HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-19-027 - Overnight Parking ExemptionsREPORT TO: Community & Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING:September 30, 2019
SUBMITTED BY: Gloria MacNeil, Director of Bylaw Enforcement
(519-741-2200 ext. 7952)
PREPARED BY:Helena Foulds, Project Manager, Corporate Customer Service
(519-741-2200 ext. 7193)
WARD (S) INVOLVED:All
DATE OF REPORT:September 20, 2019
REPORT NO.:CSD-19-027
SUBJECT:Overnight Parking Exemptions
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RECOMMENDATION:
That staff bedirected to proceed withan online system to request, issue and track
overnight parking exemptions.
BACKGROUND:
TheCorporate Customer Service Review was completedin 2018and received input from more
than 1,700 staff and 3,500 citizens. In March 2019, staff presented the recommendations to
Council including a specific recommendation to provide overnight parking exemptions (CSD-19-
002).
During the review residents reported, “the services I want are not available online” as the second
most frequent source of frustration when accessing City services. To address the concerns
raisedby customers’ during the service review, staff recommend implementing an online solution
to request, track and issue parking exemptionsbeginning December1, 2019.Council made a
previous commitment to delivera formalized parking exemption process, which would include
online reporting. Staff suggest implementing overnight parking exemptions duringwinter months
before introducing other types of exemptions. Other parking by-laws will be moved to the online
process at a later date.
RE
PORT:
The demand for additional overnight parkingcontinues to increase. Bylaw enforcement reported
a 17% increase in overnight parking ticketsissued between December 1 and March 31from
2017 to 2018. Staff suspect the number of overnight parking infractions to increase again in 2019
as a significantnumber of tickets are typically issued in December.
Table 1: Number of Overnight Parking Infractions
201920182017
Number of overnight parking
7,811
11,1159,221
*Does not include December
infractions (Dec. 1 toMarch 31)
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994for assistance.
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The increasing number of parking infractions as well as feedback received during the Customer
Service Review demonstrate the need for an overnight parking exemption process. Further,
overnight parking exemptions are available year-round in similar-sized Ontario municipalities.
Kitchener does not enforce the overnight parking bylaw between April 1 and November 30; and
therefore, requires fewer exemptions per year than other cities.
Thechart below outlines several cities and their parking exemption policies.
Table 2: Overnight Parking Exemption Policies for Ontario Municipalities
City of Waterloo15 exemptions/year/licence plate
Exemptions are void during snow event
City of Guelph12 exemptions/year/licence plate
Requests available for a maximum of 2 vehicles
City of Burlington15 exemptions/year/licence plate
Exemptions are void during snow clearing or road maintenance
City of HamiltonOn street, overnight parking is permitted year round, unless
restriction is posted. Parking is unrestricted where there are no signs.
Proposed Solution
The City of Kitchener does not restrict overnight parking between April 1 and November 30; and
therefore, only requires overnight parking exemptions four months of the year (December,
January, February and March). To maintain consistency with the City of Waterloo and other
nearby municipalities, staff recommend allowing 1.25 exemptions per month, resulting in five
exemptions over four months.
Overnight parking exemptions will need to be registered by 2 a.m.In order to qualify for a parking
exemption, vehicles arerequired to be legally parkedin a designated parking area. Illegally
parked vehicles with a valid exemption will be ticketed.
In the case of a Snow Event, all overnight parking exemptions will be cancelled. All vehicles
parkedon the street during a Snow Event will be issued a ticket. Residents with an authorized
parking exemption will be notifiedwhen a Snow Event is declared and asked to move their
vehicle. The void exemption will not count towards one of the five available exemptions per
licence plate ensuring residents do not lose an exemption when a Snow Event is declared.
To ensure the best customer experience, staff recommend implementing an online solution
called ‘Visitor’s Pass’, which would allow residents to submit a parking exemption request online.
The software also provides real-time updates allowing by-law enforcement officers to check if
an exemption has been granted before issuing a ticket. Further, this solution can be customized
for multiple types of parking exemptions allowing the City to expandparkingexemptionoptions
in the future.
Visitor’s Pass is an online module provided by GTechna, a software company specializingin
parking enforcement. The City of Kitchener currently uses GTechna’s Parking Enforcement
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application to issue parking tickets. Staff explored all available solutions, and GTechna’s Vistor’s
Pass proved to be the quickest and most cost effective solution, thereforebased on previous
experience with GTechna, and a thorough assessment of Visitor Pass’ functionality, staff believe
this is the best solution to implement online parking exemptions.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
The recommendation of this report supports thepriorities of the Effective and Efficient City
Services section of the City’s strategicplan.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Theone-time development fee for theonline parking exemption module will be funded from the
Community Services Administrativecapital accountin 2019.The annual software maintenance
fees of $2,700 per year will be built into Bylaw Enforcement’soperatingbudget through the 2020
budget process.
Project Expenditures
Visitor’s Pass online module $15,000
Annual software maintenance$2,700
It is anticipated that providing parkingexemptions willnegativelyimpact parking ticket revenue.
Staff have reviewed ticket counts and fine revenue received in relation to overnight parking,
however it is difficult to gauge how many residents will use the overnight parking exemption
process. Staff will monitor the impact on revenue over the next couple of winter seasonsand
will report back to Council should this have a significant negative impact on the budget.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
More than 5,000 citizens and staffprovided feedback during the 2018 Customer Service review,
offeringvaluable insightson both the successful and the frustrating aspects of the customer
experience.
During public consultation, when residents were asked why they experiencefrustration when
accessing City services, the second most frequently cited source was ‘The services I want are
not online.’ (CSD-19-002). Staff received an overwhelming response about the need to improve
and offer additional e-services and online parking exemptions can be a step in that direction.
The information collected during the 2018 Customer Service Review demonstrates the need for
improving parking e-services, including online overnight parking exemptions.
INFORM – This report has been postedto the City’s website with the agenda in advance of the
council / committee meeting.A public awareness campaign will take place throughout the winter
months to educate and promote the new overnight parking exemption by-law.
CONSULT –There is no additional public consultation planned for overnight parking exemptions
due to previous consultation completed through the Customer Service Review.
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PREVIOUS CONSIDERATION OF THIS MATTER:
April 8, 2013INS-13-028 General Parking Regulations Review
April 7, 2014 CSD-14-017 Three-Hour Parking By-Law Review of Pilot
March 4, 2019 CSD-19-002 Corporate Customer Service Review
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Michael May, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of
Community Services
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