Vancouver city councillor wants city to allow public to drink in parks, beaches by summer

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — A Vancouver councillor wants to see people drink alcohol responsibly in Vancouver parks and beaches by the summer.

Councillor Christine Boyle says the measure is an issue of equality.

“More and more Vancouverites and especially renters are living in smaller spaces, without their own private outdoor space. And so they’re using public parks public beaches, as an extension of living rooms, and I think we should be able to make this change,” she says.

She plans to bring her proposal forward during a council meeting later this month, asking the park board to make the change.

“I would like to see us piloted now while we’re being told to get outside that that’s the safest place to avoid transmission of the coronavirus I think this is the time to test it out and keep learning as we go and tweaking the rules in there.”

But Park Board Commissioner John Coupar writes on Twitter, that the board has been studying the proposed changes since 2018.

He writes, “We are moving forward but at this time some other big priorities at the park-board,” with the hash-tags, “public safety”, and “physical distancing.”

Boyle adds, “There are bylaws around creating a public disturbance, the parks and beaches close to 10 unless otherwise posted. And there are neighbourhood noise bylaws so all of these things can and should still be enforced, to make sure that people aren’t being disturbed in their homes.”

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