Vancouver revises parking plan for Yaletown after public outcry

The City of Vancouver has revised its plan to remove dozens of parking spots in Yaletown following outcry from local business owners and residents.

According to the city, the new design will leave at least 117 of the 260 angled spots already in the five-block stretch of Mainland and Hamilton streets, but will shorten them to improve access for firefighters who say the narrow streets don't give them enough room to do their jobs efficiently.

"We heard concerns from businesses and residents about the proposed designs we put forward in January 2018 and have been working with the Yaletown BIA and business community to explore alternate options that will keep as much parking as possible and meet (Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services) requirements,” Lon LaClaire, the city's director of transportation, said in a statement.

The changes mean longer vehicles won't be able to fit into about a third of the spots, the local business improvement area said.

The city's original plan was to remove all of the angled parking spots on Hamilton and Mainland streets and replace them with as much parallel parking as possible. That plan would have left 120 spots in the area.

According to Yaletown BIA executive director Annette O’Shea, the revised plan represents a compromise that could soften to the blow to some 900 business in the neighbourhood.

While the changes will take away more than half of the spots on Mainland and Hamilton streets, O'Shea said she's looking forward to working with the city to figure out how they can relocate 60 dumpsters to create as many additional parking spaces as possible.

"To lose nearly half is a big hit. There's no win here," she said, but added that she's "really glad that the city came back to the table and that the city started to hear our concerns."

The BIA is also asking the municipality to open up parking spaces in public lots. O’Shea also wants to see parking towers instead of meters that make some of already tight spots in Yaletown even harder for drivers to get into.

“The design that will be trialled gives us an opportunity to win back some of the parking spaces that are currently taken by dumpsters,” she said.

“We feel confident that with some innovative signage and on street design, drivers will find it easier to park, and easier to find a parking spot in Yaletown.”

Business owners and residents in Yaletown gathered in late February to protest the plan, saying it would harm local businesses and leave nowhere to park in the already over-crowded neighbourhood.

Mayor Gregor Robertson also expressed some doubt as to whether the move is the best way forward in the long term when the plan was first introduced in January.

The city said the revised plan will be implemented in April and officials will evaluate its success for up to a year before they decided if the changes will be permanent.

O’Shea said the changes are being implemented faster that the BIA would have liked, but expects to have an ongoing conversation with the city about the project's impact as the year goes on.