Seats, shade may be in store for shore
Park board looks for vendor to offer beach chair, umbrella rentals at English Bay
English Bay, with its signature drumming circles, beach volleyball, and stunning mountain backdrop, is a fabulous beach. Now, Vancouver plans to make it even better.
Noting that beach chair and umbrella rental services are available at beaches worldwide, the Vancouver park board wants the same for its fair bay.
It is calling for expressions of interest for a vendor willing to set up shop at English Bay and rent out beach chairs and umbrellas to the public.
“We’re trying to do fun and fresh ideas for Vancouver, and in this day and age people want sun protection (with umbrellas). And it stops folks from having to haul their chairs down, especially when they’re taking transit,” said park board chair Sarah Kirby-Yung.
She added the service should be popular with tourists who likely wouldn’t have brought a folding chair in their luggage.
The park board plan is for a two-year pilot program to determine the “overall market appeal, value and viability,” and if it is successful it would likely lead to other beaches following suit.
Jericho Beach would be a likely next spot for a beach chair and umbrella rental business, said Kirby-Yung.
English Bay has long been a mecca for families and individuals wanting to stroll along its shores. But in modern times, unless they come equipped the seating is likely to be on one of the large logs that wash up on shore.
That certainly wasn’t always the case. A photo dated 1920 from the Vancouver Archives, for instance, shows sun worshippers lined up on the shore near a pier at English Bay in striped reclining beach chairs.
Kirby-Yung said she likes the idea of striped beach chairs, calling them “stylish.” But to her knowledge there’s never been a rental business for chairs and umbrellas at any of Vancouver’s beaches.
She said this isn’t the first time the park board has undertaken a pilot project within the city’s parks. She noted for the 75th anniversary of the Queen Elizabeth Park a zip line was set up. There was such a positive response from that project, she said, the park board is now considering setting up a permanent zip line in the park.
Expressions of interest for a zip line operator have already closed, and the board could be considering that proposal as early as April.
The deadline for expressions of interest for the beach chair and umbrella vendor must be in by April 15.
“We’re trying to do fun and fresh ideas for Vancouver, and in this day and age people want sun protection( with umbrellas).
SARAH KIRBY-YUNG
CHAIR, VANCOUVER PARK BOARD