What's in a Name?

The Ego of the Orange Arch

For nearly ninety years, we have been staring at that orange arch over the Fraser River and calling it the Pattullo Bridge. It opened back in 1937, right in the thick of the Great Depression, and was named after Thomas Dufferin "Duff" Pattullo, the sitting Premier of British Columbia at the time. Sticking your own surname on a massive public works project is the ultimate flex of political ego. It was the classic colonial way of doing things. You build a bridge, you completely ignore the thousands of years of human history that happened on that exact spot before you arrived, and you permanently name the steel after a guy in a suit.

Calling a Crossing a Crossing

Now we have the shiny new cable-stayed replacement, and thankfully, it abandons the politician's vanity project entirely. The new name is stal̕əw̓asəm (pronounced stah-luw-ah-sum), which comes directly from hən̓q̓əmín̓əm̓, the traditional language of the Coast Salish peoples who have been navigating these exact waters for millennia. It is a beautiful and highly literal compound word. "stal̕əw̓" means the Fraser River, and "asəm" refers to a crossing or facing across. Instead of naming a vital piece of geography after an administrator, we are finally just calling it what it actually is: the river crossing.

Correcting the Colonial Typo

This switch is about a lot more than just updating the highway signs to confuse the local traffic reporters. The old colonial habit of plastering European surnames over ancient geography was a very deliberate form of historical erasure, operating on the arrogant assumption that nothing of value existed here until the British showed up. By ditching the political branding and embracing the original hən̓q̓əmín̓əm̓ name, we are actually correcting a massive geographical typo. It is a tangible bit of reconciliation that forces every single commuter crossing between Surrey and New West to acknowledge the real history of the land, proving that occasionally, we actually do learn from our past mistakes.

Public Space Along the Riverfront

 

The Westminster Pier Park Extension will not be completed and officially opened until July.  There appears to be quite a bit more work to do.  However, a partial section opened this week. From our balcony, we could see people walking through the center area, but Jay and I didn't go to take a look until today.  

The land was 'donated' by the recently completed Pier West development.  It consists of two matching residential towers that stand 43 and 53 stories.  This land is adjacent to the existing riverfront park.  The two buildings block a chuck of my view down the Fraser River but the new amenities in our downtown neighbourhood definitely increase the livability of the whole area.  

As well as regular outside gym equipment I saw the outdoor table tennis installations.  When the landscaping is complete, the whole project will be quite nice and only around 500 meters from my living room sofa.

 

The Shifting Skyline from the Royal City

It is fascinating to look out from our vantage point in New Westminster and realize how much the landscape has evolved since Jay and I first settled here. My lone photo of the day captures a reality that would have been unrecognizable a decade or two ago. Where there is now a dense phalanx of glass and steel stretching toward the clouds, there used to be open air and a clear line of sight.

Back then, the horizon belonged to Mt. Baker down in Washington State. Its snowy peak was a constant, majestic companion to our morning coffee. Today, those towers have claimed that particular piece of the sky, effectively editing the volcano out of our daily view.

It’s not a point of sadness, though; rather, it's just the natural rhythm of urban development in a corner of the world that refuses to stand still. We’re watching a massive demographic shift in real-time. Just across the water, Surrey is growing at such a clip that it is projected to surpass the population of Vancouver proper in the very near future.

New Westminster remains our home base, but the view is certainly getting more crowded. It’s a bit like watching a child grow up; you don't always notice the height increase day-to-day until you look at an old photograph and realize the world looks entirely different.

First Crossing: stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge

It wasn't raining today. This morning we chose to try out the old Pattullo Bridge replacement. During the winter, they rushed to open the new span that has been years in coming, decades actually!  First, I stopped at the petrol station in order to put some air in my tires.  The EV has some low rolling resistance tires.  They are designed to have 36 psi and were down a tad after sitting all winter.

The main deck is open but it'll take the rest of the year to get all the interchanges on either end of the bridge completed. The old structure is in the middle of being dismantled which will open necessary space for some road connections.

We crossed to do a little shopping in an Asian grocery store chain called, T&T Supermarket.  They have a store as a part of the Surrey Central Mall.  We've been back more than a week from our winter away, yet we're still stocking up on food that we'll use during our summer and fall in British Columbia.  We got some pandan leaves that Jay uses in his cooking.  We got some kimchi too.  They have a great selection of hot, cooked food that can be taken away.  So, we got some additions that we'll eat with our normal rice and curry meals.  

 

Jay snapped these pictures as we were coming back to the New Westminster side of the Fraser River.  I saw there was an exit for Brunette Ave but it wasn't possible to turn in the right direction to go home.  So, we had to drive up near the Glenbrook Ravine.  It's a nice hill-top part of our town but we seldom have a reason to visit.

It wasn't busy during the late morning, so as I passed a street with cherry blossoms, I stopped to take this photo.  Being retired means we have time to stop and smell the roses.

 

A New Week Arrives

 

We've been back in town long enough to be fairly well set up and organized. However, we've not been here long enough to have transitioned to this time zone. We both got out of bed at 5:05 in the morning for no other reason than we were awake.  The sun still hadn't risen by 6:53 though.  This is the view mostly south but a bit east.  The water in the foreground is the Fraser River.  The buildings on the hill are in Surrey, BC and none existed when we moved into this apartment.  The picture was snapped from balcony when I stepped on the cold tiles.  Without the later sunshine, it was just 1°C.

Jay and I didn't accomplish a lot.  We did drive up to the uptown Walmart for a few more groceries.  I snapped a photo of Jay in the electronics section in front of clearance TVs in boxes.  The 75" LG cost CAD $800 ($US 580).  I've been planning a new TV purchase but we cannot fit more than a 55" screen in the living room.  I also want to pick up an OLED and have had it picked out for purchase for a while.  When the price drops due to the arrival of the new 2026 models, I'll strike.  I like doing research on big ticket items.  My choice will cost substantially more than the huge screens in a box we saw today.

I don't do all my shopping at Walmart.  We've been home only five days and have received three packages with smiles already.  Two items will arrive tomorrow as well.  I love having packages delivered the next day and right at the door of our 10-floor apartment.  I found that my battery powered tire pressure gauge in the car glovebox died.  I don't have to worry with this mechanical one which was about the same prices as a pack of new, coin batteries.  Oh, and one can never ever have too many adapters, wires, and cables.  The other items in the package included a pack of six USB to USB-C adapters.  My Prime membership is so much more important than the Costco one we seldom used.

 

It's Been a Great Run of Good Weather

This photo was at taken from our balcony at 7:08 this morning.

 

The days have been extraordinarily clear and sunny lately.  I appreciate the nice weather as October can get pretty dreary some years.  

Last year, we didn't leave for the winter until the second week of November and I was more than ready to go somewhere I could see the sun!  This year, we will be in Sri Lanka on November 1st.  It takes a while to travel to the other side of the earth and we actually leave Vancouver two days before that!

So it is a pleasure having such a run of great weather.  This morning there was an interesting cloud but it continued on its way eastward.  The sky today has been predominantly sunny.  Yet, tonight's low may be 5°C so it definitely is time to start packing. 

$C\; so\; it\; is\; time\; to\; start\; packing.$

A Relaxing Thursday

 

The weather was pleasant. Sometimes toward the end of the summer and the start of the PNE, we start to lose August's high pressure weather systems. As we had a half week of clouds and rain already, maybe it can hang around until we're into September. 

Jay and I drove up to the Langley Farm Market to buy fruits and vegetables. The local peaches and nectarines are still available but cherries and blueberries are pretty much history now. 

We didn't do a lot this afternoon. Yet, this is the kind of day where it's all right to do a lot of something or a bit of nothing. We sort of defaulted toward the latter.

 

Reconnecting to the Fraser

Downtown New Westminster is finally getting back access to some of the Waterfront.  For years, the construction of the two high-rise buildings prevented access between Pier Park and the New Westminster Quay.

Even though the large towers block much of our view down the Fraser River, we always supported the construction.  When we arrived in the city in 1996, the area was a parking lot on the site of former canneries.  It was ugly and derelect.

The Pier West development will help make downtown a better place.  The hundreds of new residents will ensure better business environment and generate new opportunities.  The developer has even provided the city with additional park space.

Not all of the amenities are complete, but the path towards the front of the buildings was opened on June 30th.  For the first time today, I walked and saw where there will be future park benches and places to relax.  What a great new area to enjoy a view of the river!

I'm happy that over the remainder of the year, the city of New Westminster will continue to complete the park space.  It will make our summers even more enjoyable!

Over the River and Up the Hill

If we exit through the parking levels in the basement of our building, we can directly access the Columbia SkyTrain Station.  Tracks run in both directions, but we can go in any of three ways!  One side heads towards downtown Vancouver.  We often take that.  

The tracks in the other direction split off just outside our station.  One direction is towards Braid and the Lougheed Town Centre.  The other, and the older one, heads across the Fraser River on a transit only suspension bridge towards Surrey, BC.  This is the one we boarded today.  

We viewed the missing gap in the new Pattullo Bridge.  This is a long weekend in Canada and the old bridge is closed for work on access roads for the replacement.  In the image, it was a little hard to see the progress behind the 88-year-old original bridge.  The new one will go into operation late this year, we've heard.  The iconic orange structure of the original will be torn down upon its replacement's completion.  The rail bridge in the photo above will remain untouched.

We went to Surrey Central Station, just one stop before the line's terminus.  It takes eight minutes to get there and is near bus connections and the Surrey Central Mall.  We went to the mall today to pick up several grocery items in a Walmart.  We also visited the T&T Asian Supermarket.  Jay found the thick, frozen, chopped sheets of lemongrass that he uses when cooking.  There must have been supply chain issues as we have had a hard time seeing any until today.  The Asian market chain also has a self-service area of cooked, hot Chinese food for takeaway.  Jay selected mostly meats to include with our own food when we came back home for lunch.

Crossing the Fraser River

We drove over the river to Surrey, BC. The population of our neighbouring city stands at around 700,000 and is due to surpass the size of Vancouver in a decade or so!

 

Today, we drove over the old, two-lane Pattullo Bridge from our home in New Westminster. The four-lane replacement sits next to it and was due to be completed in 2024. Now the completion date is set for this year.

 

We stopped at the T&T Asian Supermarket to see if Jay could pick up some chopped, frozen lemongrass for cooking. We haven't see any since we've been back and there was none today either. 

On the way back, we also drove to the new Recreation Center that is near the Home Depot by the Scott Road SkyTrain station. My app showed six new provincial DC fast EV chargers. I found them and only three from six were occupied. This was just a scouting mission and I didn't need any juice.

 

Another item of note today was that my new Canadian passport arrived in the mail.  I'd dropped off the application form and photos on March 20th.

October Weather a Few Days Early

The weather feels as though it has turned the corner. Right now rather than just a little rain, we are getting a storm. It signals the end of summer and the beginning of the more volatile part of the weather year.

 

Looking East and West from Our Balcony

 

Noticeably the days grow shorter earlier. Yet, the weather is cooperating for an excellent end to the season of summer. This long weekend and the week ahead shows continued promise with temperatures twice during the day what they are at night. This afternoon the temperature reached 30°C but will nary be half that figure when the next dawn breaks.  Such are the days at this time of year.

 

I Share These Red Chairs

It is pleasant, but this is not my yard.

   

In fact, we live on the 10th floor in a high-rise condo across a busy street from this location.  However, my red chairs are easy to access. The city mows this grass.  It's Pier Park in New Westminster, BC. 

The SkyTrain-only suspension bridge can be seen in the background.  Also, the aging Pattullo Bridge and a structure from its eventual replacement span can also be spotted. The water flowing past is the Fraser River, the longest in the province at more than 850 miles.  It continues past our city for only about 20 of those and then empties into the salt water of the Georgia Strait.   

I can sit on my balcony and view this park area from our apartment.  The red chairs would be near the center of the following picture but they're too small to discern. 

In Our Neighbourhood

We've watched these towers grow along the river. I expect they'll soon be ready for occupancy as they were originally slated to be complete in 2022. They do cut off a quite a bit of the western view of the river from our balcony but at least they're thin and tall. There are much more unsightly views that could've been built.

 

Early Birds

When we return from a winter away, we sometimes have to re-adjust to Canada's Pacific time zone. This morning we both woke up at around 5:15 am. We were incredibly tired last night, so we did get quite a few hours of deep sleep. 

   

It was interesting looking from the balcony at a scene we'd not seen since the end of last October. This was a bit before sunrise. In New Westminster, BC that means I took this image before 7:15 today. 

Snippets of the Fraser River Morning Fog Show

Along the New Westminster Riverfront

During the last month in New Westminster, we've had, what seems like, just four days of nice weather.  I surely hope the large amount of rain, especially over the last week, will ensure we don't have many forest fires later in the summer.

I did snap the top photo on a tiny walk this morning. We live in one of these buildings. Jay and I have owned an apartment at Carnarvon Place for 25 years this spring.   I've started taking more wide-angle shots with my cell phone lately.  I sort of like the perspective.  It shows that New Westminster is on quite a hill.  We are more than a few stories higher than our actual floor due to this situation. 

I walked to the bottom of Fourth Street and crossed Columbia Street.  From the parkade structure, there is an elevator with access to a waterfront park.  Pier Park is situated along the Fraser River.  From the elevator area, I looked up the river for this shot.  The transit-only SkyTrain bridge is closest.  The orange Patullo Bridge connects traffic to the city of Surrey, BC.  Since we arrived in this town in 1996, there'd been talk of replacing the aging span.  Finally, work is progressing on the new structure.  One can now see the large 'H' behind the bridges. 

Looking down the river, the largest change is the construction of the 53 and 43-storey, new residential towers at the river's edge.  Bosa's Pier West project was originally scheduled to be completed this year.  I think it's been pushed back, so perhaps 2024 will witness the completion of both projects on New Westminster's riverfront.

New Residential Towers

 

The weather seemed head and shoulders above that of recent days.  This was a photo taken from the balcony just now.

Unfortunately, I wasted a lot of the morning sleeping.  Last night, I had a fever from my COVID booster and didn't sleep well.  It was exactly zero Celsius this morning, so looking outside was better than being out anyway.

Good Morning, New Westminster, BC

Our bed is a hundred times better than what I slept on at the hospital. Even better, if one gets up early, is the sunrise over Surrey, BC, and the Fraser River. The balcony tiles were cold as the air temperature was -1°C at 6:36 am.

   

Clouds That I Can Appreciate

 

Finally!  I just stepped indoors from our balcony.  Today is beginning to look like summer.  Although yesterday was New Westminster's longest day of the year, we had the dining-table lamp on at 5:15 pm.  It was cloudier and it was a much uglier type of cloud.

This evening, things look much better. Local daylight will be 16 hours and 14 minutes today. Tomorrow will only have 14 fewer seconds. Still, I guess that means the days are getting shorter!