City council has voted in favour of plans to unpave a small parking lot at Boyce Gyro Beach Park in the Mission.
Currently, there's a 32-stall lot in the park just off of Swordy and Lakeshore Road, and was the original parking supply, in tandem with an even smaller lot across the street.
Planning Manager Robert Parlane says that changed 11 years ago, with the gravel lot at the bottom of Watt Road.
"Recognizing the demand for parking, the city purchased the land to the north in 2006, with the intention of replacing these two parking lots with a 100-stall parking lot," he said.
"In 2008, the city established a gravel parking lot permitted to hold up to 112. However, as it's a parking lot with no markings, typically it maxes out at 95 to 100."
Parlane says that gravel lot will be paved over and expanded to fit 132 stalls - the combined total of both current lots.
The one in the park is now set to be converted into a couple of beach volleyball courts, with construction coming next year.
Parlane says this is in line with what people are doing down by the water.
"Beach volleyball is a growing sport in Kelowna. In 2015 we had 89 teams, two years later we had a 27% increase, up to 113," he said.
"And it's not just a young person's sport, we see seniors teams down there as well."
Councillor Ryan Donn says parking changes always make for a hot topic, but that these plans carry a bigger picture.
"The benfit that I want to make sure we're showcasing is the fact that we're actually using that approximately $3 million asset, that was used as a parking lot, a little more for recreational needs in the community," he said.
"And the public should be aware that they're getting increased accessiblity, and there's also a piece of public art there as well. I jsut think there's lots of good, good things about this report that I don't want to get lost based on the parking conversation."
Staff say a loss in the net number of stalls will be limited to 18 on-street spaces on Watt Road, though plans to extend Lanfranco Road before 2020 will re-add those in the future.
The new parking lot will also have reserved spots for families and seniors.