Vancouver parking fee increase proposal splits council, frustrates expert

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — A controversial proposal to increase parking fees on Vancouver’s residential streets has split city council, and one expert says the lack of basic background research makes it impossible to understand who will be affected and how.

The Climate Emergency Parking Program proposes an overnight permit for vehicles on all residential city streets. The report says, currently, only 10 per cent of residential streets require permits. The permit would be required from 12 a.m. and 7 a.m., at a flat rate of $45.45 per year. Low-income households will be able to pay a reduced fee of $5 per year. Overnight visitors will also be required to get a permit at a rate of $3 per night.

Further, an annual “pollution charge” will be added to cars purchased after 2023 that do not meet certain targets for emissions. A charge of $500 would be levied on “moderately polluting vehicles” which the city report explains will encompass “most gas-powered sporty sedans, and more efficient small SUVs.” That fee increases to $1,000 for “high-polluting vehicles, a class of vehicle that includes “most gas-powered luxury sports cars, large SUVs, and full-size pickup trucks.”

These recommendations, according to city staff, are being made as part of an overall effort to reduce emissions, and to “help Vancouver contribute its fair share in the global effort to limit warming to 1.5 degrees C.”

The report points out that more than 25 per cent of households in the city do not own a car, and more than half of these households are low-income. While there would be no cost to these households, the report says those households would benefit “indirectly” from investment in infrastructure.

“It would help deliver actions to improve low-cost transportation options such as walking, cycling, transit, and shared mobility,” the report reads.

For households that do own cars, “impacts would vary.” The pollution charge in particular only applies to cars purchased after 2023, “as it is meant to influence purchasing behaviour in the future.”

City council divided on proposal

Ahead of the proposal going before council on Wednesday morning, when speakers will have a chance to voice their views, members are clearly divided on the recommendations.

Three independent councillors, all formerly with the NPA, have released a statement opposing the plan. Sarah Kirby-Yung, Rebecca Bligh, and Lisa Dominato say the proposal is “unfair and inefficient,” and ignores opposition from residents.

“The proposed program is a flawed policy that worsens affordability, fails on equity, fails on climate, and disregards input from residents,” they write.

“Supporting this program is not the way forward to best meet our climate goals and would have a negative and disproportionate impact on residents and workers that don’t have the options for off-street parking. People living in single-detached homes with garages and driveways, strata condos or rental buildings with underground parking would pay zero under this plan.”

CITYWIDE PARKING PROPOSAL IS FLAWED POLICY: Worsens affordability, fails on equity, fails on climate and disregards input from 19,000+ residents.

Full statement from me and Councillors @rebeccaleebligh & @LisaDominato. #vanpoli https://t.co/GAMi8iOzaa pic.twitter.com/1m6IxOKSnD

— Sarah Kirby-Yung 楊瑞蘭 (@sarahkirby_yung) October 4, 2021

The councillors say that half of the city’s 300,000 cars won’t pay anything at all under this program.

The staff report acknowledges this issue, saying “individuals with off-street parking options would be able to avoid both the Pollution Charge as well as the overnight residential parking permit.”

Another criticism coming from Kirby-Yung, Bligh, and Dominato is this Vancouver-only approach does nothing to address cars and drivers travelling into, out of, and through the city. The lack of clarity in terms of exactly how, when, and where the projected $44 million to $72 million of revenue will be spent to take action on climate change is another way they say the plan is lacking.

On the other hand, Coun. Christine Boyle, in an op-ed for the Vancouver Sun, says in light of the climate crisis, finding a way to reduce emissions and fund sustainable, equitable transportation is critical.

“We can and should have lively debates about how to urgently tackle the climate emergency, how to transform our transportation system in equitable ways and how to fund the substantial investments required to do so. But doing nothing, in favour of some imaginary alternative, is no longer acceptable,” she writes.

“I know that this proposal will be contentious … But the benefits, including improved accessibility, safer streets, faster bus service, more street trees, less vehicle noise and less pollution, will improve life for residents across Vancouver.”

This week Vancouver Council will vote on a proposal for a new parking permit program & pollution charge, which would help fund equity-focused climate & transportation improvements across the city.

It’s stirred up a lot of conversation & misinformation. Here’s some more info

— Christine Boyle (@christineeboyle) October 3, 2021

Boyle also says concerns that these fees will be shouldered by those who can least afford to pay them are misplaced, since the pollution charge targets those with the means to buy brand new cars and there is already a lower rate for households earning less than $50,000. She also points out that a number of improvements need to be made in the city’s lower-income neighbourhoods, such as upping the frequency of transit service, installing crosswalks, and making sure sidewalks are accessible to people who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices.

Green councillor Adrienne Carr has also spoken in favour of the proposal.

Parking fee plan leaves crucial questions about impact unasked, unanswered: expert

One expert says the recommendations in the report leave crucial questions unanswered, failing to consider the basic issues of who will be paying these fees and where.

Andy Yan, the director of The City Program at Simon Fraser University, says it’s clear to him that the impact will be disproportionate, even though the fees are proposed for all residential streets.

“These decisions are being made in a rush, and yet we don’t know who actually finally pays for these rushed decisions. I think that this is really a big underlying problem of this particular policy. Really, you don’t have the background research in terms of who is this going to affect and where is it going to have its effect,” he says.

“I think the idea is that, somehow, there are those low-income households and then those that drive luxury SUVs. But I think the issue is the fact that there are a number of individuals who are in occupations — in construction, in wholesale trades — that just can’t take transit to work. I think that that is really one of the big problems within this proposal, is that it hasn’t been seen through an equity lens, whether it’s by neighbourhood or by occupation.”

Another chart on who/where might be impacted by the proposed parking tax. Not just "low income" households, but workers with schedules, occupations, + locations who need their vehicles. How does the it address these gaps & doesn't be an Eastside workers tax? #vanpoli #vanre pic.twitter.com/XBiAmSG0WO

— Andy Yan (@Ayan604) October 4, 2021

Renters — who account for about half of all households — are also not properly considered in the plan, according to Yan.

“Renters can be found throughout the city of Vancouver, and may very well be the ones paying these additional fees and taxes since, really, they’re the ones who may not necessarily have access to on-site parking.”

The lack of clarity on how the revenue is spent is another part of the proposal that Yan thinks lacks clarity and specificity.

“What’s the connection between those areas that are paying these new fees and those that are seeing these new improvements? What are the kind of mechanisms to offer new, other options for those who don’t want to drive but still have to drive — and yet are also now stuck with another set of fees?”

He’s shared a number of charts that consider the variables he thinks the city has overlooked, including who in Vancouver depends on a car to get to work and where they live.

A map to illustrate how different neighbourhoods get to work with a chart on industries and transportation mode as well one means of measuring diversity in #Vancouver – #climateaction needs #climatejustice #vanpoli #vanre pic.twitter.com/0yghFTBttd

— Andy Yan (@Ayan604) October 3, 2021

Fundamentally, Yan says the policy is an example of an attempt at climate action that ignores climate justice.

“I think that that’s a huge problem in terms of ensuring a level of fairness in these types of policies,” he says.

“It’s important that you see it through a lens of climate justice and equity, that you look at really where these taxes are going to be collected — they’re going to be collected in many neighbourhoods where the last of the working class are living in the city of Vancouver, and they are the large visible minority neighbourhoods in the city of Vancouver who aren’t particularly well represented on city council these days. It’s easy to tax those who aren’t represented on city council. I think that’s why I have these kind of profound concerns.”