the richmond
Celebration, heartbreak for Ravens 22-24
REVIEW
richmondreview.com Friday, March 22, 2013
36 PAGEs
Local travellers pick U.S. airports
Martin van den Hemel photo (right), City of Richmond Archives photo (below) Hamilton residents Wendy and George Walker have seen plenty of change in their community over the years, including on their own street. BELOW: Arthur Smith harvests cranberries by vacuum in the 1940s in the East Richmond neighbourhood.
Trend growing to drive across border to catch cheaper flights by Jeff Nagel Black Press
Hamilton community braces for change Small-town feel remains in East Richmond neighbourhood by Martin van den Hemel Staff Reporter A few thousand hectares of farmland separates the heart of Richmond from the vibrant enclave that sits on Lulu Island’s eastern edge: Hamilton. While isolation can come with its advantages, being forgotten over the years has had its downsides. Visit this riverside community and you’ll get the neighbourly vibe of old-school Richmond from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, like a community frozen in time. People don’t just recognize their neighbours, they know them by name, commonly the names of their neighbour’s children too, and residents often pause to chat whenever their paths cross.
There are regular potluck barbecues organized by community leaders, where residents share a meal while exchanging stories and aspirations, and children play and forge life-long friendships. Hamilton has a small-town look and feel. Blink, and you’ll miss the strip mall at Hamilton’s heart, alongside a rare bit of modernism: a new community centre adjoining an elementary school. Much like that aging shopping centre, which lacks an anchor grocery store, there’s something missing in Hamilton. Area residents have long complained of not getting the basic services—or the attention—of city hall, despite paying their fair share •What lies ahead, Page 3 of taxes. •Hamilton’s history, Page 4-5 It hasn’t been •Residents’ reflections, Page 9 until recent years
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that significant upgrades to community amenities and services have been made, with the expansion of the community centre just a couple of years ago, as well as a state-of-the-art fire hall that now welcomes visitors from the west. And some question the developmental direction the area is headed in. Today’s Hamilton comprises older homes built in the 1970s or earlier, along with mostly singlefamily residential development shoehorned into the community’s southwestern border over the past 15 years. Unlike most of Richmond, which has streets aligned north to south, or east to west, Hamilton, like its angled streets, is a bit askew—unique. See Page 3
TONY LING
A new poll shows half of Lower Mainland air travellers recently drove to the U.S. to catch a cheaper flight instead of using a B.C. airport. The Insights West online survey found 51 per cent of respondents who flew anywhere in the last two years did so at least once by driving across the border to airports like Bellingham or Seattle. “It was more than I expected,” Insights West senior vicepresident Catherine Dawson said. She said the trend seems to be growing, with 23 per cent saying they cross the line more often to fly now than they did three years ago, compared to six per cent who said they do it less often. Lower prices offered out of U.S. airports were the overwhelming reason, listed as an important factor by 97 per cent of those polled, far ahead of considerations like airline preference, ease of border crossing, or whether they have friends or family across the line where they can stay or park their car. See Page 3
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