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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-19-031 - Parking on BoulevardREPORT TO:Community and Infrastructure Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: October 21, 2019 SUBMITTED BY:Gloria MacNeil, Director of Enforcement (519-741-2200, ext. 7952) PREPARED BY:Gloria MacNeil, Director of Enforcement (519-741-2200, ext. 7952) WARD (S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT:October 9, 2019 REPORT NO.:CSD-19-031 SUBJECT:Parking on Boulevard ___________________________________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATION: That the pilot to allow parking on paved boulevards City-wide be made permanentand be permittedannually from December 1 thru March 31and that an additional guideline be added to the program that requires any vehicle parked on a boulevard within a school zone from Monday to Friday to be removed by 8:00AM. BACKGROUND: OnJanuary 7, 2019City Council passed the following motion to allow parking on boulevards in Wards 1-4 and Wards 6-10 on a one year pilot basis. Council has previous allowed boulevard parking in Ward 5. "WHEREAS on December 15, 2014 Council approved Clause1 of Report CSD-14-108 that parking on the boulevard (paved area of a driveway between the sidewalk and the curb/road edge) be permitted in Ward 5 for December 1st to March 31st annually subject to the conditions outlined in Report CSD-14-108; and, WHEREAS on December 15, 2014 Council did not approve Clause 2 of Report CSD-14- 108 that parking on the boulevard (paved area of a driveway between the sidewalk and the curb/road edge) be permitted from December 1st to March 31st as part of a one year pilot project in Wards 1-4 and Wards 6-10; and, WHEREAS on June 26, 2017 Council further approved a two-year pilot program to permit year-round boulevard parking for the Wildflower Subdivision; and, WHEREAS a number of residents continue to bring forward requests to permit boulevard parking in Ward 7; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that parking on the boulevard (paved area of a driveway between the sidewalk and the curb/road edge), be permitted from December 1st to March *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994for assistance. 4 - 1 31st as part of a one year pilot project in Wards 1-4 and Wards 6-10 as outlined in Report CSD-14-108’." In the past Councillors have requested information on how neighbouring municipalities handle boulevard parking. Staff reached out tothe cities of Cambridge and Waterloo andcan provide the following information: City of Waterloo:Waterloo does not actively enforce the boulevard parking prohibition during the winter months. They will respond to a complaint if it is warranted, or where a public safety concern exists,but the focus is to get vehicles off of the roadway. City of Cambridge: Cambridge has allowed lower driveway boulevard parking through a street by street petition and questionnaire process since 2007. Given the popularityof the program they expect to adopt lower driveway boulevard parking as a permitted use under their by-law but still need to go through the review process. Streets not enrolled in the program are enforced year round but only on a complaint basis. REPORT: In 2014, staff broughta report forward that recommended parking be allowed on boulevards across the entire city during the winter months (Dec. 1 – March 31). At that time, City Council did not support a city-wide approach, however, it did approve boulevard parking in Ward 5 during the winder months. On January 7, 2019, City Council approved a one year pilot to allow boulevard parking in all other wards of the City(in addition to Ward 5)during the winter season, provided residents were parkingwithin the following specific guidelines: Vehicles areonly permitted to park on the paved boulevard (i.e. apron) where they were able to comply with the following criteria, relating to safety and operational concerns: Vehicles, if parked parallel to the road, must face the direction of travel; Vehicles must not park on the landscaped or hardscaped portion of the boulevard or access the paved portion of the boulevard by driving over landscaped or hardscaped portions of the boulevard; The vehicle must be fully encompassed on the paved portion of the boulevard such that: o All tires must be fully on the hard surface o No part of the vehicle can overhang the sidewalk or the curb/ road edge; Residents with abutting drivewaysmust not overhang the projection of the property line; No boulevard parking will be permitted within 15 metres of an intersection; and Only driveways providing access to single family, semi-detached and street fronting townhouses are applicable. 4 - 2 These guidelines were developed as a result of staff input and any concerns received from residents and take into consideration safety, visibility, operational concerns for road clearing, as well as overall liability. 2018/19Experience with Boulevard Parking: Throughout the 2018/19 winter parking season, staff received only one email from a Kitchener resident about the boulevard parking program. Bylaw Enforcement staff did proactively issue tickets to vehicles parked on boulevards that did not meet the Council approved requirements listed earlier in this report. Infrastructure Services staff did not have any concerns with vehicles parked on a boulevard impeding with snow clearing activities or overhanging onto the roadway. They indicated support for Bylaw Enforcement to continue with proactive enforcement if boulevard parking is allowed to continue as this will assist with their operators and reduce the likelihood of damage or accidents when plowing. One challenge boulevard parking did create last year was where residents would remain parked on the boulevard in school zones during bell times, creating a safety hazard for school children walking to/fromschool. In addition, parents would often park on the boulevard portion of people’s driveways who lived near the school’s to drop off their children, sometimes parking and leaving their vehicles in order to avoid receiving a parking ticket in the school zone. In order to avoid this situation in the future, staff recommend adding a new requirement (in additionto the requirements listed above) that would place a time limit on boulevard parking and require any vehicles parked on the boulevard from Monday to Friday to be removed by 8:00AM. This additional guideline provides residents with a parking reprieve overnight and on the weekends but eliminates abuse and risks of safety to school children. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: The recommendation of this report supports the achievement of the city’s strategic vision through the delivery of core service. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Staff anticipate financial implications to be minimal, as the pilot was implemented last winter with minimalimpact to fine revenue. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: The Council resolution was to pilot this for the 2018-19 winter season and have staff track any concerns or complaints that arose during that time. Staff did receive two written notifications from residentsin the Region, one resident did not live in Kitchener but wanted to express they were not supportive of boulevard parking. The second resident wanted Council to reconsider bullet number six, as they felt residents with abutting driveways should not be able to park on the boulevard as this creates a visibility issue for the neighbouring property when backing out of their driveway. 4 - 3 PREVIOUS CONSIDERATION OF THIS MATTER: December 8, 2014 CSD-14-108 Special Council – January 7, 2019 ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Michael May, General Manager Community Services Department and DCAO 4 - 4