Parking permits sold for too little?
Question: Why are residential parking permits so cheap? $38 – $76 / year depending on the neighbourhood. Most dedicated parking spots cost at least $100/month.
Answer: This echoes a similar question I had a few months ago. You are not the only ones to have noticed this. So have those sharp-eyed gals and guys in the City of Vancouver engineering department, which currently issue about 16,500 permits a year and more all the time as more areas convert to resident-only parking.
Close perusal of Item 2.7 in the currently-under-discussion 2040 Transportation Plan reveals that they are looking at upping the prices of permits and limiting them more. (Relevant section pasted in below.)
The question is, Why did those permits have such a low price to begin with? Because the city wanted to avoid resident backlash when they were first brought in, says the source of all knowledge these days at the city, transportation director Jerry Dobrovolny. (He didn’t know when the first ones started getting issued, so if anyone has that date, I’m happy to add it.)
I note that in a Vancouver Sun story from May 1987, residents in Kitsilano were outraged that they were going to have to pay for $10 permits for their resident parking near then then brand-new Safeway at Broadway and Macdonald. The city grovellingly explained that it was only to cover the basic $400 cost of the decal system.
The cost of the permits has gone up somewhat in many areas since then, as part of the engineering department’s phased approach (or, as some of you might refer to it, stealth attack) to parking.
That is: when the city observes an area is getting crowded, it introduces three-hour parking limits, then two-hour, then one-hour, then meters. The meters start at a low rate then creep up over time, all with the goal of keeping people moving.
However, the rates for parking permits haven’t risen at quite the same rates, although engineers did bring up the idea in the 1997 plan. (It was not taken up very energetically.) Instead, rates have risen only to cover the cost of inflation for running the permit system, not enough to try to change people’s behaviour.
One little secret that Mr. Dobrovolny revealed in our lengthy and mesmerizing talk about parking decals was that the city issues far more West End parking permits than there are actual available spots in the West End.
In a way, that’s a good thing, since people sometimes get permits even when they have paid-for underground parking spots available, just to have free up spots for visiting friends or because they’d rather park on the street than go underground when running multiple errands, as Westender confessed on this blog some months ago.
The idea, if things in the Transportation Plan come to pass, is that the city will start charging rates for permits at slightly above the rate for private parking. That’s what they do with street meters, to encourage longer-term parkers to go to private lots and to keep the street parking for those doing quicker errands.
There’s also a study going on to look at how many underused private parking spots there are in the West End. As Jerry says, the point isn’t to penalize car drivers, but to encourage people to use the spaces that have already been built instead of always trying to find ways to create more spaces.
Here’s the language from the plan:
2.7. Manage parking in neighbourhoods
Curb space on residential streets is often in high demand, and it can be difficult for visitors to find a space. In this
context, some neighbours oppose reduced parking requirements for new development because they assume new
residents will simply park in the street rather than reduce car ownership. While there is strong evidence that
providing less off‐street parking reduces car ownership, particularly when demand management strategies are used,
this is a legitimate concern.
Part of the problem is that curb space is often unregulated and, where permit programs do exist, it is undervalued.
As a result, many residents park in the street even when off‐street parking is readily available. Fewer spaces are
available for visitors, and there is a perceived shortfall. A thoughtful approach to neighbourhood parking can address
these concerns and result in more efficient use of road space. This could allow some on‐street parking to be
converted to other uses such as wider sidewalks, public space, or improved cycling facilities, and even generate
revenue that can be directed towards local amenities.
Actions
2.7.1. Adjust the residential parking permit program to address parking spillover concerns associated with off‐street
reductions and to better reflect market value of street space. Possible approaches include:
a. gradually increasing permit costs to reflect market value;
b. limiting the number of permits per household;
c. increasing costs for each additional permit per household;
d. capping the total number of permits and allowing residents to trade rights; and/or
e. piloting a neighbourhood parking benefit district, where permit costs are increased and a portion of the
revenue is directed towards local improvements such as sidewalks, lighting , and nearby amenities.
11 responses so far ↓
1 brilliant // Jul 9, 2012 at 7:40 pm
Jerry Dobrovolny is the souce of all transportation knowledge in the city? God help us, though that explains a lot. And Mayor Moonbeam will only make this problem worse with his delusional belief that letting developers build units with no parking will a)lead to developers charging less and b)lead to people buying fewer cars.
2 waltyss // Jul 9, 2012 at 9:04 pm
@brilliant not
The truth of the matter is that many younger people are not buying cars or even getting drivers licenses. And not just in Vancouver.
As for charging less for a condo without parking, developers will charge as much as they can away with. That is what is called a market. However if there are units that have no parking, the same unit with the same amenities that cost the same as units with the same floor area and finishes and a parking stall; guess which one will sell first. Brilliant not, in case you can’t figure out the answer. It is the one with the parking space, since the new owners can rent out the parking space.
So, brilliant not, I ask again, what is your alternative. We acknowledge your expertise as graceless name calling and insults. Come on, you can do it. A constructive alternative. Surprise me.
3 brilliant // Jul 9, 2012 at 9:45 pm
@Waltsyss-I’m sorry you can’t afford a car, really I am. Perhaps mummy will get you one for graduation. As to your longwinded example, sure the one with patking may sell first but that has nothing to do with the fact that the occupant with no parking spot will likely be circling the block looking for somewhere to park. Only in Moonbeamland does the car magically disappear.
4 waltyss // Jul 9, 2012 at 10:22 pm
@brilliant not
Well, you haven’t surprised me. Not a single alternative. Just graceless name calling.
And young people (or old ones) who don’t own a car and do not aspire to one, if you had any say, should be unable to purchase units without parking spaces if they choose and the market prices those units right.
And brilliant, not withstanding your tired attempt at class and generational warfare, my mummy and daddy are dead, unlike you I already have post graduate degrees and am not just retrying remedial high school and I own two very nice cars. And a single family house, all paid for.
So brilliant not, you truly amaze me: not one constructive idea and even when you try insulting facts, you are 100% wrong. Incredible!
5 Everyman // Jul 9, 2012 at 11:04 pm
I seem to recall the permit system going into the West End in the very early Nineties.
6 Bill Lee // Jul 10, 2012 at 12:28 am
23 zones for “resident parking permits” (RPP)
with maps on page
http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/parking/admin/rpp_maps.htm
I didn’t know there was a Robson North district.
Guelph is the newest district for the Western Lodge and upscale “Ahtists Lofts” donchaknow.
Somewhat related is the 9000 gouging parking meter slides, especially slide 10 at:
http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/parking/admin/pdf/meterProgram.pdf
Oy.
7 Bill Lee // Jul 10, 2012 at 11:04 am
And more about meters than un-metered street rates From Sept 28, 2011. The Joy of parking in Chicago!!
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2011/09/joy-parking-chicago/208/
“This morning IBM released the results of a survey on the experience of parking in 20 cities around the world. A total of roughly 8,000 city residents answered a series of questions designed to gauge the “the emotional and economic toll of parking,” as IBM puts it, describing how long they take to find a spot, how often they argue over a spot, how often they get a ticket, and the like. IBM used the responses to devise a global parking index? [ more ]
8 Michael Geller // Jul 10, 2012 at 2:15 pm
The rates should be increased….dramatically, especially since there are underground parking spaces that were mandated by the city in numerous apartment buildings sitting empty…while residents park on the street for a fraction of the cost.
While I am very much in favour of reduced parking requirements, I do worry that many ‘garages’ in new laneway units are being converted to living space, thus resulting in no parking for three units on a single family lot. While I agree that an increasing number of residents do not have cars, many still do and they are the ones who will be seeking on-street parking permits.
So I say ‘soak ‘em’ for the privilege, but do not forget that it is important to keep on street parking for visitors too.
9 waltyss // Jul 10, 2012 at 4:09 pm
I like the suggestions for getting one street parking pass per sfh with a second or third at a much higher price ($100 for a second; $150 for a third) but agree that some way must be found for visitors. With the UEL I understand you can get a visitors pass and multiple ones if you have a party. Something along those lines would work and would help solve any issue with condos without parking stalls as well as increased parking from laneway houses, both of which I personally support.
10 Julien // Jul 11, 2012 at 3:12 pm
Still I wonder about the market rate for parking. If most private stalls in 40+ yo buildings are sitting unlet then maybe that not the market price. If the price is based upon cost+markup, rather than value, then what is the cost of the city to supply this curbside parking.
11 Sarah // Aug 9, 2012 at 9:04 am
I live in a permit parking only zone and it is fine by me if the city increases the rate of the parking permit. What I’d really like them to do is make it easier to get a temporary parking pass for visitors (or people working at my house). For example, If each household got one pass, could it be transferrable, so that we can park farther away and let my in-laws park in front of our house?
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