[Allan Edwin]

Not sure if this information has made the rounds yet, but this is an FYI for folk who have launched from Batchelor Cove in West Vancouver.

There is no longer any overnight parking on Dufferin Avenue (unless you know a resident on the street and can obtain a parking pass from them). Overnight is defined as midnight to 7 am. The daytime parking rules (7 am to midnight) limit parking to 3 hours.

The no parking signs extend all the way back to the corner at Marine Drive.

Now for the good news. At the west end of Batchelor Cove, there are stairs that ascend to street level on Marine Drive. For approximately 100 meters at the top of the stairs (extending roughly NE), overnight parking is available. That is, there are no signs prohibiting parking in any way.

All of the above is based on my experience this weekend, unloading/loading my kayak at the turn-around on Dufferin Ave, then parking where I described. It requires some faith in humanity to leave your gear on the beach to park your car, but it is doable.

In related news, Apodaca is a very nice park to visit. Well done Nick and volunteers who cut the trails and made the beach inviting. Do visit the park when you get the chance!

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[Allan Edwin]

Agreed: it IS deplorable. No, not temporary. This is a neighbourhood defending its exclusivity, in a district that is all about exclusivity. No one there wants attended, visiting vehicles left overnight to tempt thieves and riffraff.

With respect to day-trips, it is possible to park more than 3 hours in nearby Whytecliff Park, but you have to get up pretty early in the morning to get a parking spot most days.

I have also parked on Pilothouse Road, which wends its way around the neighbourhood of Caulfield, just east of Lighthouse Park. I launched from the small dock just down the hill from St. Francis in the Wood, Anglican church. Hardier souls might try the beach access trails in Caulfield Park.

[Nick Heath]

This deplorable parking situation has been this way since last year or earlier and I wrote to DWV to complain about it, but with no result. At first I thought (generously) that it might be COVID-related because some other shoreline parking was getting heavier use due to the pandemic, but they say that’s not the case here and it is not temporary.

It is not just that an overnight trip is now more difficult, but even a shortish day trip is a problem unless you wander off to those more distant streets.

One consolation is that at lest it is still better than Lion’s Bay public parking!

[Author]

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