Vancouver eyes massive West End parking permit hike
Posted July 12, 2016 4:30 pm.
Last Updated July 12, 2016 4:31 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Those living in the West End could soon be shelling out a whole lot more dough for street parking.
In fact, the cost of a parking permit could go from $80 a year to $600, under the West End Parking Strategy, which has yet to go to council.
That move would also drop free two-hour parking areas and replace them with meters.
The city’s aim is to make it easier to find parking by reducing demand for spots through this pay hike, as it will encourage people to look for alternative transport options.
But not everybody is thrilled with the proposal.
“There’s a lot of older buildings in the West End that don’t have their own parking on-site,” says Paul Juzkow, who has lived in the neighbourhood for 25 years. “Some people need their cars for work. For example, I worked in an industrial area where there was no bus service nearby for 10 years.”
Juzkow is concerned that whatever extra revenue is generated as a result of this move won’t actually trickle specifically back to the neighbourhood.
“The city is going to get, I estimate about $5-million a year from this proposal,” says Juzkow. “They say it’s going to come back to the West End in some form of other changes, but I don’t know who’s monitoring that.”
You can have your say on the city’s website — if the increase does happen, it will only apply to new permitholders.
