Tow time: Vancouver Park Board cracks down on parking lot camping

EJ Nickerson/Shutterstock| Arash Randjbar/Daily Hive

The days of camping out overnight in one oceanfront parking lot in Vancouver are over.

A major crackdown this week saw more than two dozen parkers put in their place after they were told to move on or face a tow at the Jericho Beach parking lot.

Of the 24 vehicles notified by Vancouver Park Board rangers, 19 of the drivers left voluntarily.

“Rangers waited until 5 pm yesterday to see if they could make contact with the occupants of the remaining vehicles. They heard from all but two, and proceeded with courtesy tows to legal parking spots nearby. These spots were not located on the street,” Vancouver Park Board spokesperson Amanda Gibbs said Wednesday.

Jericho Beach in Vancouver. (EJ Nickerson/Shutterstock)

By late Tuesday, five vehicles were towed in total.

“Illegally parked RVs are not unique to Vancouver, and remain a challenging issue in many communities. People living in parked RVs do so for different reasons – not all people living in RVs consider themselves as houseless or at risk of houselessness. That said, the Park Board is aware that some vehicles are using the parking lots at city beaches outside of these hours and has been working to educate users that overnight parking is not permitted within parks,” Gibbs said.

Spanish Banks in October. (Arash Randjbar/Daily Hive)

In October, Daily Hive Urbanized spoke with some people who were camping out in the parking lot at Spanish Banks, which is near the Jericho Beach parking lot.

In recent months, more than 180 notices have been sent to vehicle owners by officials notifying them that they aren’t allowed to park in the parking lots between 10 pm and 6 am.

(Arash Randjbar/Daily Hive)

“Since the law enforcement are warning us, I haven’t parked. But it doesn’t stop me from coming back during the daytime,” Marcal Roag told Daily Hive Urbanized. “It won’t change the fact I want to keep living in my van.”

Roag told Daily Hive Urbanized he was sleeping in his vehicle in a Point Grey neighbourhood overnight and moving to the parking lot during the day instead.

Marcal Roag at Spanish Banks in October (Arash Randjbar/Daily Hive)

Officials insist that they are trying to speak with these people directly before things escalate to towing.

“All owners were given contact information for our City Outreach team who connect individuals with support services for people experiencing houselessness or other challenges.”

Following the October crackdown at Spanish Banks, few RVs were spotted in the parking lot overnight.

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According to liv.rent, the average cost of an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit for rent in Metro Vancouver is $2,227 per month. The vacancy rate last year was 0.9%, according to Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation.

With files from Arash Randjbar and Megan Devlin.