[Reed Clarke]

My paddle yesterday had to be abruptly altered when I arrived at Barnet Marine Park to find road access blocked.

Of greater significance is that it’s going to remain blocked for some time.

And, there is more. When the City of Burnaby is finished rearranging things, there won’t be any vehicle access across (north side) of the railway tracks. So, it appears if you want to launch a kayak here in the future you will have to carry or roll your kayak from the parking lot.

Here’s how the City describes the work:

“The Barnet Marine Park east parking lots and beach access road located near  Barnet Highway and Takeda Drive will be completely closed for construction from approximately October 2019 to early May 2020. All vehicular and pedestrian access will be restricted from this construction zone during this period. Service and emergency vehicles requiring access will be accommodated at the west service gate of Texaco Drive. Please contact Parks Operations to arrange at 604-294-7206 or email Parks.Ops@burnaby.ca.

The popularity of Barnet Marine Park continues to grow. For the future safety and enjoyment of the park, the City of Burnaby is re-constructing the east parking lot area. This construction work includes a new vehicular turn around, drop off area, handicapped parking and reconfigured parking lot south of the railway, along with environmental improvements through additional bio-filtration drainage systems and oil receptors.

Upon completion of the construction project, general public vehicular access will no longer be available north of the railway. Pedestrian access will remain north of the railway from both existing roadways and the pedestrian overpass. Preapproved service, community sport associations, allotment based vehicles, and emergency vehicles will have controlled access through gates from either roadway as required.”

In the short term, paddling out of Barnet is now very awkward, to put it mildly. We’ll have to see how the long term plays out.

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[Allan Edwin]

Thanks for posting this. Definitely good to know access is less inviting now, and also that this is a development to be monitored.

[Author]

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