22nd Street Station, Annacis Island, Port Royal, Queensborough

A Stretch On Queensborough Landing

Take the Skytrain to 22nd Street, cross over to the eastbound train platform if you travel from east to west, and peek through the protective fence on the platform. Best Buy beckons to children of the information age in bold bright sunlight colours. Walk down the staircase and southward towards the bridge, at the edge of the bridge, stand very still and feel the moving girders as gears grind and 63-ton truck engines rev hauling their freight to unknown destinations.

Bridge and Queensborough Landing
The Queensborough Bridge was opened to traffic in August 1960 and became part of Highway 91 in 1986.This is no cakewalk, proceed if you can navigate the pedestrian/cyclist detour; otherwise be safe, return to the station and catch either Bus 104 or 410 across the bridge.

Section Map

Introduction:
A-Z Story of
Vancouver

An Open Letter To The Minister Of Transportation

On foot, you will see the private yards of the Southern Railway of British Columbia Ltd. and Poplar Island. You will also experience the brand new walkways and discover where ICBC hides all their write-offs. On a good day, you may encounter wafts from fragrant cedars being processed in the Interfor sawmill below.

Should you span the bridge and find yourself at the south end of the walkway, you will see 805 Boyd Street, also known as Queensborough Landing approximately 200 meters ahead, a new addition to shopping malls in the Lower Mainland. Wal-Mart is already here and Starbucks is soon to come. Though construction is still in progress, the location receives thousands of savvy shoppers from Burnaby, Coquitlam, New Westminster, Port Moody, Richmond, Vancouver, Victoria and the US. Bring your divining rod with you if you are a speculator or an investor. Water is abundant, so are iron pyrites, however success awaits the discerning who can anticipate services that will complement the goods on location.

Who is buying in Port Royal?

Answer: anyone who can raise funding in excess of one quarter of a million Canadian dollars.

Developers are looking at areas south of the Fraser River for acquisitions as property in the district of Vancouver transcend reality and become dreamscapes. Queensborough and pristine Port Royal are getting attention for their beautiful waterfront lots and probably for mega government improvement projects to highway 91 and the Queensborough Bridge. (There is also talk of a casino in the hood, please watch your coppers.) This location will derive maximum benefit from shopping centres at the Landing. Whilst First Pro remains negotiable, service providers in banking, fitness, health to name a few must make their move. Further, there is plenty of room for a municipal type market for fresh produce vendors and other specialty foods. This is also good time for alternative transport providers to investigate aqua bus services to and from the New Westminster Quayside as BC Transit takes time to concretize their plans for the area.

For their part, conservationists could take a look at the open waterways in this area before the onset of full-scale development to preserve the habitats of aquatic animals. In the meantime, those of us who go on foot and enjoy our interaction with nature will continue with our explorations before we are overtaken by development. If you are ready for another adventure, and you are at south end of the bridge, turn right and follow the road!

The scenes captured in the photographs above show a small part of the Queensborough heritage, which includes the processing of soft wood lumber, shipbuilding, rail transport and the Fraser River as an important waterway for raw as well as processed timber. (Click on the thumbnails for magnified images.)

At the time of publishing, both sidewalks on the Queensborough Bridge had been opened to pedestrians and cyclists. It feels much safer to be on the bridge. There is however one request I would like to make on behalf of all pedestrians to the Minister of Transportation, BC in an open letter: "A Request For A Spiral Staircase"

One more thing: If you happen to hear a horn or siren whilst on the Annacis Connector, which links Queensborough to the industrial island, please move on to land.