‘You don’t need to gatekeep Chinatown’: Community members wants park hours extended, gates unlocked

Some community members in Vancouver's Chinatown say a local park isn’t as accessible as it once was.

In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, changes were made to Sun Yat-Sen Park, located next to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. One of those changes included locking a gate on the eastern side of the park on Columbia Street

Galina Lee, an activist and the grandchild of a founding board member at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden, said she often hears from people who assume the park is closed because of the locked gates.

“A lot of what I feel the garden was meant for and built for, the purpose isn’t really there anymore which is something that deeply upsets me,” Lee said. “I still want to be able to represent the will of my grandmother.”

CTV News reached out to the executive director of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden for comment, but was deferred to the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, which oversees the park.

In a statement to CTV News, the park board said it closes the park in alignment with the hours of operations of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden, which are from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. due to safety and security concerns after dark.

According to an archive website called “Wayback Machine,” in 2020, the hours at the park varied depending on the season. For example, during the summer, the park was open until 7 p.m. https://web.archive.org/web/20200513063444/https://vancouverchinesegarden.com/visit/

Mayor Ken Sim ran on a platform to revitalize the historic neighbourhood, as crime and vandalism have been described as rising in Chinatown since COVID-19.

Sim and his majority ABC party have earmarked millions of dollars for Chinatown, funding things like a community policing office, an increase in police foot patrols, and graffiti removal. 

Lee told CTV News she’d like to see the park hours extended, as well as signage to help redirect people who are trying to access the space.

“It’s really limited and it just becomes an exclusive, gated garden which is not the purpose it was originally for,” Lee said. “You don’t need to gatekeep Chinatown to make it safe,” she said.

CTV News asked the park board whether it has plans to extend the hours or open the gate , but they did not respond before deadline.

This story will be updated if and when a response is received.