Crack open a cold one, beer is back at the beach

Plus, the federal government has recriminalized drugs in public


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Good morning,

If you haven’t bought sunscreen, ACs or tall beach umbrellas, it may already be too late. It approaches… And by it, I mean the hot weather. It’s slated to get up to 27 degrees in some areas of the city this weekend. 

Speaking of summer, we’ve got a breakdown of the park board’s approval of another pilot allowing alcohol on beaches and what it says about the city.

Let’s dive in!

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout editor

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WEATHER

Wednesday: 17 🌡️ 9 | ⛅

Thursday: 22 🌡️ 12 | ☀️

Friday: 24 🌡️ 12 | ☀️

PARKS

Crack open a cold one, beer is back at the beach

What happened: The park board has approved another year for the pilot project allowing alcohol on certain beaches throughout Vancouver, according to CTV. It was approved by all councillors, except commissioner Tom Digby who cited negative findings from the previous year, and a lack of control over setting police budgets to deal with added management of the program. 

Locations: Seven beaches were approved for the pilot, including Jericho, John Hendry, Kitsilano, Locarno, New Brighton, Spanish Banks and Stanley Park Second Beach. Noticeably absent was English Bay and Third Beach, which if you’ve ever visited, most definitely have people enjoying beverages. 

  • Affordability?: A weird point, but a valid one — the report noted that allowing people to drink on beaches meant there was a more affordable option to socialize with friends, rather than spending money at bars, according to CityNews. 

Zoom out: This follows a recent trend in Vancouver that has resulted in a more permissive approach to drinking. In 2023 the park board approved year-round drinking in 31 parks in designated areas, according to Urbanized. Metro Vancouver also expanded alcohol-friendly areas in regional parks for 2024, from Canada Day to Thanksgiving as part of their own pilot, according to Vancouver is Awesome. 

  • A big question: Excuse me for this mini-rant, so feel free to skip ahead. But I’ve been to many cities in Europe and around the world where everyone drinks in public. Parks in Germany, streets in the UK, loose patios in Budapest, convenience stores in Taiwan — why is it only in North American cities where we need endless studies? Why can’t we just do what other countries successfully already do?

Counterpoint: As outlined in the report, violent calls at Kitsilano Beach and English Bay both increased from 2018 to last year. The park board has requested an additional $930,000 for an increased police presence at these beaches.

  • Counter, counterpoint: The police themselves admitted they were unprepared and not ready for the pilot. And English Bay, where violence increased, was not actually part of the alcohol pilot, according to CTV. 

Reality check: If you have ever spent any time at any Vancouver beach, you know people drink, regardless of the rules. Park Board commissioner Jas Virdi acknowledged this, and was part of the reason for supporting the creation of a safe place to do it, according to CTV. 

Why it matters: The city’s rules are catching up…slowly… with the reality on the ground and the reality of other world-class cities — people are going to enjoy a beer on the beach, so why bother fighting it? It also illustrates how the city is, also slowly, moving into more of a “fun” direction. 

In other news: Speaking of a fun city, it sounds like Vancouver may, in fact, host viewing parties for the Canucks games. The city will announce the details in the coming weeks, according to Global. But that hasn’t stopped other cities around the region from hosting their own viewing parties in the first found, including Delta, Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam. 

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It’s a decision they would regret when Amazon acquired Ring, turning the $700K into $10M. But what made Ring blow up and change doorbells forever? Retail distribution.

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Exits in the smart home industry have yielded massive returns for early investors (look at Ring and Nest's billion dollar acquisitions) and the Dragons think they’ve spotted a winner in RYSE.

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

🏗️ $7 million: The cost to build the new Bute-Robson Plaza, a new permanent pedestrian-oriented space. [Urbanized]

📈 46: The number of rezoning applications for properties along the Broadway Plan, up from 26 in Q4 2023. In the last five years, there were only an average of 76 for the city during the entire year. [CTV]

HEALTH

Federal government recriminalizes drugs in public

What happened: As expected, the federal government has approved BC’s amendment to the decriminalization pilot, bringing back criminal penalties for using drugs in public spaces, according to CityNews. 

  • There has been some confusion about how quickly the federal government would act after they requested additional information from the province last week, while the provincial government said they had provided everything, according to CityNews.

Background: It’s been less than a year into the decriminalization pilot, according to CTV and already there have been changes. Small amounts of drugs are still legal, but using them in public spaces is now against the law. The province made the request after months of intense public backlash, especially from municipal leaders. 

Balance: That was the focus in the federal government’s response to the request. 

  • The Federal Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks said: “We’ve moved forward with B.C. on this with a clear lens on public health and public safety because we know that we need to address the opioid crisis and the overdose deaths that we’re seeing as a public health issue. This is a health crisis, not a criminal one. That being said, communities need to be safe, people need to have confidence that, in their own communities, they can move about freely and feel comfortable and engaged, but we also want to make sure that those who are using drugs also have safety and have health-care service to support them so that we can save lives.”

Zoom out: Another month, another grim announcement when it comes to overdose deaths — the BC Coroners’ Service announced at least 192 people had died from unregulated toxic drugs in March. That’s an 11% decline from March 2023, according to the Corners’ Service. 

What this all means: The federal government’s approval isn’t a surprise and was widely expected to happen. Looking beyond this issue, it’s hard not to see this in the context of the BCNDP’s falling polling numbers. The latest poll shows the BC Conservatives have a two-point lead on the BCNDP in the next provincial election, at 38.9% compared to 36.2%, according to CityNews. It’s been an issue pushed heavily by both the BC Conservatives and BC United.

HOME OF THE WEEK

Today I asked myself, what does the low-end of Vancouver’s housing market look like right now?

Surprisingly, there are many bachelor pads available right now. I can’t say for sure, but I suspect the province’s short-term rental rules may be why.

This place is small. Not kitchen-closet small, but at 444 square feet, you are living and eating in almost the same place. But the kitchen is actually quite large and it’s located in a prime spot near Yaletown.

THE AGENDA

🪧Downtown Eastside residents took to the streets on Sunday, marching to raise awareness about the need for affordable housing in the neighbourhood. Experts expect the number of homeless people to grow to 4,700 by 2030. [CityNews]

👎 It turns out Lululemon may not be as green as you’ve been led to believe… The Competition Bureau is investigating the company over its marketing campaigns about how much greenhouse gas emissions it has reduced. [CBC]

⛔ No way Jose — the province has told Burnaby that they will not exempt the Brentwood area of Burnaby from the Transit Oriented Development plan, which would see automatic upzoning of areas next to major transit citations. The city had argued the area had already undergone enough densification. [Storeys]

⛴️ Fool me with a barge stuck on a beach once, shame on you. Fool me a second time… Well that wasn’t the case this time as the Coast Guard managed to intercept a runaway barge that was heading towards Sunset Beach on Tuesday, preventing it from running aground. [Global]

🌳 A fallen tree caused road chaos on the Stanley Park Causeway, shutting it down and closing Highway 99 on Tuesday morning. It was removed and the road was reopened at 3:30 pm. [Urbanized]

SURVEY

What readers had to say about paid parking at Spanish Banks Beach

Earlier this week the park board voted 4-1 in favour of adopting paid parking for Spanish Banks Beach, with the board noting they need additional funding and the fees would reduce vehicle congestion, according to CTV. 

Lookout readers were somewhat mixed on whether the park board should adopt paid parking. You can see the results below.

And here’s what some readers had to say along with some comments from me:

Reader: We cram families into small condos with no green space or play space. Massive numbers of trees are cut down for development. The beach is one family space that can be freely enjoyed for whatever time the family can spare. Kids can run and play, relatives can join…. It is a very special experience. The cost of living in Vancouver is abhorrent enough. Leave some access to nature free for all to enjoy. It’s the community health we are gambling with.

Geoff: I hear this person, but I would push back a bit on this, will a couple of dollars really stop families from taking their kids in a car to the beach? All other beaches have paid parking and that doesn’t stop people from visiting. Plus at $1 per hour, it’s actually very affordable.

Reader: We need free access to Spanish Banks Beach for the sake of our health, mental and otherwise. We need somewhere in Vancouver where we can gather without cost!

Geoff: Putting aside the fact cars cost people more money than transit, I would 100% agree that the city, and most cities in North America, fail spectacularly when it comes to free public spaces where people can gather. It’s something cities really need to prioritize.

Reader: Non-drivers regularly subsidize infrastructure used solely by those who drive. It's time for the latter to start paying their share.

Geoff: I wouldn’t put it directly like that, but this person brings up a good point — private care use ends up being subsidized by the public, through things like parking upkeep, roads etc. One way to think about it is that transit and parking are both public goods, yet we pay for transit and not parking. Is that fair? I suspect over time we will this shift as cars become more expensive. And with that, we need more transit and alternative forms of affordable transportation so people can get around.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Vancouver Magazine released their 2024 Restaurant Awards. I’ll share my own thoughts on the awards later this week!

  • Congrats to Vancouver writer John Vaillant, who was named one of the two finalists for Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction, for his book Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast about the Fort McMurray wildfire. [Vancouver Sun]

  • If you’ve got water on your mind, then this helpful list of pools open this summer is for you. [Daily Hive]

  • Bad news for Italian fans — the popular and award-winning Cioppino’s is closing down at the end of 2024. [Vancouver is Awesome]

  • The city’s Board of Variance is looking for applicants, you can apply here.

  • It looks like the bookies don’t think the Canucks will beat Edmonton… [Vancouver is Awesome]

  • Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here

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GAME TIME

Today’s Vancouver Guesser is a park (the area just behind the shrubs). Can you guess where this is? Reply with your name and correct response to be featured in the newsletter!

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