I’ve been curious about how Surrey will evolve ever since former mayor Dianne Watts set out to transform the city’s image and its reality. Besides the music festivals and the beautification and the stunning new pools and other facilities built in the city, Watts also promised to create a downtown for Surrey out of almost […]
Surrey: It’s harder to build a suburban downtown than it looks
March 28th, 2017 · 3 Comments
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Adding fuel to Surrey election fire, Surrey scores D in safety and getting around on first vital signs report
October 7th, 2014 · 2 Comments
All of a sudden, after nine years of relative calm, Surrey seems like a very unhappy place. The report issued today will add to that. SurreyCares, in partnership with the Surrey Board of Trade, released the results of Surrey’s first Vital Signs study this morning. The report investigated updated statistical data as well as public […]
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Dianne Watts announces stepping down from throne; now the scramble begins
April 29th, 2014 · 4 Comments
As we all know, Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts announced Saturday, while she was opening the new city hall, that she won’t be running again in November. Not a huge surprise, as there had been rumours for weeks and lots of hints about the event Saturday. But now it brings out into the open the jostling, […]
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Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts make heavy bet on new downtown — but it won’t come instantly
February 24th, 2014 · 35 Comments
Surrey’s efforts to remake itself as an urban place, rather than just a bedroom suburb, are exciting and have generated a lot of media coverage. What that coverage (some of it mine) doesn’t always convey is the reality of what a big job this is. Surrey doesn’t even have a vestigial version of a downtown […]
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Surrey to test out a new way of talking to the public with Vision Critical
April 5th, 2013 · 5 Comments
I’ve heard any number of bureaucrats and politicians express alarm at the state of public dialogue these days, as citizen groups start social-media campaigns at the drop of a hat to oppose casinos, funeral parlours, traffic going by their front windows, and more. As a result, many are looking for new ways to talk. Surrey […]
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What happens when cities put their own money on the line for development
February 18th, 2013 · 3 Comments
Big cities like Vancouver and Toronto have embarked on their own development projects over the years. But now we’re starting to see places like Surrey and New Westminster put cash on the line to try to make money from the real estate they hold or invest in development to spur more private-sector interest. My story […]
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Surrey casino, Chapter 3: Surrey councillors speak out about the botched process, why they supported a casino, and the tough conversations ahead for the Surrey First party
January 25th, 2013 · 31 Comments
And …. more fallout. As some councillors noted, casino decisions really strain a marriage. Here’s what they had to say. Story also attached below
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Vancouver continues to “solve” its affordability problem by going littler and littler
January 4th, 2013 · 67 Comments
The little house, the little apartment — they’re all I’m hearing about these days. Laneway houses continue to be popular. At last count, there were 600 that had been processed at city hall. Micro-suites have come to Surrey. Coquitlam is letting people build multiple-units on single-family lots. Some of this is welcomed, I think. We’ve […]
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Planner fired in Surrey after fraud investigation
May 27th, 2010 · 3 Comments
I remember an editor of mine long ago saying there had to be some kind of kickbacks or fraud going on in a city with so many construction cranes on its skyline. My response was that I had never heard a whisper of that because developers were too preoccupied with the city’s form of institutionalized […]
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Watts offers new incentives for clean-tech businesses to come to Surrey
April 1st, 2010 · 18 Comments
Cities all over the Lower Mainland are falling over themselves these days to attract businesses, but Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts is the champ at delivering her message the loudest and clearest that the door is open in her city — complete with property tax holidays and fee breaks. Yet again, she gets lots of attention […]
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