VANCOUVER — Even if you live 10 blocks away from an Olympic venue, prepare to see parking restrictions popping up in your neighbourhood during the 2010 Games.
That’s already happened along a stretch of East 20th Avenue near Main Street, where the City of Vancouver has installed “no parking except for vehicles registered to this block” signs.
The signs have surprised some residents who wonder why they are being put up 10 blocks from the curling venue at Hillcrest. “Who would have expected it in this neighbourhood?” said resident Stanley Coren. “Where’s the Olympic venue near here?”
City officials said while East 20th wasn’t initially cited for parking restrictions, it’s not unusual for notices to be placed in areas that historically have high traffic volumes.
The signs, which read: “no parking except vehicles registered to this block Feb. 12 to Feb. 28 and March 12 to March 21,” are aimed at ensuring street parking is reserved for residents when traffic increases during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Carli Edwards, the city’s parking manager engineer, said the city will follow the strategy employed for the PNE, where signs are often posted blocks away to preserve resident parking.
Restrictions for each neighbourhood will be dealt with on an individual basis and will be based on studies showing how far people are willing to park and walk to a venue.
Letters will then be sent out to those neighbourhoods, Edwards added, even if they are 10 blocks away.
“Protecting residents’ parking is a priority for us,” she said. “During the PNE people are trying to avoid pay parking; during the Olympics they’re just trying to find parking because there won’t be any.”
The signs mean residents will be allowed to park on their particular streets as well as nearby side streets as long as their vehicles are insured and their addresses are up to date with ICBC, showing they live in the neighbourhood.
Vehicles that aren’t registered for the neighbourhood will be ticketed or towed. The city will enforce the restrictions by checking vehicle registrations.
Coren’s wife Joan questioned what would happen to visitors to the neighbourhood. “That would be the problem,” she said.
Edwards said anyone who wants to bring a visitor into their neighbourhood during the Games will have to consider parking.
All visitors will have to find off-street parking, meaning a back lane, alley or driveway, she said.
The city decided to enforce the parking through “registered vehicles” because it wasn’t appropriate to require residents to obtain permits for such a short time, she added.
ksinoski@vancouversun.com
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