City of Vancouver cracks down on former Camp Vanier Park

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The city of Vancouver came down hard on a small group of longtime campers at Vanier Park next to the Burrard Bridge Tuesday morning, giving them a day to pack up and move on.

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According to a statement from the Vancouver park board, 12 park rangers and two inspectors from the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services attended the site. They were escorted by several officers from the Vancouver Police Department.

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The site consisted of two large tent structures covered with tarp and surrounded by sodden bicycles, bicycle parts and other debris, with several discarded propane tanks lying around.

“Our urban relations and park ranger teams have visited numerous times to speak with the residents of these structures and have been working with them to try to reduce the footprint for months,” the parks board statement read.

“City of Vancouver Homeless Services Outreach also attended, but people have been unwilling to participate. We understand and acknowledge that people have experiences that lead them to choose not to move into housing or shelter, but this situation involved potentially hazardous materials that were risky to humans, animals, and the park.”

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Five campers were told they were violating a city statute and needed to “pack up their belongings and move somewhere else.”

The statute states that it is okay to camp in parks overnight as a last resort, but all structures must be removed in the morning. Additionally, people should not camp within 25 meters of a school and may not camp on beaches, sports fields, golf courses, community centers, or off-leash dog areas.

The campers were also told that the combined team of park rangers, firefighters and police would return Wednesday morning to make sure they were gone.

“Once people have left the area, arrangements will be made with Sanitation and Parks Operations to completely remove all items,” the statement read.

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Fifteen 25-pound propane tanks, three small green propane tanks, and a barbecue were removed from the site by city staff.

One of the campers, Steve Adams, told Postmedia News on Monday that he had been living on the site for the past eight months and before that he lived under the Burrard Bridge. That area has now been fenced off as the Squamish First Nation prepares to build several rental condo towers on its land.

At the time, Adams said it was his understanding that the group was camped out on federal government land and was unable to move.

The number of public complaints about people camping overnight and not packing up the next morning has nearly doubled in the past year, from 186 in January 2022 to 322 in January 2023.

“The scale of the homelessness crisis in Vancouver is such that there are people sleeping in tents and other structures in neighborhoods across the city; this situation in Kitsilano is not unique,” ​​the parks board said.

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“Park rangers have tracked a significant increase in calls about people sheltering in the parks.”

Fiona York, a spokeswoman for Crab Park’s long-term legal camping, said the parks board had the power to allow more than overnight camping, as had been done at Crab Park on the Downtown Eastside waterfront.

York said there were around 40 people living in Crab Park and the five people who were forced out of Vanier Park were welcome.

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— with file by Sue Lazaruk

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