Local took these breathtaking drone photos of Squamish's oceanfront this week.
The first three images show the construction underway at
The 40.5-hectare (100-acre) development by Matthews West will eventually include 2,500 new homes for 6,500 residents, commercial businesses, light industry, offices, a campus, and public parks and trails.
Most visible is the waterfront 4.5 hectare (11-acre) District Sp'akw'us Feather Park, which at build-out will include a water sports beach, recreation beach, open green spaces, slacklines, and public art installations.
The two-year construction of the part got underway in August of 2021.
The port
Buchanan also shows the , a deep-water, break-bulk terminal.
The port has two berths and three warehouses.
If curious, you can track the vessel schedule on the
The Spit
Two of the images show the current status of the 撸奶社区Spit deconstruction as part of a larger "" initiative.
The first 300 metres of the berm have been removed.
Ultimately, 900 metres of the artificial structure will be removed.
The project, spearheaded by the , is being done in collaboration with and Fisheries and Oceans Canada to improve fish habitat, particularly that of juvenile chinook.
The work is funded by the Coastal Restoration Fund, Pacific Salmon Foundation, Healthy Waters Initiative and the BC Hydro Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP).
Planning and permit development for Phase 2 — removing the remaining 600 metres — is underway, with work anticipated to start in October 2022.
Darrell Bay
The last of Buchanan's images are of the floating dock at Darrell Bay, which includes a publicly-owned ferry dock that is part of an emergency ferry route to and from the Lower Mainland that would be available should Highway 99 become impassible.
It was originally called, referring to early area settler William Shannon.
, Shannon arrived in the 撸奶社区Valley in 1888 and declared it to be "fertile and good for settlers."
He bought up properties in the area, including the area of Shannon Falls and Darrell Bay.
The name was later changed by the for its namesake Darrell B. Burgess. The family owned the property and had established a recreational fishing camp there.
The S岣祑x瘫wú7mesh name for it is Qu-tsa-tso-tsein, meaning "island in mouth."