Parking for free in Steveston could continue through the summer months.
A city council committee was set to vote Thursday afternoon on a staff recommendation to shy away from installing parking meters on the villages streets; a move designed to increase the turnover of parking spots.
Instead, officials are steering councillors toward increased enforcement of time limits, permit parking in village lanes and several measures to curtail parking in residential areas.
The new direction surfaced after public consultation on the introduction of metered parking sparked a flurry of concern that local businesses would suffer by people choosing to shop at nearby malls, where parking is free.
The consultation was instigated last summer after the Steveston Harbour Authority (STA) decided to install $2 per hour parking meters on its large off-street lots in the village, most of which previously offered free parking to visitors.
Referring to the possibility to introduce pay parking on the street, the citys transportation planner, Joan Caravan, said in her report to council that, local merchants and residents have expressed concerns regarding the introduction of pay parking for city on- and off-street facilities, as it is perceived as placing the village at a competitive disadvantage to other neighbourhood centres where parking is offered for free
Caravan added that the option to increase enforcement and introduce permit parking for lanes should be tested on a trial basis between June 11 and Sept. 30 to determine its effectiveness in generating sufficient parking space turnover.
Much of the parking spot turnover issue is caused by staff working for local businesses parking for more than the designated two-hour limit.
With that in mind, part of city staffs new plan also calls for the STA and the Steveston Merchants Association to work together to offer employees parking spots on the STAs Chatham Street lot for the summer trial period.
To enforce the two-hour rule on the street, an equivalent of 1.5 full-time bylaw officers will have to be hired by the city at a cost of $39,000, although, according to staff, this would be tempered and cancelled out by increased revenue from fines.
However, its acknowledged that increased enforcement may simply shift vehicles onto residential streets.
So, staff are proposing to erect signs in those neighbourhoods, warning drivers of the current bylaw limiting parking on such streets to three hours, unless the car belongs to a resident.
