A Vancouver park is once again leading to concerns from the surrounding community, thanks to noise coming from it at night.
The noise has gotten so bad at sθәqәlxenәm ts’exwts’áxwi7 (Rainbow Park) on Smithe Street in downtown Vancouver that a petition has been started and has received hundreds of signatures.
sθәqәlxenәm ts’exwts’áxwi7 is closed from 10 pm to 6 am, but that hasn’t stopped some from using it after hours.
One event that has led to concerns and sparked the petition’s creation is an apparent impromptu overnight rave, which the petition creator shared a video of.
One of the people who signed the petition states, “I live right across from this park, and these ‘pop-up’ raves were the last straw.”
“This park already attracts inconsiderate people that have no regard for the noise they make or the hundreds of local residents that they are disturbing throughout the night.”
Another petition signee said, “The Rainbow Park is in the center of a residential neighbourhood and surrounded by residential buildings. It is causing significant violations to residents’ right to quiet enjoyment.”
The petition creator also said to imagine “trying to sleep or even hear your TV.”
The City responds
We contacted the City of Vancouver and received a statement from the park board.
The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation told Daily Hive that it is aware of some misuse of the park after hours.
One of the suggestions from the petition was to fence the park with a gate that could be closed at 10 pm. The park board said it has no plans to respond this way.
“While we empathize with the petition owner and will remain in touch with them about their concerns, the park board does not have any plans to fence off or restrict access to the park at this time and continues to ask all users to comply with Park Control bylaws and respect the surrounding community.”
The park board says that if any residents are concerned about an issue during the park opening hours, call 311. It adds that if there are issues after the park has closed, residents should call 911, and immediately if there’s an imminent public safety issue or emergency.
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