Pay parking begins in parts of Port Moody on Sept. 16

The free ride — or, rather, parking — in parts of Port Moody comes to an end Sept. 16.

Signs have gone up at five locations around the city advising motorists that, as of that date, they will have to pay to park their vehicle.

The locations are:

Rocky Point Park
Murray Street from Columbia to to the 2900 block
Morrisey Road, Suter Brook Way and a small section of Capilano Road in Suter Brook Village
Esplanade Avenue, from Rocky Point Park to Murray Street
Ungless Way, from Noons Creek Drive to Guildford Way

At Rocky Point Park, Esplanade Avenue and Murray Street, the parking charges will be $1.50 an hour in the off-season — September to May — and $2.50 an hour from June to August. They’ll be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. except in June, July and August, when the fees will apply from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

On Ungless Way and the locations in Suter Brook Village, the parking charge will be $2.25 an hour year round, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The maximum parking duration will be four hours at all locations except in Suter Brook Village, where it will be two hours.

Last April, project manager Sandy Tolentino told council 15 or 16 standalone pay stations will accept debit or credit cards, but not cash. Visitors can also use their mobile phone wallet.

City staff displaying a valid pass, veterans with a valid veterans license plate and drivers with a valid accessible parking permit parked in a marked accessible stall, as well as recipients of Port Moody’s Freedom of the City award, won’t have to pay.

The new parking fee will also be integrated into charges for the city’s EV chargers at Rocky Point Park, while boaters already pay a fee to use its boat ramp and park their vehicle and trailer for the day in a designated area of the parking lot.

Port Moody council gave is final approval to implement the pay parking program on July 9. It will be reviewed annually to determine the effectiveness of the rates, time restrictions and penalties.

Tyson Ganske, the city’s deputy chief financial officer and manager of financial planning, said tweaks will likely be made.

“We just want to make sure we’re taking a cautious approach.”

The fees from about 400 pay parking spots are expected to generate approximately $550,000 in gross revenue, said Tolentino, but operational and enforcement costs would likely result in a net gain ranging from $85,000 to $200,000.

Pay parking has been a contentious issue in Port Moody for 20 years, including a parking study commissioned in 2004 for the Moody Centre neighbourhood that never made it to council because of the province’s plan to extend SkyTrain service through the city.

A plan in 2014 to implement a trial program in Rocky Point Park that would have charged visitors $1 an hour for up to four hours while allowing residents to register up to two license plates to qualify for free parking was shelved following public backlash.

The idea received renewed impetus in 2019 during discussions at a citizen advisory group workshop to examine new ways to generate city revenues and again three years later as part of council deliberations about rising property taxes.

In May, 2023, council’s finance committee deferred a motion by Coun. Kyla Knowles to introduce pay parking at various locations around Port Moody to give staff time to prepare a report looking at past proposals, projected costs and revenues as well as identify appropriate sites.

Knowles said charging for parking at busy locations would encourage turnover of spots as well as motivate visitors to use alternate forms of transportation like transit, cycling or walking.

By October, the report largely affirmed Knowles’ assessment and staff was tasked to proceed with a plan to implement pay parking systems at five locations.

Port Moody’s general manager of engineering and operations, Jeff Moi, said the targeted locations are the busiest areas of the city and charging for parking would discourage motorists from leaving their cars parked for extended periods of time.

“From an engineering perspective, we want to make sure parking is providing the function it’s designed for,” he told council’s strategic priorities committee.

Moi said staff will also keep a close eye on whether motorists trying to avoid paying for parking at Rocky Point Park or along Murray Street start using the more than 80 spots at the newly-refurbished Inlet Park. He said the shorter, three-hour time limit for parking at the sports facility, as well as its distance from Rocky Point, should be a disincentive but, "staff will be monitoring the Inlet Park area and collecting data."

Reaction on social media to the arrival of pay parking has been less than welcoming.

“Gone is the convenience of anything fun for free,” said one commenter on Facebook.

“Seems like it’s getting harder for families to get out of the house without spending money,” added another.

Others, however, seemed resigned to pay parking’s inevitability.

“Every municipality in the Lower Mainland charges for parking,” said a post. “You have options, so pay the toll or leave your car at home.”