Citynow Council nixes paid parking for Barnet Marine Park

LaurenVanderdeen

lvanderdeen@burnabynow com

After Burnaby’s parks commission received a report considering paid parking at Barnet Marine Park, city council resolutely opposed the idea

The waterfront beach park has seen“ongoing challenges in parking and traffic management” as it grows in popularity, according to the report.

More than 276,000 visitors enjoy the park every year, with peak periods attracting more than 1,900 daily visitors.

“Most visitors arrive by vehicle, leading to significant parking lot demand, which can reach up to 1,000 vehicles per day,” states the report

Staff said “safety issues” have arisen from vehicles circulating 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,” states 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 “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 MetroVancouver’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.”

“Commission or the staff is not contemplating anything like charging for parking including Barnet,” Coun. Sav Dhaliwal said, who is also chair of the parks commission

The staff report presented to the commission and council stated, “Staff will be pursuing 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. DanielTetrault, 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

The city pays a little more than $250,000 in staffing costs for parks staff, bylaw officers, RCMP and external traffic management personnel to ensure on-site safety at the park, according to the report.

Staff will analyze the options further and bring a report to the parks commission and council in fall 2023