Parking in Vancouver: After hearing from dozens of speakers, council narrowly rejects controversial plan
CTV
Vancouver drivers may soon be asked to pay more for parking in the name of fighting the climate emergency, but it won't be as soon as it could have been, after city council rejected a controversial proposal Wednesday evening.
Vancouver drivers may soon be asked to pay more for parking in the name of fighting the climate emergency, but it won't be as soon as it could have been, after city council rejected a controversial proposal Wednesday evening.
Councillors voted 6-5 against the "Climate Emergency Parking Program" proposed by city staff. The plan would've required overnight parking permits on all residential streets across the city between midnight and 7 a.m., at a cost of about $45 a year with taxes, with a reduced fee of $5 for low-income households.
The proposal also recommended adopting a new overnight permit pollution surcharge, which would've required drivers of new vehicles classified as moderate or high polluters to pay up to $1,000 per year.
Mayor Kennedy Stewart cast the deciding vote against the program, joining councillors Rebecca Bligh, Melissa De Genova, Lisa Dominato, Colleen Hardwick and Sarah Kirby-Yung in opposition.
In a written statement issued shortly after the vote, Stewart explained his decision, saying that the proposal as written did not meet his standard that climate policies must be both urgent and just.
"The proposed permit parking system did not meet this test," the mayor said in his statement. "It would have asked those renting basement suites or working in vehicle-dependent jobs to pay more, while asking homeowners with private parking to pay nothing."
"And these inequitable outcomes would become entrenched," he added. "For example, a few years from now, a landscaper living in a basement suite who buys a used 2023 pickup truck for work would pay over $1,000 a year while their landlord would pay nothing – even if the homeowner drives a Ferrari."
