The city and Yaletown businesses appear to have reached a consensus in the great parking debate.
“We heard concerns from businesses and residents about the proposed designs we put forward in January 2018 and have been working with the Yaletown BIA and business community to explore alternate options that will keep as much parking as possible and meet VFRS [Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services] requirements,” Lon LeClaire, Vancouver’s director of transportation, said in a press release.
Earlier this year the city proposed removing more than 50 parking spaces from Hamilton and Mainland streets to allow for easier access for fire trucks responding to emergency calls. Businesses along those streets and the Yaletown BIA spoke out against the plan saying the loss of parking would put their livelihoods, and the neighbourhood, at risk.
According to the city, the original design would have removed all angled parking from those two streets, replacing it with as much parallel parking as possible. That design would have left 120 parking spaces along Mainland and Hamilton. The revised design will retain the angle parking and leave at least 117 spots, with additional parking possible in the future is garbage bins can be moved, or contained.
“The Yaletown BIA has expressed interest in keeping the angled parking,” LeClaire said. “While this doesn’t create more parking in the short term, we may be able to work with the BIA to relocate some of the 60 dumpsters in the area which would create additional parking spaces in the long term.”
Yaletown BIA executive director Annette O’Shea said the association will work with businesses in the city to move and remove many of the dumpsters. She added that dealing with the dumpsters could potentially open up another 40 to 60 parking spots.
LeClaire also said that the city will work to increase the amount of short-term parking in the area on other streets and in parkades.
“The design that will be trialled gives us an opportunity to win back some of the parking spaces that are currently taken by dumpsters,” O’Shea said in a press release. “By working with local businesses, we can improve the public realm in Yaletown. We feel confident that with some innovative signage and on-street design, drives will find it easier to park, and easier to find a parking spot in Yaletown.”
O’Shea told the Courier that she is “cautiously optimistic” about the new design but added that losing parking spots will still have an effect on businesses.
“Our businesses are going to take a real big hit,” she said.
She gave the city credit for coming to the table to work with businesses on revamping the plan.
“They realized how real this was for us… The panic that our businesses were displaying was real,” she said, adding that the association has had 20 meetings with city staff in the last eight weeks.
According to the city, the new design will mean many parking spaces will be shorter, requiring drivers to consistently park properly in the angled stalls. Longer vehicles will not fit in many of the spaces.
O’Shea said the BIA is working with two local companies to make it easier to park, including parking spot murals and signage, as well as teams out on the street to help drivers.
“We’re going to make changes to make it really easy to park.”
The design will be implemented on a trial basis starting in early April and will be evaluated for up to a year.
The city will monitor how street parking, parking lots, loading zones and taxi stands are used in the area and will work with stakeholders to ensure good access to the neighbourhood is maintained.
For more information, visit vancouver.ca/yaletownaccess.
