After Burnaby’s parks commission received a report considering paid parking at Barnet Marine Park, city council resolutely opposed the idea.
Staff were considering the option as the park has seen a rise in parking challenges as the waterfront space increases in popularity.
The Barnet Marine parking lot can see up to 1,000 vehicles per day, according to the staff report.
Vehicles circulate the lots looking for vacant parking stalls, which results in queues spilling onto the Barnet Highway.
“This situation has created challenges for emergency vehicles trying to access the park during peak hours,” stated the report.
The report said a paid parking system, where visitors would pay a fee to park their vehicles within the park, could help regulate parking demand and generate revenue that can be used for maintenance and improvements in the park.
But that proposal, which saw almost no discussion at the parks commission last week, generated concern at council.
“This is a park that’s not very well serviced by transit,” said Mayor Mike Hurley at council. “It’s a difficult park to cycle to; it’s a difficult park to walk to. And I think to have parking charges there would be unfair to families.”
He noted some of Metro Vancouver’s parks currently use a reservation system and suggested that option be considered.
“I just don’t want to start charging our families, cost our families money to go to parks.”
Coun. Sav Dhaliwal, who is also chair of the parks commission, said paid parking was not under consideration.
“Commission or the staff is not contemplating anything like charging for parking … including Barnet,” Dhaliwal said.
The staff report presented to the commission and council stated, “Staff will be pursing potential solutions for the management of the parking lot for 2024 … These options include: paid parking.”
Dhaliwal noted the other option listed in the report is to outsource parking management to a professional company.
Couns. Daniel Tetrault, Alison Gu and Richard Lee expressed support for considering if a free shuttle service to the park on weekends during peak season could keep the park accessible but reduce the traffic congestion.
More than 276,000 visitors enjoy the park every year, with peak periods attracting more than 1,900 daily visitors.
The city pays a little more than $250,000 in staffing costs over the peak summer months for parks staff, bylaw officers, RCMP and external traffic management personnel to ensure on-site safety at the park, according to staff.
Staff will analyze the options further and report to the parks commission and council in fall 2023.
