Myrtle Park

I haven’t been to a park which was completely empty on a late sunny weekend morning. That morning, I was driving through Deep Cove in North Vancouver and I stumbled upon Myrtle Park which was surrounded with some Maple, Douglas fir and Spruce trees. I walked down the trail which led me to the grassy part to the park. It consisted of a field for soccer and football and I read a sign, «Soccer and/​or football practising is not allowed at any time. Groups found practising on sportsfields will be fined and penalized.» Apparently, park users who plan to use the soccer/​football field will require permits.
Are they serious? This is a public park! It’s a little tiny hole-​in-​the-​wall park with no parking lot with a high school quality grass field and one needs to use a permit to use it? The Vancouver Whitecaps soccer team and BC Lions football team don’t practice here, and they expect users to have a permit to use the field?
There is no locked fence or gate, but if you step inside and play soccer or football without a permit, you could be fined or jailed. What a joke, but it’s real, so don’t step foot into the empty field unless you have a permit.
If you have a dog, don’t take it to Myrtle Park too! Dogs are prohibited at Myrtle Park!
You want to practice soccer at a quality soccer field without a permit? Go to Burnaby. The Swangard Stadium’s soccer field which hosted 2007 FIFA U-​20 World Cup and former stadium of the Vancouver Whitecaps is free for the public to use without a permit.