Wow, have to step in here as it sounds like some of you are suggesting that ROP is free, its not! The parking was paid for by the developer (and subsequently passed on to the home owner) when the subdivision was created. its hard to calculate the cost in the past as rates and costs have varied so lets look at a current cost for a new development in the city.
If someone has a large lot in Fairfield say 100 x 120 and decide to rezone or subdivide this into two residential lots the City requires that they pay for all new: sidewalks, curb and gutter, boulevard landscaping, street lighting, irrigation sleeves, and repaving the road to the center line of the street for the entire width of the 2 new lots. This costs approx. $50-100K per lot depending on where in the neighbourhood due to road width, type of road base (gravel or concrete), number of trees required etc. So that translates to $50-$100K per residence. This road & sidewalk benefit more than just the developer or the residents of the new homes as the public walk the sidewalk and drive on the road.
Yes the developer of higher density buildings also has to pay the frontage improvement costs for roads, sidewalks etc. But the same $50-$100K is spread out over 50 to 100 new units rather than the single family dwelling. As such I would argue the roughly $1K /unit they have paid is a small cost for the use of the roads and sidewalks but does not pay for any parking.
On top of this the City's parking bylaws (Schedule C) require the SFD developer to provide at least one off street parking stall per residence. As this is generally surface parking it is a percentage of the lot that is dedicated to parking only. At an average 6000 ft2 Fairfield lot price of approx. $1M and an average parking space of approx. 200 ft2 (not including the driveway to get it behind the front wall of the home which is also required) that's an additional $33K, (plus the cost of paving it) that the developer and therefore homeowner have to pay for parking. That's about the same construction cost as providing underground parking at a condo or apartment. The condo or apartment do not have any incremental or marginal land cost for that parking stall since it is below grade and does not remove other uses for the land above ground.
The city is now approving ton's of new higher density housing in the core areas including those abutting the ROP areas with little to no parking requirements. Case in point GMC's new 30 unit rental building at 1015 Cook street with only 4 parking stalls. I understand those parking stalls are reserved for three car share vehicles and one visitors spot. This leaves zero parking stalls for any of the 30 - 60 residents of the building that may own cars. If you think that no resident of this building will own a car, you are beyond naive, your delusional. Those tenants will simply flood the ROP zones along Burdett, Mcclure, Linden, Richardson, Trutch etc. that some one else has paid for.
Some of you have suggested taxes pay for these roads and that we all pay the same tax. The assessed value (and therefore property tax) of an average condo or single apartment unit in Victoria is way less than a single family home. On top of that the closer the single family dwelling is to the core the higher the land value so rather than paying the average $4K a year someone else quoted above, many of the SFD's along the same streets mention above are paying $6-$8K a year in property tax. These residents don't use any more city provided services than the condo or apartment dweller so I think its reasonable to say the extra $4-$6K a year they pay in property taxes should cover their ROP fee!
Boom.
There it is. I’ve been trying to scream this from the rafters but it consistently falls flat.