Albion sits on the south side of Maple Ridge, immediately adjacent to the Golden Ears Bridge that connects the City to the Township of Langley across the Fraser River. The neighbourhood roughly runs from 232 Street east toward 248 Street, with the Lougheed Highway as the northern spine and the Fraser River dyke / Kanaka Way as the southern edge. North East Albion is a distinct planning sub-area south of 110 Avenue. Cottonwood is a separate adjacent neighbourhood, not a sub-area of Albion.
Albion has the deepest non-Indigenous-settlement history of any Maple Ridge neighbourhood. Samuel Robertson and his Indigenous wife Julia were the first European settlers; Robertson planted what is reported to be British Columbia's first fruit orchard. The community was renamed from "East Haney" to "Albion" in 1907 at Canada Post's request. The Albion Ferry operated between Albion and Fort Langley from June 2, 1957 to July 31, 2009 (originally by the BC Ministry of Highways, later TransLink); tolls of 40¢ per car were removed February 15, 1972. The final ferry vessel was the MV K'wo:Kwo:I (originally MV T'Lagunna). The Golden Ears Bridge replaced the ferry — opened June 16, 2009; cost $808 million; built by the Golden Crossing Constructors JV. Tolls were eliminated September 1, 2017 by the BC government.
The market here is dominated by post-2005 new construction, with Albion as one of Maple Ridge's most active development zones. Of all the Maple Ridge neighbourhoods, Albion is the one that practically sits closest to Fort Langley on a drive-time basis — bridge crossings can vary by traffic, but off-peak the Fort Langley village to Albion run typically clears in 12 to 15 minutes.
The OCP framework is the **Albion Area Plan** (a chapter of the Maple Ridge OCP), updated and adopted by Council on October 28, 2025 following a public hearing October 21, 2025 (second reading was given September 16, 2025). The new policies support affordable housing, more rental units, adaptable housing, tenant protection, and family-sized homes. Council also directed staff to prepare an OCP Amending Bylaw for the Southern portion of the North East Albion Area under "Concept 1" (townhouses along 248 Street) — the concept that provided a moderate density increase without requiring water/sewer infrastructure upgrades. **Albion uses a Density Bonus mechanism** — applied through RS-1d, RS-1b, and RM-1 zones, with a Community Amenity Contribution (CAC) of $3,100/unit above the base 0.6 FSR up to a maximum 0.75 FSR.
Three context points worth knowing. First, Albion sits in REBGV (not FVREB) — different board, different statistical methodology, different reporting cadence. The Golden Ears Bridge is the daily-life connector to FVREB-Langley but the boards are separate, so cross-comparison takes some translation. Second, **Albion Flats** (south of urban Albion in the ALR) has been an ongoing Council/ALC discussion — the Agricultural Land Commission has indicated only east-of-Jim-Robson-Way lands could be excluded, contingent on drainage / soil improvements to west-side farmland; multiple NW-of-105 Avenue applications have been previously refused. Council approved a mixed-use Albion Flats plan in November 2019 to advance to ALC. Third, the Fraser River floodplain mapping affects the southernmost river-adjacent properties — Maple Ridge maintains a Fraser River Flood Plan tied to BC River Forecast Centre data and a "Be Flood Ready" guide; the November 2021 atmospheric river prompted an evacuation alert for ~800 North/South Alouette residents.
For schools, this is SD #42 (Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows). Albion Elementary at 10031 240 Street is operating at ~123% capacity. Kanaka Creek Elementary is the only SD #42 school on a balanced calendar, with a recent boundary change moving students north of 112 Avenue to Alexander Robinson. **cəsqənelə Elementary** at 240 Street & 104 Avenue (co-located with Albion Community Centre) opened 2019/20 with 660 seats; the name is a local Indigenous word meaning "Where the Golden Eagles Gather". Samuel Robertson Technical Secondary is the technology-focused secondary with junior honours, engineering, and gifted streams. Garibaldi Secondary is the only IB Diploma Programme school in Maple Ridge (Grades 11–12). Catchments shift with overcrowding and we verify the current attendance area for any specific Albion address.
Day-to-day amenities concentrate at the Albion / 240 Street commercial cluster (Save-On-Foods at 300–23981 Dewdney Trunk Road) with larger weekly errands typically drawing residents into central Maple Ridge along Lougheed Highway. The Albion Community Centre at 24165 104 Avenue (20,000 sq ft, co-located with cəsqənelə Elementary) is the rec anchor. The **Albion Sports Complex** is 34 acres with multi-sport facilities and 250 stalls off Lougheed Highway. **Telosky Stadium & Thomas Haney Youth Action Park** at 23000 116 Avenue includes 2 synthetic softball diamonds, a synthetic soccer overlay with LED sports lighting, a fieldhouse, and a skate park. **Kanaka Creek Regional Park** runs ~11 km along Kanaka Creek (~1,100 acres) with the Bell-Irving Hatchery (Coho, Chum, and Pink salmon), the Cliff Falls section, and a canoe launch. Maple Meadows Station (West Coast Express commuter rail, located off Lougheed Hwy near the Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows boundary) runs 5 inbound trains weekday AM and 5 outbound PM (commuter only, no weekends), with Maple Meadows → Waterfront in roughly 75 minutes.