Sidewalking Ladner, BC
As many of you know if you have been reading for a long time, I grew up in Tsawwassen before moving to Victoria in the mid-90’s. I still have lots of family on the mainland and this Christmas we had our family get-together in Ladner. We stayed literally a two minute walk to the village in Ladner and as we have previously, we took advantage of that proximity multiple times while there.
For those that don’t know, Ladner is located on the southern side of the south arm of the Fraser River. Almost directly across from Stevenston in Richmond. Ladner has at least two faces, maybe more. There is Ladner Village, which is the focus of what I will talk about in this article, but there is also the rest of Ladner which has your normal suburban challenges. The benefit of Ladner, as compared to Tsawwassen, where I grew up, is that it does have this one area that is walkable, urban and inviting. I don’t think you can say that about any part of Tsawwassen. Ladner Village reminds me a lot of Sidney though there is an older feeling to Ladner which I can’t quite put my finger on. Both communities were founded within just a couple of years from one another, Ladner in 1888 and Sidney in 1891. It might be the dockside area and the run down feeling that it has that gives Ladner the feeling of being older. That said, I feel that Sidney has done a better job of attempting to urbanize its core. Outside of the village area, Ladner has a significant suburban ‘stroad’, Sidney has maybe only a couple of blocks that would fit the definition and even there, it really is only on the south half the street
While I grew up in Tsawwassen, Ladner was a huge part of my formative years. I went to school there for a couple of years and three of my four jobs I had through highschool, were in Ladner. So I guess that is a bit of a warning that I do see the place in a pretty positive and familiar light. The village area runs from the Chilukthan Slough on the east side, 47a Avenue on the southside and 47a Street at the western end (I could tell you a story about how the street / avenue naming works in Ladner, but it might be more fun to find out like I did as a new pizza delivery driver at 17 years old). I may have painted an overly broad brush of what constitutes the Ladner Village, but there was just little pieces that I couldn’t leave out. When you are walking on the inside of this area there is a very distinct tight urban feel you get, with a dash of fishing thrown in and there’s also a feeling of being in a farming community.
That is the thing about Ladner, as I said the townsite was laid out in 1888, but there had been a government dock at the Northern edge of what is today Ladner Village, where the Chilukthan Slough and the Fraser River meet. There was a cannery and a sawmill built near the dock and south of there, along the slough, farms started to develop. This early combination of river life and farm life, continues to give Ladner Village a unique feeling.
On my recent holiday trip, I did get to go out for a couple of walks around the village and reacquaint myself with the town. One thing that I did note was that definitely in the urban area, you see nice sidewalks and benches everywhere, which does encourage you to walk around. There are also quite a few independent stores and obviously some strict design guidelines in place as even the chain restaurants need to look like small family run businesses. There are quite a few really good independent restaurants around Ladner Village and a very nice cafe right in the middle. I will definitely vouch for the Niagara Restaurant, Sharkey’s Seafood, Ladner Ming Court Restaurant and the Stir Cafe. I I have included a few photos from my walks below (Yes the streets look pretty quiet, but it was Christmas Eve…)
I know that like so many places in the Lower Mainland and here on the Island, Ladner is dealing with high housing costs and there is a push to get more density in both the village and surrounding areas. Delta has recently completed a new plan for the Ladner Village so there may be more changes coming. That said, despite the plan being completed over a year ago, I didn’t see a ton of evidence of new construction happening.
If you are heading to the ferry and want a nice place for a walk and maybe to do some shopping or grab a coffee, I would strongly encourage a pause in Ladner Village, you can even take the back route to the ferry terminal that cuts along Arthur Drive down to the Tsawwassen Mills Mall, it is a much more pleasant drive than heading back along the highway. It also has some very cool little gems like Hawthorne Grove Park, the old Vander Zalm Estate and the Backroads Family Farm Market. If you are looking for a bigger Ladner adventure I would strongly recommend a visit to Westham Island which you can read about here. We did make it back to Westham on this last trip. It is truly a unique and beautiful place.
Have you visited Ladner Village? Do you have a favourite place? Let us know in the comments!