Pay-by-space system coming to parkades in Victoria this year

Pay-by-space system coming to parkades in Victoria this year
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The City of Victoria is planning to make changes this spring and summer to the current parking system at downtown parkades.

Starting as early as next week, downtown parkades will start transitioning over to the pay-by-space system in an effort to make things faster and more convenient.

The pay-by-space system enables drivers to pay for their parking at a pay station or by using the ParkVictoria app, similar to the current on-street parking.

The first location to make the switch will be the Centennial Square Parkade, transitioning on May 10, however, the City says every downtown location will switch to the new system by this summer.

The City will also be streamlining parking rates at all pay-by-space parkades to $2/hour and providing an additional hour of free parking in the morning to make all parkades free from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. each day.

As for Sundays and holidays, parking in parkades will remain free and the City emphasizes that the prices will be 33 per cent cheaper than on-street parking.

“We want people to come downtown and support local businesses, so I’m thrilled we can take this step to make parking a whole lot easier,” said Mayor Lisa Helps. “Being able to use the free ParkVictoria app in City parkades is a game changer for shoppers and visitors looking for quicker, more convenient parking options downtown.”

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Through the app, users get alerts when time is expiring, they can top-up parking remotely from their mobile device and get a refund for unused time.

“The changes will also speed up the experience of parkade parking,” reads a statement from the City, highlighting that people will no longer need to collect a ticket upon entry or pay when they exit.

One-hour free parking spaces will still be available on the lower floors near the entrance.

The payment system change follows the success of the Johnson Street parkade pay by space pilot in fall 2020.

There are currently five City-operated downtown parkades that are open 24/7, containing more than 1,800 parking spaces.

There are another 2,000 City-provided on-street parking spots downtown.

For more information visit victoria.ca/parkades.

Graham CoxGraham Cox

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