Report recommends tax for new vehicles, overnight parking permits in Vancouver
Global News
The Climate Emergency Parking Program would take effect in early 2022 and require overnight parking permits for every residential street in the city at a cost of $45 per year.
A new staff report to Vancouver City Council recommends it approve a controversial plan to tax new vehicles and create permit-only parking zones across the city.
If given the green light, the Climate Emergency Parking Program would take effect in early 2022 and require overnight parking permits for every residential street in the city at a cost of $45 per year.
There would also be an annual “pollution charge” for anyone buying a gas vehicle in a model that’s 2023 or later, and crosses a certain threshold of climate-polluting carbon emissions.
Those charges would range from $0 for electric, hybrid, low-polluting and most economy vehicles to $1,000 for new “high-polluting” vehicles such as large SUVs, full-size pickup trucks, and most gas-powered luxury sports vehicles.
All previously-owned cars or models predating 2023 would be exempt from the fees, as would vehicles adapted for wheelchairs.
According to the report, the program would fit into the city’s broader Climate Emergency Action Pan, which aims to reduce Vancouver’s carbon footprint by 50 per cent by 2030. Transportation, it explains, currently accounts for 39 per cent of emissions in Vancouver.
“This is a more equitable approach to what free parking does actually cost us, and the idea to re-invest that into greener solutions,” said Vancouver Green Party Coun. Pete Fry.
“Maybe we could have more availability of electric chargers, that kind of thing — curb cuts for people who have mobility challenges.”