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Looking Back: Transportation and our changing town cores

Lougheed Highway, completed in 1932, paved way for new modes of transportation through Maple Ridge.
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The core of Port Haney in 1919, before the construction of the Lougheed Highway. The Haney train station is in the foreground, next to the railway. Behind it is River Road. The buildings (from left): Matchett’s Store, the Bank of Montreal, Dr. Morse’s office, and Charlton’s store.

The clusters of heritage buildings that survive in Maple Ridge today are mostly located in the southern part of the city, adjacent to the Fraser River.

River Road in Port Haney and Maple Crescent in Port Hammond are two examples of streets that contain several heritage buildings, whereas in other areas, older structures are more sporadically dispersed.

These heritage hotspots are indications of our original ‘town cores,’ which reflect the evolution of transportation in the area.

In Maple Ridge’s earliest days, the Fraser River was the main transportation artery for the communities in southwest British Columbia. Paddlewheelers were used extensively to transport people and goods, and many businesses sprung up along the Fraser River in the hopes of intercepting customers.

Additionally, until the construction of adequate roads, the frozen Fraser was the fastest way to travel between Maple Ridge and surrounding communities in the winter. Consequently, areas in proximity to the river were the original hubs of travel and trade for settlers of Maple Ridge.

The construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885 helped to further develop these early town centers. Two possible routes through Maple Ridge were discussed, but local leaders vigorously fought for and were granted the southern route, which passed through the pre-established business centres of the community.

This transcontinental railway added another mode of transportation to the community, furthering the possibility for travel and trade and contributing to Maple Ridge’s development along the railway route.

The transition between our riverside town centre and our modern town centre began in the early 1910s as automobiles became more commonplace on the West Coast.

Local businessman and politician Nelson Lougheed was instrumental in constructing many roads throughout British Columbia during his tenure as minister for Public Works. Most notably, Lougheed pushed and secured the construction of a highway through Maple Ridge, which was named after him.

The Lougheed Highway was completed in 1932 and quite literally paved the way for new modes of transportation through Maple Ridge.

In the original core of Port Haney, a fire destroyed much of the site in 1932. Many businesses and community buildings were reduced to ashes, prompting a necessary rebuilding effort.

At this time, many citizens felt that, rather than rebuilding along the railway, community centres should be moved to lots along the new highway, as trains were rapidly becoming an obsolete form of passenger transportation.

The post office, for example, was petitioned to be “rebuilt in Upper Haney” following the fire.

Fuller Watson, still in business today, was also originally located along the Fraser. Today it sits at the corner of 224th Street and Lougheed Highway.

The timing of the fire probably accelerated the inevitable relocation of many businesses and community buildings.

This development push continued as the use of automobiles seriously caught on. Official core development projects, such as the construction of the Haney Place Mall, followed the initial piecemeal relocation of community buildings and businesses. These, and smaller beautification projects have been ongoing since the Lougheed Highway’s construction. In recent memory, we have seen the remodeling of the Memorial Peace Park, which now serves as our community’s center.

Even today, our town core is reorganized to accommodate the transportation preferences of our citizens. Presently, we see increased bike paths and bus stops as people look to supplement travelling by automobile.

However, as our society is still largely reliant on cars, our town core has not seen the kind of relocation effort prompted by the construction of the Lougheed Highway.

Working off of the National Trust’s Heritage Week theme of ‘History Stands the Test of Time’, we will also be discussing this, and other closely related topics, at Maple Ridge’s Canada Day event in the Memorial Peace Park. We look forward to continuing the conversation about how our heritage buildings and their locations can help us infer details about the past.

Sarah Davies is a researcher for the Maple Ridge Museum and Archives.