
- Surrey is one of 19% of cities with a standalone biodiversity strategy.
- With nearly 3 off-leash dog areas per 100,000 people, Surrey is just above the median.
- Surrey is one of 70% of cities that offers a community grant program for park projects.
- Through a purchase from the province, Surrey acquired 58 hectares of ecologically sensitive land as part of the city’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy.
- The city’s new 10-year parks and recreation plan proposes 29 new parks to accommodate growth, changing populations, and preservation of natural lands.
- City staff worked with urban agriculture groups to develop best practices for safely keeping community gardens open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
5.2
ha parkland per 1000 people
3012 ha of total parkland
39%
of total parkland is natural area
1175 total ha
2%
of parkland is environmentally significant/protected
59 total ha
10%
of total city land is parkland
31640 ha of total city area
17
Dog parks
9
Community gardens/urban farms
1-4.2
Parkland provision goal (ha per 1000 people)
Community: 1.0 ha / 1,000
City class: 1.2 ha / 1,000
Neighbourhood: 1.2 ha / 1,000 in secondary plan areas
Nature Preserves and Habitat Corridors: 4.2 ha / 1,000
Distance to park: 10 minute walk in town centres and urban areas
Community grant program
$51
Parks operating budget per person
$29,755,000 total¹
$11,496,000¹
Total parks capital budget
Yes
Provincially legislated tools available for parkland development
5% of development site or cash-in-lieu
¹Budgets are from 2019. 2020 numbers were unavailable at time of survey as they had not yet been broken down by department.
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