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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.