Alcohol is allowed on 7 Vancouver beaches | Paid parking in Spanish banks

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Despite some challenges after a 2023 pilot, Vancouver’s park board has given the green light to public alcohol consumption at seven selected beaches again this summer.

The board agreed to allow alcohol consumption at Jericho Beach, John Hendry Beach, Kitsilano Beach, Locarno Beach, New Brighton, Spanish Banks and Stanley Park Second Beach starting June 1. Those are the same locations identified in last year’s pilot.

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Among the beaches where alcohol would remain prohibited are English Bay Beach, Third Beach in Stanley Park, Sunset Beach Park, CRAB Park and all beaches along the Fraser River.

Staff estimated the cost of another pilot this summer at about $930,000: $480,000 for more park rangers, cleaning and public communications, and an increase to the Vancouver police budget of $450,000 to increase patrols.

VPD Insp. Marco Veronesi, responsible for operations in the city center, said alcohol consumption has always occurred on the city’s beaches and that the pilot project is a way to control it and make it manageable from a public safety perspective.

He said public attitudes have changed over the years and, apart from problems with rowdy groups of drunk young people (many of whom are not even of legal drinking age), most people can drink from responsibly in public. He said times have changed since officials used to refer to the annual fireworks celebrations, once called the Symphony of Fire, as the “symphony of fights.”

The report noted that a survey of 2,000 people (half in Vancouver and half in Metro Vancouver) found that about 70 per cent think alcohol should be allowed on beaches; half of them think it should be allowed on all beaches. Just under a quarter thought alcohol should be banned.

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Pilot of paid parking in Spanish banks

Also approved at Monday’s park board meeting was a paid parking pilot test for Bancos Españoles, one of the city’s busiest beaches.

Visitors will be charged $1 per hour to park at Spanish banks from May through Labor Day weekend in September, with a reduced rate in the off-season.

The rate would apply from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., as in other paid parking areas in the city. Paid parking would also be implemented along nearby NW Marine Drive.

Currently, the Spanish Bank has four lots with 744 free spaces. It is the only one in the park board network that allows free parking.

A staff report said paid parking could help reduce complaints about vehicles parked for long periods, including RVs parked overnight, on Spanish banks. Nearly half of the complaints submitted to Vancouver’s 311 app were related to beach parking issues.

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