District of West Vancouver council is considering a plan to expand their pay parking program to 700 more spaces in the district's most visited parks.
If approved, pay parking would be added throughout the Cypress Fall Park, Seaview Walk, Ambleside Park, Argyle Avenue between 14th and 15th Street, John Lawson Park and Dundarave Park parking areas, bringing in approximately $1.05 million yearly revenue to the district.
Council discussed the expansion plan in a meeting Monday, in which Mayor Mark Sager teased a new high-tech approach to parking enforcement that could be revolutionary to the district. Sager said he recently met with someone "working for a company that has state of the art parking technology." The AI-based parking system, which wasn’t named, is used throughout the United States, Sager said, adding that they discussed testing it in West Vancouver.
“It was such a game-changing technology that it could really address a lot of parking problems throughout our community,” Sager said during the Nov. 18 meeting.
The mayor met with the Ambleside Dundarave Business Improvement Association, which saw huge potential, executive director Maureen O’Brien told council.
“I left there feeling like this is a solution to all of our parking problems," she said, listing issues such as a lack of enforcement in the business area, the need for parking for residents, and concerns voiced by the community and council about the pay parking sytem currently in place in some district parks.
O’Brien said the company offered a 30-day pilot in Ambleside Park and the nearby commercial area at no charge to show how it works and provide data on how many cars are coming and going.
The district launched a paid-parking pilot program earlier this year at Lighthouse, Nelson Canyon and Whytecliff parks. Visitors currently pay $5.22 per hour, while West Vancouver residents pay $27.09 annually for a pass. But the pilot parking program hasn’t come without criticism, as several park users have expressed frustrations about virtual-only pay parking options and cell coverage issues, and many groups have asked for exemptions, including veterans and those with a disability.
More than $560,000 has been collected from paid parking between February and September, according to a November staff report.
If approved, staff will discuss the matter with the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), West Vancouver School District and BC Hydro, which own some of the land in question.
Ambleside Park would have the most paid parking spots if approved. Some of Ambleside Park resides on Squamish Nation land, though Coun. Christine Cassidy said she disagreed with staff's promise to “engage” with them and the other stakeholders.
“It invokes the concept of consultation. When you engage somebody, you’re bringing them into a conversational consultation process,” Cassidy said. "What I would like done is to inform them, with respect."
By council resolution, revenue raised from the pay parking program will be used to support the district’s parks, culture and community services.
Sager said the district will let the public know when the test pilot occurs.
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative. [email protected]
