Local business owners voiced opposition to the City of North Vancouver’s proposed paid parking plan during a council meeting on April 14, warning it could severely impact their ability to operate.
At a council meeting on April 14, council voted 4-3 to approve a plan to bring paid parking to Lower and Central Lonsdale. Mayor Linda Buchanan and Councillors Angela Girard, Jessica McIlroy and Tony Valente supported the paid parking. Councillors Don Bell, Holly Back and Shervin Shahriari opposed it.
Four business owners from Lower Lonsdale argued that limited parking and increased costs would hurt day-to-day operations and customer service, especially in the Lower Lonsdale and East Esplanade areas.
Steve Niewerth of Rack Stop, a business that installs custom bike racks, said the parking time limits and payment model would complicate logistics and force staff to manage parking instead of serving customers. Customers usually leave their cars for three to four hours for rack installation. “We will need to pay for that parking if the customer can’t pick up the car within four hours, and we need to park the car in a residential area, if we can find it. We will then have to draw a map explaining where we parked that car,” he said. “We don’t want to be plugging the meter or walking two or more blocks there and back to park a car when it should be answering the phone or installing a bike rack.”
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Dennis Krangle, who owns an automotive shop and commercial building in the area, criticized the city for what he described as poor communication and said the plan would cripple businesses in the area. Krangle said he spoke to every business on the 200 and 300 blocks of Esplanade, and none knew about the pay parking plan. He criticized the city’s claim that the plan had undergone extensive engagement.
“I got a letter from Blair Underhill saying this project had the most comprehensive engagement of any transportation project to date. I don’t know who he spoke to, but it wasn’t us,” he said. “Being a building owner and business owner for the last 29 years, I would have expected somebody to walk around and let us know what’s happening here. The lack of consultation makes it feel like it’s getting jammed down our throats.”
Josh Sepulveda of XTR Building Services echoed concerns over a lack of consultation and said the proposed changes would impose recurring financial burdens on businesses like his, which rely on flexible vehicle access. “We found out about the proposal from another business just last Thursday,” Sepulveda told council. “We have vehicles that break down and take days to repair. Paying for parking every time isn’t sustainable.”
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Paul McAlduff, a service industry veteran 43 years in Lower Lonsdale, said the proposal would discourage quick customer visits and make business unsustainable. “I talked to over 30 North Vancouver residents in the past few days—every one of them was disappointed or disgusted,” said McAlduff. “This parking meter proposal is a business killer.”
Significant community consultation
The City of North Vancouver claims the plan will help address long-standing parking challenges, and there was significant community consultation. In a press release, CNV said the plan was developed through two phases of community engagement, including feedback from residents, businesses, and service providers.
“The result is a forward-looking strategy that aligns with the City’s transportation goals and addresses curb space challenges,” CNV said. “We heard clearly from our community—parking needs to work better,” said Draper. “Whether it’s parents picking up their kids, delivery drivers doing their jobs, customers accessing businesses, or residents trying to park close to their homes, this plan is about making curb space work for everyone.”
..I used to bisit and shop lower lonsdale and 1st ave area…not anymore after this money grab!!!
Did the mayor have this in her campaign before her election or the councillors that voted with her ? Just something to remember with the next election .
Just another money grab, aren’t North Vancouver residents getting bent over far enough as it is, but counsel tries to keep bending residents even farther over, when does it stop
What a joke. They want us to ride our bikes up the hills of norh van…lol
This is already bad enough, parking is 30 to 60 minutes unless you are lucky to get one of the very few 2 hour coveted spots. This is an antibusiness move and those who brought this move forward are completely clueless on the hardships already on small business.
The city needs to roll out the red carpet of parking and give more free parking not make it harder for these businesses.
West Vancouver is implementing this too but that’s a whole different animal and a different business discussion.
I stop to pick up a coffee almost daily on east first.
I won’t be doing it anymore if I have to pay to park for 5 to 10 minutes, only long enough to grab a latte.
Sorry coffee bar, I love you, but it’s over between us. I have to move on.
First they give away public property to restaurants that take up valuable parking spaces that are not well used and now they want to make us pay for whatever is left so we can visit our doctors and other important businesses on Lonsdale.Not to mention the traffic congestion that this has caused.
Why is supply/demand so hard for people to understand (specially those commenting above)? When the demand for a precious commodity goes up (and supply doesn’t), price has to go up. End of story.
If the city monitored the existing time limits then cars would leave instead of getting a ticket. They’re not changing the supply or the demand, they’re just grabbing cash because of it. None of which will go back to the residents since it will take years for the cost of installation to get paid off with our tax dollars.
I’m in Central Lonsdale on Chesterfield and pay $100 per month for a parking spot in my Apartment. I feel much pain for the small – middle sized business in Central Lonsdale and have watched as many have already closed their doors. Many more will close as the impact of paid parking goes into effect.
I have no solution. We have become a big city. We are continuing to grow too quickly and history will be repeated… look at Downtown Vancouver, Brentwood and the Metrotown area. Anybody remember the free parking 60 years ago?
I feel for the business affected by this decision. People will go to the path of least resistance and not use the Lonsdale corridor. Lonsdale business will have to live off the local Lonsdale residents to survive and if they can’t, move their business out of the city, which might have more opportunity. This was a bad decision for these businesses.
Maybe you missed the cities engagement survey. It was this. Do you really like paid parking? Do you somewhat like paid parking?
Results: An overwhelming majority of people support paid parking.
All will suffer…. the aged…..businesses and restaurants right through to upper Lonsdale.Its a travesty for all concerned. I think this plan should be scrapped.