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Tsawwassen, British Columbia

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Tsawwassen's BC Ferry terminal.
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Tsawwassen's BC Ferry terminal.

Tsawwassen is a suburban, mostly residential community in the southwestern part of the Corporation of Delta, British Columbia, Canada. The name means "looking toward the sea" in the local native language (Coast Salish), and is commonly pronounced [təˈwɑsən] or [səˈwɑsən]. Tsawwassen provides the only road access to the community of Point Roberts via 56th Street. It is also the location of BC Ferries' flagship terminal, built in 1959 to provide foot-passenger and motor vehicle access from the Lower Mainland to the southern part of Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands. Because Tsawwassen touches a shallow bank, the ferry terminal is built at the southwestern end of a 3 km-long causeway that juts out into the Strait of Georgia. The ferry dock and causeway are part of Highway 17, and the ferry terminal is the largest in North America. Boundary Bay Airport, one of the busiest general aviation airports in Canada, is located ten minutes away. The Roberts Bank Superport is also located in Tsawwassen.

Tsawwassen had a population of 21,090 in the 2001 census.

Its global position is [49°1′N 123°4′W].

Contents

Location

Tsawwassen is situated on the northern end of a peninsula flanked by the Straight of Georgia to the west and Boundary Bay to the east. Boundary Bay is an important stopover for migratory birds on what is known as the Pacific Flyway. Tsawwassen has recreational access to Boundary Bay at Centennial Park, and there is an extensive bike/foot path running along the edge of the Bay, known as the Dyke.

The southern boundary of Tsawwassen is the border with the United States, following the 49th parallel of north latitude. To the north, Tsawwassen's nearest neighbour is the town of Ladner, which is also part of the Corporation of Delta. Together, Ladner and Tsawwassen make up the area known as South Delta. Ladner is the site of the Delta Municipal Hall, and both the police station and hospital serving Ladner and Tsawwassen.

Transportation

Main Streets

Tsawwassen is divided up into a grid with streets running north/south and east/west. Running east/west are the avenues, numbered with 1st Avenue closest to the Canadian/American border. Running north/south, the streets are numbered following the grid laid out for the municipality of Delta. This grid is part of the greater street grid set out by the British Royal Engineers in the 19th Century.

Theoreticaly, 1st Street is located in the middle of the Georgia Strait between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. In actual fact the lowest numbered street is 30B Street in the western portion of Ladner on Brunswick Point to the north. In Tsawwassen the lowest numbered street is 49 Street, the street numbering continues up through the 100's in North Delta.

The main arterial street in Tsawwassen is 56th Street, which provides the only legal land access to the hamlet and geographical anomaly of Point Roberts, in Washington, USA (upon which it becomes Tyee Drive). This crossing is the westernmost border crossing on the 49th parallel between Canada and the USA.

56th Street is the main entrance to Tsawwassen from Highway 17. Along its length 56th Street is home to most of Tsawwassen's commercial areas, including three malls and the supermarkets clustered around 12th Ave (referred to as "downtown Tsawwassen" by residents). In recent years there has been a significant effort to beautify 56th Street, with palm trees, lighting, banners and new buildings. There are also large parks, and a few undeveloped areas along its length, before this road reaches the Canadian-American border. 56th Street runs due north/south for its entire 5.6 km run. South of 12th Ave, the road used to be known as Point Roberts Road. North of 12th Ave, all the way to 28th Ave, it used to be known as Boundary Bay Road. (Boundary Bay Road's name has still been retained as a segment of road at the east end of 12th Ave.)

Transit

Tsawwassen is serviced by Translink, the transit company that manages bus, Skytrain, and Seabus routes in the Vancouver metropolitan area.

All routes numbered #601 through #604 terminate in the heart of Vancouver's financial district at the Burrard Skytrain Station.

Holidays & events

Since 2001, Tsawwassen has played an integral part of the Tour de Delta, a bike race that happens over a weekend in July. The racing weekend culminates in a race from North Delta, through Ladner, and then finally to Tsawwassen, where the men and women do various laps around Tsawwassen's perimeter until finishing in either Diefenbaker or Winskill Park. This race is growing in popularity and coverage with every year.

For many years, people selling their cars parked and displayed them in the east parking lot of Town Centre Mall on Sunday mornings and afternoons, where they can be seen by people passing through on the way to Point Roberts. For several years, the mall has charged a small fee and provided signage and a large designated area in which to display the cars. Dozens of cars and hundreds of shoppers now come from all over the Lower Mainland each Sunday.

In keeping with its reputation as the sunniest spot in the Greater Vancouver Region, every year on the August long weekend (for B.C. Day), Tsawwassen hosts the Sun Festival, which usually includes a parade, a variety of live music events and activities, such as children's games, food tents, and sporting events. There is often a specific theme to each year's event, and people are encouraged to dress the part.

Neighbourhoods and communities

On the southeast side of the peninsula is the community of Boundary Bay, which originated in the 1890's as a seaside summer community for wealthy Vancouverites. Some of the original cottages still stand, many as renovated and updated homes, as well as modern contemporary single family homes and waterfront architectural residences. To the south, "The Bay" as it is referred to by residents, borders on the neighbourhood of Maple Bay in Point Roberts, WA. A Canada/US customs checkpoint joined the two communities until it was closed in the 1970's. Currently, Boundary Bay Road provides the only access route.

Other areas within Tsawwassen which have names but are not necessarily distinct communities include:

Schools

Public schools in Tsawwassen are part of School District 37 Delta. Tsawwassen has only one public high school, South Delta Secondary School.

There are several public elementary schools in Tsawwassen. These include Cliff Drive, Pebble Hill, South Park, English Bluff, Beach Grove, and Boundary Beach Elementary Schools.

Southpointe Academy, a private K-12 school, also serves the area.

Parks

Tsawwassen is home to many community and regional parks; Boundary Bay Regional Park (home to Centennial Beach) is run by the GVRD. The following parks are maintained by Delta Parks & Recreation, an arm of the municipal government: The following parks aren't named, per se, but still exist within Tsawwassen's boundaries:

Tsawwassen on film

Due to being part of the Greater Vancouver area, which is the site of more film and television production than all other North American cities (apart from Los Angeles and New York), Tsawwassen has also appeared in numerous high-profile movies and television shows over the years. These include:

Shooting location

As part of the film itself

Surrounding Areas

Northwest: Delta (Westham Island, Brunswick Point, Roberts Bank Superport) North: Ladner Northeast: East Delta (Burns Bog, Boundary Bay Airport)
West: Strait of Georgia, Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, Gulf Islands, Vancouver Island Tsawwassen East: Boundary Bay, Surrey, White Rock
Southwest: Strait of Georgia, Gulf Islands, Victoria South: Point Roberts (USA), San Juan Islands (USA) Southeast: Boundary Bay, Blaine (USA)

See also

Notes

External links

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

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