The new parking lot at Carlson Park (photo courtesy of the City of Vernon)

By Liam Verster

12 Stall Lot

Public parking lot opened at Vernon park

Nov 27, 2023 | 1:17 PM

A publicly-accessible parking lot has opened at Carlson Park.

The ribbon was cut Monday, Nov. 27 at the lot, located on Bench Row Road in the Commonage area at Vernon’s south end. It features 12 parking stalls, including one accessible space.

“Carlson Park has always been a wonderful spot to take a nice little walk in the woods, but parking was always an issue,” Mayor Victor Cumming said.

“Residents who enjoy visiting this hidden gem, now have a safe and easily accessible place to park. I’d like to thank FortisBC for working so closely with city staff to make this project happen, and have it work well for everyone involved.”

Earlier this year, FortisBC and the City of Vernon entered into a land sale agreement for 0.45 acres near Carlson Park to build a pressure regulation station. Through that partnership, an agreement was made to build the parking lot at the park.

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“The proximity of our system upgrades to the Carlson Park off-leash dog area provided an exciting opportunity for FortisBC to give back to the community,” FortisBC project director, Scott Bartlet, said.

“As we are committed to making our systems even safer, we decided to construct a parking lot beside our facility to provide a safe place for the public to park their vehicles when accessing the park, rather than on the side of the road. We are grateful for the City of Vernon’s support with this project, and we hope residents will enjoy this space even more now.”

The parking lot is fenced with gates leading to both the on- and off-leash dog parks.

The parking lot will be open from dusk to dawn, seven days a week.

FortisBC senior project manager Michael Defeo, FortisBC project director Scott Bartlett, Mayor Victor Cumming and Councillor Teresa Durning cut the ribbon at the new parking lot at Carlson Park (photo courtesy of the City of Vernon)