A collection of random Surrey-related numbers in 2024, as reported in stories on surreynowleader.com:
12: The number of cannabis retail stores OK'd in Surrey in November, when the city council directed city staff to initiate rezoning applications for eight businesses to set up the stores here. All told, 31 submissions were received. Unsuccessful applications were rejected because they were incomplete or the stores would be too close to schools or community recreation centres.
6: The number of seats won by Conservative MLA candidates in 10 Surrey-area ridings during the B.C. election in October, in a significant shift away from BC NDP orange. Elected were Cons Brent Chapman (Surrey South), Mandeep Dhaliwal (Surrey North), Linda Hepner (Surrey-Serpentine River), Elenore Sturko (Surrey-Cloverdale), Trevor Halford (Surrey-White Rock) and Bryan Tepper (Surrey-Panorama), along with NDP-ers Amna Shah (Surrey City Centre), Jessie Sunner (Surrey-Newton), Jagrup Brar (Surrey-Fleetwood) and, by the very slimmest of margins, Garry Begg (Surrey-Guildford).
3-1: The hockey score in Penticton when Surrey Eagles won the Fred Page Cup as provincial champs of the BCHL in May. The series win over the Vees saw the cup return to Surrey for the first time in 11 years. The Eagles denied the Interior conference team a "three-peat," with goals by league MVP Caden Cranston, Liam Tanner and Jagjeevan Phangura, and a 35-save performance by goaltender Ajeet Gundarah.
1: The number of dollars switching hands in a deal that saw the City of Surrey lease 10 city-owned properties – including the RCMP detachment building in Newton – to the Surrey Police Board over five years, prior to Surrey Police Service replacing the RCMP as the city's police of jurisdiction in November.
40: Estimated percentage increase in attendance at the Ukrainian perogy supper in Whalley the month following a Now-Leader story about the event, according to Lilia Johnson of Ukrainian Cultural Centre. "We had a lot of people who said they were there for the first time, that they would be back, and they would tell their friends about it," Johnson wrote in a letter, published in October.
10: The number of current performers in Surrey's The Vaudevillians, down from 24 pre-COVID. Still, the show must go on for "B.C.'s #1 seniors entertainment troupe," which rehearses at Surrey Free Methodist Church on Monday mornings, starting at 9:30 a.m.
70: Percentage of Surrey residents who had no contact whatsoever with police this year, according to results of a public opinion survey presented during a Surrey Police Board meeting in October. The Leger Inc. survey of 808 people in July found that 18 per cent of Surrey residents indicated they were a victim of crime, 61 per cent reported the crime while 36 per cent did not, and that 39 per cent of residents fear walking alone at night in their community.
100,000: Estimated square-footage of Surrey's expanded Central City Fun Park, now among Canada's largest indoor amusement parks following renovations and reopening in September. "We're three times the size of our former space," boasted Erik Vilio, who operates the facility with brothers Steve and Glen.
56: The number of unsolved homicide cases Surrey Police Service inherited from the Surrey RCMP after the SPS became the city’s police of jurisdiction on Nov. 29. The number doesn't include the 365 homicide cases to date that the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has investigated in Surrey since it took over the task from the Surrey RCMP’s serious crimes section in June 2003. So far, IHIT has cleared 206 – just over 56 per cent – and these cases, according to IHIT, “have been cleared by charge, recommended charge or cleared otherwise.”
15,000: The estimated number of people who arrived at Cloverdale Fairgrounds in October for Ugly Potato Day, where produce was offered free of charge. The Heppell potato farming family launched the event in 2022 to help reduce the number of edible potatoes that go to waste due to their odd shape, growth cracks or bruises. The event also helps battle food insecurity in the region.
12: The number of runs scored by Whalley Major All-stars in a single inning at the Little League World Series in August, when every player crossed home plate in a triumphant 12-5 win over Team Puerto Rico, Whalley's only win during the famous tournament. The young baseball team earned Whalley's first trip to Williamsport, Penn., for the first time since 2018 and seventh time in club history.
37,300: The number of vehicles expected on Surrey's new 72 Avenue extension once built between from 152 Street to 176 Street. Of the four design scenarios presented to Surrey City Council in July, the cheapest at $95 million would see a two-lane narrow road built, similar to Colebrook Road.
7: The number of WorkSafeBC recommendations aimed at improving crane safety in B.C., five months after a construction crane arm buckled at a Whalley job site near 105 Avenue and King George Boulevard, in January. Nobody was injured in the Surrey incident, but in 2021 five people were killed when a tower crane collapsed in Kelowna, and a worker was killed early this year at a Oakridge Park worksite.
– with files from Tom Zytaruk, Anna Burns, Tricia Weel