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Shoppers and visitors in a busy Vancouver shopping area may soon have to pay for parking.

City council has received staff recommendation to impose pay parking on and off Fraser Street in South Hill.

South Hill is a nine-block business district between East 41st and 50th avenues. It is known as a multicultural area.

Pay parking was proposed to council in a report by Lon LaClaire, director of transportation with the City of Vancouver.

If approved by council, it will end almost 60 years of limited free parking on 260 parking spaces in lots located west of Fraser Street.

The parking lots are part of the South Fraser Street Collective Parking Project, a local improvement approved by council through a bylaw on November 5, 1959.

Located between East 43rd and 49th avenues, the lands are owned by the city. LaClaire suggested a repeal of the bylaw effective August 1, 2019.

Businesses along Fraser Street between East 43rd and 49th avenues collectively pay the city about $325,000 in general levies and taxation, and $21,000 in maintenance costs, in special assessments.

In the report, LaClaire explained that pay parking will free up spaces for customers and visitors to the area.

“Metered parking promotes vehicle turnover and creates available spaces for drivers destined for an area,” LaClaire stated.

It would be good for the environment as well, according to the transportation director.

LaClaire said that this will “prompt visitors to the area to consider walking, cycling, or utilizing transit”.

The suggested parking rates are $1 per hour, and between $30-80 for monthly use.

The recommendation also includes Fraser Street pay parking in South Hill.

LaClaire’s report is included in council’s agenda Tuesday (July 9).