Still Creek

Last updated
Still Creek at Henning Drive, west of Gilmore Station Still Creek west of Henning Dr.JPG
Still Creek at Henning Drive, west of Gilmore Station

Still Creek is a long stream flowing across Central Burnaby, British Columbia and into Burnaby Lake (which outflows into the Brunette River). Still Creek's path lies mainly through the industrial area which contributes to its high level of pollution, although through dedicated work of local volunteers the creek is slowly recovering. [1]

Contents

In 2006, the City of Burnaby approved a plan to reduce the amount of flooding in the Still Creek watershed (the low-lying area of Gilmore Avenue is heavily flooded every year) while improving fish and wildlife habitat. [2]

There is considerable vegetation along the creek banks that serves as a habitat for great blue heron, red-tailed hawk, belted kingfisher, and even an occasional pheasant, as well as aquatic songbirds such as red-winged blackbird. Beavers have always maintained their presence while river otters are more recent inhabitants. Coastal cutthroat trout are gradually returning. In November 2012, for the first time in almost 80 years, numerous full-sized salmon have been observed returning to spawn in many parts of Still Creek.

Course

Still Creek arises in western Burnaby, just north of Central Park. From there it flows northwest into Vancouver, and then north. For years, the entire stretch from Central Park to 29th Avenue has been culverted as part of the City of Vancouver's storm sewer system. Across the street from the 29th Avenue Station, the creek emerges into the open, and runs north along the bottom of the Renfrew Ravine. After running under the intersection of 22nd Avenue and Renfrew Street, the creek runs through the park beside the Renfrew Community Centre. It then is culverted again for several blocks, emerging just before the Grandview Highway, where it turns east, towards Burnaby.

From Renfrew Street in Vancouver to Gilmore in Burnaby, Still Creek has been channelized for most of its length, and culverted for the rest. East of Gilmore, the creek has been left in a mostly natural channel, and for the last kilometre or so before Burnaby Lake, the land on either side of the creek has been protected from development.

Tributaries

Still Creek is the main stream draining the western half of the Brunette watershed. As such, it has many tributaries. The following are the most significant:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnaby</span> City in British Columbia, Canada

Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard Inlet with its Indian Arm to the north, Port Moody and Coquitlam to the east, New Westminster and Surrey across the Fraser River to the southeast, and Richmond on the Lulu Island to the southwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Columbia Highway 7</span> Highway in British Columbia

Highway 7, known for most of its length as the Lougheed Highway and Broadway, is an alternative route to Highway 1 through the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. Whereas the controlled-access Highway 1 follows the southern bank of the Fraser River, Highway 7 follows the northern bank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burrard Peninsula</span> Peninsula in southwest British Columbia, Canada

The Burrard Peninsula is a peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, bounded by the Burrard Inlet to the north, the Georgia Strait to the west, the North Arm of Fraser River to the south, and the Pitt River and Douglas Island to the east. The City of Vancouver occupies almost all of the western half of the peninsula, and the Cities of Burnaby and New Westminster occupy more than half of the eastern half. At its northeastern end, the peninsula is connected to the Eagle Mountain and Mount Burke of the Coast Mountains via a small isthmus at the center of the Tri-Cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">99 B-Line</span> Express bus service in Metro Vancouver, Canada

The 99 B-Line is an express bus line with bus rapid transit elements in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It travels along Broadway, a major east–west thoroughfare, and connects the University of British Columbia (UBC) to Commercial–Broadway station on the SkyTrain system. It is operated by Coast Mountain Bus Company and funded by TransLink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tri-Cities (British Columbia)</span> Geographical grouping in Metro Vancouver

The Tri-Cities are an informal grouping of the three adjacent suburban cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, and Port Moody, along with the two villages of Anmore and Belcarra in the northeast sector of Metro Vancouver in British Columbia. Combined, these five communities have a 2016 population of 234,300 residents:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renfrew–Collingwood</span> Neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Renfrew–Collingwood is a large neighbourhood that lies on the eastern side of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on its boundary with Burnaby and encompassing an area that was one of the earlier developed regions of the city. It is a diverse area that includes a substantial business community in several areas, as well as some of the fastest-growing residential sectors of Vancouver. In 2011, the neighbourhood had a population of 50,500, 38.4% of whom claim Chinese as their first language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Burnaby</span>

North Burnaby is a general name for a large neighbourhood in the City of Burnaby, British Columbia, that includes a number of smaller ones. It stretches from Boundary Road in the west to Burnaby Mountain with Simon Fraser University in the east and bounded by Burrard Inlet to the north and the Lougheed Highway to the south. It is a desirable place to live for many local and immigrant families which is reflected by real-estate prices that keep climbing and have doubled in the last 15 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brentwood Park</span> Neighbourhood in British Columbia, Canada

Brentwood Park, or simply Brentwood, is a neighbourhood in North Burnaby, British Columbia, between Willingdon Avenue to the west and Springer Avenue to the east. Hastings Street separates it from the Capitol Hill area to the north, while Lougheed Highway marks the dividing line between this residential area and an area of commercial and industrial land to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parkcrest</span> Neighbourhood in British Columbia

Parkcrest is a hillside neighbourhood in North Burnaby, British Columbia adjacent to Kensington Park which gave it its name. It has a long rectangular shape stretched north to south and is bounded by Springer Avenue to the west and Kensington Avenue to the east. To the north its border runs along Hastings Street, its southern border lies along the Lougheed Highway and Skytrain tracks. Its elevation gradually lowers to the south and ends up in Central Valley, quite low above the level of Burnaby Lake.

The Brunette River runs through East Burnaby, New Westminster and Coquitlam, flowing out of Burnaby Lake and to the Fraser River. It is the final outflow of the Central Valley Watershed, which consists of most streams between the Ulksen and Burnaby Heights. According to a map and materials by Heritage Advisory Committee and Environment and Waste Management Committee of the City of Burnaby (1993), the number of native campsites discovered on the shores of the Fraser River, Burrard Inlet and Deer Lake and some petroglyphs suggest that the area was used extensively by local aboriginal peoples such as the Squamish, Musqueam and Kwantlen for hunting and fishing before the arrival of European settlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eagle Creek (Burnaby)</span> Body of water

Eagle Creek is one of the most important creeks in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. It begins on Burnaby Mountain where it is fed by a large watershed, runs through Montecito and the nearby Squint Lake, and eventually flows into Burnaby Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willingdon Heights</span>

Willingdon Heights is a neighbourhood in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. It is named after a major Burnaby thoroughfare Willingdon Avenue connecting North Burnaby with Kingsway and the Metrotown area in the south. Willingdon Heights was developed significantly during construction spurred by the National Housing Act in 1944 that made mortgage money more widely available and provided joint loans for housing for veterans under the Integrated Housing Plan (IHP).

Guichon Creek is one of the most significant tributaries of Still Creek, an important waterway in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

Spring Brook is one of many tributaries of Still Creek, an important stream in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. It runs north just east of Boundary Road and joins Still Creek just west of Gilmore Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway (Vancouver)</span> Thoroughfare in Vancouver, British Columbia

Broadway is a major east–west thoroughfare in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In Vancouver's numbered avenue grid system, it runs in place of a 9th Avenue, between 8th and 10th. The street has six lanes for most of its course. Portions of the street carry the British Columbia Highway 7 designation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highland Creek (Toronto)</span> River in Ontario, Canada

Highland Creek is a river in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, emptying into Lake Ontario at the eastern end of the Scarborough Bluffs. It is home to several species of fish including trout, carp, bass and salmon. It is a meandering river which, like most rivers in Toronto, travels through a glacial ravine formed after the last Ice Age. The Highland Creek watershed, including tributaries, is almost entirely contained within Scarborough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R5 Hastings St</span> Express bus service in Metro Vancouver, Canada

The R5 Hastings St is an express bus service with bus rapid transit elements in Metro Vancouver, Canada. Part of TransLink's RapidBus network, it travels along Hastings Street, a major east–west route, and connects Simon Fraser University to the SkyTrain system's Burrard station on the Expo Line in Downtown Vancouver. It replaced the 95 B-Line route on January 6, 2020.

Sullivan Heights is a neighbourhood in Burnaby, just north of Lougheed highway, east of Government road and south of SFU campus. Bordering the city of Coquitlam and Port Moody, the area is served by the newly operational Millennium Line that connects the city of Coquitlam to other parts of greater Vancouver.

Two Gilmore Place is a skyscraper in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada that is currently under construction. It is located at the intersection of Lougheed Highway and Gilmore Avenue, immediately north of Gilmore station. When completed in 2025, the Two Gilmore Place will become the tallest building in British Columbia at 215.8 metres (708 ft) tall.

References

  1. ""Wild in the City" by Dan Hilborn". Burnabynow.com. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  2. "Welcome to the Burnaby Now - News". Archived from the original on 2006-11-28. Retrieved 2007-01-11.

Coordinates: 49°15′0″N122°57′34″W / 49.25000°N 122.95944°W / 49.25000; -122.95944