Introducing Pay Parking for Enhanced Management of Deep Cove Parking
District of North Vancouver is planning a pay parking program for Deep Cove Park, Panorama Park, as well as Cates Park.
However, a potential pay parking program at Cates Park would be undertaken in consultation with Tsleil-Waututh Nation through the terms of the Cooperation Agreement. DNV council will discuss the proposal at a council meeting on Jan 23. A staff report will also provide a review of the pay parking pilot program established last year at Lynn Canyon Park.
Based on the data collected during the pilot program, the report recommends establishing pay parking at the west parking lot in Lynn Canyon Park (accessed by Peters Road) and explore pay parking at the District’s other destination parks in Deep Cove, including Deep Cove Park. Those three parks, Deep Cove Park, Panorama Park, and Cates Park, are part of the plan.
The pay parking season ran from May 17, 2021, to October 31, 2021, and March 1, 2022 to October 31, 2022 to capture the busiest months at the Lynn Canyon park. During the pilot program, improvements made to the program included extending the maximum parking duration from three to four hours, and adding a mobile phone payment app to provide more payment options.
Staff are working on a number of additional improvements including directional signs, Lime e-bike bicycle parking, new and additional bicycle racks, updated webpage information, administration of the District Resident Pay Parking Exemption Pass, exploring cash payment options, and real-time occupancy system and digital display board.
According to the survey, most respondents at the time of the survey were not District residents, and a larger proportion of non-District residents traveled by personal motor vehicles compared to District residents. The implementation of the pay parking program aims to address the parking concerns and ensure better management of deep cove parking in these popular parks.
While I can understand (to a degree) the District’s needs to boost its coffers, and parking fees is one way to do it. However, as a senior who walks his dog in Cates Park, does this mean everyday I have to pay a parking fee for perhaps half an hour walking an equally elderly dog?
It seems a bit draconian to me …
I hope pay parking would work with individual businesses to establish a case by case agreement on how many parking permits they need for their employees as well as discounts for alternate transit and e-bikes.
We also need EVO/co-op style parking spots in the Cove, folks have to arrange pick ups at Cap U and Cap Res currently, it’s weird having non-residents at regularly going to student residence areas.
Pay parking will encourage cars to drive around looking for free residential parking which is already tight anywhere from Mt Seymour and Deep Cove Road intersections to Cove areas already. Beachview, Baycrest, Roslyn areas aren’t teaming with extra street parking either.
I already have to drop off my kids and groceries at home then drive around my neighborhood looking for parking and walk 15 minutes home then about 8:00 pm I can walk and move our car (which is electric). I do this March to October now -sigh.
I time my errands so I don’t loose my parking spot.
We really need EVO in Cove, secure bike valet system and safe bike lanes with solid barriers, free pre-booked day passes like Mt Seymour and Belcarra have, a shuttle by donation from Phibbs and permits for N Van residents to park all year for $10.00 like they’ve got in Lynn Canyon (I work in Canyon and live in Cove and this has been fine Sept -June). 3 hrs in Cove, Canyon or Cates isn’t enough time though- folks need 4 hours so they can haul their kids, coolers, pump paddle boards, wait for friends, hang, grab a bite from a restaurant or picnic/grill, relax and play a short game, hike/walk then pack it all up in time. It can’t be as simple as “pay parking”, there are more layers of support to offer for greater diversity in accessibility. Pay parking as a start is elitism but I know park revenues need help and I support that….not a simple thing.