The Town of Whitby

It's not often you find suburban communities with a central downtown core, but

the Town of Whitby sports two of them: one in Whitby itself, the other in one of

its hamlets, the Village of Brooklin. The town of Whitby, located in Durham

Region, includes Brooklin as well as the three smaller hamlets of Myrtle, Myrtle

Station, and Ashburn.

Whitby's downtown core is located at "The Four

Corners" of Dundas and Brock streets, with a

few hundred shops, restaurants, pubs and other

businesses. One of the most unique corners of

downtown Whitby is Pearson Lanes, a charming

collection of heritage buildings that have been

converted into shops, offices, and restaurants.

Shopping in Whitby is certainly not limited to

quaint boutiques. Peter LeBel, director of community

and marketing services for Whitby, says there are

plenty of shopping options in Whitby. "In addition to

the Whitby Mall, there are two Power Centres, one

at Thickson and Highway 401, the other at Baldwin

(Brock Street) and Taunton Road." These offer

shoppers a wide range of big-box stores.

Whitby's population has more than doubled in the

last 15 years, now reaching 115,000. Keeping up with

the needs of a growing community has meant many

changes, including building new schools. LeBel says,

"Both the Durham District School Board and

the Durham Catholic District School Board have built

a new high school recently, and a number of new

elementary schools have been built in the last few years."

For Patricia Pearsell, mother of two boys, a sense of

community was paramount in her decision to move to

Whitby. "At the time we moved here 18 years ago,"

she says, "most of our neighbours had also moved from

Scarborough, and we all chose Whitby for the same

reasons-because it's comfortable, it was easy to get to

know our neighbours, and because there's community

involvement."

Whitby is an ideal setting for families who like to

keep busy. LeBel describes it as "a well-planned

community, with good access to amenities." Iroquois

Park Sports Centre is the largest sports centre of its

kind in Canada, offering six arenas, two pools, four softball diamonds, one baseball diamond, a skateboard

park, soccer pitch, playground area, and six tennis courts.

For residents in the north part of Whitby, two more

pools and a health club are available at the Whitby

Civic Recreation Centre, and the newly opened

McKinney Centre on Taunton Road provides

residents with three more arenas-two for hockey and

one for figure skating.

Whitby is most proud of its newly renovated central

library, the Whitby Public Library, with its nearly

55,000 square feet of space, special areas for children

and teens, state-of-the-art computers and wireless

environment, and reading gardens, all surrounded by

the new Civic Square.

Several distinct buildings in Whitby have been

recently restored, such as the Centennial Building, the

town's former courthouse and current home to the Whitby Courthouse Theatre and The Whitby

Brass Band, and the Station Gallery, an art gallery

and arts venue.

Pearsell says she and her family take part in a

number of local events throughout the year. "Not as

many as I'd like to," she says, "but we've been to

Harbour Days down by the waterfront and that was a

lot of fun.We've also been to parades, police days, the

opening of the library, and the tree lighting every year

at Christmas."

Pearsell and her family also enjoy Whitby's green

spaces, whether it's the waterfront with its biking and

walking trails and Heydenshore Park, or one of

Whitby's conservation areas, Heber Down and Lynde

Shores. LeBel says, "For a town of this population, it's

unusual to have so much green space.We're cognizant

of maintaining the open spaces and parkland."

LeBel is proud of what Whitby has to offer. "We

have a combination of expansive urban and rural

amenities, and the advantage is that we're still small

enough with a lot of historic charm."

Remember that layering plus routine equals

successful composting and happy neighbours.

Community Resources

General information

www.whitby.ca

Clerk's office

905-430-4300

Information Whitby

905-668-0552

Lakeridge Health Whitby

905-668-6831

GO Transit

905-579-4224

Whitby Public Library

905-668-6531

Durham District School Board

905-666-5500

Durham Catholic District School Board

905-576-6150

Iroquois Park Sports Centre

905-668-7765

Whitby Civic Recreation Complex

905-666-1991

McKinney Centre

905-655-2203

The Station Gallery

905-668-4185

Whitby Chamber of Commerce

905-668-4506