The streets of downtown Victoria could start looking a lot emptier in the days and nights to come, and that’s a good thing according to city council.
Council is cracking down on sidewalk clutter by requiring all shops to apply for a permit and pay a fee to put out a sandwich board, also known as a folding sign.
City Hall says the fee is an effort to manage the growing trend of sandwich boards.
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Originally the fee was proposed to cost $165 for the first year and $135 upon business licence renewal.
But after pressure from business owners, the city has since reduced the fee to $30 annually, plus $5 for the use of public space, for a total of $35 a year. Approved signs will have a blue City of Victoria sticker in the corner of the sandwich board.
Council is also looking at a proposal to discourage drivers from parking cars on the street after 6 p.m.
They want to shift drivers from on-street to parkades during the evening. To entice drivers, the city is proposing to offer the parkade parking for free. However, some vehicles are too large for city parkades.
City staff say they are reviewing the options and will bring it back to council in late March.
– with files from Kylie Stanton
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