General Committee

 

 

 

 

 

TO:

Mayor and Members of Council

 

 

 

 

FROM:

Alan Brown, Director of Engineering

 

 

 

 

PREPARED BY:

Balendra Sinnadurai, Engineering Technician - Transportation

 

 

 

 

DATE OF MEETING:

2005-Jun-20

 

 

 

 

SUBJECT:

Daytime Permit Parking Proposal:

Riverlands Drive, Country Glen Road and Walkerville Road

 

 

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT Traffic By-law 336-88 be amended to include a new Schedule 10 for “Daytime Permit Parking” on Riverlands Avenue, Country Glen Road and Walkerville Road as shown in Attachment B;

 

AND THAT the Operations and Asset Management Department be directed to install the appropriate signs, before September 2005, upon approval of the attached by-law;

 

AND THAT the Parking Control Department be directed to issue the daytime permit parking permits to the respective residents and enforce the attached by-laws.

 

PURPOSE:

This report recommends daytime permit parking on Riverlands Avenue, Country Glen Road and Walkerville Road.

 

BACKGROUND:

Parking At Markham Stouffville Hospital

Over the last 4 years the Markham-Stouffville Hospital has experienced further land development including reconstruction of Church Street, east of 9th Line, and the building of a seniors home, east of Country Glen Road.  Visitors and staff destined to the hospital property began to park their vehicles on Church Street.  To ensure emergency vehicle access remained unobstructed to the hospital, a parking prohibition proposal on Church Street was approved by Council on June 22, 2004.

 

Staff advised in the report of the potential parking impact on Riverlands Avenue in the Cornell Community given it’s proximity to the hospital.   Staff advised they would conduct a parking investigation and report back to Council with recommendations.

 

Study Area Details

Riverlands Avenue, Country Glen Road and Walkerville Road are all located in the Cornell community which incorporate parking bays and lane based roads.  Within walking distance, the Markham-Stouffville Hospital, a Health Centre and a Seniors Home are all located to the south of this community. Given these three facilities, higher than typical parking demand is being experienced in the area.

 

DISCUSSION:

Parking Investigation Approach and Results
Town Staff conducted a detailed parking investigation that included multiple on-site observations at Riverlands Avenue, Country Glen Road and Walkerville Road.  The on-site observations were provided to quantify the number of motorists using the subject streets instead of the appropriate parking lot provided by the hospital.

 

The results of the investigation showed parked vehicles starting early morning and consistently over 5 days, thus reflecting a non-residential parking usage. This confirmed that motorists where inappropriately parking on the subject streets instead of the hospital parking lot. Staff also observed many hospital employees, identified by their respective uniforms, walking to and from the hospital from the subject streets.

 

Proposed Daytime Permit Parking

Based on the parking investigation results, a daytime permit parking program is proposed to reduce non-resident based parking from Monday to Sunday, between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. The daytime parking permits will be issued on an annual basis to the residents of the subject streets.   The daytime permits will be free of charge since daytime parking is permitted on Town streets.

 

To accommodate visitors, the homeowner of the subject street will be required to report the visitor’s motor vehicle license plate number to the Town’s Parking Control Department. This will ensure these vehicles will not be ticketed. All other vehicles, without a daytime permit or a temporary exemption, will be ticketed. Although a minor inconvenience, the requirement of obtaining daytime parking permits and reporting visitor’s motor vehicle license plates have been accepted by the affected residents. Detailed discussion on resident support is discussed under “Resident and Hospital Notification”

 

Given that some residents may also hold OVERNIGHT permits, residents holding daytime permits will not be allowed to park their vehicles for longer than 24 hours. This is to ensure the Operations Department can continue to effectively provide street cleaning and snow clearing services with minimal parked vehicle related obstructions.

 

Monitoring of Surrounding Streets

Due to the longer walking distances staff do not expect the parking issue to extend to the other street in this area.  However, the Engineering Department will closely monitor the area following the installation of the daytime permit parking signs. Pending the results, staff will report back with additional recommendations.

 

Resident and Hospital Notification

Given the significant parking changes on the subject streets, the Ward Councillor visited the affected residents for feedback on the proposal. In addition, the Engineering Department provided official notification of the proposal to the affected residents on May 5, 2005. Acknowledging the existing parking concerns on the subject streets, the affected residents showed favorable support for the proposed daytime permit parking proposal. In addition, the hospital facilities manager was notified, via e-mail, on May 19, 2005 and also indicated support of the proposal.

 

By-law Enforcement Plan

Upon Council approval, notice boards will be erected for a period of 4 weeks prior to the parking prohibition sign installation. In addition, a notice letter will be issued, to the hospital facility manager, requesting both staff and visitors park at the appropriate parking lot.

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The cost of labour and materials to implement and maintain the parking measures are accounted for in the Operations and Asset Management Department annual budget. There will also be ongoing administration costs for the daytime permit program, primarily for re-issuing permits on an annual basis.  These costs will be absorbed in the By-law Enforcement and Licensing Department.

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Subject to Council’s approval the Operations and Asset Management Department will install the proper signs for the proposed parking prohibition and the By-Law Enforcement and Licensing Department will administer the day time parking permit program.

 

ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment A – Proposed Parking Prohibition and Day Time Permit Parking Locations

Attachment B – Proposed By-laws

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alan Brown, C.E.T.

Director of Engineering

 

Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.

Commissioner of Development Services

 

 

Q:\Development\Engineering\REPORTS\2005\June\Riverlands Avenue Day Time Permit Parking Report\Riverlands Day Time Permit Parking Report Draft 5.doc