Council hears draft downtown access, mobility and parking plan that favors pricing, shared private parking and mobility hubs

City staff and a consultant team on Monday presented a draft Downtown Access, Mobility and Parking Plan that focuses on managing demand through pricing, unlocking privately owned parking for public use, expanding enforcement to seven days a week and investing in non‑driving mobility options.

Patrick Quintin, director of economic prosperity and housing, said the plan is meant to support substantial downtown growth without adding new public parking supply, by relying on development-associated parking and shared private parking agreements. “The downtown access mobility and parking plan is really not about parking. It's really about downtown,” Quintin said, noting the plan’s role in managing growth anticipated over the next 20 years.

Consultant Ben Weber (Walker Consultants) outlined three pillars of recommended actions: adopt new pricing practices; expand public supply through shared parking agreements; and enhance downtown mobility options. Specific proposals included charging for public parking seven days a week (adding weekend enforcement), designating high‑ and low‑demand pricing zones, researching tiered pricing for multi‑hour stays, improving payment and automated enforcement options (including license‑plate enforcement), sunsetting unlimited permit programs while preserving discounts for low‑wage downtown employees, and targeted expansion and upgrades to accessible parking.

Why it matters: Vancouver’s downtown is projected to add substantial housing and jobs; the plan aims to manage parking demand, reduce circling and congestion, better utilize a large privately owned parking inventory (roughly 9,500 spaces across ~220 lots), and invest in alternatives such as a circulator shuttle, micro‑mobility, loading‑zone management and mobility hubs.

Key data and technical details

- On‑street public parking inventory: approximately 2,504 spaces across roughly 20 miles of curb. - Private off‑street parking inventory (consultant estimate): roughly 9,500 spaces in about 220 lots (approximately four times the on‑street supply). - On‑street occupancy (continuously collected for ~18 months): average occupancy reported ~62% on Wednesdays, ~61% on Saturdays, ~51% on Sundays, with waterfront hotspot often exceeding 80%. - Private lot occupancy (snapshot counts April dates): varied between roughly 25–54% depending on day and time. - ADA/accessibility: staff identified two additional waterfront ADA spaces added and four potential conversions flagged for further work; deeper curb/ramp work and PROWAG considerations will be needed to meet best‑practice accessibility.

Major recommendations

Pillar 1 — Pricing and public parking management

- Require payment and enforce…