Is this the worst parking lot in Metro Vancouver?

It has 57 stalls, sits 20 metres from a busy intersection and has one main entrance.

And according to a very official internet poll, the parking lot at Vancouver's Victoria Drive and East 41st Avenue is the worst in all of Metro Vancouver.  

"It's not my favourite," said Cathy Darby, adding the narrowness of the lanes was its biggest flaw.

"It's pretty hectic all the time," said Martin Martinez, adding the constant coming and going of cars parking for a few minutes to visit London Drugs, Starbucks, McDonald's and other outlets was behind his frustration. 

In the end, thousands thought it was the worst in a week-long competition that showcased universal feelings of rage and discontent towards lots large and small across the region. 

But what makes a parking lot bad?

And if a parking lot is as notorious as some in this competition appear to be, is there anything a government can do to rectify the situation?

'Victim of its own success'

Tyler Thomson, a senior transportation planner with Bunt & Associates, has analyzed thousands of parking stalls in his career, often finding a middle ground between a developer's wishes and a city's regulations to create or improve lots across Southwest B.C. 

"I would consider myself very well-versed in the art of parking lot design," he said.

Contrary to online opinion, the 41st and Victoria lot — officially known as Victoria Square — isn't the worst he's seen, Thompson said.

"Its biggest fault is it's a victim of its own success. The businesses here are popular. The people want to come here."

Nonetheless, problems with the lot were observed from the moment it was created, at the beginning of the 21st century, with the Vancouver Sun writing a story ominously titled "Congestion on Victoria can only grow worse."

According to Thomson, there are three elements that go into parking lot design: access to the lot, circulation of cars within the lot, and how the lot interfaces with nearby streets.

In all three facets, Victoria Square has issues. 

Located next to two busy streets with the main entrance just 60 metres from the intersection, cars can be backed up before they even reach the lot.

When they enter, it's through a short narrow transition zone that slams into several stalls on different angles.

And while circulation through the lot is technically a circle, the diagonal yellow lines at the far end that transition into a laneway create an extra layer of dysfunction.

"You don't want to confuse people," said Thomson.

"When you're off the street, you're in a different kind of headspace mentally as to what your surroundings are … so you want to have those visual cues that make it easy to find a space or find a way out." 

The increase in larger vehicles like SUVs have also made many smaller parking lots more cramped over the years.

Passing the blame

While it's one thing to analyze a parking lot's shortcomings, it's another to get anyone to take responsibility for them. 

"We don't have a lot of tools to go back to a parking lot that's already been built and tell them to do something different if they're in accordance with existing plans," said Paul Storer, Vancouver's director of transportation, adding the city doesn't actively check parking lots and they receive a minimal number of complaints each year. 

"If there were something that was a particular hazard, it's something we could take up with the property owner, but generally we look for [them] to proactively make changes."

And changes, at least at this point, don't look likely.

"We recognize parking at this location is a challenge that needs to be addressed by the landlord Abbey Woods, a subsidiary of Westbank Projects," said London Drugs when asked for comment about the parking lot. 

"The lot was in compliance with City of Vancouver code and by-laws when approved … and the parking challenges there would be similar to many surface parking lots built around the same time in Vancouver," said Peter Campion, Westbank's Property Manager for Victoria Square, who also argued the main problem with the lot was that it was too popular. 

"While we recognize there are challenges posed by these kinds of outdated parking lots, today we are prioritizing new and innovative parkade designs to improve the parking experience while targeting ambitious climate action goals."

It's a sentiment that Thomson also advocates for: as the way people get around changes, so too must parking lots.

"There's a delicate point between making parking easy and convenient, and making sure that we're trying to get people out of their cars and onto active transportation," he said.

"It's definitely a challenge to balance those competing kinds of objectives."

Jurisdictional finger-pointing between retailers and developers? A focus on a future pivot to active transportation and climate change solutions, while downplaying current tensions?

You could make the argument that parking lots are a lot like everything else in Vancouver.