Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Port Coquitlam

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Country
  
Canada

Regional District
  
Metro Vancouver

Postal code span
  
V3B, V3C, V3E

Local time
  
Friday 2:00 AM

Mayor
  
Greg Moore

Province
  
British Columbia

Incorporated
  
1913

Elevation
  
30 m

Population
  
55,958 (2011)


Time zone
  
Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8)

Weather
  
6°C, Wind NE at 11 km/h, 97% Humidity

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Port Coquitlam is a city in British Columbia, Canada. Located 27 km (17 mi) east of Vancouver, it sits at the confluence of the Fraser River and the Pitt River. Coquitlam borders it on the north, the Coquitlam River borders it on the west, and the city of Pitt Meadows lies across the Pitt River. Port Coquitlam is almost entirely bisected by Lougheed Highway. Port Coquitlam is often referred to as "PoCo." It is Canada's 88th largest city by population.

Contents

Map of Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada

Port Coquitlam is not to be confused with the adjacent and larger Coquitlam.

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History

The area was first inhabited by the Coast Salish people, including the Kwikwetl'em people. The first European settlers began farming beside the Pitt River in 1859. A major impetus to the creation of a municipality was when the Canadian Pacific Railway moved its freight terminus from Vancouver to "Westminster Junction", where a spur line branched off to the Fraser River port of New Westminster in 1911. Port Coquitlam was first incorporated as a municipality on March 7, 1913. Port Coquitlam was originally mostly farmland; however, because of the densification and expansion of Vancouver, it has now become mostly suburban housing, especially in the northern and southwestern areas of the city. The economy has diversified with a variety of industrial and commercial developments, including metal fabrication, high technology industries, and transportation.

Demographics

In the 2011 Census, Statistics Canada originally reported that Port Coquitlam had a population of 56,342 living in 20,651 of its 21,533 total dwellings, a 6.9% change from its 2006 population of 52,687. Statistics Canada subsequently amended the 2011 census results to a population of 55,958 living in 20,461 of its 21,327 total dwellings, a 6.2% change from 2006. With a land area of 29.17 km2 (11.26 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,918.3/km2 (4,968.5/sq mi) in 2011.

The second half of the 1990s saw the population grow at a rate of 9.8%, with a large number of immigrants, who by 2001, comprised 25% of the population. English was the first language for 76% of the inhabitants. Religions practiced were Catholic 36%, Protestant 32%, Other 14%, and No Religion 18%.

In 2009 Port Coquitlam was rated 85th for its murder rate (for Canadian cities with a population over 50K).

Languages

Mother Languages as reported by each person:

Transportation

Because of its primarily suburban nature, Port Coquitlam relies heavily on its vehicular roads to move people and goods. For example, two of its major arterial roads, Shaughnessy Street and Lougheed Highway bisect Port Coquitlam east to west and north to south, respectively.

TransLink provides a number of bus routes throughout the city. The most used bus route in this section of the Greater Vancouver Regional District is the 159 which connects southern Port Coquitlam to SkyTrain at Braid Station. Other bus routes in the city include the 160, which links Port Coquitlam with Vancouver via Coquitlam Central Station and Moody Centre Station, and the C38, which runs a loop through the northern half of the city, linking it with regional buses at Coquitlam Central and Port Coquitlam Station. Two major stops in the city include Port Coquitlam Centre and Port Coquitlam Station. The remainder of Port Coquitlam is served by a network of Community Shuttles.

The Lougheed Highway passes through Port Coquitlam, running from Coquitlam in the west to the Pitt River Bridge in the east. Although this highway has made much of Port Coquitlam a very congested area, it is one of the few major arterial highways in the area.

The Mary Hill Bypass, officially known as Highway 7B, runs adjacent to the Fraser River from the Pitt River Bridge on the east to the Port Mann Bridge on the west.

Canadian Pacific Railway has a major rail yard in the central sector of the city.

In October 2009 the new Pitt River Bridge, a new seven-lane cable stayed bridge, opened to the public replacing the existing crossing. The previous crossing was made up of 2 swing bridges which were removed upon completion of the new cable stayed bridge. The Pitt River Bridge crosses the Pitt River connecting Port Coquitlam to neighbouring Pitt Meadows.

In March 2010 the Coast Meridian Overpass, a new four-lane cable stayed bridge, opened to the public giving a new option for traveling north to south over the Canadian Pacific Railway Oxford Street rail yard.

A 25 km (16 mi) hiking and biking trail, known as the Traboulay PoCo Trail, completely surrounds the city.

Public schools

Public schools in Port Coquitlam are part of School District 43 Coquitlam.

Secondary schools:

  • Riverside Secondary
  • Terry Fox Secondary
  • Middle schools:

  • Citadel Middle
  • Kwayhquitlum Middle
  • Maple Creek Middle(former Hastings Junior Secondary)
  • Minnekhada Middle (former George Pearkes Junior Secondary)
  • Pitt River Middle (former Mary Hill Junior Secondary)
  • Elementary schools:

  • Birchland Elementary
  • Blakeburn Elementary
  • Castle Park Elementary
  • Cedar Drive Elementary
  • Central Elementary
  • Coquitlam River Elementary
  • Glen Elementary (French Immersion)
  • Irvine Elementary (French Immersion)
  • James Park Elementary
  • Hazel Trembath Elementary
  • Kilmer Elementary (French Immersion)
  • Lincoln Elementary (Closed in 2007).
  • Mary Hill Elementary (French Immersion)
  • Westwood Elementary
  • The Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique operates one Francophone primary and secondary school: école des Pionniers-de-Maillardville.

    Private schools

  • Archbishop Carney Regional Secondary School
  • Our Lady of the Assumption Elementary
  • British Columbia Christian Academy (formerly Lincoln Elementary)
  • Hope Lutheran Christian School
  • Ecole des Pionniers de Maillardville (French)
  • Sprott Shaw College (post secondary)
  • Notable residents

  • Sukh Chungh, Canadian football player
  • Zach Hamill, professional hockey player, drafted 8th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins
  • Betty Fox, cancer research activist, mother of Terry Fox
  • Terry Fox, athlete and cancer treatment activist
  • Robert Pickton, convicted serial killer, alleged to be Canada's most prolific
  • Ian Tracey, Leo and Gemini Award-winning actor
  • Amanda Todd, bullying victim
  • References

    Port Coquitlam Wikipedia