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According to Park Board staff, both the Service Yard and Stanley Park Train lots have been identified as potential sites for redevelopment into multi-level parkades. There would be no impact on the existing green footprint of the park.

Together, these two existing surface lots provide 318 stalls, but constructing two-storey parkades could raise the combined total capacity at these locations to 536 stalls. Additional levels would further increase capacity to 804 stalls (three levels), 1,072 stalls (four levels), 1,340 stalls (five levels), and up to 1,608 stalls (six levels).

Each additional level would add about five metres in height, with the parkade concept capped at 30 metres to avoid exceeding the surrounding tree canopy.

Multi-level parkade facilities — the first for Stanley Park — are contemplated for both of these locations, as the access points from Pipeline Road would not impact the possibility of transforming Stanley Park Drive into a car-free roadway.

These parkades would also serve to at least replace the surface vehicle parking lots removed from a car-free configuration of Stanley Park Drive. A new Stanley Park shuttle bus or public transit bus service would need to be implemented if much of the parking supply is relocated to this centralized area for parking.

“It potentially allows the Park Board to meet the demand of those who currently use parking lots in Stanley Park without detrimentally impacting the park experience,” reads the study.

“Similar parking and transit systems are being established at destination parks and areas across North America and around the world to provide access while ensuring protection of natural areas.”

Both sites are also deemed to be suitable for more parking capacity, as data collected shows many who drive their private vehicle to Stanley Park go to major attractions and destinations in the park’s geographic core, including the Vancouver Aquarium, Stanley Park Train, and Malkin Bowl.

Under a car-free Stanley Park Drive configuration, the overall vehicle parking capacity in Stanley Park would plummet to 86 per cent. Only the Service Yard lot, Stanley Park Train lot, and Stanley Park Pavilion lot would remain accessible to vehicles. The Park Board’s annual parking revenue — which directly goes toward supporting the operations and maintenance of the park system — in Stanley Park could conceivably see a drop of 85 per cent.

Such a major revenue loss scenario is deemed highly problematic, necessitating consideration of building new replacement vehicle parking capacity elsewhere, such as multi-level parkades.

The upfront construction cost of such parkades would be high. For this reason, Park Board staff also suggested the possibility of considering building a temporary modular multi-level parkade structure as a pilot project to gauge demand and other changes — citing the example of a two-level modular parkade built in St. Lambert, Quebec, where a pre-fabricated structure was built on top of an existing paved parking lot. It was built in only one month.

“The demand for parking space in downtown Vancouver and Stanley Park for film and other events is consistently high, and such a structure could provide capacity for this otherwise unmet need. A parking structure could also be designed for potential repurposing for an alternative land use at a later stage. The feasibility of this is worth exploring further,” reads the study.

Some of the reduction in parking revenue could also potentially be offset by new business ventures and opportunities in Stanley Park.

Earlier this summer, Daily Hive Urbanized reported on CMHC Granville Island’s plan to build a major underground parkade as part of a new mixed-use market structure. The project would add leasable commercial space and include the ground-level terminus for an elevator and staircase tower connecting to the pedestrian and cycling pathways on the Granville Street Bridge deck.

Beyond improving access, this project would generate new revenue to help CMHC Granville Island operate, maintain, and renew the island’s facilities. Similarly, it would also allow some of the existing surface parking lots to be consolidated, freeing those areas to be transformed into car-free, pedestrian-only plazas, event spaces, and other active uses.

Other than major financial considerations, the completed Stanley Park Mobility Study also determined a need to maintain vehicle access for accessibility reasons.

The study found that 80 per cent of visitors with mobility-related disabilities access Stanley Park by private vehicle in groups. Seniors also rely more heavily on being vehicle passengers than the general population, suggesting a need for more motorized transport options that don’t require them to drive.

Vehicle traffic volumes are high mainly on summer weekends. International tourists tend to visit the eastern and northern attractions, such as the Vancouver Aquarium and Brockton Point totem poles, while locals more often use the western and southwestern areas of the park.

Spending patterns vary by transportation mode. Visitors arriving by vehicle in groups spend the most, while solo drivers spend the least — about half as much as people who walk, cycle, or scooter into the park. Walkers are also the most frequent visitors, while bus public transit users visit the least.

For this reason, Park Board staff recommend providing some financial resources to plan a new additional TransLink bus route for Stanley Park, which would run along the entire eight-km-long looping perimeter road length of Stanley Park Drive. TransLink has indicated its interest in such an additional bus route, which would begin and end at Waterfront Station. Planning for the bus route would take place in 2026, with a potential launch of the service in 2027.

Additionally, the public transit authority is considering further improvements to the existing No. 19 Stanley Park/Metrotown and No. 23 Main Street-Science World Station/English Bay to better serve Stanley Park.

In addition to launching a new TransLink bus route in the near term, Park Board staff intend to pursue detailed studies and pilot projects to assess the “viability and cost implications” of car-free options on Stanley Park Drive over the longer term. This includes the consideration of new permanent designs and configurations for Stanley Park Drive, such as the inclusion of a bus-only lane, a bike lane, and/or other permutations.

The cost of planning car-free days and conducting these studies is estimated at a minimum of $200,000, not including the actual operating expenses of the car-free days themselves.

The findings, recommendations, and potential options and ideas in the Stanley Park Mobility Study are intended to be implemented over the long term — over more than 20 years. This includes the possibility of the parkade sites.

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