Many Opportunities to Help Shape Langley City’s Future This Fall

For many folks, school is back in session, and summer holidays are becoming memories. Langley City Council is back into full gear with our first Council meeting after the August break on Monday.

There are many exciting initiatives in the City that you can participate in this fall, which will help shape the direction of our community for years to come.

Langley City’s Citizens’ Assembly on Community Safety has been meeting since March. Our Citizens’ Assembly is a form of direct democracy where community members were selected via a lottery system and to reflect the demographic makeup of our community. They will be making recommendations to Council this fall on actions we should take to continue improving safety in our community. Their recommendations are created by the Citizens’ Assembly members, not City staff or Council, although they are supported by data, experts, and facilitators. They will be hosting a Community Dialogue shortly, open to anyone.

Langley City is making needed investments in our community as part of the Invest Langley City vision. Some key aspects of the vision that require input from our community include a new performing arts centre, an expanded Timms Community Centre, and an indoor aquatic facility. Your feedback on these facilities will be crucial in informing how these projects can move forward.

Langley City is developing a new transportation plan and an on-street parking management plan. Further community feedback will be required for these two plans.

I know that the City will be working on other plans and strategies that are equally important, but have a more narrow focus, such as the Glover Road/KPU Innovation District plan. I wanted to highlight the plans that will have a community-wide impact.

There is a whole lot happening, but there is one easy way to ensure that you don’t miss an opportunity to contribute, and that is by heading over to Let’s Chat, Langley City! Your feedback is taken seriously and helps shape the City’s plans and strategies. If you always want to stay up to date, you can join the Let’s Chat, Langley City mailing list.

Upcoming Coffee with Langley City Councillors

Langley City Councillors will be hosting two “Coffee with Council” events at Station Cafe at Timms Community Centre on Saturday, September 6th and Saturday, September 20th from 10am to Noon.

This is a low-key, drop-in event where you can grab a coffee and a light snack, and engage in conversation with Langley City Councillors. For more information, please check out Langley City’s website.

Understanding the Hidden Meaning in Langley City’s Coat of Arms

Every so often, the Mayor’s Office gets a request for an official Langley City pin, which is the City’s Coat of Arms. We recently got a request, and it got me thinking. I was looking back through my past blog posts, and while I had previously posted about the City’s logo, which was updated in 2017, I had never actually written about the Coat of Arms and what it represents. Langley City is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, a perfect time to learn about our Coat of Arms.

The Langley City pin. While the pin says “City of Langley,” the actual motto is “Strength of Purpose, Spirit of Community.”

Langley City’s Coat of Arms was granted and is registered with the Canadian Heraldic Authority, which is a service of the Governor General of Canada. The practice of officially granting and recording Coats of Arms dates back to the Middle Ages. Until 1988, they were granted by the Sovereign (King/Queen or their representative) in Canada. Coats of Arms are used as official identity marks, and they were traditionally used for sealing legal documents, although this practice is no longer in use today.

Coats of Arms convey a great deal of information through their design. So what do all the symbols and designs in Langley City’s Coat of Arms mean?

The arms or shield symbolize the crossroads of Yale Road (Fraser Highway), Glover Road, and the BC Electric Railway. The blue star of Innes in the centre of the shield represented “Innes Corners,” which was the original name of the crossroad and is named after Adam Innes, one of the original settlers in Langley Prairie. This is why the Coat of Arms is painted into the middle of the intersection of Fraser Highway and Glover Road/204th Street at the entrance of the Fraser Highway One-Way. You can learn more about this history in my video, The History of Langley City: Part 1.

The crest or top combines the rural coronet (small crown), which is the traditional emblem for municipal governments, with maple leaves for Canada and dogwoods for British Columbia. The canoe is a reference to the McMillan Expedition of 1824, which went through Portage Park in Langley City and led to the founding of Fort Langley. There is a plaque in Portage Park that shares the story of this expedition. The lion on the coat of arms is the Scots heraldic symbol for McMillan. The lion also symbolizes the determination of citizens to defend the City’s interests, which is why it is holding the flag.

The compartments or bottom blue and white bars symbolize the Nicomekl River, with the grass and lilies representing nature.

The elk represents nature and the land. The elk is wearing a medallion with wheat sheaves. This is a reference to Langley City’s original name, “Langley Prairie.”

The horse represents agriculture and industry. The horse is wearing a medallion with a cog wheel and a gold coin. The gold coin is a traditional symbol of commerce. The Fraser Highway One-Way was the original centre of commerce for Langley.

Coats of Arms are packed with a lot of meaning and tradition, including Langley City’s.