VANCOUVER -- Vancouverites are one step closer to being allowed to drink in designated zones of nearly two-dozen of the city's 230 parks.
On Monday, the Vancouver Park Board voted in favour of allowing residents to drink in small areas of certain parks between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m., but the changes aren’t yet in effect.
Since the pandemic began, multiple other cities in the Lower Mainland have allowed alcohol consumption in specific green spaces and there are now more than 20 parks across the region where it's permitted – a map of which is available here.
The changes in Vancouver will apply to 22 of the city’s parks, and include areas in Stanely Park, Kits Beach, Locarno, David Lam Park and Trout Lake, among others.
“This evening, the Park Board enacted the by-law to allow staff to launch Alcohol in Parks Pilot as soon as Province amends the Liquor Control and Licensing Act,” reads a Tweet from the Park Board.
Despite the decision, drinking in Vancouver parks is still not permitted because the provincial government must finalize changes to B.C.’s liquor laws. Those changes were fully approved by the province on Monday, but haven’t yet come into effect. Once the changes to the liquor act come into force, the city will launch its alcohol in parks program.
“Remember, drinking alcohol in parks is not permitted until the pilot launches, but keep checking back here for updates!” continues the tweet.
But, even then, it’s not necessarily a permanent thing, but a pilot project, set to expire this fall on Oct. 11, 2021.
Maps laying out the small and very specific areas within the 22 parks have been published by the park board and are shared below. The yellow lines on the diagrams mark the perimeter of the park, and the blue marks a playground area. The spaces where drinking will be allowed are marked in red.
Signs will be posted in the parks indicating the boundaries of the drinking areas.
