. Resolutions endorsed by the LMLGA membership inform our advocacy efforts to the province and are forwarded to the Union of BC Municipalities for debate by all local governments at its conference in the fall. Langley City has a resolution calling on the province to develop consistent rules for micro-mobility devices, such as mobility devices for people with disabilities, e-scooters, and the like.

One of the fun traditions is that each local government provide a small item that represents their community for a door prize. Langley City’s door prize is the book “On the Trail: 50 Years of Engaging with Nature” by the Langley Field Naturalist.

I always learn something new at the conference that can be applied back in Langley City.

April 27 Council Notes: Affordable Housing Fund and Community Standards

As I posted about a few weeks ago, Langley City Council now requires that, within an 800-metre radius of the Willowbrook and Langley City Centre SkyTrain station, at least 2.5% of all new housing units built be made available for rent for at least 20% below Langley City market rates for the life of the building. Under BC law, a builder can either provide this as part of their housing project or pay an in-lieu cash amount to the City, which must be deposited into an affordable housing fund. The in-lieu cash amount must reflect the market cost of building a housing unit.

Langley City Council has now adopted an Affordable Housing Fund bylaw and a new Affordable Housing Reserve Fund policy, which, among other things, guides how Council should use these funds. Council wants to prioritize any funds received towards constructing new below-market affordable housing units (rents 20% below Langley City market rates), and this is reflected in the policy. The funds could also be used for below-market:

• Seniors-focused housing units
• Indigenous housing units
• Family and youth housing units
• Special needs, accessible housing units
• Co-op housing units
• Temporary shelter and transitional housing units

The bylaw and policy include an annual reporting and in-lieu cash fee adjustment to reflect market costs.

Langley City Council also adopted a new Community Standards Bylaw that focused on securing vacant and redevelopment-ready property. You can learn more in a previous post.

The new Council after the fall municipal election will likely have to decide on major service changes, such as around street waste management. Council passed a motion asking staff to include a clearly defined “status quo” option, along with proposed new service options, to help Council make decisions on new service options. Sometimes this is called a baseline, and I’ve seen it used at TransLink in my role on the Mayors’ Council. It is usually presented in a table format.