Kitsilano Beach flooded, locals urged to stay away
Posted January 7, 2022 5:10 pm.
Last Updated January 7, 2022 10:12 pm.
A king tide swept across Kitsilano Beach on Friday, swallowing up the sandy area where visitors would usually walk and play and causing widespread damage.
Stanley Park and Ambleside Parks were also closed. Videos on social media showed water pouring over trails and roads, around cars and benches.
Please be cautious near the waterfront in #WestVan today, as wind gusts and a high tide have made for dangerous conditions. https://t.co/tMlBCVPAJ4
— West Vancouver PD (@WestVanPolice) January 7, 2022
Sections of the Seawall were also closed due to the flooding. The City of Vancouver tweeted Friday staff are monitoring the situation and will re-open the Seawall as soon as it’s safe.
A king tide is caused by the gravitational force of the earth and the moon bringing the ocean higher than usual. Another is expected Saturday morning just after 10 a.m., around the same time as when the tide peaked Friday.
It’s accompanied by strong winds that make the conditions unsafe on the waterfront. Environment Canada issued a warning to residents that wind speeds could reach up to 90 kilometres per hour in Vancouver.
Both the City of Vancouver and the District of West Vancouver are urging people to stay away from the waterfront.
Ambleside Park is now closed. The Seawalk remains closed. For your safety, please avoid these areas and obey closure signage. Strong winds and high tide are creating unsafe conditions on the waterfront. #WestVan https://t.co/5t4TrDrVuk
— District of West Vancouver (@WestVanDistrict) January 7, 2022
Tricia Barker, a Vancouver Park Board Commissioner who went for a four-hour walk on Friday, was blown away by the amount of wind she faced along the Seawall.
“I just continued on and got to Kits Beach and saw the pool had been flooded, and all the walkways around the Kitsilano showboat was underwater. The whole area was flooded,” she said.
“Also, the path that goes from Kits Beach to Trafalgar Street, a lot of that had been crumbled by the waves. A lot of that had been taken out, and the Park Board had just done a huge revamp on that whole trail, so a lot of that has been destroyed.”
Related Articles:
She says it was hard to stand up straight on the ice while fighting against the wind at Vanier Park.
“I don’t think we often have those kinds of winds in Vancouver,” said Barker.
Coming home, she was thinking about how much clean-up there is ahead of them.
“I’ve now seen the pictures of the Seawall in Stanley Park, and yeah, there’s going to be a lot of work that’s going to have to be done to get things back to where people can be out in these areas that we love so dearly,” she said.
“There’s going to be a lot of things to pick up, but you know, we did have that big wind storm when all those trees came down in Stanley Park, and we recovered from that, so I’m sure we’re going to recover from this.”
For everyone’s safety, and due to high winds, staff are closing Stanley Park. Reminder, the Seawall also remains closed due to the King Tide. @CityofVancouver https://t.co/nqYPlW6p6B
— Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation (@ParkBoard) January 7, 2022
She hopes nobody got injured while taking the same walking route she did Friday.
A statement from Jeannine Guerette with the Vancouver Park Board confirmed the winds and tide caused the closure of Stanley Park and parts of the Seawall.
“Staff efforts throughout the day were focused, first and foremost, on keeping the public safe. Now that the tide and winds have subsided, operations staff will turn their focus to cleaning up debris and assessing the damage, particularly to the Seawall,” she said.
“While Stanley Park has just been deemed safe to reopen, the Seawall will remain closed between Sunset Beach and the Lions Gate Bridge until further notice.”
Guerette added crews will be cleaning up this weekend, and engineers will begin assessing the damage more closely on Monday.
