Posted Aug 15, 2009, 2:05 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2009
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Quote:
In defense of Whalley
By Kevin Diakiw - Surrey North Delta Leader
Published: August 14, 2009 6:00 AM
Surrey’s northern community will always be Whalley, no matter how hard some try to shy from the name, a local business owner says.
Surrey is considering renaming Whalley Ring Road to City Centre Ring Road, which riles Pete Nichols, owner of Whalley Printers, a successful business for more than four decades.
The city’s proposal to rename the route is just the latest in a string of initiatives to rebrand the urban core of the community, which Nichols said is developer driven.
Bob Dominick, president of the Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association, said the BIA hasn’t had a chance to formally discuss the renaming.
But as a developer, Dominick loves it.
Whalley has historical importance to this city, but when the name is raised outside of Surrey, investors bristle.
“Whalley has a stigma attached to it of inner-city, no different than the east side of Vancouver,” Dominick said. He believes the “re-identifying” of the city centre will help market it as the next downtown core in the region.
“It puts a fresh clean look on an area that’s becoming exceptionally good in terms of what it has to offer,” Dominick said.
Some years ago, Surrey council chose to name Whalley’s commercial core City Centre. The largest tower in the community bears neither the name of Surrey or Whalley, which were purposely left off Central City’s moniker by the province when the building was being developed.
Nichols has operated his printing business with the Whalley name since 1983. The business has been in the area since 1968.
The community got its name from Arthur Whalley, who moved his family in 1925 from Cloverdale to a three-acre triangle of land at Ferguson Road (108 Avenue) and King George Highway. The family operated a service station, general store and tourist cabins at the site.
The municipality officially adopted the name in 1948.
Nichols said the city should be proud of the rich heritage behind the name, and should focus on improving the community rather than changing its title. He’s concerned that the name change is just the beginning.
“It seems that council has a lack of respect for Whalley’s, and indeed Surrey’s history. I feel strongly that this is just the first swing at removing the name Whalley from the map completely,” Nichols said. “I think that it is delusional to think that by changing the name of this community it will change people’s perception.”
He’s received a letter from the mayor saying the city has no intention of renaming the community.
Her letter also indicated the discussion occurred because of a recommendation from the transportation committee.
“If the community wants it to change, then the city should change it,” Nichols said Monday. “But the city shouldn’t be initiating this.”
Coun. Tom Gill agrees with Nichols’ sentiment and said he wants to see a full and open discussion with members of the community.
The mayor promised as much to Nichols in her letter.
“Let me be clear, we are not changing Whalley’s name,” Watts wrote. “We have significant history in the area... There is a process and council will ultimately make a decision after we go through the process.”
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http://www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_area/surreyleader/news/53174927.html
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