Watch out, residential permit buyers. People are noticing that you’re getting a discount rate. City engineers among them. Check the answer on City Plumber.
City Plumber: Why does the city sell its street-parking permits for so much less than the market cost of parking?
July 9th, 2012 · 13 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
13 responses so far ↓
1 Joe Just Joe // Jul 9, 2012 at 5:03 pm
I think Joseph Jones brought up a good point years ago, give each household in sfh areas one permit per year on paying their property tax good for that block only. You can use it for guests when visiting if you park in your own driveway/garage etc. This would avoid the issue of neighbours fighting over lack of parking. The free parking encourages people to use their garages for storage or worse illegal suites and just park on the street. Anyone that wants a 2nd pass could pay thru the roof for it, say $1200-$1800yr. Should make for better neighbourhoods.
2 Joe Just Joe // Jul 9, 2012 at 5:37 pm
As an added bonus with only one pass per home if you want to throw a party you have no choice but to go speak with your neighbours and invite them over in exchange for their pass hence increasing community interaction.
3 Bill Lee // Jul 9, 2012 at 7:15 pm
Discussions should go to :
http://www.francesbula.com/QUESTIONS/parking-permits-sold-for-too-little/
for those who don’t notice that the CITY PLUMBER is on /in the left-hand rail
And it is really about “on-street parking”, (generally in the West End downtown), but a resident can park as many cars as they want (See PNE area rules. Ha! Another reason to reclaim the entire PNE as a green park with lions and poisonous snakes and restore the golf course that the Stadium/Playland tromped upon) on their own property.
4 Trish French // Jul 9, 2012 at 8:11 pm
The Resident Permit Parking system was introduced to deal with areas where non-residents (i.e. commuting employees, shoppers, hospital visitors, PNE fairgoers, etc) were making it difficult for local residents to park on their street. A parking use survey to determine the extent of the problem is (or at least was) required before an area was made a permit area. My understanding is that the fee is intended to pay for the enforcement involved, not to pay for the parking, per se. In effect, people in RPP areas pay a fee to ensure parking is available on their home blocks. If the City wants to view all street parking spaces, not just metered ones, as revenue generating opportunities, then they will need to apply a charge to all spaces–including all the areas where people now park completely for free. I doubt whether this is a winner, politically
5 Frances Bula // Jul 9, 2012 at 8:23 pm
@Trish. I don’t get the sense that engineering is talking about charging for every space in the city. But, in areas where there is congestion, as you say, trying to come up with mechanisms to get people to park in the off-street parking that IS available for them before opting for a street spot.
6 Trish French // Jul 9, 2012 at 9:34 pm
@ Frances. Aaaah, we’re talking about the Social Engineering Department! Good luck to them.
7 Julien // Jul 9, 2012 at 10:15 pm
However in areas where the permiit parking has existed, we’ve seen that private operators will not go below a certain floor in terms of parking(which is still many multiples of the cost of a permit) which brings into the question the whole market aspect.
And of course there are many areas of ther city where these precious feet of curb are availble for free to home owners. Although beware the evil stares if one dares to park in front of another’s ones house.
But I’f we take the example of Montrea, most of the old buroughs use a permit parking , any many such as the Plateau don’t have significant off street parking but still work. They don’t impose market rates but the charge for a second permit is much more.
8 Bill Smolick // Jul 10, 2012 at 9:05 am
> And it is really about “on-street parking”, (generally in the West End
> downtown)
A friend in the Cambie corridor has a two car garage and purchases a parking permit because, basically, the cost is nothing. It’s not just the west end.
These permits should cost market rate. There’s no need to include on in property taxes if your home has a parking spot. If it doesn’t…well, maybe there could be exceptions.
Of course I live in West Vancouver now and may be about to become a two car family (surprise!) with one parked on the road. I’d be happy to buy a permit, but they don’t have a system over here. It’s odd.
9 Bob in the West End // Jul 10, 2012 at 9:14 am
The off-street options are too expensive down here. Minimum 50-60 bucks a month. I can barely afford my rent and I need a car for my job… The permits in the West End near the park are entirely so there are spots for us who live here. It’s not about a monetary market, or it shouldn’t be. If it was, rich people who love the park could pay way more than residents to just own a spot down here while living in Shaughnessy or Point Grey. One thing I don’t get is why they are so stingy with where we can park down here. Some neighbourhoods are far more crowded with parking, on both sides, in alleys, etc… 75 bucks a year to cruise around for 15 minutes looking for a spot every night seems just barely fair as it is…
10 Bill Lee // Jul 10, 2012 at 10:57 am
@Bill Smokick Jul 10,2012 #8
See the main discussions in the primary Plumbers branch of this blog, http://www.francesbula.com/QUESTIONS/parking-permits-sold-for-too-little/
…and maps of 23 zones for “resident parking permits” (RPP) with maps on page
http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/parking/admin/rpp_maps.htm
11 Agustin // Jul 10, 2012 at 2:44 pm
@ Trish,
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.
Raising parking prices is social engineering. Not raising prices is also social engineering.
You may agree with one of the options more than the other, but they are all social engineering.
That’s why “social engineering” is an almost meaningless accusation.
(Note that social engineering is not the exclusive domain of governments. Private companies and individuals also partake.)
Here’s what Wikipedia has to say on the subject:
12 Dan Cooper // Jul 10, 2012 at 3:59 pm
No strong feelings about permit street parking either way. Actually, the only parking issue that bothers me in my neighbourhood is the one jerk who has posted his own “you can’t park in MY block more than three hours or I’ll call the city and have you towed” sign on his fence in a non-permit-only-, non-residents-only-parking block. He doesn’t note that the rule only actually applies from 8 am to 6 pm – see: http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/parking/enf/parksmart/unsigned.htm. Apparently he, unlike everyone else within many blocks in every direction, feel he has the right to four to five guaranteed, 24 hour street parking spots right outside his door and all around his corner lot, without paying for it in ANY way and enforced at city expense.
13 West End gal // Jul 14, 2012 at 4:34 pm
Sure Frances,
Bring up on your blog another Vision/ City Hall despotic idea. Hey, let’s charge them residents more, now!
How did these clowns make their way back in office in this city, is beyond me. Anticipating great times ahead. the bigger rats are jumping ship to Victoria legislature. Go figure people!
Bums!
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