After a month of free parking, Vancouver will reinstate paid parking, due to people abusing the system.
City council made the decision, Tuesday, saying Vancouver will bring back paid parking, including at metres, this week.
On April 30th, by-law offers resumed parking enforcement across the city.
Initial parking-enforcement efforts will focus on priority and problem areas such as metered-parking areas, time-limited areas and residential-permit parking zones. City staff will monitor the situation and resume enforcement of other regulations, such as rush-hour zones, when needed.
In addition to supporting residents and business owners who need to maintain parking near their homes or businesses, restarting parking enforcement will allow healthcare and homecare workers to find parking spots more easily.
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“The City of Vancouver has a revenue gap that we need to close and it’s really important, I think, that we don’t forego any revenues. Unnecessarily parking is our third-largest source of revenue,” said councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung, according to News 1130.
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When the city first made parking free, councillors had noticed a drop in volume and parking demand.
But Kirby-Yung and coun. Lisa Dominato both said they have since heard from residents and businesses that some drivers have been parking in spaces for the whole day.
“What we found, actually, is that the honour system didn’t work and we do see instances of significantly more parking,” Kirby-Yung said during the council meeting.
However, the city is still considering pay exemptions for frontline and healthcare workers.
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