Delta

From Dominion of British Columbia
Delta
City of Delta
Coordinates 49°5′5″N 123°3′31″W
Country British Columbia
District Greater Vancouver Regional District
Population
213,695
Postal code area D
Postal code districts Annieville (D1)
Boundary Bay (D2)
Ladner (D3)
North Delta (D4)
Deas Island (D4D)
Tilbury Island (D4T)
Port Guichon (D5)
Westham Island (D5W)
Sunshine Hills (D6)

Delta is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, located within the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

History

The City of Delta was formed in 1967 through the amalgamation of the villages of Port Guichon, Ladner, Annieville, Boundary Bay, and the Municipality of North Delta.

Commerce

There are several ocean terminals in the city of Delta: the Guichon Auto Terminal in Port Guichon for the importation of automobiles from Australia and South Korea, the Deltaport bulk coal and container terminals, and the Seaspan Coastal Intermodal facility on Tilbury Island. There is also an LNG plant belonging to BC Gas and the Nutrien Solutions fertiliser factory on Tilbury Island, whilst the Tilbury neighbourhood of North Delta has an industrial area with several food processing and cold storage facilities. Agriculture is extensive around Mud Bay, Boundary Bay, Ladner, Port Guichon, and Westham Island.

Transportation

Air

Although primarily a military base, Vancouver Island Air operates scheduled commercial flights from Boundary Bay Airport (IATA: XDT, ICAO: BCZB) to Nanaimo.

Rail

The only railway with a presence in Delta is the Washington & British Columbia Railway, whose most important line, the Semiahmoo Line from Vancouver to Bellingham, Washington in the United States, runs through the eastern part of the city. The Victoria Terminal Line is an busy freight line running from the Guichon Auto Terminal in Port Guichon to Surrey, with branches to the Deltaport terminal and the BC Ferries terminal in Tsawwassen, whilst the Tilbury Line is a short but busy freight-only line serving the industrial areas of North Delta and Tilbury Island.

None of the stations inside city limits see regular passenger service. However, the W&BC do operate two passenger services under contract to the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority with fares fully integrated into the GVTA fare structure, a RailBus service between Cloverdale and the Tsawwassen ferry terminal through Delta with daily service 04:00 to 01:00, departing on the even hour from Cloverdale, and on the odd hour from Tsawwassen Ferry with stops in Delta at Boundary Bay and Heron Bay. There is also a West Coast Express commuter service between Pacific Central Station in Vancouver and White Rock which calls at Sunshine Hills.

Railway stations in Courtenay

Station Location Railway Line Services
Boundary Bay Station Boundary Bay Washington & British Columbia Victoria Terminal Line RailBus, freight
Deltaport Triage Station Port Guichon Washington & British Columbia Victoria Terminal Line RailBus, freight
Heron Bay Station Boundary Bay Washington & British Columbia Victoria Terminal Line RailBus, freight
Nordel Junction Station Sunbury Washington & British Columbia Semiahmoo Line, Tilbury Line freight
Port Guichon Station Port Guichon Washington & British Columbia Victoria Terminal Line freight; passenger service discontinued 1953
Sunshine Hills Station Sunshine Hills Washington & British Columbia Semiahmoo Line West Coast Express
Tilbury Station Tilbury Washington & British Columbia Tilbury Line freight

Road

  • BC Highway 10, the Guichon Highway, has its western terminus in Port Guichon and runs east to the municipal boundary with Surrey; there is a junction with Highway 91 in Sunshine Hills;
  • BC Highway 17, the Tsawwassen Highway, runs through Delta from the municipal boundary with Tsawwassen to the municipal boundary with Surrey; there is an interchange with Highway 99 in Boundary Bay;
  • BC Highway 17A, called the Old Tsawwassen Highway and follows the old route of the Tsawwassen Highway, has its southern terminus at a junction with Highway 17 at the Delta-Tsawwassen boundary and its northern terminus at an interchange with Highway 99 in Ladner;
  • BC Highway 91, the East-West Connector, has its southern terminus at a junction with Highway 99 in Sunshine Hills and runs north through Delta to the Alex Fraser Bridge, whose southern foot is in Annieville, where there is an interchange with Highway 17; there is also a junction with Highway 10 in Sunshine Hills;
  • BC Highway 99, the Fraser-Delta Thruway, runs through Delta from the southern end of the George Massey Tunnel on Deas Island to the municipal boundary with Surrey; there are interchanges with Highways 17 and 91.

Bus service is provided by the Coast Mountain Bus Company:

301 Newton-King George Station/Minoru-Brighouse Station
310 Scottsdale Exchange/Port Guichon
311 Scottsdale Exchange/Bridgeport Station
314 Surrey Centre/Sunbury
351 White Rock Centre/Bridgeport Station
352 Ocean Park/Bridgeport Station
354 White Rock South/Bridgeport Station
601 Boundary Bay/Bridgeport Station
602 Tsawwassen/Bridgeport Station
603 Beach Grove/Bridgeport Station
604 English Bluff/Bridgeport Station
605 South Delta Exchange/Boundary Bay
606 Ladner Exchange/Ladner Centre
607 Ladner Exchange/Port Guichon
609 Tsawwassen First Nation/South Delta Exchange
614 English Bluff/South Delta Exchange
616 Ladner South/Ladner Exchange
617 East Ladner/Ladner Exchange
618 Ladner North/Ladner Exchange
619 Boundary Bay/South Delta Exchange
620 Boundary Bay/Port Guichon
630 Ladner Centre/Westham Island
640 Ladner Exchange/Liverpool Station
690 Liverpool Station/Boundary Bay Express

Sport

Football

Port Guichon FC are a semi-professional football club based at Memorial Park Stadium (capacity: 2,150) and playing in the Metro Vancouver Football League and occasionally in Division Two of the Southwest Football Championship. A notable side in the early days in the Western Football League prior to its merger into the Mainland Football League in 1918, their fortunes declined in the 1920s and they were not elected into the BC Football League when it was formed in 1929, nor have they made an appeance in BC FA Cup competition since 1941, but they did compete in the Lower Mainland Football League during the years of the Pacific War when national-level competition was suspended. In the 1950s and 1960s they competed in Division One of the Southwest Championship, qualifying for the Division Three Qualification Competition in 1953 and 1967.

Military

DFJB Boundary Bay is an airfield in Boundary Bay shared by the Royal BC Air Force and Royal BC Marines. Its main tenant is the RBCAF Flight Training School, where basic pilot training takes place for Air Force pilots (it is also used by the Royal BC Air Cadets for introductory lessons), but also stationed here are the 604 (SAM) Squadron providing air defence for Greater Vancouver and a detachment of the Marine Aviation Battalion.