Road tolls to enter Stanley Park? Park Board pondering 21 access options

Road tolls to enter Stanley Park? Vancouver Park Board pondering 21 access options

Entrance into Stanley Park from West Georgia Street. (Google Maps)

Staff with the Vancouver Park Board have provided a preview of potential changes to Stanley Park’s access and transportation system.

Earlier this week, Park Board staff outlined a list of 21 options that have been identified by the Stanley Park Mobility Study, which was a planning process triggered by the previous makeup of Park Board commissioners to reduce vehicle traffic in the park.

Some of the most drastic options entail implementing a “vehicle time slot booking” for entering Stanley Park or even a “vehicle access fee,” perhaps akin to a road toll for entering Stanley Park Drive — not to be confused with the provincial government’s regional artery of the Stanley Park Causeway for accessing the Lions Gate Bridge.

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“We have heard of different methods of doing that, some sort of restriction, gate or FOB… there have been different techniques in other places,” said Emily Dunlop, a senior planner at the Park Board.

Green commissioner Tom Digby suggested the parking fees within the park could be reduced with the vehicle access fee, all the while discouraging the drivers who may be using Stanley Park Drive to reach the bridge.

ABC commissioner Jaspreed Virdi said, “I see this as a kind of road tax to enter Stanley Park. Would there be leisure access for people who can’t afford to enter? It seems ridiculous to me.”

Other options outlined by Park Board staff include reconfiguring Stanley Park Drive into a bi-directional roadway, with one clockwise travel lane and one counterclockwise travel lane. Currently, both travel lanes are one direction only, going counterclockwise. Park Board staff stated a two-way configuration of the roadway was last tested 30 years ago.

Some options would implement a “car-free” schedule, time-based network restrictions, or even completely banning private cars from Stanley Park Drive, which could be complemented by shuttle or public transit bus options.

Another option would reinstate shuttles or public transit bus service only while retaining the two vehicle traffic lanes.

For more than a decade, the Park Board previously operated and self-funded a free seasonal shuttle bus service within Stanley Park. It did not return for the 2010 summer season and onwards due to the Park Board’s fiscal challenges at the time.

Other options relate to reallocating one travel lane on Stanley Park Drive for other uses, such as a reinstatement of the bike lane, HOV/bus lane, or a shared bus and bike lane.

Earlier this year, following the direction of the ABC party majority of commissioners, the majority of the controversial temporary bike lane on Stanley Park Drive was removed at a cost of about $400,000. Although the bike lane was deemed temporary, the high cost of removal was due to the installation of permanent-like fixtures and features along the 9 km long perimeter roadway.

Park Board staff have also since reinstated a second vehicle exit out of Stanley Park by allowing vehicles to continue eastbound along Stanley Park Drive between North Lagoon Drive and Park Lane, with the vehicles then leaving through West End streets. Previously, during the temporary bike lane period, all vehicles were funnelled out of Stanley Park through North Lagoon Drive, which leads to the congested West Georgia Street.

Re-established exit out of Stanley Park through the West End. (Vancouver Park Board)

At the time of the decision for removal, it was suggested by the ABC commissioners that the temporary bike lane would be replaced by a permanent design that retains two vehicle travel lanes, but this is now unlikely due to the municipal government’s financial constraints and higher priorities.

A permanent bike lane design that reallocates one vehicle travel lane for a bike lane would carry a cost of between $2 million and $4 million and require a two-year lead time.

The alternative concept of retaining two vehicle travel lanes and adding a bike lane would cost between $30 million and $50 million due to the need to widen 79% of Stanley Park Drive to fit in a three-metre-wide bike lane. It would take four years to achieve, including two years for design and planning and another two years for construction.

During the deliberations, ABC commissioner Brennan Bastyovanszky suggested the possibility of paving existing internal trails to improve accessibility, including for cyclists. Park Board staff indicated this is a potential complementary option.

The Park Board’s preliminary data following the removal of the temporary bike lane suggests there has been no change in Stanley Park’s parking revenues, but there have been increases in vehicle speeds on Stanley Park Drive and increases in cyclist numbers on the Stanley Park seawall. During the public meeting, Digby suggested this is a “tragic outcome.”

There has been “limited negative feedback” from the businesses within the park on the reinstatement of the two vehicle travel lanes. Restaurant businesses in the park previously took issue that the bike lane configuration on the roadway deterred visitors, with traffic congestion on the single-vehicle travel lane becoming particularly problematic during peak times — and especially when the single file of vehicles followed the Stanley Park horse-drawn tours carriage.

As well, event organizers previously indicated the narrow vehicle travel lane due to the bike lane posed a logistical issue for the staging of major events and festivals in the park.

Upon the onset of the pandemic in 2020, all private vehicles were initially banned from Stanley Park as a physical distancing measure to provide cyclists and pedestrians with more space, with cyclists relocated to Stanley Park Drive and pedestrians having the seawall for themselves. But soon after, the previous makeup of Park Board commissioners turned it into an effort to reduce car traffic and climate change impacts.

Stanley Park reopened to private vehicles in Summer 2020, with one lane of Stanley Park Drive repurposed for cyclists. In 2021, upon the reinstatement of the temporary bike lane that year, the Park Board began adding permanent-like features to the bike lane.

According to Park Board staff, Stanley Park is experiencing an increase in visitation, with 18 million visits annually. Tourists account for 52% of the visits to the park, while locals account for the remaining 48%. It is estimated about 25% of people need a vehicle to access the park.

The removal of the temporary bike lane comes ahead of the start of construction on Metro Vancouver Regional District’s major project of building the Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel, which will narrow a stretch of Stanley Park Drive to one lane in the vicinity of Tunnel Trail for an excavation shaft.

During the tunnel construction process, significant construction vehicle traffic entering Stanley Park can be expected. Construction begins in late 2024 and will be completed in 2029.

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