Vancouver parking permits could cost 20% more in 2024

People living in the West End may soon have to shell out a lot more money for street parking, if proposed changes are approved.

Fees for residential parking permits in the City of Vancouver could increase by up to 20 per cent in 2024, according to a proposal coming to council along with next year's budget.

If approved, the higher rates will come into effect on Jan. 1.

"Resident permit parking in the City of Vancouver is generally located in areas of high parking demand. Existing parking permit costs are significantly less expensive than the cost of surrounding off-street parking and are low relative to many other major centres. Staff recommend increasing their price at a higher rate than inflation," the report says.

Residents paying $104.79 will see the fee increase to $125.74. Those paying $77.34 would see that fee hiked to $92.81. Finally, people paying $52.38 will be charged $62.86.

One exception is for prices in the West End, which will increase by six percent from $403.72 per year to $427.94 annually.

Weekly visitor permits will increase from $11.44 to $13.73 and daily permits will go from $5.72 to $6.06.

The city is also proposing a new one-week visitor permit for the West End and Robson North at a rate of $23.81 to "to better reflect the value and demand for parking in these neighbourhoods," the report says.

The report is also recommending an extra charge of 5 cents per transaction for drivers who choose to pay parking meter fees using a mobile app in order to pay administrative costs associated with this option.

Parking accounts for four per cent of the projected revenue for 2024, set to bring in 78,389,000 – up 13.6 per cent from this year, according to the draft budget. The lion's share of that money comes from on-street parking fees. The increase in permit fees is expected to bring in $0.3 million in additional revenue.