Proposed policy changes are based on tools the City has available today, considers global best parking management practices, aligns with City-wide and project objectives, and responds to challenges we hear from community members.
For more details on each change, please see the Proposed Policy Changes Report.
| Change 1 |
Expand pay parking in high-demand areas of the City to better manage parking turnover and demand. |
| Current State |
Observed occupancy tends to be near 100%, resulting in significant circling for an available parking spot. |
| Anticipated Future State |
Demand is regulated through pricing, ensuring that each block hits a targeted occupancy (with a sweet spot of ~85%) so that a few spaces per block are available at any given time. |
| Change 2 |
Modernize the Resident & Visitor Parking Policy, including expansion of spatial coverage, and adjustment of eligibility criteria and costs. |
| Current State |
Resident Exempt (RE) permits are available to residents living in housing with three or less units and select older multi-family buildings. Many residents are ineligible for permits despite needing access. |
| Anticipated Future State |
Regardless of housing type, parking permits are available for purchase for residents who need it. Permit rates will reflect demand for the space within a permit zone and can be adjusted on a regular basis to bring into balance demand and supply. |
| Change 3 |
Expand short-term loading zones for the efficient and safe movement of people and goods. |
| Current State |
Demand exceeds supply of loading zones, resulting in double parking, where vehicles park in general travel lanes, creating unsafe conditions. |
| Anticipated Future State |
More loading zones for people and goods, both in residential and commercial areas, reducing double parking, and improving safety. |
| Change 4 |
Provide more accessible on-street parking spaces in close proximity to shops, services, and key destinations across the City. |
| Current State |
Accessible on-street parking for people with disabilities is sporadic and occupied most of the time. |
| Anticipated Future State |
More accessible parking is provided at regular intervals near shops and services, including applying pay parking to high-demand accessible spaces, to encourage parking turnover. Provide an online map with all accessible public parking spaces to improve legibility and awareness of spots in the City. |
| Change 5 |
Enable unique special-use parking to ensure a wide range of curbspace needs are achieved. |
| Current State |
Most unique special-use parking needs are underserved (e.g., car-share, bike parking, and shuttle buses). |
| Anticipated Future State |
More space for special-use parking needs. |
For the purposes of this project, curb access and management of curb space refers to various policies, programs, infrastructure, and operating changes that result in more equitable and beneficial use of our curb space (the portion of the right-of-way adjacent to travel lanes that is directly beside the curb, often used for parking).
Figure: 1 Components of City right-of-way
Today in the City of North Vancouver, over 90% of the City’s curb space is dedicated to vehicle parking. This leaves less room for a growing number of other uses, including transit stops, goods movement, passenger drop off, and public spaces for people to use and enjoy.
There may also be a need for dedicated room for various road users to travel in the curb lane, including transit, active, and electric modes, including bikes, scooters, and vehicles. Reviewing curb space allocation through this plan can improve fairness, access, and sustainability.
What is ‘on-street’ and ‘off-street’ parking?
While the main focus of this work will be on the curb lane, some of the access considerations also relate to off-street areas adjacent to the curb.
Off-street space adjacent to the curb lane can also be better managed to support the development of our public realm (places for people), green infrastructure elements such as space for trees, storm water management, greenspace, and infrastructure required to support lighting, electric charging, and telecommunications.
How the City Manages curb space for vehicle parking today
There are a number of parking restrictions that the City currently deploys to manage parking.
- Unrestricted parking: For a large amount of the City, particularly in residential neighbourhoods outside of the regional City Centre, we generally have unrestricted parking (no signage, first come first serve).
- Permit restrictions: In areas adjacent to our commercial main streets such as Lonsdale, we have several areas with resident permit parking. The intention here is reduce external parking pressure on residential streets outside commercial areas and help residents with insufficient off-street parking.
- Time or vehicle-type restrictions: We also have time-limited and vehicle type restrictions. This is particularly the case in our busiest areas (for example in Lower Lonsdale). Time-based restrictions encourage higher turnover so more people are able to find parking near businesses. An example of a vehicle-type restriction would be a loading zones for picking up people, or dropping off goods.
- Paid parking: The City has a limited number of on-street paid parking spaces around the Lions Gate Hospital, which promote higher turnover by creating a cost to use the space for a limited amount of time.
The proposed policy changes listed below have been developed to address challenges we heard from the public during Phase 1 engagement last fall. These are the main items we heard and more information is presented in the engagement summary document listed as an additional resource below.
- It’s hard to find parking in our busiest areas
- Resident parking permits exclude the majority of our residents
- More convenient and safe loading opportunities are needed
- The supply of accessible parking is insufficient
- Changes in on-street and off-street parking policy need to be coordinated
- Curb space for mobility, storage, and public place-making requires ongoing conversation.
Learn more in the Phase 1 Engagement Summary Report.
The first step of the plan development is to gather input from the community to understand what is working well on our curbs, and what needs to be reassessed. This was undertaken in the fall of 2023.
We are now at Step 3 of engaging the community on Proposed Policy Changes, to support with the development of the final plan and phased implementation strategy.
Phase 1 – Building Awareness & Input | Winter 2023
Building awareness of the project and providing opportunities for the public to participate and share their needs.
Phase 2 – Develop Proposed Policy Changes | Spring 2024
Develop Preliminary Directions for the Curb Access & Parking Plan and share feedback received during previous phase of engagement. Review the
Phase 1 Engagement Summary Report.
Phase 3 – Community Engagement | Summer 2024
Inform interest-holders and community members on proposed policy changes and consult with these groups to determine implementation planning and phasing.
Phase 4 – Finalize the Plan | Fall 2024
Refine the Plan based on feedback and additional technical analysis, and present the Plan and associated Implementation Strategy to Council for endorsement.
Phase 5 – Implementation | Spring 2025 onwards
Follow the phased implementation strategy and deliver curb space changes.