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Paid parking now permanent at Vancouver's Spanish Banks, with rate increase
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Paid parking is now a permanent fixture at Vancouver's Spanish Banks following a 12-month pilot project, with the hourly rate rising from $1 to $1.50.
The motion that passed at Monday's Vancouver Park Board meeting also asked that seasonal pricing be offered in the off-season, although it remains to be determined what the off-season rate will be and when it will take effect.
The pilot project faced public backlash when it was proposed last year. A petition asking the board to reconsider its plan received more than 1,000 signatures.
Spanish Banks, located in Vancouver's Point Grey neighbourhood, was the last beach in Vancouver to have free parking.
The pilot project followed a previous effort by the board to implement pay parking in 2018, which was shot down following public backlash.
WATCH | Beachgoers in 2024 react to potential pay parking at Spanish Banks:
'Better off free': beachgoers react to potential pay parking at Spanish Banks
1 year ago
Duration 0:40
Spanish Banks is the last beach in Vancouver to have free parking — but the Vancouver Park Board may end that. Now, a petition has been launched to try to keep pay parking away from the popular beach in West Point Grey.
The pilot project, which ran from July 2024 to May 2025, generated around $168,000 in revenue, according to a report by city staff.
Jas Virdi was one of two park board commissioners who voted against the motion.
"This was that one last place in Vancouver that everyone could enjoy," Virdi said during Monday's meeting.
"It was very low barrier, it was a place for families to come out and enjoy it for free. And there's not much that's free for children and our seniors these days."
Commissioner Tom Digby argued that charging for parking will help recoup maintenance costs for the area, including the recent multimillion-dollar project to restore Canyon Creek and costs to maintain dog parks.
"The 90 per cent of the people in the city that don't go to Spanish Banks, I think that they need to know that there's a fairness across the city," Digby said.
"The people that go to Spanish Banks get the benefit of a wonderful park and one of the most unique and stunning off-leash areas in the world."
The new rate will go into effect in the next few weeks.
