214 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

The other day I ran into a colleague driving a Modo vehicle that she could not park because a random vehicle took the Modo’s surface lot parking space, lol. I don’t know how the situation was resolved and how long it took to resolve it.

[VicHockeyFan]

Why don’t they just cut a deal to let Modos park anywhere on the block? Seems to me a dedicated spot empty for all the hours the car is gone is not efficient.

[Mike K.]

That’s a good question. I guess the costs would be significantly higher.

[lanforod]

A car parked in your condo building, right? And how many years has it been since you lived downtown? 11? 12?

But see, the house I just bought includes a huge amount of parking. The listing agent calculated space for 23 vehicles. I’m not even kidding! I’m not one of those guys who will be parking cars on the street. Councillor Isitt and his parking fees can’t touch me!

 

Where'd you buy that can park 23 cars, out by tjv in Central Saanich?  Basically, you have about 3700 sq ft of garage, paved or gravel space on this property, that's huge (lawn is not parking lot).

[VicHockeyFan]

A car parked in your condo building, right? And how many years has it been since you lived downtown? 11? 12?

e!

I have lived downtown since about 1994, except for a 6-month stint in a Langford basement. And before that, from 1987 to 1992.

[rsnxmt]

Why don’t they just cut a deal to let Modos park anywhere on the block? Seems to me a dedicated spot empty for all the hours the car is gone is not efficient.

 

There are quite a few modos in specific parking spots in surface lots in addition to street parking. I think for now while it is still relatively small and growing and with the business model it is very straightforward (and predictable - you know exactly where to go to pick up the car). Perhaps it will change in the future.

[VicHockeyFan]

Hopefully it does. Car-sharing does not seem as friendly when that car refuses to share its parking by stall even when it’s not there. With a little more tech that parking stall could automatically display how long you might borrow it before the car is due back.

[VicHockeyFan]

I have lived downtown since about 1994, except for a 6-month stint in a Langford basement. And before that, from 1987 to 1992.

Oh somewhere in that 1987 to 1992 I lived in Esquimalt for a stint.

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 06 May 2018 - 12:33 PM.

[Mike K.]

I have lived downtown since about 1994, except for a 6-month stint in a Langford basement. And before that, from 1987 to 1992.

By your reasoning the entirety of the City of Victoria is downtown!

[VicHockeyFan]

Well I think North Park and CSV are certainly close enough to count as Downtown. Maybe I’m pushing it slightly.

[rsnxmt]

Hopefully it does. Car-sharing does not seem as friendly when that car refuses to share its parking by stall even when it’s not there. With a little more tech that parking stall could automatically display how long you might borrow it before the car is due back.

 

 

It's a nice idea but it could be very complicated to make work: how do you handle people who return their modo booking early? And there are often people booking the car right after you're done with it who are expecting that specific car to be in that specific stall at a specific time.

 

Car2Go is more like what you say in that it uses large pools of parking areas and has no fixed assigned parking spot. But I think the business model can only be supported in much bigger cities with a very large user base. It is also a "one way" service unlike modo where you have to return the vehicle to it's "home" spot. It's not really a big deal, and the number of modo cars is a drop in the bucket compared to all the other cars around.

[Mike K.]

One of your North Park places was alright, it’d pass, but the other one was 100% North Park land. Good thing GMan is out for the day otherwise he’d have choice words for you.

[rsnxmt]

No, that’s going a little far.

The state should stop perpetuating the myth that downtown living equates with less desire/need for a vehicle and should pursue evidence-based requirements for on-site parking and not socially engineered convictions.

 

People are always going to complain about parking and traffic.

 

Am I a myth? I live in Harris Green. I walk my toddler to daycare. I cycle or walk to work. My wife busses or walks to work. We walk to get groceries and other supplies from Harris Green Village. This covers pretty much everything of what we typically need to do without a car. We have used modo with the whole family to go out and about.

That said, I also do own a car and park it on the street, which I do admit is not ideal, but then again I also often forget I own it at all since I use it maybe once every 2 months? Or quarterly? It's 10+ years old econobox. It's kind of a legacy of the last place we recently lived in with a parking spot, but if push came to shove I just don't really need it. But if we moved away from this area, and not that far mind you, and I could see needing it again (where walkability is lower, there aren't modos around etc).

[VicHockeyFan]

How do you park it on the street in Harris Green? And use it so infrequently.

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 06 May 2018 - 01:07 PM.

[Mike K.]

No, you’re certainly not a myth, but neither is your car.

[VicHockeyFan]

I lived in a downtown apartment once with no parking for the building. And I owned two cars at the time. I managed.

[Mike K.]

Yeah, because there was an ample supply of parking in the 80’s.

[VicHockeyFan]

I think it was the 90’s. I specifically remember watching the first Gulf War from that apartment (on TV).

[Mike K.]

The whole zero parking at downtown buildings thing is fine by me, but gosh golly, there seems to be an issue of folks purchasing a vehicle once moved in and only then realizing how difficult the parking situation is, or how much a stall will cost every month.

The Save Ons on Pandora is going to be a HUGE improvement for downtown residents. The Market is a very expensive store and due to its size the selection is limited.

[VicHockeyFan]

Ya that Save On is gonna kick ass.