[Burnaby] The Amazing Brentwood | 15 Towers | 186m | 56 flrs | U/C & Proposed

[Tangeray]

I'd wager that the reason for making it pay parking is to deter people from using it as a park and ride and also to deter occupants of the towers to use mall parking as guest parking, not so much for the revenue.

[Meraki]

That makes a lot of sense.

[Klazu]

While it may make sense, it also makes sure that many won't be visiting as parking is not free. They need to make it free with a purchase from any of the stores.

[VarBreStr18]

I don't think you need to pay when you shop at Metropolis, and they have tons more retail choices. If you are a shopper where would you prefer to shop? Brentwood is shutting out shoppers before it even starts. As a developing town center, I don't think it is very wise. You have got to be as welcoming as possible.

[VarBreStr18]

Originally Posted by VarBreStr18

I don't think you need to pay when you shop at Metropolis, and they have tons more retail choices. If you are a shopper where would you prefer to shop? Brentwood is shutting out shoppers before it even starts. As a developing town center, I don't think it is very wise. You have got to be as welcoming as possible.

I don't think you need to pay .... for parking.... when you shop at Metropolis.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by Klazu

While it may make sense, it also makes sure that many won't be visiting as parking is not free. They need to make it free with a purchase from any of the stores.

Yeah, why don't they have parking validation?
This doesn't make sense.
If the concern is people using the parking while not actually shopping or spending any money at their stores then parking validation would solve that problem since they can always offset that cost from whatever rent they charge the retail tenants.

I suppose another reason could be that they are trying to discourage residents of the towers, for example who don't want to pay for a parking stall in the building but want to use the mall's parking to store their cars and then when they get back they rush to buys something small and use that to get parking validated.
But there's ways to get around that as well. Just put a time limit on how long you have free parking or validated parking and then keep track of how long people have cars parked.

Of course at Metrotown now you get charged for parking on the northern parking lots but that's only because the mall doesn't own those parking lots and they're not on good terms with Concord Pacific who do.
And it's understandable that Concord Pacific who don't have any stakes on whether mall visitors actually spend any money in the mall nor get any cut if they do, will want to at least get some minimum return before they redevelop those parking lots and have them make some money in the meantime.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by VarBreStr18

I don't think you need to pay .... for parking.... when you shop at Metropolis.

Depends on which parking lots, no?

The ones on the southern parking structure are on Ivanhoe Cambridge land and therefore serve their best interests if people are visiting to shop at the mall.

The ones on the other side are Concord Pacific land who don't get any cut or any benefit when mall shoppers actually spend any money there or not.

[SpongeG]

at Brentwood all the old parking is free, unless that is changing. Most of the malls I went to in Australia had pay parking, its pretty common outside of North America to have pay parking at malls.

[MetroYVR]

to deter poor people from visiting the upscale Brentwood Mall

Pacific Centre charges a lot for parking. Parking at Oakridge will not be free after the redevelopment either. Metrotown is aimed for lower to middle class shoppers.

all in all, this is good news for condo owners in the area. many people opted to buy condos in downtown just to avoid wasting money to pay for parking.

[Tangeray]

Originally Posted by MetroYVR

to deter poor people from visiting the upscale Brentwood Mall

I'd have to disagree, I don't think this is a class thing at all...

The whole mixed use res/shopping thing is relatively new in Vancouver. Gone are the days of purpose built malls with sprawling parking lots.

I think the more these massive live/work/play/transit-oriented redevelopments the more we will see malls associated with these projects have paid parking. To me its an inevitability.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by Tangeray

I'd have to disagree, I don't think this is a class thing at all...

The whole mixed use res/shopping thing is relatively new in Vancouver. Gone are the days of purpose built malls with sprawling parking lots.

I think the more these massive live/work/play/transit-oriented redevelopments the more we will see malls associated with these projects have paid parking. To me its an inevitability.

Maybe he was joking about the poor people part

But it probably has more to do with maximizing their parking inventory for people to shop and leave. Also probably helps anyone wanting to use it as a park and ride.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by MetroYVR

to deter poor people from visiting the upscale Brentwood Mall

Pacific Centre charges a lot for parking. Parking at Oakridge will not be free after the redevelopment either. Metrotown is aimed for lower to middle class shoppers.

all in all, this is good news for condo owners in the area. many people opted to buy condos in downtown just to avoid wasting money to pay for parking.

This is mind-boggingly convoluted logic.

If someone is, as you so tactfully and subtly put it,....."lower to middle class"....and they were too cheap to pay for parking when they visit the mall, then why wouldn't they just take the skytrain instead which has a stop at the mall's literal doorstep?

Conversely, if you're relatively "of means" enough to have or own a car and to drive from wherever you're from to go do your shopping at the mall, is paid parking really going to be enough of a disincentive to dissuade you from shopping there and instead force you to drive even farther (and waste more fuel and time) to look for a shopping mall with free parking? Your logic makes NO sense at all.

And that's even putting aside the fact that your not-so-subtle dig at the people who live in the Metrotown area as being "poor to middle class" blithely ignores the even larger fact that the vast majority of the mall's visitors actually don't live in the immediate vicinity or in the Metrotown neighbourhood at all, but rather come from other all parts of Burnaby primarily (including the now apparently upscale Brentwood).

And of course the Pacific Center will charge a lot for parking.
It's in Downtown.
All parking in downtown is expensive by default.

That's not a function of the class of people they expect to visit the mall or are trying to get to visit the mall. It's a function of where it's located.

Any mall located where it is that provides parking will have expensive parking by default.

And I seriously doubt that 'parking' (and the need to not pay for it) is the primary driving factor for why people choose to buy expensive condos in downtown.
If you can afford to buy an expensive condo in downtown, you really think that expensive parking is going to be a deterrent to anywhere you choose to visit or go shopping? Really?

Seriously what universe are you living in?

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Also probably helps anyone wanting to use it as a park and ride.

Like how Marine Gateway also has pay parking, even though it's a small shopping complex.

$1.00 per hour seems low, if that includes the TransLink parking tax of 24% and GST:

https://www.translink.ca/About-Us/Taxes/Parking-Tax/About-the-Parking-Tax.aspx

[Klazu]

It is ridiculous, but that is exactly how most drivers do think. People will drive further just to avoid paying for parking, no matter how small the expense. Case in point was people using Pattullo when Port Mann Bridge was only few dollars to cross. There is plenty of studies to show that this is how people act no matter how illogical.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by rofina

Is it though? 1000 cars a day averaged over the year, that's a $365,000 pays the salaries of the 3 or 4 operations staff.

Wow those are highly paid operations staff salary. I want those jobs too: where can I sign up?

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Klazu

It is ridiculous, but that is exactly how most drivers do think. People will drive further just to avoid paying for parking, no matter how small the expense. Case in point was people using Pattullo when Port Mann Bridge was only few dollars to cross. There is plenty of studies to show that this is how people act no matter how illogical.

You know how lazy people can get with the convenience of driving. Say you are bringing a hot date to go for dinner at the mall when it's pouring out: you would pay that couple of dollars without batting an eye!

[Vin]

Metrotown has free parking because when it first started, it was a purely suburb mall, and land was cheap and plentiful. The developer would not mind not charging folks shopping there for parking, and that also explained why the mall became so popular.

Brentwood today is a highly urban town centre with limited and very expensive land around. Mall developers need to charge everything they build for the end-users. That's just the way urban areas roll. Can't afford paying for that $1? Walk there or take the train or bus.

[officedweller]

Charging for parking may also be a way for the Landlord to keep common area expenses down for the Retail Tenants if the lease is structured that way.
As soon as you change from open surface parking to underground parking you've got added costs. More electricity for lighting, elevators/escalators, more security patrols, etc.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Charging for parking may also be a way for the Landlord to keep common area expenses down for the Retail Tenants if the lease is structured that way.
As soon as you change from open surface parking to underground parking you've got added costs. More electricity for lighting, elevators/escalators, more security patrols, etc.

Metrotown has free four hour parking - people can't use it as a park & ride. The new pay parking is free for two hours (and requires registration). Many people are opting for the four hour parking, whether they need that much time or not (esp right now due to the weather - all the underground parking is four hours)

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Sheba

Metrotown has free four hour parking - people can't use it as a park & ride. The new pay parking is free for two hours (and requires registration). Many people are opting for the four hour parking, whether they need that much time or not (esp right now due to the weather - all the underground parking is four hours)

It would probably cost more to hire people to enforce the 4-hour parking at such a huge parkade than to just install automated gate each at the exit points. They should do it free for the first 4 hours and then charge drivers if they exceed the limit.