The Park Board is requesting nearly $1M to extend the Alcohol on Beaches Pilot for 2024 in spite of major issues including an increase in violent incidents at Kits Beach and English Bay and "excessive litter conditions all over Kits Beach”, as stated in their report that goes to Council for decision on May 7, 2024.
https://council.vancouver.ca/20240507/documents/r8_000.pdf
You can submit comments here: https://vancouver.ca/your-government/contact-council.aspx
Staff are recommending "THAT Council approves the one-time 2024 operating budget increase of $930,300 to fund the operational and enforcement needs for the Alcohol on Beaches Re-Pilot in the summer of 2024, funded from one-time reallocations within the City’s 2024 approved operating budget."
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The Alcohol on Beaches 2024 Re-Pilot report states that during the 2023 Pilot, according to the VPD Calls for Service Data: "the reported number of violent incidents has tripled at Kitsilano beach (from 4 in 2018 to 12 in 2023) and quadrupled for English Bay (from 6 in 2018 to 28 in 2023).... Park Board Ranger’s data also shows the highest incidents at English Bay and Kitsilano during the same period...."
...impacts to Park Board staff consisted of dealing with public outrage or disrespect, inadequate staffing/support on the beach, and impacts to physical safety.
According to Park Rangers, the main issues revolved around their inability to enforce unruly behaviour and to mandate valid ID. With respect to disorderly and abusive behaviour, particularly at English Bay and Sunset beaches, the VPD had to get involved to settle behavioural and law- breaking issues. There were concerns around glass bottles and containers posing a safety risk to the public. In the case with lifeguards, increased alcohol consumption meant the necessity for increased vigilance on inebriated swimmers and parents, thereby increasing their workload and finding inadequate supervision on the beach.
The Park Board communications team had considerable challenges with the pilot taking place at some beaches and not on others. The team had to quickly pivot their communications plan to clarify to the public where alcohol was allowed and where it was not. Their forms of communication included additional social media posts, responding to individual queries, and adding supplemental signage at the beaches. This took unexpected staff time and resources.
Waste Monitoring Surveys
Park Board paper pickers monitored the litter conditions at the beaches over the course of the summer of 2023. Kitsilano Beach reported excessive litter conditions all over the beach - three times more than any other beach. Western beaches (Kitsilano, Jericho, Locarno and Spanish Banks) reported litter more often than downtown beaches, as well as more broken glass. Overall, staff noted that waste bins were rarely reported as full, which implies that the excessive litter was due to people not carrying their litter to the available waste bins."
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The pilot indicated all of these major issues and now they want to waste $1M on continuing it? Surely there are better things to do with that $1M? How is this a necessary and important expenditure when so many park amenities need fixing, including Kits Pool, and more funding is needed for park rangers to enforce other park bylaws such as smoking and illegal amplified music? And what about more funding for Animal Control to deal with the increasing number of illegal off leash dogs at Kits Beach? Why is allowing drinking in our parks getting so much attention?
Global TV article May 2, 2024: "City staff said without additional funding the pilot cannot be implemented."
Global TV Video: https://globalnews.ca/video/10466674/city-of-vancouver-could-allow-alcohol-some-beaches-again/
Gordon McIntyre article in the Vancouver Sun
Please submit your comments to City Council by 5pm on May 6th. https://vancouver.ca/your-government/contact-council.aspx
Elvira Lount