Busy opening day at Vancouver golf courses, VanDusen Botanical Garden, says park board

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — On the first day of reopening a pair of public golf courses and the VanDusen Botanical Garden, generated a lot of interest, according to the Vancouver Park Board.

In launching the return of more paid-for recreational activities, Park Board General Manager Malcolm Bromley says the McCleary and Fraserview Golf Courses are at 90 per cent capacity – the highest level the park board will let the courses at for the time being.

Golf returns to Fraserview and McLeery this morning with health safety measures in place. Please adhere to guidelines and have fun again. @ParkBoard #golf pic.twitter.com/Kj1Z7jTcg9

— malcolm bromley (@vanparkGM) May 1, 2020

After announcing the reopening last month, Bromley says the golf courses sold out tee-times within two hours.

He says Van Dusen saw immediate interest from the public as well Friday morning.

“At 10:15 this morning, there was 551 tickets obtained,” he says, adding almost half of the sales were people without memberships.

These sites were closed in mid-March because of the health crisis to encourage people to stay home.

With the reopening, there are also precautions put in place around the garden, like people scanning their tickets and phones through glass and extra measures to keep people apart, Bromley explains.

“We’ve reduced the capacity there for the opening phase to see how it goes and we’ll slowly grow that as well.”

Almost 50 per cent of the park board’s operating budget comes from fees, he says, which dried up early when the pandemic shut down recreational facilities. It resulted in the layoffs of many people who weren’t full-time staff.

While Bromley acknowledges job creation is important, especially for students looking for summer jobs, he says the Park Board will do its best to staff within its means.

“We’ve got work, for sure, for all that workforce. But right now we’ve gone down to an essential service level just to make sure that we stay within the fiscal capacity of the city and the park board,” he explains.

As for the other public golf course in Vancouver, Bromley is hinting another reopening should be around the corner.

“Stay tuned. You’ll see us announce bringing Langara on-stream within in the next couple of weeks,” he tells NEWS 1130.

For the time being, there’s a meal program working out of the kitchen there providing meals for 700 people on the Downtown Eastside.

-With files from Hana Mae Nassar