Lions Bay Parking 101

Where to find a spot when you need one

Back in the olden days, parking in the Village used to mean pulling well off to the side of our narrow byways in a spot near your house. Things would heat up in the summertime close to the beaches, but it was generally not a blood-pressure raising issue.

No more.

Between the hiking boom that took off during the pandemic and the latest inclination to find places nearer home to spend recreation time, Village parking is now at a premium, literally.

There are currently four designations for parking in the village:

• Pay parking

• Free parking, no permit or pass required

• Annual Resident parking pass required

• Guest parking pass, usable in Annual Resident parking areas

At the moment, there are three bylaw officers enforcing the rules.

Need a place to park? Here's where to look:

Pay Parking

To pay for parking in the village, visitors need to have the PayByPhone app installed. This app is widely used in Vancouver and other major cities, and replaced the previous FlowBird, which was less-widely used, and often difficult to download with reduced connectivity on our mountainside. Different streets have different codes, but the rates are reasonable and on par with parking charges in nearby municipalities.

Pay parking is available in the following locations:

• Sunset Trailhead parking lot: 17 spots

• East side of Mountain Drive: 40-45 spots

• Bayview Road (school side): 25-30 spots

• Lions Bay Beach Park (LBBP) lot : 26 spots

• Kelvin Grove Beach (KGB) lot: 27 spots

Free Parking

There is no visitor parking on Lions Bay Avenue or on Brunswick Beach Road. In fact, below the highway, there is virtually no free visitor parking. The secret to finding free parking above the highway in the Village is to watch for the absence of signage.

Village Bylaw Officer Taj Bindra says that any areas within the Village that do not have signage are considered open for anyone to park without the need for paying or an annual permit. This includes areas such as the top of Oceanview and Kelvin Grove roads, which Bindra says lack pay parking due to data signal limitations.

While there is no charge for parking at the Park N Ride on Isleview, those spaces are reserved for people taking transit.

The gravel parking lot below the school is owned by the West Vancouver School District (WVSD). Parking at the lot is free outside of school hours on evenings, weekends and in the summer. Parking at the small lot above the school on Bayview Avenue is restricted to five minute drop-off on school days, and the second small lot above the school is Annual Pass only.

Lions Bay Search and Rescue conduct deployments from the school field, so use of this parking lot can be restricted under those circumstances, particularly if a helicopter rescue is involved.

Lions Bay Store and Cafe's parking lot is privately owned, and restricted to temporary parking for customers shopping and collecting mail. No long-term visitor parking is allowed.

Annual Parking Pass

Two complimentary Resident Parking Permits are included annually with the utility tax notices. The current passes expire July 31, 2026. Permits are to be displayed at the top or bottom driver's side of the front windshield, and are for the use of residents or tenants only. Extra permits are available to residents for $40 each.

Office staff ask that residents with valid permits park in the areas designated by Annual or Resident Permit signs. Residents with valid, properly displayed Resident Parking Permits may also park for free in the metered KGBP lot and the Sunset Trailhead lot, but must pay for parking in the metered LBBP lot.

Guest Parking Pass

Guest parking passes are available at the Village Office to residents for no charge, and can be replaced as needed. These passes must be properly filled out to be valid for on-street parking until noon the following day.

Bindra says that visitors using one-day guest permits can park "on any streets regardless if it is paid street parking, but cannot park in any of the paid parking lots at the Sunset trailhead, KGBP or the LBBP lot."

What Else Should You Know?

The entrance to the LBBP has been designated as a 15 minute drop-off zone, to facilitate loading and unloading kids and beach gear, with an enforced time limit.

There are a handful of free three-hour parking spots both above and below the Village Hall for those conducting business at the Village Office.

Parking along Centre Road is only allowed during events at the Village Hall. Bindra says that event permits are typically issued by the host and must be visible inside the vehicle's windshield.

Recent incidents of parking along highway ramps by beach visitors have prompted a Public Works plan to install 'No Parking' signs. Parking along these ramps presents a danger to both drivers entering and exiting the highway, and to pedestrians.

Bylaw officer Bindra reminds anyone parking on Village streets to always read posted signage carefully.

"Ensure your PayByPhone transaction is complete before leaving your vehicle," he adds, "And remember to park respectfully and never block emergency access points or private driveways."

Anyone unsure about parking can contact the Bylaw Department at 604-834-3404 or bylaw@lionsbay.ca for clarification. Further parking information can also be found HERE on the Village website.

"If residents have concerns about visitors parking on their street, they may bring this concern up with Karl Buhr, Director of Operations," says Bindra.

Buhr can be reached at pwm@lionsbay.ca.

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