On Monday, Coquitlam city council unanimously voted to spend $3.9 million to build a covered sports facility, to open next year, on what is now a parking lot at Poirier Street and Winslow Avenue. That's good news as it seems likely to be a well-used resource.
But it highlights an ongoing inequity in how Coquitlam handles pay parking in its oldest and newest areas.
Swim or work out at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Complex and you park for free; do the same at the City Centre Aquatic Complex and you pay. Visit an exhibit at Place des Arts and you park for free; go to the gallery or theatre at Evergreen Cultural Centre and you pay. Get a haircut or shop on Austin Avenue and you park for free; get a cut-and-colour at one of the salons on Glen Drive and you pay.
Given that the Evergreen Line is coming to Coquitlam Town Centre in three years, the city obviously has to take steps to keep SkyTrain commuters from clogging area streets.
But considering the Coquitlam's spotty history with pay parking - it hasn't even paid for itself (Port Moody council, you've been warned) - and considering the unfair disadvantage to residents of the city's north side, council would be well advised to try again.
Do you support widespread pay parking in the Coquitlam Town Centre area? Vote in our online poll.
