Success comes at a price 鈥� and for the City of Victoria and parking changes, that price is $400,000. That鈥檚 the anticipated drop in parking revenues for 2015, largely because of fewer tickets.
Care should be taken that the city doesn鈥檛 come up short on capital funding for parking infrastructure, but most signs indicate Victoria has done a good job in making downtown parking easier and more friendly.
Ever a thorny issue for municipal governments, parking can be a no-win situation: People become annoyed when they can鈥檛 find a parking spot, irate when they get a ticket for parking too long. It鈥檚 a challenge to maintain a fair turnover in parking spaces while allowing people enough time to conduct their business.
Parking was never particularly difficult in Victoria鈥檚 downtown compared to many other cities, but that didn鈥檛 stop complaints about such things as overly aggressive bylaw enforcement and too-short parking times.
By tackling the challenges incrementally, rather than trying to make sweeping changes all at once, the city was able to be responsive and effective. Victoria鈥檚 parking regime could be a model for other centres to follow.
Paying for parking has never been easier. You don鈥檛 have to be near your car to extend your parking time 鈥� any pay station will do. With the new parking app for smartphones, you can pay for time no matter where you are.
Cutting parkade rates and making parking free for the first hour and after 6 p.m. has increased parkade use by 60 per cent. That means more space on the streets. Rates in zones outside the core became more flexible.
These are positive changes, and they have contributed to a steady decline in parking tickets over the past three years. That decline is the main factor in this year鈥檚 $400,000 drop in revenues.
That didn鈥檛 appear to be part of any analysis before changes were made. Mayor Lisa Helps calls the revenue decline 鈥渁n unintended consequence of our success in getting more people downtown.鈥�
She is correct in pointing out that the city shouldn鈥檛 be depending on parking-infraction revenues to finance operations. If fines come to be seen as a source of revenue, it raises questions about the motives behind bylaw enforcement.
The parking system should be self-sufficient. Fees shouldn鈥檛 be punitive, but they should be fair, enough to cover costs of enforcement, maintain infrastructure and finance future upgrades. Otherwise, taxes will go up when it becomes necessary to repair parkades.
Downtown merchants are at a disadvantage when it comes to parking. Shoppers have a choice between downtown congestion and the abundant free parking at the malls and big-box stores. A better downtown parking system helps to level that field.
Victoria had a reputation, deserved or otherwise, for rigid parking enforcement and an eagerness to issue a ticket the second the meter expired. While it鈥檚 good to be accommodating and friendly, a kinder, gentler approach should not preclude necessary firmness. The idea of parking ambassadors instead of parking enforcers carries considerable potential for good public relations and a positive downtown atmosphere.
But parking bylaws exist to regulate parking; otherwise, the downtown would become clogged with parked cars and traffic would be disrupted. Tickets should be written when warranted 鈥� people now have far fewer excuses for parking infractions.
