There's a bit of a traffic snarl in Cloverdale right now at the intersection of Highway 10 and Highway 15. It appears a semi truck and trailer rig were in the left hand turn lane on Highway 10, ready to turn onto the Cloverdale Bypass and head northbound. Truck stalled.
I heard it on the news so I walked the dogs over. What I saw was another tractor from the same company showed up to assist. They disconnected the trailer and left it there in the left hand turn lane and attached a chain or cable onto the stalled tractor. I guess he was planning to tow it to the parking lot of the old Cloverdale Mall. Light changes and they turn left. Except unfortunately the cable snapped. Sproing! I heard that!
The tractor has now stalled in front of both lanes of Highway 10 traffic heading west. Tractor has not blocked the left hand turn lanes heading south on Highway 15 nor the right hand turn lane that borders the Husky gas station. The crazy thing is drivers start honking. Hmm. I don't think that big truck is going anywhere. Want to get out and help push it?
The driver of the tractor that's mobile pulls over to inspect the situation. I guess there was no resurrecting that chain. He decides to abandon the stalled truck and circles around to collect the trailer that's still in the left hand turn lane.
I walked down Highway 10 and traffic is backed up as far as I can see. When I circled around Cloverdale I saw cars leaving Highway 10 at 176A or 177B Streets and making their way down 57th Avenue so they could get around the stalled truck.
The stalled truck was still there when I walked past 10 minutes later. Perhaps they should call a big tow truck?
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Is Anyone Using Greenaway Pool?
I still haven't seen any swimmers in Greenaway Pool when I'm driving past Greenaway Park. Granted the weather has been a little cool but there have been sunny days, even yesterday was muggy though not hot and sunny, still would have been a good day to cool off in a pool.
And I did. I went to YMCA's pool!
According to the City of Surrey's website here are the hours that Greenaway Pool should be open:
Monday to Friday: 1pm to 3pm and then again from 6pm to 7:30pm
Saturday, Sunday: 1:30pm to 3:00pm, and then 3:30pm to 5pm, and then 5:30pm to 7pm
It also claims on Monday and Wednesday night from 7pm to 8pm its adult swim only.
I still say its hit and miss. There have been many times I've driven by the pool in summers past when it was supposed to be open but was empty. There are also times it was not supposed to be open and I saw swimmers in the pool. And not swimming lessons. Lots of people moving around and doing stuff not consistent with lessons.
So use those hours from the City of Surrey as a guideline but don't be surprised if you show up at Greenaway Pool and see the gates locked.
Its free to swim here so one might say you get what you pay for!
And I did. I went to YMCA's pool!
According to the City of Surrey's website here are the hours that Greenaway Pool should be open:
Monday to Friday: 1pm to 3pm and then again from 6pm to 7:30pm
Saturday, Sunday: 1:30pm to 3:00pm, and then 3:30pm to 5pm, and then 5:30pm to 7pm
It also claims on Monday and Wednesday night from 7pm to 8pm its adult swim only.
I still say its hit and miss. There have been many times I've driven by the pool in summers past when it was supposed to be open but was empty. There are also times it was not supposed to be open and I saw swimmers in the pool. And not swimming lessons. Lots of people moving around and doing stuff not consistent with lessons.
So use those hours from the City of Surrey as a guideline but don't be surprised if you show up at Greenaway Pool and see the gates locked.
Its free to swim here so one might say you get what you pay for!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Canada Day 2011 Celebrations at Cloverdale Millenium Park
July 1 Canada Day is either a very good day or a very bad day to be in Cloverdale. About 100,000 people show up each year for the celebrations at the Millenium Park that is on the southeast corner of 176th Street and 64th Avenue. If you are not planning to celebrate - stay away from this part of town. Traffic is a madhouse! Sucks if you have to get into the Clover Crossing Mall. Don't even think about parking here and sneaking across the street to watch the action. The mall puts out big signs stating don't park your car here and leave. Several security officers are stationed in the parking lot ensuring that people who park their cars in the lot are going into one of the shops. They will call for tow trucks.
Admission is free. Festivities start at 10am and go on for about 12 hours. Click here for more information about Canada Day celebrations.
The headline act this year is Trooper! They will be on stage from 8:45pm until 10:15pm. I last heard them when they played at the Maple Ridge Fair about 5 years. They put on a very good show. Good enough that we plan to walk over to the park so we can hear them. We don't think we'll get close enough to see them clearly because the place will be packed but we like their music. We'll also get to enjoy the fireworks on our walk home because that's when they'll be set off.
So where to park? The streets east of 176th are packed with cars. The fairgrounds has some parking and today I saw a sign pointing at the fairgrounds for Canada Day Parking. I think they open the gates to the racetrack and park a lot of cars in there.
Just want to watch the fireworks? A lot of people bring a blanket and sit down on the football field at Lord Tweedsmuir. Another good spot we found was the parking lot of the old Shop Easy and I never remember its current name. Cloverdale Super Market? Its on the corner of 176th Street and 58th Avenue. Good view of the fireworks from there if you sit in your car. The shop is closed so you're not taking away patron's parking.
Enjoy your long weekend!
Admission is free. Festivities start at 10am and go on for about 12 hours. Click here for more information about Canada Day celebrations.
The headline act this year is Trooper! They will be on stage from 8:45pm until 10:15pm. I last heard them when they played at the Maple Ridge Fair about 5 years. They put on a very good show. Good enough that we plan to walk over to the park so we can hear them. We don't think we'll get close enough to see them clearly because the place will be packed but we like their music. We'll also get to enjoy the fireworks on our walk home because that's when they'll be set off.
So where to park? The streets east of 176th are packed with cars. The fairgrounds has some parking and today I saw a sign pointing at the fairgrounds for Canada Day Parking. I think they open the gates to the racetrack and park a lot of cars in there.
Just want to watch the fireworks? A lot of people bring a blanket and sit down on the football field at Lord Tweedsmuir. Another good spot we found was the parking lot of the old Shop Easy and I never remember its current name. Cloverdale Super Market? Its on the corner of 176th Street and 58th Avenue. Good view of the fireworks from there if you sit in your car. The shop is closed so you're not taking away patron's parking.
Enjoy your long weekend!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Free Pancakes and BBQ at the Cloverdale Legion Saturday June 25 2011
The Cloverdale Legion at 17567-57th Avenue is holding an open house this Saturday June 25 2011 from 8:30am until 4:30pm. They have booths and displays showing the Legion's history and part of this event is to recruit new members.
There will be a free pancake breakfast between 8:30am and 10:30am. If this is typical of the Legion's pancake breakfast, expect pancakes, eggs, sausages, coffee, tea, and orange juice/drink.
There will be a free BBQ between 1pm and 3pm. Menu unknown.
There will be a free pancake breakfast between 8:30am and 10:30am. If this is typical of the Legion's pancake breakfast, expect pancakes, eggs, sausages, coffee, tea, and orange juice/drink.
There will be a free BBQ between 1pm and 3pm. Menu unknown.
Playing at the Clova from June 24 to June 30 2011
This week at the Clova is the same as last week. June 24 to June 30 2011 is Bridesmaids and The Hangover Part 2.
See last week's blog for more information. Nothing has changed!
See last week's blog for more information. Nothing has changed!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
First Sounding of an Ice Cream Truck
I heard the first ice cream truck of the season tonight. Up and down the streets in my Cloverdale neighborhood playing the theme song from The Sting.
I guess summer has officially started.
I guess summer has officially started.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Cloverdale Mall Development
Development signs have popped up on both sides of the former Cloverdale Mall on 58th and 57th Avenues.
I saw them on Thursday and I thought that was a little odd. You'd think they'd have had all this approved prior to tearing down the old mall!
The signs say retail space and living accomodations for 102 units. The thing that surprised me was this is to be a 5 story building. For some reason I thought it was only going to be 3 stories, same height as other apartments and condos in Cloverdale.
I guess the thing with having a 5 story building approved is that soon other tall building will follow suit. The same thing happened in White Rock. They only allowed 3 story buildings and about 10 or 15 years ago a tower was built and now there are several condo towers around White Rock.
But where could 5 story condos follow this new one in Cloverdale? East of the Cloverdale Bypass, 176th Street have seen several condos built in the past 5 or 7 years. I don't think there are any old houses left on that side that could be torn down to make way for condo development. Well, there are a couple of older shabby apartment buildings on 176A and 177B Street that could very well be torn down to build new taller condos.
But nope I think the next targeted area for new construction will be the west side of the Cloverdale Bypass. Already on the northwest corner of the Bypass and Highway 10 construction crews are preparing the ground for a new mall to be built there. Not an indoor covered mall that seems to be bad luck in Cloverdale. It looks like something similar to the malls in Panorama or Clover Crossings. Between Highway 10 and 60th Avenue west to 172 Street are several streets full of houses built after World War 2 and through the 60's. Sure a couple of houses are newer than that and on the other side of 172 Street is the area we call Cowtown because all the streets are named after cow breeds. They sprung up in the late 70's early 80's if memory serves me.
But if you take a look at the houses in the quadrant between the Bypass and 172 Street and Highway 10 and 60th Avenue many houses are one story bungalows. Most of them are in very nice condition and the house and yards are neat and tidy. Its a nice quiet neighborhood built in the days when people actually had decent sized front and back yards. On the flip side some of them are very obviously rented out. A realtor friend of mine told me the houses on the south side of 58th Avenue between 175 and 173 Streets are owned by developers. Well, there's one bungalow I think the owner lives in because it is well looked after. On the other side of the street everyone in the houses are renters, whether the properties are owned by developers or not I don't know.
I think this will probably be the next area targeted for a high density condo development once the site of the old Cloverdale Mall is underway. Oddly enough there is one new house smack dab in the middle of all these old houses that are rented out and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Its up for sale. $799,000. Probably at least $400,000 more than the surrounding houses. And what do you get for this price? 9 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. Its a 2 story house. They had it up for sale a couple of years ago for $850,000 and it said it had 2 suites in the basement. I think that's one suite more than the City of Surrey allows. Also the house didn't pass final inspection because its water main has not been cut down to ground level. You know when you build a big honking house like that in an area full of run down smaller homes you better be sure you're building something you like and plan to live in for a very long time.
Anyway I think that builder just screwed up all the other home owners on that side of the street who rent their houses out and are hoping for the area to be developed.
I think if we come back in 10 years that section west of the Cloverdale Bypass will be full of new condos that are at least 5 stories high.
I saw them on Thursday and I thought that was a little odd. You'd think they'd have had all this approved prior to tearing down the old mall!
The signs say retail space and living accomodations for 102 units. The thing that surprised me was this is to be a 5 story building. For some reason I thought it was only going to be 3 stories, same height as other apartments and condos in Cloverdale.
I guess the thing with having a 5 story building approved is that soon other tall building will follow suit. The same thing happened in White Rock. They only allowed 3 story buildings and about 10 or 15 years ago a tower was built and now there are several condo towers around White Rock.
But where could 5 story condos follow this new one in Cloverdale? East of the Cloverdale Bypass, 176th Street have seen several condos built in the past 5 or 7 years. I don't think there are any old houses left on that side that could be torn down to make way for condo development. Well, there are a couple of older shabby apartment buildings on 176A and 177B Street that could very well be torn down to build new taller condos.
But nope I think the next targeted area for new construction will be the west side of the Cloverdale Bypass. Already on the northwest corner of the Bypass and Highway 10 construction crews are preparing the ground for a new mall to be built there. Not an indoor covered mall that seems to be bad luck in Cloverdale. It looks like something similar to the malls in Panorama or Clover Crossings. Between Highway 10 and 60th Avenue west to 172 Street are several streets full of houses built after World War 2 and through the 60's. Sure a couple of houses are newer than that and on the other side of 172 Street is the area we call Cowtown because all the streets are named after cow breeds. They sprung up in the late 70's early 80's if memory serves me.
But if you take a look at the houses in the quadrant between the Bypass and 172 Street and Highway 10 and 60th Avenue many houses are one story bungalows. Most of them are in very nice condition and the house and yards are neat and tidy. Its a nice quiet neighborhood built in the days when people actually had decent sized front and back yards. On the flip side some of them are very obviously rented out. A realtor friend of mine told me the houses on the south side of 58th Avenue between 175 and 173 Streets are owned by developers. Well, there's one bungalow I think the owner lives in because it is well looked after. On the other side of the street everyone in the houses are renters, whether the properties are owned by developers or not I don't know.
I think this will probably be the next area targeted for a high density condo development once the site of the old Cloverdale Mall is underway. Oddly enough there is one new house smack dab in the middle of all these old houses that are rented out and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Its up for sale. $799,000. Probably at least $400,000 more than the surrounding houses. And what do you get for this price? 9 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. Its a 2 story house. They had it up for sale a couple of years ago for $850,000 and it said it had 2 suites in the basement. I think that's one suite more than the City of Surrey allows. Also the house didn't pass final inspection because its water main has not been cut down to ground level. You know when you build a big honking house like that in an area full of run down smaller homes you better be sure you're building something you like and plan to live in for a very long time.
Anyway I think that builder just screwed up all the other home owners on that side of the street who rent their houses out and are hoping for the area to be developed.
I think if we come back in 10 years that section west of the Cloverdale Bypass will be full of new condos that are at least 5 stories high.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)