We love to kvetch about parking downtown. It’s such a concern that the Downtown Victoria Business Association has flagged the chatter as an issue that affects the ability of businesses to attract customers. But is parking in this city really so bad?
We compared Victoria to other cities across the country and discovered a complicated mish-mash of parking times, rates, rules and restrictions that make parking more challenging (or less; sometimes it’s hard to know). Some cities have much more limited numbers of street parking spaces and even fewer during rush hours, special events and heavy snowfall. Others have their own peculiarities: Vancouverites, for instance, have to pay for parking until 10 p.m. in most parts of downtown; Montreal makes 11 streets completely car-free in summer; and while Calgary has relatively inexpensive street parking, its parkades charge monthly rates so costly that the city is considered North America’s most expensive in which to park.
But it all starts with an hourly rate. Here is a snapshot of what it will cost you to park by the hour in eight cities across Canada.
Note that prices are subject to change.
A Downtown Victoria Parking Primer
There are 6,900 paid parking spaces in downtown Victoria: 1,900 in the City of Victoria’s parkades, 1,900 on-street and 3,100 in Robbins Parking’s parkades and lots.
At an average of $3.50 an hour, Victoria’s parking costs are lower than those in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Halifax.
On-street parking ranges from $2 to $4 per hour depending on the location and time of day. On-street parking is free from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. every day and all day on holidays.
All five City parkades have a rate of $2.50 an hour, but have one-hour free spaces to allow for quick shopping experiences and short appointments. City parkades are also free from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily, and all day on Sundays and holidays. The rate at Robbins parkades is typically $3 to $3.50 an hour.
The City’s Find Parkade Spaces website shows real-time availability in its parkades, and signs will soon be posted outside each parkade indicating the available spaces in each. Robbins parkades also have a space locator on their website.
The City of Victoria’s ParkVictoria app is the easiest way to pay for parking. It also allows you to “top up” your parking session if your errand takes longer than expected or get a refund if there is any unused time on the “meter” when you are ready to head home.
Sources: City of Victoria, Parkopedia, City of Edmonton, City of Winnipeg, Green Spot, Spot Hero, City of Ottawa, Agence de mobilité durable de Montréal, City of Halifax
