Modest solutions are often more effective than radical changes. The latest changes in parking regulations by Victoria city council do not denote any major policy shifts, but are a reasonable response to concerns.
Victoria doesn鈥檛 have a major parking problem. With five city-owned parkades, four parking lots and 2,000 metered spaces, in addition to privately owned parking lots and parking provided by businesses, it鈥檚 seldom difficult to find a parking space within a few blocks of a chosen destination.
Nevertheless, parking will always be a contentious issue. It鈥檚 the service that generates the most comments to city hall. And just because a situation is OK doesn鈥檛 mean it can鈥檛 be improved.
Downtown businesses are at a disadvantage compared to shopping plazas and suburban malls, where parking is plentiful and free. In fact, nothing is really free 鈥� the cost of mall parking lots is included in tenants鈥� rent and is passed on to customers in the price of goods. But few customers think of that, while most customers are acutely aware that they are required to pay for parking when shopping or dining downtown.
While parking is a source of revenue 鈥� it added $15.6 million to Victoria鈥檚 revenues in 2012 鈥� the primary aim of parking regulation and fees should be to keep traffic moving and encourage turnover on city streets. That means getting more people to use the parkades.
Blame some of the parking woes on the movies. Silver-screen characters always seem to be able to find a parking spot right where they need it. People come to expect that in real life and get annoyed when they have to hunt for a parking spot.
On the other hand, parkades get a bad rap in the movies. Parkades are where shady characters gather for clandestine meetings, where drug deals go down, where gangsters reduce rivalries with much shooting of guns and screeching of tires, where evil lurks in the dark corners, usually accompanied by spooky music.
Such fears are not entirely fictional 鈥� incidents have happened in Victoria parkades 鈥� but the city has made an effort to clean them up and make them safer.
Charging for evening on-street parking, now free after 6 p.m., had been recommended as one way to move cars into the parkades, but the council wisely resisted that idea, opting for the more positive approach of allowing parkades to be free for the first hour and after 6 p.m. Parking rates in most parkades will be standardized at $2 an hour (down from $2.25), and longer-term parking will be directed far from the entrances of parkades.
The decrease in the hourly rate is minor, but it鈥檚 a good psychological move, somewhat easing the irritation factor that often accompanies parking.
Restricting parking passes for municipal councillors in the region and other politicians is also a minor move numerically 鈥� it affects only about 80 people 鈥� but it removes another irritant. Holders of those passes could park anywhere, anytime, regardless of whether they were on official business. Now the passes will be good for parkades only, which is still generous. Politicians should experience the daily trials that their voters face.
Good moves all around, except for the allocation of up to $135,000 to create art on the facades of parkades. While that鈥檚 an effort to brighten the image of parkades, the money would be better spent keeping them clean, well-lighted and regularly patrolled. Better a blank wall that鈥檚 clean than a decorated wall that smells of urine.
Someone will always complain about parking 鈥� it鈥檚 as much a part of Victoria as the annual flower count 鈥� but the latest changes give people less to complain about.
