Enjoy it while you still can; the days of parking for free in some parts of Port Moody are nigh.
On Tuesday, April 23, council is scheduled to consider a final implementation plan for pay parking at about 400 spaces in five busy locations around the city. It’s expected to be in place by August.
The locations are:
- Rocky Point Park
- Esplanade Avenue from Rocky Point Park to Murray Street
- Murray Street from Columbia to Williams streets
- Commercial parking spaces in Suter Brook Village on Morrisey Street and Suter Brook Way
- Ungless Way from Noons Creek Drive to Guildford Way
The proposed new hourly charges range from $1.50/hr in the off-season from September to May at Rocky Point Park, Esplanade Avenue and Murray Street to $2.50 an hour from June to August at the same locations. Rates proposed for the spaces at Suter Brook Village and on Ungless Way will be $2.25 year round.
The charges will apply from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from September to May at Rocky Point Park, Esplanade Avenue and Murray Street and from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. from June to August.
At Suter Brook Village and on Ungless Way, the rates will be applied from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The maximum parking duration will be four hours at all locations except Suter Brook Village, where it will be two hours.
In a report, project manager Sandy Tolentino said the new charges will encourage the turnover of parking spaces so they can be used by more visitors through the day as well as motivate people to consider alternate modes of transportation like transit, cycling or walking. Their effectiveness at achieving that will be monitored by staff and rates could be adjusted up or down.
The fees are expected to generate about $550,000 in gross revenue, Tolentino said, adding that could increase if pay parking is extended to more parts of the city.
The money would be offset by costs for enforcement as well as a 75 per cent full-time transportation technician to deal with customer service requests and complaints and liaise with the vendor supplying the pay stations, resulting in net revenue ranging from $85,000 to $200,000 — enough to cover pay parking's operational costs and provide some excess funds to help pay for other city operations and services.
Valentino said users would pay for their parking at 15 or 16 standalone pay stations that accept credit and debit cards as well as mobile phone wallets, but not cash. One or more downloadable mobile apps would also be available and a QR code option may be implemented.
Signs will be installed in all the new pay parking areas informing visitors of the hours it's in effect and duration limits.
Talentino said the only exemptions to the new charges will be for motorists displaying a valid accessible parking permit, veterans with a.valid veteran license plate and city staff using the parking spaces for work and displaying a valid pass.
Users of the EV charging stations in Rocky Point Park won’t have to pay separately for their parking, but the EV charging rates there will be increased to incorporate the new parking fee.
After years of vacillating on the pay parking issue, council finally relented to its introduction last October.
“We have lots of unrestricted parking, there’s no control, no management,” said Port Moody’s general manager of engineering and operations, Jeff Moi.
But support wasn’t unanimous, as Coun. Haven Lurbiecki said pay parking would be an extra burden for residents already coping with higher costs for food, shelter and transportation.
“We’re in the middle of an affordability crisis,” she said.
