Visitors at two of Vancouver's most popular beaches will soon be able to buy booze under a newly approved park board pilot project.

Beer and wine will be served at the English Bay and Kitsilano beach concession beginning next summer, and the board will spend two years assessing whether to expand to other locations.

But you won't be able to bring your beverage wherever you want – drinkers will be restricted to a roped-off area similar to a beer garden. Board chair Michael Wiebe said that separation is an important part of the plan.

“The goal is to see how this works and understand that this is a society that we have created that isn’t used to having a free range of alcohol in public spaces," Wiebe told CTV News.

The move is expected to be a popular one – a previous survey found 79 per cent of people support booze sales at beach concession stands, according to a park board report. Only 16 per cent said they disagree with the idea.

But some feel the rules will still be too restrictive, including city council candidate Christine Boyle, who thinks people should be able to bring their own wine or beer to enjoy at the beach.

"It's a way for concessions to make a bit more revenue, and I think that's fine, but I don't think it's what people are looking for," Boyle said. "What people want is to be able to bring their own alcohol."

With files from CTV Vancouver's Allison Hurst