Douglas Todd: In B.C., governments are allowing, even encouraging, developers to avoid providing on-site parking

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The issue of parking, in the recent past, may have seemed a bit boring. Drivers for the most part had plenty of places to leave their car, often for free.

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But the perils of parking are becoming more intense, more fraught — more tied to environmental debates.

It’s fair to say that B.C., and Canada, is rapidly shifting from one extreme to the other in regard to this complicated issue.

About 30 years ago it was considered normal in North America to build housing with ample parking, with detached homes sometimes featuring three- to four-car garages. New condo projects were providing at least two parking spots a unit.

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In Canada, and especially in the U.S., roads were extremely wide and big box stores and shopping malls were being built with vast parking lots, which many considered a waste of urban space.

But in Canada, especially in B.C., city, regional and provincial governments are now allowing, even encouraging, developers to go in the opposite direction — in most cases to feel no obligation to provide on-site parking.

The B.C. NDP........

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