District of West Vancouver residents have landed themselves on one of the most coveted spots in Monopoly – free parking.
Council voted Monday to waive the nominal $27 fee the municipality had been charging residents for annual parking passes valid for Lighthouse, Nelson Canyon and Whytecliff parks, where visitors from outside the district currently pay $5.22 per hour.
The annual fee was intended to help cover the cost of administering the pay parking program, which started in February 2024. As of Dec. 1, 796 resident parking permits had been issued, resulting in a net revenue of $32,328 for the district, while visitors to the three parks had pumped about $600,000 into West Vancouver’s community chest.
When the pandemic sent people to the region’s parks looking for safe outdoor recreation, the amount municipalities had to spend on garbage pick up, public washroom cleaning, and maintenance went up, noted Coun. Sharon Thompson.
“Without that, our parks were actually getting pretty disgusting, and the real push to put these parking fees in place is, in fact, to be able to increase that service,” she said, adding that she wanted to “give residents a break.”
“It’s become so much more lucrative than we could have imagined and I really believe that we already do pay our taxes, as residents, to upkeep these parks,” she said.
The majority on council agreed. The vote, however, was not unanimous.
Coun. Christine Cassidy said she could not abide leaving $32,000 on the table while the district is looking to expand pay parking to other parks, which will bring more upfront costs.
“In my world, it isn’t chump change," she said, adding that many non-profits could make good use of that kind of money. "As we proceed through these other various parks … we’re going to have continued administration costs. I think it’s inordinately premature, and I think we have a fiduciary responsibility to cover our costs.”
Coun. Nora Gambioli also voted against the change, albeit for different reasons.
Gambioli acknowledged that free parking might be a winning proposal politically, but she said the intent of the program was also to dissuade people from driving to the parks, which is undermined by exempting the people who live closest to them.
“I really think it’s a small amount to pay,” she said, adding that the City of Vancouver does not provide pay parking exemptions for its taxpayers. “It may make me unpopular, but I think that I can’t support this at the moment.”
West Vancouver residents will still need to apply for their free pass at impark.com/westvan.
The municipality has faced criticism from visitors for requiring smartphone app-based payments in parks where cell coverage is spotty. Staff say they are looking into purchasing or renting kiosks that will allow people to pay on the spot, regardless of whether they have a solid internet connection.
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