Stanley Park bike lane 'eliminates potential' for major events, says event organizer

The current configuration of the temporary bike lane through Stanley Park makes it impossible to stage major events in the park, said a Vancouver event organizer.

The current configuration of the temporary bike lane through Stanley Park makes it impossible to stage major events in the park, said a Vancouver event organizer.

Paul Runnals is the co-owner of Brandlive, a company which runs major events including the Honda Celebration of Light and Canada Day at Canada Place. Runnals is also the founder of the Skookum Music Festival which ran in Stanley Park in 2018 and 2019.

“(Stanley Park) has proven itself to be a really good site,” Runnals said. “It’s convenient and there’s very few locations left anywhere in proximity in downtown Vancouver where you can stage these larger events without having big impacts into residential areas.”

But Runnals said the temporary bike lane “eliminates any potential for major events” in the park because some sections use concrete barriers instead of moveable cones.

Trucks that carry staging and sound equipment generally enter the park using Pipeline Road, because they’re too tall to fit under the bridge on Park Drive at the Coal Harbour entrance. The trucks would normally then take a police escort the wrong way along Park Drive to the event site at Brockton Fields.

“It’s worked numerous times on these big events,” Runnals said. “(But) the concrete barriers are going to have to come out if there’s ever going to be another event in the park.”

The configuration of the temporary bike lane is set to remain in place until the completion of the Stanley Park Mobility Study, scheduled for early 2023. CTV News has learned the total budget of the study is $259,474 and so far $99,738 has been spent.