As hustle and bustle as Steveston Highway is, it may be a surprise to some that there is a tight-knit and diverse community tucked away just to the north by No. 5 road that is as quiet and safe as can be.
Known as Shellmont, Jeff Joseph has lived there since 2003 with his wife and four kids.
He said one of the best things about the area is that Woodward elementary school is at the very centre of it.
"That's a big plus that it's right in the middle of the block. The kids get to walk to school every morning," said Joseph.
"The streets are winding so people don't cut through the neighbourhood unless they are specifically coming here, and usually the cars move slowly. It's very safe for the kids to walk to school, it's literally a three-minute walk."
Peace of mind also comes in the form of Joseph actually knowing many of his neighbours, something that is increasingly rare in modern-day Richmond. For the last three Christmases, he and a few others have organized the Shellmont Christmas Parade in late December.
It started as a group of friends singing carols door-to-door, but has grown to include vehicles decorated with lights, speakers and inflatables that drew almost 100 spectators last year.
Besides the parade, another more frequent gathering spot for locals is Kingswood Pub at 9371 No. 5 Rd.
Owned by Randy Craig since June 1985, he has experienced the friendliness of the community first-hand.
After his establishment was shut down in 2008 due to a fire, he found little had changed when he finally opened the doors again, three years later.
"There were still a lot of the same faces from the neighbourhood that came back to the pub," said Craig.
"Most businesses, you couldn't close for 863 days and re-open and start over again."
Like Shellmont itself, he said his customers are a "real mix" of people consisting of young and old, lawyers, dentists, bikers, married couples, singles, and everything else under the sun.
Some even make the trek from as far as Surrey. Craig attributes the appeal of Kingswood to its traditional demeanor.
"It's not trendy, it's an old school neighbourhood pub and there's less and less of them around," he said. "We still have the real pint mugs, 20-ounce, not those tiny 14-ounce ones. You still know everybody by name and they're not just table numbers."
