Metro Vancouver resident says she was lied to about full beach parking lot

Metro Vancouver resident says she was lied to about beach parking lot being full (PHOTOS)

The gate on the left closes off entry to the parking area (Submitted)

A great way to find relief from a heatwave is to head to the beach, but one Metro Vancouver resident’s crew couldn’t do that due to claims that a parking lot was full.

Daily Hive Urbanized received an email from a reader who detailed an experience that took place at White Pine Beach, located on Sasamat Lake at Belcarra Regional Park in Port Moody.

She claims that beach workers were turning people away because the parking lot was full, but provided pictures suggesting otherwise.

You might also like:

Anna Marciniak was at the beach with her friend on Monday, July 26 and her partner was planning on meeting her there a little later. When her partner arrived, they were told that the parking lot was full.

“My friend and I left 10 minutes after and as we passed half-empty parking lots we thought maybe my partner was just unlucky and would have been let in by now,” said Marciniak.

As she watched eight other cars drive out along with hers, she noticed that the gate was still closed.

Entry into the park on the left with the gate closed. (Submitted)

Marciniak believes that people are being kept away from a park that they should be able to use, and suggests that the people representing the park are lying to the public about full parking.

Metro Vancouver response

Daily Hive Urbanized reached out to Metro Vancouver which looks after the area.

According to a statement from Metro Vancouver, a variety of reasons could have led to entry being denied.

“To prevent gridlock on park roadways and ensure access for emergency response vehicles, buses, and service vehicles, Metro Vancouver Regional Parks staff close the gates when lots are full,” the statement reads.

“To ensure the safety of park users, operations staff reopen the gates based on the number of people in the park, traffic flow on the road, and number of spots available.”

Meanwhile, Marciniak states that the park wasn’t full and that the lots were close to empty.

“If it was actually crowded on the beach and the parking was full, sure I understand not trying to cram in more people, but if you’re turning people away claiming the parking is full but it’s literally half empty, then why are you keeping people away from parks?”

Metro Vancouver also told Daily Hive Urbanized that Belcarra is serviced by TransLink and that people are encouraged to use public transit to visit the park.

The parking lot at White Pine Beach in Metro Vancouver (Submitted)

Marciniak believes there should have been a better system in place.

“Why is there no one-in-one-out system? Why is there literally no park staff walking around the parking lot checking for availability? How do you see that eight cars are leaving in a row, and not even let one car in at that point?”

Daily Hive Urbanized has sent Metro Vancouver Marciniak’s photos in hopes of another statement.

The parking lot at White Pine Beach in Metro Vancouver (Submitted)

“And all during a heat wave.”

Marciniak believes that “parks and lakes are becoming more and more difficult to access for the average citizen.”

“With local trails needing day passes in advance, to lakes needing pre-bookings for a quick swim, why not work harder to provide better and more efficient access to your community?”

The answer to that question according to Marciniak is, “because they don’t care.”

“Why put more money into more park attendants to be able to radio the front gate for parking if it’s easier and cheaper to close the gate and wait a few hours until everyone goes home?”

The kicker is this experience was “all during a heat wave.”

“The problem is just going to get worse with a growing population, and cities not willing to put money into more public outdoor spaces that can accommodate a growing population.”

Can you see any reason why Metro Vancouver would have been turning people away from parking at this beach? Do the pictures Marciniak shared represent sufficient enough gridlock to turn new visitors away?

Let us know in the comments.

You might also like: