The days of free (or nearly free) parking on the City of North Vancouver’s busiest streets are coming to an end.
A split council voted Monday night to bring in a new era of paid parking.
Under the proposed boundaries, drivers will be expected to pay to park on most of Lonsdale Avenue and its side streets unless they have a residential permit. Quieter residential streets along the Lonsdale spine and Moodyville will mostly have two-hour limits on parking except for vehicles with street parking permits.
On commercial streets, parking will be free for the first 30 minutes and $1 for the second 30 minutes. After that, the price goes up to $3 per hour to a maximum permitted time of four hours. Drivers can pay either at street-side terminals or via a smartphone app.
The plan also increases the amount of curb space dedicated for loading zones and drop-off/pick up areas, as well as adding on-street spaces reserved for people with disabilities.
The changes are intended to increase turnover in coveted street parking spots and encourage people to make better use of underground parking which goes underused even at times of peak demand.
Under the new residential permit system, the cost of residential street parking will rise from the current $2.10 monthly to $8.33 for one vehicle and $12.50 for a second one. Rather than permits being granted on a block-by-block basis, they will instead be for neighbourhood “zones” and residents who live in multi-family buildings will become eligible to receive permits for the first time.
Non-market rates will be in place for households on low incomes, and day passes will be available for visitors who apply in advance.
Implementation will begin in September.
The changes have the general support of the North Vancouver Chamber and the Lower Lonsdale Business Improvement Association
When the matter last came before council on April 7, the prices were significantly higher, but Coun. Tony Valente introduced amendments to the policy intended to mitigate some of the many concerns council members received since going public with the plans.
Valente’s motion also calls for any net revenues the program brings in be sent to a fund dedicated to public safety and infrastructure improvements for streets and sidewalks.
“The city’s existing policies are from the '90s. It was a totally different era. We have a totally different situation now that includes, for sure, more congestion pollution,” Valente said. “I realize it’s not an easy change. It’s not a welcome change perhaps, but the current state actually is not working for us right now, and so we need to do something, because we do have a parking problem without this and so this is an approach that is balanced and measured.”
Couns. Angela Girard and Jessica McIlroy and Mayor Linda Buchanan agreed with Valente, and voted to adopt the changes.
“Streets are public space and we should be maintaining that public space for the benefit of all residents. When parking is priced appropriately, it promotes equity through more parking turnover, reducing unnecessary vehicle trips, and it promotes more walking. It promotes cycling. It promotes active transportation and more transit use,” Girard said. “When parking is free [or] it’s under priced, it encourages people to park for hours, which leads to congestion, it leads to frustration, which is not good for business, and it leads to pollution that comes with that.”
Couns. Don Bell, Holly Back and Shervin Shahriari all voted against the change, with most citing concerns about growing costs for residents and visitors, inconvenience for drivers and unintended consequences for the workforce that commutes to North Van.
“I just do not feel comfortable with the timing of this. Paid parking in front of businesses will definitely push shoppers elsewhere,” Back said.
Bell said Valente’s amendments had “fairly satisfactorily addressed” some of the concerns council received, but the pocketbook issue was too big to overlook.
“It’s never the time to make big changes, particularly if they involve dollars, but this is a particularly bad time because of the tariffs on top of everything else and the wastewater treatment plant,” he said.
Buchanan, however, predicted that the city would ultimately be better off.
“This is a big policy shift. We understand that, but it’s all about managing parking in a way that benefits the whole community. We are not looking at having businesses go out of business. We are not looking at having residents have to circle blocks, or have to walk multiple blocks to get where they want to go.… We want to make it easier to find parking, not harder.”
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