Life Exists Beyond the Bridge

Did you ever notices that people that live on the “other side of the bridge” rarely venture over to the South Fraser? I have family that refuses to visit me because I live in Langley, which to them could be Kamloops, Kelowna, or Calgary. Of course, I’m expected to visit them regularly in Vancouver. The same can be said of people that used to live in the South Fraser. I have a few friends that used to live out this way and ever since moving to Vancouver, refuse to come out this way. It almost seems like there is something in the air that prevents people from seeing that there is more to this region than just the Burrard Peninsula. I’ve been reading Douglas Coupland’s City of Glass (a great book BTW), and I think this map from the book speaks volumes.


People either think that the South Fraser is only single family housing or farms (I do like the farms.) What is really scary is that I’ve talked to some people that are making the plans for our region that have only seen the South of Fraser on a map. I took one of these types on a tour once, and he was surprised that we had complete communities like Downtown Langley or that there was mixed use in Walnut Grove. I think that this is real reason why we have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to transit funding. People have no idea what is out here. Maybe the local governments in the South of Fraser should invest in a campaign to let people in “Metro Vancouver” know that there is indeed a civilization of 500,000+ people out here… Maybe then, we will get the transit we deserve.