The only time people seem to get excited about parking is when it\u2019s free, but the way city bylaws interact with free market factors in Kelowna could shift how people live their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More options to get around the city, the increasing cost to include parking spaces in residential developments and bylaws designed to help the city meet its climate goals are some of the reasons why Kelowna is very slowly becoming a city that\u2019s built to fit a car-free lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kelowna city planner Ryan Smith said they are planning around a generational shift in people\u2019s attitudes about transportation along with the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe’ve had to change because of what’s going on in the world of housing affordability and how people use parking, and use cars or use transportation,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI grew up largely with a car, but there are generations under me that either the car is too expensive, or they don’t want to own a car, or they can use e-bikes and scooters, or they want to use public transit. They want to live a little bit differently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While reducing parking requirements might seem like an attempt by the government to socially engineer people into changing their lifestyle, Smith said it\u2019s a mix between free market decisions and political motivations to meet goals like reduced emissions targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMaking parking harder and car use harder is one way to get at that. It forces people onto transit or onto bikes or more sustainable methods of transportation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buildings with several studio or one-bedroom apartments don\u2019t need to have a parking space for every unit and two-bedroom or three-bedroom apartments only require one spot per unit in busy neighbourhoods like downtown or Pandosy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rental housing can also get a 20 per cent reduction in parking<\/a> if it\u2019s in an urban centre like downtown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith said it costs developers roughly $40,000 to $50,000 per parking space and it\u2019s not easy to tell how much parking is actually going to get used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA parking stall could be 10 per cent of the cost of the housing,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe’re at this weird transition time where we want affordable housing, but we don’t really want to give up the parking … It’s not like there’s easy answers to these questions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n