Talk:North Shore (British Columbia)

North Shore "Region" and Boundaries

I'm working on maps for the North Shore (British Columbia) and Sea to Sky regions and it's got me thinking about the boundaries and structure of the North Shore region. A couple of thoughts are:

• The current article combines North Vancouver and West Vancouver, but I wonder if they should be split. On one hand it makes it convenient to put them in the same article and it's difficult to tell where one begins and the other ends (although this is true of many suburban cities in a metropolitan area). On the other hand, there is enough content for separate articles (attractions, sleep, eat, etc.) and they are separate entities. The "North Shore" name is common, but the individual city names probably have more name recognition (particularly to a traveller). This issue was discussed a bit when the Lower Mainland regions were restructured.
• The northern boundary of the region has never been defined (I just drew a line sufficiently north on existing maps). I think it makes sense to include all of Cypress Provincial Park and the Capilano and Seymour watersheds (the latter two are restricted access so you can't travel there anyway). The Stawamus Indian Forest Service Road (and associated valley) would be part of the Sea to Sky region since it can only be accessed from just south of Squamish.

That just leaves Lions Bay and whether it should be included in the North Shore or Sea to Sky. On one hand, it's on the Sea to Sky Highway, but it's also something of a commuter community and it is part of Metro Vancouver. You can argue that the holiday/outdoor adventure stuff, which is what the Sea to Sky region is noted for, doesn't really begin until Porteau Cove Provincial Park, further up the highway.

• Bowen Island. Right now it's included in the Sea to Sky region, but it's not really part of that region and can only be accessed from the North Shore (West Vancouver).

Sooo, based on all that, I'm thinking of restructuring the North Shore as follows:

• split the current North Shore article into two: North Vancouver and West Vancouver,
• include Bowen Island in the North Shore, and
• have the region's boundary with the Sea to Sky region follow the northern limit of Lions Bay, Cypress Provincial Park, the Capilano and Seymour Watershed Restricted Areas and Indian Arm Provincial Park. Lions Bay would fall within the North Shore and Porteau Cove would mark the start of the Sea to Sky region.

This would create a region with three cities (North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Lions Bay) and one other destination (Bowen Island) that covers off the northern part of Metro Vancouver.

Thoughts? - (WT-en) Shaund 12:54, 18 July 2011 (EDT)

Thank you for your thoughtfulness. I support your reasoning and your changes. One clarification: it sounds like you won't so much "split the current North Shore article into two: North Vancouver and West Vancouver", as you will convert the North Shore (British Columbia) article into a region article like Vancouver southern suburbs, and extract the North Vancouver and West Vancouver content into separate city articles (they are now redirects). I think you are absolutely right that Bowen Island is better located in the North Shore region than the Sea to Sky region. I think using adventure stuff as a marker for Sea to Sky, and Vancouver bedroom as a marker for North Shore, is a good way to draw a dividing line. (WT-en) JimDeLaHunt 14:24, 9 August 2011 (EDT)

Agreed, your clarification describes what I'm proposing much more precisely! :) Thanks. - (WT-en) Shaund 23:14, 9 August 2011 (EDT)

Region restructure now implemented. - (WT-en) Shaund 01:49, 11 August 2011 (EDT)

Lions Bay

It looks like Lions Bay doesn't meet our criteria for an article as there is nowhere to sleep. There are a few things that could be listed -- the art gallery, some hiking trailheads and a coffee shop/cafe -- but not enough that I think it should have its own article. West Vancouver is the nearest municipality, but its very suburban and integrated with the rest of Greater Vancouver. Lions Bay, while politically part of Metro Vancouver, is also on the Sea to Sky Highway and the primary reason most travellers pass through it is because they're on their way to Squamish or Whistler in the Sea to Sky country. Accordingly, I think Lions Bay content would be better placed in the Britannia Beach guide, which already covers all the content between Lions Bay and Squamish. Any thoughts or objections if I go ahead and implement this? -Shaundd (talk) 05:48, 14 February 2013 (UTC)