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Parking issues and discussion (City of Victoria & Greater Victoria)


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#101 m0nkyman

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Posted 18 July 2007 - 09:38 AM

NO! That's the last thing any of us want. What I want to see is the commissionaires to start becoming ambassadors of downtown. Ticket people, sure, but lost the dodgy tactics like waiting at a meter for it to tick over, hiding behind bushes while writing tickets, telling people that run out that they have to leave rather than just plugging the meter and going back in to finish buying things.

The meters ensure that there is turnover of parking on-street, which is critical for the success of retail downtown, but it's not meant to be either punitive or over zealous. Or a revenue generation tool.

#102 Baro

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Posted 18 July 2007 - 01:38 PM

My friend, in the middle of rockland bought a piece of furniture and got it delivered to his house. He doesn't have much of a driveway so the truck had to back up near to his door as it could, and ended up taking up half the sidewalk.

this is not a busy part of rockland, it's up near the end and there wasn't a pedestrian as far as the eye could see. The delivery guy arrives, they get out and unload the furniture together, takes about 10 min.

When they get out, as if he was summoned up from hell was a parking enforcement guy writing him up a ticket for obstructing the sidewalk. He tried to explain it was just a quick 10 min thing and how the guy was being ridiculous and why was he even way out here in the quietest end of Rockland. The guy was a little intimidated but argued how the truck was obstructing wheel chair access along the road and how if he needed to take up the sidewalk he'd have to get a special permit and otherwise he has to give a ticket. The guy wasn't even like "sorry, it's my job to do this" but seemed honestly very upset that my friend was destroying wheelchair access along the street and it was this guy's sworn duty to protect the sidewalk.

Not a soul on the sidewalks for the half k or so you can see down the street. luckily my friend was done and the truck was leaving, but they ended up arguing for about 10 more min over if they'd get a ticket or not. Finally the guy dropped the issue but said he'd keep an eye out on him.

Absolutely ridiculous. What next, giving tickets for the 5 seconds you take up the sidewalk as you pull out of your garage? And why the hell are we paying these people to stand in front of a house in the middle of Rockland arguing about a truck parked only for about 10 min that ends up turning into a 30 min argument when there are many legitimate issues out there that this guy could be enforcing. These type's of people's absolute single-minded obsessions with each and every infraction and their inability to look at the big picture of why they exist and what their jobs are truly supposed to accomplish, it just boggles my mind.
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#103 Ms. B. Havin

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Posted 18 July 2007 - 02:01 PM

^ That story sounds so familiar (sigh); had a similar incident at my house, too, and have watched from my window as it happened at other homes across the street/ up the block.

I have what might be a dumb question, but I seriously don't know the answer, so indulge me: why are they called commissionaires? Is it because they have a commission to do what they do, or do they get a commission on each ticket they write?
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#104 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 18 July 2007 - 02:39 PM

^ That story sounds so familiar (sigh); had a similar incident at my house, too, and have watched from my window as it happened at other homes across the street/ up the block.

I have what might be a dumb question, but I seriously don't know the answer, so indulge me: why are they called commissionaires? Is it because they have a commission to do what they do, or do they get a commission on each ticket they write?



In mainland Europe, a commissionaire is an attendant, messenger or subordinate employed in hotels, whose chief duty is to attend at railway stations, secure customers, take charge of their luggage, carry out the necessary formalities with respect to it and have it sent on to the hotel. They are also employed in Paris as street messengers, light porters, etc.

In the UK and some former Commonwealth countries, a Commissionaire is an employee of the Corps of Commissionaires, a company founded in 1859 by Captain Sir Edward Walter, K.C.B. (1823-1904) to provide employment for former members of the armed services. Members of the Corps are often used as receptionist-guards in major companies and other organisations, in which role they wear a distinctive military-style uniform.

<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#105 m0nkyman

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Posted 18 July 2007 - 03:09 PM

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commissionaire:ea3e0]wikipedia tells all.[/url:ea3e0]

#106 gumgum

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Posted 16 January 2008 - 06:10 PM

Parking meters on the way out
By Keith Vass - Victoria News - January 16, 2008

Parking meters have been disappearing one by one from downtown Victoria streets for years. Now, they’re all going and this time not at the hands of thieves.

The city has plans to replace them with automated pay stations.

Though city councillors had some concerns the stations might confuse some users, they gave city staff permission to ask the Municipal Finance Authority for a $5-million loan to buy the machines.

City parking manager Victor Van Den Boomen told council the machines would be rolled out gradually to let the public get used to them.

To pay, users will have to remember their stall number, which they’ll enter on a keypad. But the machines will give people more payment options, and will let them top up their time at any other machine downtown, without having to return to their car, Van Den Boomen said.

In a separate request, the city will borrow $8.8 million to pay for repairs that have already been approved to the city’s parkades.

kvass@vicnews.com

What do you think? Give us your comments by e-mail: editor@vicnews.com.

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#107 Coreyburger

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Posted 16 January 2008 - 06:56 PM

Moving away from parking metres to these new pay stations is a great move, because it allows both local (intra-block) variation of pricing (to keep cars moving) and municipal variation of pricing across time/space. Both of these allow for better demand control and thus easier parking.

#108 G-Man

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Posted 16 January 2008 - 09:19 PM

Since people are feeding which parking units are being used would it be possible for there to be a realtime website hooked up to a GPS that would let you know where there was availability before you got there?

#109 Nparker

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Posted 16 January 2008 - 09:48 PM

What a cool idea G-Man; certainly sounds like it would be technologically feasible...if the city has the will to implement it,

#110 Ms. B. Havin

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Posted 20 January 2008 - 10:08 AM

And speaking of technological feasibility, from CivicInfoBC:

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Parking Gets Techno Boost in Kelowna
By City of Kelowna

KELOWNA
- Pay your parking tickets online or make a call from your cell phone to extend your time in a City parking lot. The City of Kelowna is turning to e-finance to make parking more convenient.

With secure access to credit card payments, motorists can now access two new programs: Pay by Phone Parking and online municipal ticket payments.

"Pay by cell phone provides residents and visitors with a quick and convenient way to pay for parking," says City Parking Coordinator Stuart Evans. "And, you can receive a text message reminder on your phone, before your parking time expires, and add more time if you need to."

Every lot has signage explaining how to use the service. Motorists call the access number, enter the number of the lot and order as much time they need, up to the posted limit.

"No more plugging in a loonie in the meter if you're only intending to stay for 20 minutes, but you're short of the exact change," says Evans. "You can buy the amount of time you need, and if you use less, the excess time can be deducted from your final payment."

Users can also set up a Pay by Phone account at the City's website, www.kelowna.ca, under Online Services. Online payments for parking violations are also accessed from the Online Services section of the website.

Motorists who have accounts set up through the Verrus network in other cities, such as Vancouver, can also use their account to pay for parking in Kelowna.

Further convenience for motorists comes in the form of the "Parker Pete" program. As part of the City contract with Impark, designated lots are offering this new motor assistance feature. Those who find themselves with car trouble can call the toll-free line to request assistance for fuel, lock-out, dead battery or a flat tire. Service charges for vehicle lock out and fuel may apply.

Motorists may also receive a boost from downtown merchants. The City is offering businesses pre-paid coupons for the Chapman Parkade and the Library Plaza Parkade to provide to their customers.

"Our downtown is a vibrant place for people to visit and shop," says Evans. "We want to make sure parking downtown is worry-free."



http://www.civicinfo...asp?newsid=2528


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#111 Mike K.

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Posted 20 January 2008 - 11:05 AM

While something like that would be neat, all we have to do in Victoria is get the City to start retailing prepaid parking cards across town and not just at City Hall. The functionality could be further extended to link those cards with credit cards for those who use downtown meters frequently.

#112 gumgum

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Posted 20 January 2008 - 11:12 AM

^They have them at 7-11. Although I wouldn't get them there. I got ripped off paying 25 bucks for an empty card.

#113 Mike K.

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Posted 20 January 2008 - 11:22 AM

That's horrible, man. I wonder if it was a legitimately empty card that was never charged up in the first place (how many such cards exist out there?).

I never knew you could buy them at 7-11 which just shows how lame the City's effort is to retail these things.

If people buy bus passes religiously on a monthly basis they'll buy parking passes. The key is to make them reasonably easy to acquire.

#114 gumgum

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Posted 16 February 2008 - 09:21 AM

So there not getting rid of parking meters now, just replacing them.

No change for parking? Just charge it
City will borrow $5 million to pay for credit-card-friendly meters
Joanne Hatherly, Times Colonist

Published: Saturday, February 16, 2008


The City of Victoria will replace all of its parking meters with new models that allow drivers to pay with their credit cards.

The city will borrow $5 million to replace the existing meters by September, said Victor Van den Boomen, Victoria city parking manager. And another $8 million will be spent to install new security systems and repair city parkades.

Van den Boomen expects the city will be able to repay the $5 million through increases in parking rates and fines. Last summer, meter rates went up by 50 cents, to $2 an hour, while on Jan. 1, the city increased its parking fines by about $5 for most offences.

Currently, drivers can only use credit cards to pay for street parking at special kiosks on Broad Street; otherwise they have to use coins or special parking meter cards.

Those cards, which are reloadable, have been extremely popular, largely because they give refunds for unused time, Van den Boomen explained. More than 16,000 reloadable cards have been issued since 2000; the card supply ran out in January for the third time.

"They flew off the shelves," Van den Boomen said. Unlike the two earlier shortfalls, which were due to unexpected demand, the city allowed the card stock to run out in January in anticipation of the new system.

The cards are expected to be in stock by the end of this month.

Parking cards are subsidized by the city, which purchases them for $14, and sells them for $5.

It's not known whether the current system's cards will work with the new meters.

If they are not compatible, the city will exchange current cards for new at no cost and transfer the values to the new cards.

The city is checking to see if it can offer the refund-for-unused-time function with credit cards.

Van den Boomen cautions, however, that government regulations on storing credit card information inside the meters must be met before this option could be made available.

Meanwhile, the city has announced that structural upgrades on the Centennial Parkade are complete, and it will reopen on Monday.

The parkade has been closed for seven weeks for repairs.

jhatherly@tc.canwest.com


© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008



#115 gumgum

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Posted 10 March 2008 - 09:48 AM

City explores parking-meter technology
Carolyn Heiman, Times Colonist
Published: Monday, March 10, 2008


Victoria's parking meters are dying. The question plaguing city bureaucrats is what should replace the 1,900 change-devouring contraptions.

Earlier this year it looked like solar-powered versions of the pay-and-display machines on Broad Street would show up on city streets every eight or 10 parking spaces.

Now that's not such a sure thing.

After some second-guessing by some city councillors -- worried that people wouldn't like walking back to their cars with a ticket, or that the machines would confuse some residents accustomed to plugging meters -- there's rethinking on what might be best for Victoria, where parking always sparks talk.

Consultants are now being asked to evaluate which parking technology will work best for the city.

Technology around parking is changing rapidly, said Ismo Husu, manager of parking services. The city wants to make sure it has the right one and that it allows payment in a variety of ways, including coin, credit card, and via cellphones. Some new parking technology will even buzz vehicle owners on their cellphone, alerting them when their time is running out.

A request for proposal will ask for an evaluation of several types of parking systems: pay-and-display, pay-by-space, pay-by-licence plate and old-fashioned parking meters.

Each system has different strengths, both from an ease of use and enforcement perspective, said Husu.

Pay-and-display won't offer a refund, something that might frustrate the 16,000 people who have come to love the city's sold-out Smart Card that allows you to prepay parking on a plastic card and then get unused parking sums refunded on the cards.

But since actual parking spaces would not be delineated, 15 per cent more parking space would come available, Husu said, adding "People do a good job of parking tightly."

"If we didn't have the Smart Card, pay-and-display is the best way to go," he said.

Pay-by-space would require the driver to note what number of space a vehicle is in before paying for parking at a machine. No ticket is required on the dash, meaning no walking back to the vehicle after purchasing a ticket. By knowing the space number, a driver could "re-meter" blocks away at another machine if time was running out.

But pay-by-space would also require the city to leave in the meter posts or have some other way of identifying the parking space, Husu said.

The consultant will also be asked to examine a pay-by-licence plate system used in Calgary. It has a driver registering a vehicle licence plate and purchasing parking time by punching in the plate number on a keypad.

The system eliminates reselling or passing along parking receipts to another vehicle and allows enforcement to be done in a vehicle just by scanning the licence plate number.

Husu said he hopes a decision on the type of technology to be used in the city is made in time to have some of it installed by September when the Canadian Parking Association will meet in Victoria.

In April 2007 the city had a private consultant do a 42-page report that assessed the demand, rates and policies.

That led the city to pass a parking strategy in June that resulted in rates being hiked in city parking lots and at meters, but also included a little grace time built into meters before the expired sign blinks on. Parking revenues were also tucked away separate from other revenues, to be used to fund parking projects, such as rebuilding aging parkades and paying for new parking technology.

The city expects to collect $14 million in parking fees and fines in 2008.

cheiman@tc.canwest.com


© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008

...

#116 Mike K.

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Posted 10 March 2008 - 10:35 AM

I really dislike the pay-and-display meters.

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#117 LJ

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Posted 11 March 2008 - 07:57 PM

A couple of questions;

"who have come to love the city's sold-out Smart Card"

Why are they sold out? Shouldn't they have the ability to sell one to everyone who wants one?

"The system eliminates reselling or passing along parking receipts to another vehicle"

If you have paid rent on a parking spot for a certain length of time you should have the use of that space for the alloted time, including subletting to someone else. The city has got their money which they deemed to be acceptable for the rental period - why should they get to double bill? Am I wrong??

#118 Ms. B. Havin

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Posted 11 December 2008 - 09:46 AM

Well, this is pretty much off-topic, but I wanted to share a 16min 23sec movie that's making the internet rounds this week - it's called Validation.

It's pretty amazing how much "story" it packs into those 16:23 min. Classic line, about 14min in: "You paid for parking?!?!?"

Warning: it's a feel-good movie (very American). (Note the marquee when boy & girl go to the movies: "It's a Wonderful Life," that classic overcoming-of-low-self-esteem flick with Jimmy Stewart & Donna Reed.)

PS: I should add that I posted it here (in "Downtown Parking") because the main character works as an attendant in a parking garage, and he validates parking tickets.
When you buy a game, you buy the rules. Play happens in the space between the rules.

#119 Ginger Snap

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Posted 11 December 2008 - 08:22 PM

City of Victoria will be issuing 'courtesy' parking tickets to folks downtown with expired meters between now and December 24.

#120 sebberry

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Posted 11 December 2008 - 09:18 PM

City of Victoria will be issuing 'courtesy' parking tickets to folks downtown with expired meters between now and December 24.


Isn't that nice of them.:rolleyes:


My main concerns with parking are safety and security of both myself and my vehicle. Cleanliness of the parkade comes into play too as I would rather not step out of my car and into a mixture of cigarette butts, urine and god only knows what else.

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