VANCOUVER -- More than a week after the City of Vancouver loosened restrictions on some of its parking regulations, enforcement is returning to the West End.
At the end of last month, the city announced it wouldn't be charging people to park at metered spaces and enforcement was being halted in rush-hour zones. Residential permit-parking zones also weren't going to be enforced anymore and neither were time limits in some spots.
But as of Thursday afternoon, that's changing in the West End, as the city is bringing parking restrictions back in an effort to limit traffic and encourage physical distancing.
Specifically, all permit parking west of Burrard street will now be enforced.
"The goal is to enable physical distancing and reduce the number of people congregating on the area's beaches, the seawall and Stanley Park," a news release from the city said.
"We ask that people stay in their own neighbourhoods and take advantage of local parks and green space to exercise and get fresh air rather than converging on popular trails and beaches."
The update comes a day after the city's park board closed Stanley Park to vehicles and blocked Beach Avenue's eastbound lanes to traffic.
The city says officers are expected to begin enforcement Thursday afternoon. Large signs have been placed at entrances to the West End neighbourhood to alert drivers to the change.
"These steps will help keep us, our loved ones, neighbours, and colleagues safe, and means we will be in a much stronger position to recover and rebuild when this pandemic is over," the city's notice said.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Kendra Mangione
