UPDATE: Vancouver city council has unanimously approved the pre-paid parking program.
There may now be more options for Vancouver drivers who choose to have a drink and leave their cars parked on the street.
Currently, parking meters are in effect from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, including holidays.
Any cars that park overnight and do not clear out by 9 a.m. face a fine due to parking regulations that do not allow parking to be prepaid for the next morning.
But Councillor Raymond Louie says it is not an effective option.
Instead, he is proposing drivers be given an option to pre-pay next-day parking, so they do not have to risk driving while they may still be inebriated.
“People can leave their vehicle behind. They will take a taxi or transit home, instead of trying to drive their car,” says Louie. “They know they won’t be ticketed and towed in the morning.”
The program was modeled after a similar one in Seattle. It allows drivers to pay for street parking in the morning, starting at 10 p.m.
Louie says the Seattle program has increased from about 600 instances of use in the first month to an average of over 2,500 pre-paid uses every month in 2012.
“It is 2,500 drivers that made, I think, a good choice not to risk drinking and driving,” says Louie.
The councillor says he wants to see the same happen in Vancouver.
Louie says the city already has the technology necessary to launch the program, and the implementation would not cost much.
The Vancouver police chief and the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association are also on board for the idea.
The intent is to have the pre-paid parking program apply to parking meters citywide, except for areas that have parking restrictions for morning rush periods.
It is not clear yet how long drivers will be able to pre-pay their parking for.
The motion will go before the council next Tuesday, with a vote expected shortly after that.
Video: Bob Rorison from Mother’s Against Drunk Driving weighs in on what impact this decision could have:
Video: News Hour report:
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