Some picnickers at Sasamat Lake likely had a bit of a shock when they returned to their car parked along Bedwell Bay Road after a day in the sun and found it gone.
But Port Moody police inspector Ken MacDonald said several cars had to be towed on the weekend because they were parked illegally and posed a danger to auto traffic and pedestrians.
"There is no tolerance out there for parking violations because it becomes unsafe," said MacDonald who said the warm weather drew crowds to the popular beach, forcing park employees to close the parking lots early. Cars that didn't want to wait for an open spot resorted to parking on the shoulder along Bedwell Bay road and if they weren't in a legal spot had their car impounded.
"You have a lot of people resorting to using the highway for walking and there are no sidewalks. It creates a real safety issue for pedestrians," MacDonald explained.
Coquitlam RCMP also report a busy weekend keeping parks and the beach at Buntzen Lake safe. Const. Michelle Luca said police were out in force monitoring long weekend activities but there was nothing of any particular concern to report.
