Public drinking will finally become legal in these 22 Vancouver parks next week

Well folks, after over two years of playing around with the idea, the Vancouver Park Board is finally ready to launch a public drinking pilot program. Starting next week, Vancouverites will be able to drink (legally) at 22 parks around the city. Here’s what to know about it.

First off, you can’t wander around every part of the parks with a beer in hand. Instead, there are designated ‘pilot sites’ for it. These pilot sites were based on a number of factors, ranging from ‘buffer zones’ with playgrounds to easy access to avoiding bathing beaches.

Enjoy a drink responsibly in 22 parks across the city this summer! The new Alcohol in Parks Pilot, allowing public consumption of alcohol in select Vancouver parks, launches July 12. For locations and full details visit: https://t.co/MCSMfq4pzJ pic.twitter.com/jpf3wwS1Xg

— Vancouver Park Board (@ParkBoard) July 7, 2021

That said, here’s the full list of the parks that were included:

Collingwood Park
David Lam Park
Fraser River Park
Granville Park
Harbour Green Park
John Hendry (Trout Lake) Park
Kitsilano Beach Park / Hadden Park
Langara Park
Locarno Beach Park
Maple Grove Park
Memorial South Park
Memorial West Park
New Brighton Park
Pandora Park
Queen Elizabeth Park
Quilchena Park
Riverfront Park
Robson Park
Rupert Park
Stanley Park
Vanier Park
Volunteer Park

kitsilano beach park public drinking pilot — Photo via City of Vancouver

Take Kitsilano Park as an example. Although the park covers a huge space, the only drinking pilot site is located near the northeastern most tip of it. Another thing to keep in mind is that drinking will only be allowed during certain hours of the day, from 11 AM to 9 PM, and the pilot will run until October 11th of this year.

Well, we must admit that after over two years of planning, we expected to have a little more robust public drinking pilot project than 3 months in a handful of parks. But hey, maybe public feedback will have it come back bigger and better next year.

We sure hope so! For more info on the rollout, just click here.

Curiocity Staff

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