As discussed earlier this week in a council meeting, the City of Vancouver will resume parking enforcement across the city, starting today (April 30).
Primary areas of focus for parking enforcement will be metered-parking areas, time-limited areas and residential-permit parking zones.
The monitoring of other areas, such as rush hour zones, will be handled on an as-needed basis.
According to a release issued by the City of Vancouver, residents and business owners have voiced concerns about cars remaining parked for extended periods of time in some locations. With the resumption of parking enforcement, those vehicles can now be ticketed.
While people have been paying for parking, there has been an estimated 80 to 90 per cent fewer vehicles being parked city-wide, Vancouver city manager Sadhu Johnston said Tuesday.
Parking is the third-highest source of revenue for the City of Vancouver. The city suspended parking enforcement on March 30 in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
Some parts of the city have already seen the return of enforcement in permit zones, like in the West End and Kitsilano. Those moves were in part touted as a way to discourage people who are not neighbourhood residents from driving to the areas to enjoy spaces like beaches and the seawall.
Earlier this month, Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart indicated the city is losing about $5 million in revenue weekly due to the COVID-19 crisis.
During Tuesday's council meeting, Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung said she supported the move to reinstate enforcement of parking across Vancouver.
“It doesn’t seem smart to forgo the revenue on this,” Kirby-Yung said. “The intent behind it in the immediate 10 days when the city emergency was declared at the end of March was a humanitarian aspect, in terms of supporting health workers. What we found, actually, was the honour system didn’t work.”
In their notice of the April 30 start date for the return to parking enforcement, the City of Vancouver says they will continue to offer free parking for essential workers through their employers.
With files from Mike Howell
