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Community Information: Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows

Are you thinking of buying a home in Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows? Here is community information to help you.

Maple Ridge lies on the north shore of the Fraser River, 45 km east of Vancouver. Nestled against the beautiful Coast Mountains and abounding with clean air and water, Maple Ridge is a community that combines atmosphere and living advantages of a small country town with the amenities of a major urban centre.

Pitt Meadows is located between Port Coquitlam and Maple Ridge, 31 kilometres from downtown Vancouver. Bounded by the Alouette River to the north, the Fraser River to the south and the Pitt River to the west, it has the calming beauty of berry fields and dairy farms intermingled with residential development and a shopping centre.

Demographic information is available at the BC Stats Web site.

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Housing and Zoning

At the projected annual growth rate, housing in Maple Ridge will almost double over the next 20 years. The stock consists mainly of single detached homes, although multi-family units are increasing. For more information on housing and zoning visit the District of Maple Ridge Web site.

In recent years Pitt Meadows has become one of the most desirable housing locations in the Fraser Valley area. Like Maple Ridge, it mainly consists of single detached homes.

For details on house prices see our Market Tracker.

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Shopping, Dining and Entertainment

Retail stores and other commercial services are concentrated in urban centres; Maple Ridge Square and Valley Fair Mall in Maple Ridge and the urban centre off the Lougheed Highway in Pitt Meadows.

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Parks and Recreation

Maple Ridge is a perfect place to enjoy nature. Thirty-three parks and numerous trails offer unlimited opportunities to enjoy the beauty of the surrounding mountains, rivers and marshes. Recreational facilities include a national award winning and well equipped leisure centre, a recreation complex with craft studios, banquet facilities and meeting rooms, a curling rink and ice arena, and a golf course.

Pitt Meadows has an extensive trail system along the dikes, the Pitt Meadows Golf Club and the Swan-E-Set Bay Resort with two golf courses. Numerous waterways and other natural features provide for boating, canoeing, water-skiing, fishing, swimming, bird-watching, cycling, walking and horse-backing riding. The Pitt Meadows Municipal Airport offers flying and parachuting lessons and sightseeing tours.

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Transportation

The Lougheed Highway connects Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows with other parts of the region. An average car ride to downtown Vancouver takes 75 minutes.

Regular bus service is available throughout Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows and to other Lower Mainland communities. HandyDart provides a door-to-door service for commuters requiring additional support or wheelchair bus services. Dial-a-Bus is a service providing flexible transit to rural areas, upon request.

The "no charge" Albion Ferry enables direct access to Fort Langley on the south side of the Fraser River. The CP rail line upgraded to accommodate passenger traffic traverses the District. The fast and comfortable commuter train West Coast Express, provides rush-hour service to downtown Vancouver in 45 minutes.

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Education

A complete list of public schools is available at the Maple Ridge/ Pitt Meadows School District #42 Web site.
For more information about the independent schools visit the Federation of Independent School Associations' Web site.
For school rankings, visit the B.C. Ministry of Education site or contact the Maple Ridge/ Pitt Meadows School District for detailed school profiles.
The area is also home to the Thomas Haney Campus of Douglas Community College.

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Other Web Sites

District of Maple Ridge