Whistler residents - now's your chance to speak your mind about pay parking in the village.
The municipality has launched an online survey for feedback from residents, business owners, employees and visitors to gauge the appetite for pay parking in day lots 1-5.
Go to www.whistler.ca to fill out the short survey. It will be online until Wednesday, July 27.
One question asks:
Parking spaces in the day skier lots cost about $ 3,000 to build, and $ 1,000 per space per year to maintain. Typically, public parking is paid for by local business levies or rented to business owners (as at a shopping mall) or by those who use the lot space by the day or hour (as at parking meters). Who do you think should pay for the parking lot construction, operation and upkeep?
The choices are:
a) All taxpayers equally, regardless of how often they use parking
b) Village businesses should pay to ensure that there is parking in the Village
c) Only those who use the parking space, on a pay-as-you-go basis
d) There should be a blend of taxpayer subsidy and user-pay
Another question asks:
Is it appropriate for the municipality to charge a "market rate" which may include revenue net of expenses (profit amount), in order to keep taxes down?
The choices are:
a) Yes
b) No
c) Somewhat (partial)
d) Don't know
The survey will form part of the information now being collected by the municipality to determine the parking rate structure. A decision is expected to be made in September.
In the meantime, stakeholders will gather again Tuesday, July 19 to hash out some of the issues around pay parking. While the public is welcome to attend and listen to the discussion, the workshop is not a public forum where citizens can add their two cents.
Stay tuned to the Pique for the round-up of Tuesday's discussion.
