A pair of University of British Columbia (UBC) economics students are pushing the City of Vancouver to allow drivers that have been drinking to leave their cars in parking spots overnight.
Leighton Hay, 22, and Curtis Kuznecov, 23, said their plan aims to lower drinking and driving rates throughout the city.
Hay said this would greatly benefit drivers, making Vancouver roads safer.
“For the average person, a drink and a half will put you at that level,” Hay said, referring to the legal alcohol limit.
Hay said most drivers quickly find themselves well over that level of consumption during a typical night out, according to research conducted by himself and Kuznecov.
He said allowing drivers to leave their parked cars overnight would not only assist the drivers, but having fewer cases of drunk driving would also have the potential long-term positive effects of producing less jail time, less court time, and less vehicle crashes involving drunk drivers.
“The benefits are endless,” Hay said, noting similar methods have been successfully implemented in cities such as Victoria and Calgary.
Hay said the initiative started in response to a challenge issued by their microeconomics professor, who wanted to see his students create positive social change.
Having had the idea in mind for quite some time, Hay said the pair responded by sending their proposal to Vancouver city hall in the form of an open letter, and immediately received support for their campaign.
Vancouver city councillor Geoff Meggs, who said he supports the initiative, clarified the proposal is “not a silver bullet,” meaning that certain issues must be addressed before the proposal comes to fruition.
“Obviously anytime you can reduce drinking and driving, it’s a path you should go down. However, I’m not certain we’ll be able to do it as easily as proposed by the students here,” Meggs said.
He said problems tend to arise with cars parked on heavily trafficked rush hour roads and the project will require much foresight. He said the proposal is something that he and his staff will “certainly take a look at.”
Hay said it is true these obstacles exist and must be addressed, but can be overcome with just a “small bit of planning.”
He said he and Kuznecov have already started compiling a map of these problematic rush hour zones, and are determining which parking metres are the most suitable for overnight designations.
According to the City of Ottawa’s official website, all parking spots on streets in downtown Ottawa have a three-hour limit, meaning that drivers are not able to leave their cars overnight on city streets. However, certain city-operated parking lots allow patrons to park their cars in the evening and retrieve them at 6 a.m. the next morning.
