British ColumbiaPaid parking is coming for non-users of three Vancouver community centres, as well as a $25 rate for the VanDusen Botanical Garden’s Festival of Lights in 2026, as part of a pilot program from the Vancouver Park BoardPaid parking pilot program will also see hourly fees for non-users at golf course and 3 community centresAkshay Kulkarni · CBC News · Posted: Oct 21, 2025 11:53 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago The VanDusen Botanical Garden Festival of Lights will see a $25 hourly paid parking rate in 2026 as part of a pilot program from the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. (Daniel Beauparlant/CBC)Paid parking is coming for non-users of three Vancouver community centres, as well as a $25 rate for the VanDusen Botanical Garden’s Festival of Lights in 2026, as part of a pilot program from the Vancouver Park Board.The pilot comes as the board seeks to maximize revenue as part of a so-called Think Big strategy passed in 2023, with staff saying the program is expected to generate $1.5 million in total.Hourly parking rates will be set at $3.50 per hour for non-users of Hillcrest, Kerrisdale and Trout Lake community centres, and $4.25 for non-golfers at Langara Golf Course during the yearlong pilot program.Meanwhile, for the monthlong duration of the Festival of Lights in 2026, all visitors needing a parking spot will be expected to pay $25 for three hours.The paid parking program was likened to a bitter pill to swallow by park board commissioners and staff — but it ultimately passed by the narrowest of margins, as commissioners said it would be valuable to manage traffic and prevent service cuts elsewhere.”I will look to support this, but I will hold my nose because it is very difficult medicine to take,” said commissioner Scott Jensen.Speaking to CBC’s On The Coast before the meeting, Jensen acknowledged the idea of paid parking was an unpopular one.”But what initially was the concern is that there were a lot of day parkers that were occupying spots, and this is a way, a solution, to look at circulating cars out of some of those spots,” he said.Park board staff said they consulted with community centre associations as part of their report, and said the pilot program would be introduced in early 2026.”The … approach presented tonight, we think, is reasonable for managing high-demand parking, while supporting the funding of public services, as well as improvements to parking lots currently in use,” said park board staffer Jordan Lypkie, talking about the program on Monday.Lypkie said community centre users will likely be signing in their vehicle’s licence plate at a kiosk or through their smartphone, indicating which program they’re accessing, and receiving notifications when they’re close to three hours.WATCH | Spanish Banks paid parking an unpopular proposition:Paid parking now permanent at Vancouver’s Spanish Banks, with rate increasePaid parking is now in effect year-round at Spanish Banks. The Vancouver Park Board voted Monday night to make the paid parking pilot program permanent. As Pinki Wong reports, some regular visitors are not happy about it. Paid parking was permanently introduced at Spanish Banks Beach earlier this year after a 12-month pilot program.It is already in place at Roundhouse, West End and Creekside community centres.Some balk at high priceThe $25 parking fee for the popular VanDusen Festival of Lights — where adult tickets will cost $29 this year — was a sticking point for commissioners Tom Digby and Brennan Bastyovanszky.Bastyovanszky said he would have backed the program had the fees been reduced — returning to the analogy of a spoonful of sugar with bitter medicine — and instead abstained from supporting it.Park board staff said the proposed $25 parking rate for the VanDusen Festival of Lights was in line with other major events in the city. (Daniel Beauparlant/CBC)But commissioner Laura Christensen was in support of it, saying not having a paid parking program would mean further budget cuts for the park board.”I don’t want to have to work harder to cut more from our budget than we already are,” she said.”So, I’m going to encourage commissioners to … swallow this very difficult pill.”Ultimately, the motion passed after Jensen and Christensen voted in favour, with three absentions and two votes against.ABOUT THE AUTHORAkshay Kulkarni is an award-winning journalist who has worked at CBC British Columbia since 2021. Based in Vancouver, he is most interested in data-driven stories. You can email him at akshay.kulkarni@cbc.ca.With files from On The Coast
$25 parking fee coming for VanDusen Festival of Lights in 2026
