Metro Vancouver has purchased a 2.0 hectare (five-acre) parcel of land to be added to Campbell Valley Regional Park, with funding provided by the Heritage Parkland Acquisition Fund.
“We are delighted with the purchase,” said Langley City Councillor Gayle Martin, Metro Vancouver parks committee chair. “The property adds a key piece to the park’s continuity and enables us to advance a new 1.4 km section of the Perimeter Trail along 200 Street, set for construction in early September.”
The first leg of the Perimeter Trail was completed along 8 Avenue in 2009, introducing cycling into the park for the first time. The milestone marked the beginning of a multi-year project to extend the trail around the park’s 14 kilometre perimeter.
“The addition of the new parkland brings us closer to realizing this long standing plan.”
The former Langley School Board property, site of South Carvolth Elementary, is surrounded by Campbell Valley Regional Park on three sides. Its location along 200 Street makes it an ideal location for future park amenities, including the new trail, which will be popular with pedestrians, provide more wheelchair access and family cycling options and provide a connection to emerging community cycling routes.
South Carvolth School closed in 2006 due to a lack of registration and the property was made available for purchase. The school building itself is not of long-term interest for the park program and will likely be torn down. In the interim, Metro Vancouver may consider proposals for temporary use that would be compatible with the park, zoning and the community.
For the 2011/12 school year, the building will be occupied by the Roots and Wings Montessori School which needs a temporary venue while it completes construction of new facilities in Surrey.
Attracting over 550,000 visitors annually, Campbell Valley Regional Park is one of 33 regional park sites managed by Metro Vancouver. Located in the Township of Langley, the park’s rolling meadows, fields, and forested landscapes typify the Fraser Valley’s rural and natural heritage. This rich history is celebrated annually at “Country Celebration,” an award winning family event coming up this year on September 17th and 18th.
