HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-15-023 - Neighbourhood Parking Regulations for Special Events Staff Report
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REPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: March 30, 2015
SUBMITTED BY: Shayne Turner, Director of By-law Enforcement, 519-741-2200,
ext. 7753
PREPARED BY: Shayne Turner, Director of By-law Enforcement, 519-741-2200,
ext. 7753
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All
DATE OF REPORT: March 17, 2015
REPORT NO.: CSD-15-023
SUBJECT: NEIGHBOURHOOD PARKING REGULATIONS FOR SPECIAL
EVENTS
RECOMMENDATION:
That a by-law be enacted to amend the Traffic and Parking By-law 2007-138 with
respect to parking violations during special events, as outlined in Report CSD-15-
023.
BACKGROUND:
The issue identified in this report originated as part of the discussions relating to the
approach for parking enforcement in the residential area adjacent to McLennan Park,
during Big Music Fest, (BMF) 2014. The average cost of a ticket for a parking violation
in residential areas was similar to the cost associated with parking at designated
parking lots and utilizing the shuttle bus service. Thus, the potential to receive a parking
ticket in the residential area may not encourage as much use of the shuttle service as
desired, as a means of relieving parking pressures close to the event venue.
The time line to research options and potentially implement changes was not sufficient
to impact the 2014 event. Staff committed to undertake a review and provide a report to
Council by spring of 2015.
REPORT:
Several options have been discussed by staff. Staff, determined that the approach
taken during BMF 2014, namely enforcing the existing parking regulations in the
residential area and allowing permit parking for residents, continues to be a reasonable
approach. Thus, staff focused on a mechanism which can result in the implementation
of increased fines for the existing violations, during the time period of the special event.
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The fundamental goal of staff's review is to develop a tool or tools to support the
affected neighbourhoods and manage the parking issues that can arise within them. It
is staff's view that, with any special event, an appropriate balance between available
event parking and the needs/concerns of area residents should be achieved without it
being the focal point of the event itself.
Staff are proposing to amend the City's Traffic and Parking By-law, 2007-138, to provide
Council the ability to place a "special event parking" designation on any event it deems
appropriate. As a result, during a defined time and within a defined area, the routine
parking violations, common to residential areas, will carry an increased fine amount, as
a means of discouraging illegal parking close to the event venue. For example, the fine
for parking in a "no parking area" can be increased from $25 to $50, during the event.
The typical residential parking violations that would be captured by this special provision
includes time limits such as the standard 3 hour limit, no parking or no stopping areas,
boulevards, sidewalks and fire hydrants.
It must be understood that the ability to declare these special parking provisions can
extend to any special event that Council deems appropriate. For example, they can be
used to help address parking concerns that arise in the residential areas in proximity to
special events that are held in the downtown area, including Victoria Park, if desired.
When the subject parking provisions are implemented for a special event, a variety of
means can be used to communicate the implementation to the public. This will include
utilizing existing measures such as event communication distributed in neighbourhoods
prior to the date and the display of temporary perimeter signage such as at
neighbourhood access points.
Once the Traffic By-law is amended to create the new violations, Council may from time
to time, by a separate by-law, designate any event as a special event for a specific time
period and specific geographic area. Increased fines will then apply for those violations
within the specified area during the specified period of time.
As a point of reference, something similar is currently in place with respect to snow
events, where a no parking violation, with an increased fine, is in effect for the time
period designated by the snow event declaration. This approach of implementing a
special parking provision has proven to be an effective tool to regulate parking for a
specific purpose during a defined period of time.
It is important to understand that this designation process is entirely flexible in that it will
only apply to those events that are deemed appropriate and only for the time period
desired. The implementation of these parking provisions for a particular special event in
one year, may or may not extend to the same event in future years. This will be open
for discussion based on input, feedback and experiences from staff and the affected
neighbourhoods.
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At this point, staff are proposing that the special event fine increase equate to doubling
the current fine for each of the violations identified. For example, the fine for a no
parking area would increase from $25 to $50 and the fine for the 3 hour limit would
increase from $20 to $40 for the duration of the special event.
Subject to Council's direction, staff will make application to the Ministry of the Attorney
General as soon as the By-law is amended, for approval of the increased fine structure.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
The aforementioned proposal supports the Community Priority of Quality of Life, as
contained in the City's Strategic Plan.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
It is not anticipated that the proposed by-law amendment will have an adverse impact
on the approved fine revenue projections within the By-law Enforcement Division. If
there is an impact, it is likely to result in slight increases to the fine revenue
experienced. However, it is difficult to project any impacts at this time as it is not known
when or for how many special events, these provisions will be implemented.
Having said this, the By-law Enforcement Division's focus during special events will
continue to be towards prevention and obtaining compliance. Although the realization
of fine revenue is an obvious by-product of many enforcement programs, it should never
be the driving factor when developing an initiative of this nature. Thus, it is hoped that
the implementation of these parking provisions during a special event will support the
neigbhourhoods by serving as a deterrent and lead to less violations.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
The concept of implementing a process to increase parking fines in residential areas
during special events was discussed with the public in several venues during
development of the parking enforcement approach for BMF 2014 in the weeks leading
up to the event. The feedback indicated that this process would be a positive step
towards reducing the parking stress on the streets close to the venue.
In addition, staff have received feedback on several occasions from residents during or
after other special events. Much of this feedback indicates a desire to look at other
options or tools to help discourage event parking in adjacent residential areas.
Going forward, given the flexibility in determining where or when the parking provisions
will apply, the opportunity exists for dialogue/consultation with individual
neighbourhoods that may be potentially impacted by planned special events. In other
words, once the process has been put in place, the community engagement element
comes into play in determining which events the process will be implemented for.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Michael May, Deputy CAO, Community Services
Department
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