It may soon cost you to park your vehicle at Port Moody's Rocky Point Park, near Eagle Ridge Hospital and eventually maybe even at the city's recreation complex.
A report to be presented Tuesday, Oct. 17, to council's strategic priorities committee maps out several locations in the city where pay parking could be implemented to encourage turnover of parking spaces as well as the use of alternative transportation.
This includes
- Rocky Point Park parking lots
- Esplanade Avenue from Rocky Point Park to Murray Street
- Murray Street from Columbia to Williams streets
- Ungless Way from Noons Creek Drive to Guildford Way
- commercial parking on Morrisey Street and Suter Brook Way
As well, suggested the report, the city could consider pay parking in the future for other busy locations like:
- the recreation/civic complex
- Knowle Street in front of the recreation/civic complex
- Ioco Road in front of NewPort Village
In the report, Jeff Moi, Port Moody's general manager of engineering and operations, said while pay parking plans have been considered as far back as 2003, changes like the opening of two SkyTrain stations — one of which has pay parking — and private pay parking areas in Suter Brook Village along with the introduction of multi-family parking permits "require a fresh look at pay parking locations and strategy."
In May, council's finance committee voted to hold off on immediately implementing pay parking in Port Moody until staff could report back on possible locations as well as projected costs and revenues.
Coun. Kyla Knowles, who introduced the motion for pay parking, said it would "improve residents' experience in the city" and generate revenue to help Port Moody pay for infrastructure.
Moi said cities usually target areas where parking spots have an 85 per cent daytime occupancy rate for pay parking to encourage motorists not to overstay their welcome and free up spots for new visitors.
"Should a pay parking system proceed in Port Moody, it is recommended that the system be managed as a parking regulation system," Moi said, adding it would likely operate just to recover its costs, with any surplus revenues going back into the city’s operations and services that are being used by people paying for the parking.
Moi said to keep the implementation of a pay parking system consistent, equitable and fair, it should be applied to all user groups, including Port Moody residents. Although, he added, exceptions could be made for accessible parking stalls or other special needs groups.
If council elects to proceed with pay parking, it will have to first develop a corporate policy for its operation and locations, review enforcement tools and prepare a request for proposals for the installation of a pay parking system as well as a pay-by-phone app.
Moi said drivers and business in the targeted areas would also have to be notified of the change.
In 2021, Metro Vancouver introduced pay parking at təmtəmíxʷtən/Belcarra Regional Park from April 1 to Sept. 30 to help ease congestion in its lots.
John McEwen, chair of Metro Vancouver' regional parks committee and the mayor of Anmore, said at the time the plan is being used as "a traffic management tool. This is not a revenue generator."
But some visitors to the park were rankled by the new fees. In letters to the Tri-City News, one said it creates a two-tiered system that discriminates against low-income families who can't afford to pay parking fees while another called it an opportunistic "cash grab."
This year the fee was raised from the $2 an hour or $12 a day when it was introduced to $2.50 an hour and $15 for the day.
📣 SOUND OFF: Do you think it's time for Port Moody to start charging for parking in busy areas? How would it impact your decisions to visit those areas? How much would you be willing to pay? Let us know your thoughts in a Letter to the Editor. Be sure to include your full name as well as your city of residence.
