Canadian City Parks Report 2020

City Profile

Surrey

British Columbia
Population: 578236

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.

Data 2020

5.2

ha parkland per 1000 people

3012 ha of total parkland

39%

of total parkland is natural area

1175 total ha

of parkland is environmentally significant/protected

59 total ha

10%

of total city land is parkland

31640 ha of total city area

Dog parks

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

Neighbourhood Enhancement Grants

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.