If you don’t arrive early enough, you’ve got no choice but to keep driving your car.
That was the frustration conveyed by Mayor George Harvie and Coun. Lois Jackson at Delta council May 6 during a discussion on a Metro Vancouver and TransLink parking study that shifted to the lack of available parking at the Scott Road SkyTrain Park and Ride.
According to TransLink, the parking lot at the end of Scott Road, which charges $3 per day, has 1,471 spaces. Jackson said she’s had a hard time finding a spot if she doesn’t arrive very early in the morning and is forced to park blocks away or keep driving.
It’s a problem that’s been around for years but the transit authority hasn’t addressed it, she said, adding it likely discourages potential transit ridership.
Harvie agreed, noting he recently wanted to use the park and ride to take the SkyTrain to a regional district meeting but the lot was already packed, so he had no choice but to keep driving in the morning rush hour into Burnaby.
The Scott Road lot is one of 20 park and ride locations across Metro Vancouver serving SkyTrain, West Coast Express and major bus loops.
As far as the parking study, Metro Vancouver and TransLink last year analyzed vehicle parking use and supply data on apartment sites and on nearby streets across the region. Metro notes the study found that parking supply exceeded demand in the range of 18 to 35 per cent in the 80 study apartment sites. Opportunities were identified for municipalities and the development industry to better match parking supply and demand in new apartment developments close to frequent transit.
Delta staff is to look at the data and compare it to current municipal development requirements, which could mean lessening Delta’s parking requirements for new developments.
