Last night I was at a client event, and some developers were demonstrating applications they’d built on top of the City of Vancouver’s Open Data catalogue.
The app I really liked is called VanPark 2010, and overlays metered parking rates on top of a map of downtown Vancouver.
Lots of geeks abstractly advocate the power of open source and open data, but this seems to be a great example of how opening up data can help the average citizen. I requested a feature where the user enters an address, and the app highlights the cheapest parking within, say, 500 meters.
And can we take a moment to recognize the awesomeness of Bing Maps’ Birds eye view functionality. It truly is the eye of God.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
Nifty tool.
where can I see the map of downtown with the parking rates?
Vanpark 2010 is no longer a website. Where did it go?? Is there anything to fill the void that shows parking rates for meters on a map of downtown Vancouver?