Thousands of Metro Vancouver residents decided to visit a popular Tri-Cities summer hot-spot over the last three months.
And it appears BC Hydro's pilot project that aimed to reduce Buntzen Lake congestion and traffic somewhat worked.
According to the utility, more than 82,000 reservations were booked for a parking spot at the Anmore recreation site between June 27 and Sept. 5.
Over 66 per cent of that total utilized the system while the remaining 33 per cent were "no-shows," explained a news release today (Sept. 15).
Anmore Mayor John McEwen called the free online system a "game changer" as BC Hydro said it also reduced traffic congestion in the village by 10 per cent during peak hours.
"In previous years and even right up to the weekend before the reservation system was in place, access to and from our Fire Hall was frequently blocked, excessive traffic congestion turned Sunnyside Road into a parking lot, and there was illegal parking throughout the community, including on private property," he said.
"We look forward to hearing more about what was learned in this pilot project. We appreciate the work BC Hydro has done to test solutions to what had become a serious concern for our community."
Parking passes were available as early as 24 hours in advance and were required for all vehicles heading to Buntzen Lake.
Visitors had the option of booking for the morning (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.), afternoon (2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.) or for the whole day based on availability.
Additionally, TransLink's data showed roughly 210,000 people took transit to Buntzen Lake in that same span up until Labour Day as part of the authority's summer destination schedule.
BC Hydro added officials only had to temporarily close the recreation area's parking lot once over the 11-week trial due to capacity issues — a fall of 96 per cent compared to 27 in 2021.
"We are committed to the safe use of our recreation sites and we also want to be a good neighbour to the residents in Anmore," explained president and CEO Chris O’Riley.
"This parking reservation system helped ensure emergency access for first responders, ease traffic impacts on nearby communities and maintain free access to the site for everyone to enjoy."
BC Hydro explained, at this time, there are no current plans in place for the online system's return for summer 2023.
The agency said it's set to review all the data and feedback before making a decision.
For now, reservations are not required to park at Buntzen Lake.
Its lot is set to close at 6:30 p.m. starting Monday (Sept. 19), 6 p.m. on Oct. 3, 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 17 and 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 7.
For more information, you can visit BC Hydro's website.
