Think of it as Uber, but for empty parking spaces.
A private company is soliciting Deep Cove residents to offer up their unused driveway space to visitors in exchange for a few bucks.
In a flyer being distributed around the neighbourhood, ParkNGo.io pitches the plan not just as a means to “earn passive income from your unused driveway,” but also a way to reduce overall traffic in the area by quickly giving drivers a place to park rather than having them scour the local streets for an available space.
“Our mission is not just for hosts to earn money. Our mission is to increase and improve the safety of the community,” said ParkNGo co-founder Dmitry, (he declined to share his surname because he still works a day job).
As for how much someone with a little extra driveway space could earn, the company allows residents to offer the space for free, at a rate they choose themselves or – the recommended option – allowing ParkNGo’s AI to set rates fluctuating based on current demand
ParkNGo takes a 30 per cent cut, according to their website.
The District of North Vancouver has been struggling to manage the volumes of visitors who flock to the picturesque waterfront village during peak season, most often by car. Conflicts with residents have become common as visitors circle the neighbourhood looking for any unclaimed space within walking distance of the popular trails, parks and beach.
Most recently, council voted to scale back the amount of visitor parking allowed on local streets, putting either resident-only or resident-exempt time limits on 740 of the neighbourhood’s 910 street parking spaces and, starting this year, the municipality will charge $3 per hour to park in any of the municipally owned lots in Deep Cove.
District of North Vancouver not keen
District Coun. Lisa Muri said ParkNGo’s pitch doesn’t make much sense to her.
“I don’t support it. It sort of defeats the whole purpose of the work that we’ve been doing to find that balance between visitors, businesses, and people that are living in the Cove,” she said.
Because Deep Cove sprang up long before today’s urban planning around parking and cars, many homes have no off-street spaces at all.
Muri said she is highly skeptical that many folks in Deep Cove will bother to sign up, especially if it would mean having to move their own vehicles onto the street.
“I’d be surprised at how many people would actually take them up on it, because I think they require those very valuable spaces for their friends and family,” she said.
According to the district staff, such a service would not be compliant with local bylaws. As laid out in the terms of service, the company does not have any means for enforcement if someone overstays their allotted time and ParkNGo cannot accept any legal liability for anything involving their hosts and clients, Dmitry said.
Dmitry described the start-up as being at “Day Zero” and that they are only just starting to learn how the market for both drivers and hosts will respond, and how such a service could operate within municipal rules.
It may be the case that ParkNGo will only be offered in other communities where they have a similar imbalance between demand for parking and available supply.
Dmitry said he recognizes that not everyone will be open to the idea, but despite the district’s efforts, Deep Cove will remain a heavily travelled place for visitors, and ParkNGo simply offers some certainty for visitors with willing hosts.
“By limiting the parking, by not allowing people to find it in the first place, it's actually making the situation worse. Those people come. They cruise around in circles. They go and they explore surrounding areas,” he said. “We totally understand that we're not perfect, but we're making steps towards building a safer community, a safer environment, cleaner air.”
Longtime Deep Cove resident Benjamin Lawton said residents there have been allowing strangers to park in their driveways – PNE style – for as long as he can remember, but it was always more of a $20-and-a-handshake kind of agreement with no need for a web-based middleman.
Lawton said he doesn’t have any grievance with ParkNGo’s attempt to move into the neighbourhood. But with so many homes having secondary suites, he also doesn’t foresee much take-up.
“If you think about it, it would take cars off the public parking and if you’re a private landowner, and you have a driveway, I guess you should be able to do it. I mean, it doesn’t really hurt anybody else,” he said. “But a lot of people there, their parking spots are filled, either with toys and boats or multiple people living there.”
I haven’t received anything like that but I’ve considered going full PNE and standing out on the sidewalk with a sign saying $20
— VelocaRobert (@VelocaRobert) June 12, 2024
Do they provide insurance? My guess is your homeowner policy isn’t going to cover you turning your driveway into a parking lot.
— Sharpey Sharpe (@Sharpey_Sharpe) June 12, 2024
Some will be easily fooled into thinking this is a government scheme.
— Alex McRoberts (@webtwozero) June 12, 2024
The name looks quite sterile to that degree.
Tossed it in the recycling. Nice idea sure, but have you seen how people drive lately? And they think I want to take that risk onto my own driveway?!
