If you had trouble parking at Spanish Banks in Vancouver this morning, you weren’t alone.
Jill Bennett, a host on CKNW Radio, posted a picture of a parking lot at the Vancouver beach on Friday after 10 am where a gate was closed. Signs suggest that it opens at 7 am.
While pay parking is in effect from 9 am to 10 pm, she said the only vehicles getting in “are the ones that can hop the curb.”
Pictures show that the lot was basically empty except for one vehicle that presumably got in by hopping the curb.
She added, “Is this what the new pay parking model looks like?”
Hey @CityofVancouver and @ParkBoard it’s 10:20am on a Friday and all of the gates at the Spanish Banks parking lots are locked. The only vehicles getting in are ones that can hop the curb. Is this what the new pay parking model looks like? @CKNW pic.twitter.com/mrexYzp3k8
— Jill Bennett (@jillreports) July 19, 2024
About an hour after the initial post, she offered an update, saying that the gates were opened.
The Vancouver Park Board told Daily Hive that all the gates to the Spanish Banks parking lots were opened as planned, “except for one in the western section.”
The gates have since been opened.
“We apologize to the public for any inconvenience this may have caused and are taking steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” the Board stated.
On X, the Park Board publicly thanked Bennett for bringing it to their attention.
The pay parking sign states that the new system went into effect on July 12. Before the change, parking at the beach was free.
Many responded in disbelief to Bennett’s social media post, with some expressing their grievances toward the Vancouver mayor.
That is OUR beach Mayor Swagger. Ridiculous.
— Cabin Cat Sue (@Soozr1) July 19, 2024
A petition against pay parking at Spanish Banks has amassed nearly 7,500 signatures.
“I cannot afford to pay for parking, and I love to frequent Spanish Banks. I am shocked that parking fees were even suggested again, this is outrageous,” one signee wrote.