{"id":523536,"date":"2026-03-09T00:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T00:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/523536\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T00:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T00:55:08","slug":"vancouver-park-board-to-vote-on-plan-to-reconnect-lost-lagoon-to-ocean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/523536\/","title":{"rendered":"Vancouver Park Board to vote on plan to reconnect Lost Lagoon to ocean"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Vancouver Park Board is set to vote on a staff recommendation to reestablish a connection between Stanley Park\u2019s Lost Lagoon and the ocean.<\/p>\n

Environmental conditions at the lagoon have been declining, according to a staff report, with poor water quality affecting the habitat and wildlife.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenges at this site can be addressed by restoring a tidal connection to the ocean while maximizing water quality, habitat, biodiversity, and recreational values and working toward reconciliation,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n

\"\"Concept low-tide sketches (Image: Matthew Thomson Design for Park Board, 2025, via staff recommendation report)<\/p>\n

The recommendation is based on a feasibility study that showed the lagoon could be connected to seawater through both Coal Harbour and Second Beach.<\/p>\n

Lost Lagoon was connected to Burrard Inlet until 1916, when the causeway was established through the park.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe berm built for what has become Highway 99 transformed this tidal ecosystem into a captive pond for recreational and aesthetic purposes, including pleasure boating and fish stocking,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n

\u201cA fountain was added in 1936 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the city incorporation, and in 1999, as part of the causeway highway widening, a wetland was constructed by the Province at the north side of the lagoon, to help filter water run-off from the highway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since it was cut off from seawater, sediment has accumulated in the lagoon, decreasing the depth and damaging water quality. One of the results has been a summer algae bloom that has appeared in recent years, the report says.<\/p>\n

\"\"Concept low-tide sketches (Image: Matthew Thomson Design for Park Board, 2025, via staff recommendation report)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lack of water exchange that would happen naturally in a tidal lagoon is a major contributor to the water quality issues, along with other localized environmental impacts,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it is isolated, infilling, and shallow with much of the shoreline non-naturalized, Lost Lagoon is considered an ecologically poor habitat, vulnerable to sea level rise and other climatic events.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Vancouver Fraser Port Authority have expressed support for the project.<\/p>\n

The cost of the project is estimated at $30 million. This funding is not currently available, the report says, but there is $200,000 available in the 2026 Healthy Habitats Capital Program to \u201cadvance the design to a level of detail suitable for grant applications, refine cost estimates, create a phasing plan, and seek the necessary funding partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Park Board is set to vote on the recommendation Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Vancouver Park Board is set to vote on a staff recommendation to reestablish a connection between Stanley…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523537,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[49,48,55],"class_list":["post-523536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}