Western PEI offers a unique, Island-style quality of life espousing numerous attributes. A community of neighbours and neighbourhoods, Western PEI has a lot to offer year round to visitors and residents alike.
We have:
Comprehensive health & security services with physicians’ offices in the four major centres, a naturopathic doctor’s practice; two hospitals offering acute and extended care plus a wide range of counseling, imaging and laboratory services; EMTs strategically positioned throughout the community for prompt response times everywhere; self-help groups for a wide range of topics; a centrally-situated RCMP detachment serving the entire area, and fire protection service providers strategically situated within a few minutes of any locality.
Quality education from public schooling up to Grade 12 and select programming offered at a satellite campus of the province’s community college, Holland College, to literacy and numeracy training and recreational community school programming through the winter months. In addition, Resources West offers a variety of business-related programs.
Recreational attractions for every season and every occasion, featuring opportunities for swimming, power or sail boating, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, beaches, provincial forest lands, trails, parks, camping, cycling, golf, tennis, X-country skiing, snowmobiling, libraries, arenas, curling clubs, pool, fitness centres, squash, racquetball, soccer, volleyball, indoor court-sports, horseback riding, wagon rides, equine training centre, horseshoe pitches, museums, interpretive centres, wild-life viewing, scenic drives, and clubs and organizations top host anything else you might want to do.
Amenities found in Western PEI include a full complement of general and specialty stores, legal and financial services, pubs and restaurants, and even a drive-in movie theatre through the summer months.
Transportation: While work is afoot to introduce public transit services throughout the province, Western PEI is served by a community-based bus service specifically targeted to mobility challenged clients. An all-weather highway runs up the middle of the area and linking highways to the major communities along the way are kept clear through all but the most inclement of conditions. The former railway route that connects the communities has been refurbished as a trail for cyclists and hikers through the summer and snowmobilers in winter. In addition, a network of ports provides safe harbour for water crafts traveling around the Island. The nearest commercial airfield that can handle cargo flights is as close as Summerside, while passenger flights in and out of PEI use the Charlottetown airport, about 90 minutes from the central part of Western PEI.
Distances aren’t what they seem, as the Confederation Bridge is within an hour’s drive from much of Western PEI and provides year-round access to the mainland.
The Climate in Western PEI, as through most of the Maritime coastal area, is moderate in that the summer’s highest temperatures are usually tempered by a fresh, cooling breeze off the Gulf of St. Lawrence and in winter, the air temperature is elevated by the warming effect of the water. For a current look at the local weather, please refer to the Weather Network’s current forecast for Alberton on-line
