City wants to charge you more to park all over Vancouver, especially if you have a luxury car
From overnight parking fees to extra charges for residents with larger, more expensive cars, the City of Vancouver is proposing to tax residents for parking just about everywhere in the city.
Residents would be charged an overnight fee of $45 a year if they park on the street, and visitors would be charged $3 a night.
The proposal is part of the city’s Climate Emergency Action Plan, designed to lower pollution and encourage people to buy electric vehicles, and residents can give their input on the plan online.
In addition to paying the yearly overnight fee, owners of new cars would be taxed more, depending on what they buy. Buyers of luxury cars, large SUVs and pick-ups purchased after 2023, would be charged $1,000 more per year.
Sporty sedans, as well as smaller and efficient SUVs would be taxed $500 extra a year.
Electric vehicles and hybrids would be exempt from the additional fees, but not the yearly $45 overnight fee. Some small economical gas-engine cars might also be exempt.
“So we’re really hoping people going out and looking at purchasing a new vehicle, are looking at low pollution vehicles,” said Paul Storer, the city’s Director of Transportation.
Residents in permit parking areas, would continue to pay that tax, and then any additional new-car fees, if applicable.
Storer said this is not a done deal. Instead, the public is being asked for input online through July 5.
City staff will then collect that information and submit the findings to mayor and council.
“Ultimately it’s council’s decision on whether to move ahead with all of it, or some of it, or none of it at all,” added Storer.
The city estimates it will raise $60 million over three years under the plan. Staff will suggest revenue be used to build more electric charging stations, sidewalks, curb ramps and more comfortable bike lanes. However it is up to council how that money will be spent.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.