In case you haven't learned about this yet -- here is some more stupidity from our CoV City Hall:
Stupidity #1: Mobility Pricing into "Metro Core"
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vanc...-core-approved
The definition of this "Metro Core" is HUGE -- it spans to the west wide at Burrard, to the south at 16th Ave, and to the east at Clark. CoV did not announce the exact cost of entry into the toll zone yet, but estimates that I've seen range from $3 all the way up to $8 per entry. I can't even imagine how much the businesses within that zone is gonna be affected by the new charges.
Another issue that really bugs me is, the zone includes VGH, St. Paul's (at both the current site and its future site near the Via Ducts), Cancer Agency, as well as City Hall itself. With VGH in particular, a lot of specialty clinics are all clustered in that area. It feels like we are rubbing salt into the wounds of these people who are already unfortunate enough to be ill. It makes me sick.
Stupidity #2: Mandatory parking permits on residential streets
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vanc...rmits-approved
This one is a money grab, plain and simple. Esp with basement renters and laneway house residents, street parking is a fact of life and an unavoidable norm in Vancouver. And of course City Hall understands this, which is precisely why they are slapping this BS mandatory permit under the poor disguise of climate emergency action plan. The house across from my place has no garage, and park their 5 cars on the street between the 3 households (main, basement, plus laneway house). At $45 per permit, that's an extra $225 right there. In the future, there are plans to further complicate the permit fee calculation formula based on vehicle age, "emission footprint", etc.
When I wrote into City Hall to protest the mandatory parking permit, this was part of the response I got back from City Hall:
The impression I got from their reply is, they basically don't give a shxt about how natural gas is far cheaper for the average family than alternative means of heating & cooking. They also don't care about natural gas' importance to the restaurant industry.
They also don't care how for some (many?) people, having a car to support their daily lives and activities is essential. The emissions claim is esp ridiculous since that mandatory parking permit does not distinguish between ICE cars and EVs. So it is clearly a made up lie that has nothing to do with reducing emissions.
I am generally not a fan of using penalization to obtain behavioural changes on this sort of thing. IMO, incentives rewarding the preferred behaviour is a more effective means to obtain those desired behavioural changes. Unfortunately, our stupid City Hall does not agree with that.
