Port Moody approves pay parking at Rocky Point

Starting this June, it will cost $2.50 per hour per park at Rocky Point Park.

Port Moody council approved its official pay parking strategy on April 23, which will charge drivers to park at more than 400 spaces at five locations around the community.

“We’re not trying to gouge our residents here,” said Coun. Kyla Knowles, who first initiated the pay parking initiative back in May 2023. “I really hope this leads to increased turnover for our businesses, for our residents, and improved traffic control. So let’s give it a shot.”

A pay-parking model has been flirted with for more than two decades by previous councils, but last fall, staff were finally given the green light to start developing a strategy.

Benefits touted in the staff report include greater turnover at busy locations around the city, encouraging greener forms of transportation, and, of course, revenue generation.

The goal is to have 85 percent occupancy rate at peak times, leaving room for the next driver to find a spot.

A conservative estimate by staff predicts the city will rake in around $550,000 annually from pay parking. After subtracting taxes, fees, contracts with parking vendors, and additional staff salaries, a net revenue of $85,000 to $200,000 is expected.

Knowles said the forecasts are better than she hoped for.

Three of the pay-parking zones will be around the busy Rocky Point Park, while the remaining two zones include commercial parking in Suter Brook Village and street parking south of Eagle Ridge Hospital.

Additional locations may also be considered in the future, including the Port Moody Recreation Centre, Knowle Street and Ioco Road near Newport Village.

For the three Rocky Point Park zones, visitors will be charged $1.50 per hour during the nine-month off-season (September to May) due to less demand.

During the summer months, however, pay parking will be in effect 16 hours a day, and spots will have two to four hour maximums depending on the location.

Fees could be increased or decreased depending on a parking analysis to be completed approximately a year after the program is rolled out.

The city is using a pay-by-plate system, which will allow users to make payments through mobile apps, mobile phone wallets, or by credit or debit card at 15 or 16 solar-powered pay stations. No cash options are being considered.

A pay option through QR codes is also being weighed, though staff cautioned these systems can potentially be used in fraud schemes.

Veterans, on-shift city staff, and users with valid accessible parking permits will be exempt.

Coun. Callan Morrison said he hoped the new fee structure would take capacity pressure off Rocky Point Park.

“I know Rocky Point is our crown jewel,” he said. “But I think that the more that we can encourage residents to use local parks, and provide the amenities that they need at those parks, there’ll be less of a desire to drive.”

Although parking fines have not been decided yet, Coun. Diana Dilworth said she didn’t want them to be too punitive, and would favour a staggered approach.

Dilworth said she was dinged $98 at a private parking lot at Suter Brook for being an hour late by accident. “That is shocking to me,” she said.

Staff said the revenue from the program is anticipated to cover the city’s operational costs, and excess revenue can be put back into the city’s general fund or other services.

Extra staffing requirements will come at a $175,750 cost for bylaw and transportation technician positions; upgrades of a bylaw vehicle have a one-time capital cost of $70,000; while technology licensing will cost $4,000 to $6,000 per vehicle per year.

Jeff Moi, the city’s general manager of engineering and operations, noted the additional positions will help ease their departments’ existing workloads.

“I think that this actually does provide a bit of an increased level of service generally,” he said.

The city is finalizing a bid for the supply, installation, commissioning, maintenance, and staff training of the pay parking systems, which is expected to be completed by the end of April.

Revenue collection will be placed in the hands of a vendor under a long-term agreement, who could be paid a percentage of the parking revenue, according to the strategy.

The sole vote against approval came from Coun. Haven Lurbkiecki, who was skeptical the fee structure would actually lead to turnover.

She said that spaces around Rocky Point Park already have four-hour time limits, arguing the small charges would not make any difference, aside from filling city coffers.

When questioned why day rates were not being offered, staff the primary goal of the strategy is to encourage turnover.

Lurbiecki said she was “categorically against” implementing fees at public spaces like parks and recreation centres, noting the city’s Parkland Strategy calls for equitable access for all residents.

“Most families are just trying to get by right now. We are in the worst affordability crisis in a generation,” Lurbiecki said. “Charging money by definition is not equitable access. . . . It’s taking $10 out of a family or person’s pocket for wanting to go to a public park.”

She introduced two amendments: the first called for completely slashing off-season fees around Rocky Point Park; the second called for all net revenue to be funnelled into park improvements.

Both were rejected by the rest of council.

Coun. Samantha Agtarap said staff still need to gather data to properly define peak and off-season traffic.

“For all aspects of this program, we need to have about a year or more of observation and to see how things work before we can nail down the final decisions,” she said.

Morrison agreed, stating he was interested in jumping with “both feet in” and revisiting rates in the future based on feedback.

Staff said they wanted to take a cautious approach regarding revenue allocation by collecting more data to determine the demands of the program.

Knowles argued restricting how the revenue was spent would just “tie our hands.”

“I would want to give any net revenue back to our residents in any way that we see fit, whether that’s in a tax break, whether that’s additional amenities, whether that’s into our parks,” she said. “To ask us to earmark or restrict these funds to any one given bucket is a little ridiculous.”

Patrick Penner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Tri-Cities Dispatch