Let’s head back to March 1968 when Ladner businessmen heard a report parking meters.
“As shopping areas grow and parking space gets less, police and civic officials all over Canada are looking into the use of parking meters,” Clarence Taylor told the Ladner Business Association.
He was giving a report on the use of parking meters in Ladner, citing an article in the November 1951 edition of the Civic Administration Journal.
The article asked if meters solved traffic problems and answered its question by saying “no”, and they never have been thought to solve it. The only final solution is to prohibit parking in congested areas, a step too drastic in most cases.
Meters do encourage turnover of parking spaces, as people tend to be conscious of something they pay for, the article noted.
Taylor said any town considering meters must be prepared for objections by merchants at first, adding that almost invariably they become ardent supporters of meters as shopping increased.
Taylor said his report was submitted as a study only, and no recommendation was given to the city by the association.
The city has tried increasing the turnover over recent years with new time limits on streets but hasn’t gone so far as building a parkade or installing parking meters.
Over a decade ago, a previous civic advisory committee looking into the revitalization of the waterfront and downtown core in Ladner was told there isn’t a big parking problem, but that could change with increased density.
During those discussions, one of the suggestions was for council to consider “low cost” parking solutions, such as timed parking stalls or meters.
A Delta parking review years earlier found Ladner businesses were not in favour of pay parking as a management tool.
