Burnaby considering pay parking at Barnet Marine Park starting in 2024

City of Burnaby considering implementing pay parking at Barnet Marine Park starting in 2024

Main parking lot at Barnet Marine Park in Burnaby. (Google Maps)

Three potential options are being considered by City of Burnaby staff to better manage vehicle parking demand and traffic congestion at Barnet Marine Park.

According to City staff, as many as 1,900 people visit the park daily during the peak periods in the summer season. As there are limited public transit options in the highly secluded area, most visitors arrive by vehicle, with as many as 1,000 vehicles per day accessing the various parking facilities.

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The park is directly served by 300 parking stalls, not including the 150 overflow parking stalls on the south side of Barnet Road. Currently, parking at these lots is free.

City staff state traffic congestion inside these parking lots is an issue during peak times, and vehicle queuing is also known to extend onto Barnet Road. In fact, according to the municipal government, the parking lots can reach full capacity at 11 am on peak days, and City crews and Burnaby RCMP are often deployed to assist with traffic management.

Location of Barnet Marine Park in Burnaby. (Google Maps)

Map of Barnet Marine Park. (City of Burnaby)

Barnet Marine Park is a highly popular waterfront park on the northernmost edge of Burnaby — located at the northern base of Burnaby Mountain, featuring trails at water’s edge and beach areas, large open green spaces, and panoramic views of Burrard Inlet, Indian Arm, and the North Shore mountains.

Next week, Burnaby City Council will consider City staff’s proposed options of implementing a new pay parking system, a free pre-registered parking system, or maintaining the status quo with no changes.

City staff are requesting City Council’s input prior to the potential launch of a two-year pilot project in 2024 that creates a new parking strategy to help address the identified issues. As well, there is an added aim to reduce the annual parking management operational costs at this particular park from the current cost of $250,000 annually to possibly $100,000 annually with changes.

Barnet Marine Park in Burnaby. (Shutterstock)

The first alternative option of implementing new pay parking uses on-site pay stations and mobile apps to manage demand, encourage the turnover of parking capacity, and generate new revenue for the municipality to help cover park operations, maintenance, and improvement costs. Over the last few years, pay parking has been implemented at some high-demand regional parks managed by the regional district, and most recently expanded to West Vancouver’s popular municipal parks of Lighthouse Park, Nelson Canyon Park, and Whytecliff Park.

The second option of a free pre-registered parking system would provide parking on a first-come basis, with a registration system similar to Buntzen Lake and Joffre Lakes, or seasonal parking times restrictions.

The third option of maintaining the status quo continues free parking, with a manned presence by City crews and police officers during busy periods.

It is noted that City staff will start a new master planning process for improving Barnet Marine Park, with the strategy set for completion in 2025.

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