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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCD-31-98 . .~-.. , . , ~ THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON REPORT Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE File #~.GC G ~A-44- ,-Cf5{" Res. # ("noR -44~ ~q7 By-law # Date: June 22, 1998 Report #: CD- 31-98 Subject: PARKING PROPOSAL - BOWMANVILLE BUSINESS CENTRE _ OUR FILE: T02.GE Recommendations: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council: 1. THAT Report CD-31-98 be received; 2. THAT parking at all meters throughout the downtown area, the Division/Church Street Lot and the Silver Street Lot be declared to be free for the months of July and August 1998; and 3. THAT the Bowmanville Business Centre be advised of Council's decision. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Report At a meeting held on May 29, 1998, the Board of Management of the Bowmanville Business Improvement Area (BIA) drafted a proposal with respect to parking in the downtown area, which they presented to staff on June 9. The proposal resulted from ongoing concerns that the downtown area will be unable to compete with the new mall because of inadequate parking 'for which patrons must pay. The proposal consisted of seven recommendations, each of which is elaborated on below: Recommendation #1 That the ticketing process move through the following stages: a) Time on the meter - no ticket issued b) Meter still within the "grace" period - no ticket issued c) Time on the meter completely expired, including "grace" period - warning ticket issued d) Time on the meter completely expired and a warning ticket has been issued - parking ticket issued -. 7 1 9 " Report CD-31-98 -2- June 22, 1998 Staff Comment Presently, the meters are programmed to register 2 hours of parking time plus a 15-minute grace period at the cost of $1.00. If the parking officer comes along during the first 2 hours of parking, no ticket is issued. If the meter is in the 15-minute grace period when the officer arrives, a "warning" ticket is issued. This ticket looks like a regular ticket, however, on its face it states that the meter was expired but a grace period was in effect at the time of issue. It suggests that the patron consider using one of the municipal lots in future if he intends to be parked on street for longer than the permitted 2 hours. Should the officer arrive at the same car once again, a parking ticket is issued. Considering that it takes an average of1 hour for an officer to complete a tour of the downtown, the minimum time frame to go through these steps is 3 hours and 15 minutes. The BIA is recommending that the warning ticket be placed on the vehicle only after the grace period has expired. Taking into account the amount of time for an officer to patrol the downtown, the very minimum amount of time to elapse before a parking ticket would be issued under this scenario is 4 hours and 15 minutes. Recommendation #2 That the off-street parking lots at Division/Church Streets and Silver Street be free, with a 3-hour limit, to encourage parking at these locations by shoppers and those wishing to do extended business in the downtown. Staff Comment Between these two lots, there are 117 parking spots. In order to determine when a vehicle's 3 hours of free parking has expired, it will be necessary for the parking officer to chalk tires and record license plate numbers on an ongoing basis throughout the day. It would be necessary for an officer to be assigned to these two lots exclusively in order to effectively patrol the parking. In order to get around this administrative difficulty, the BIA suggested that the parking be enforced on a complaint basis only in these lots. If this were to happen, a complaint would come into the municipality after a vehicle had been left in excess of 3 hours. The officer would then chalk the tire and wait an additional 3 hours before a ticket could be issued. A minimum time of 6 hours would elapse before a ticket was issued to a vehicle. Recommendation #3 That the parking lots on the north side of Church Street be at a charge of $2.00 for all-day parking, primarily for use by employees of the stores and businesses and the municipality. 720 '. ," , . , Report CD-31-98 - 3 - June 22, 1998 Staff Comment Once the employees of the downtown businesses learn that the parking lot on the south side of Church Street is free for a 3 hour limit and that enforcement of the lot requires the chalking of tires, they will park there for the maximum time allowed and then go out and move their vehicles to another spot. In so doing, they will avoid paying any parking fee at all and use up spaces, which were to be available to patrons of the downtown area. Recommendation #4 That more effective and more visible signage be installed to direct visitors to the downtown to the location of the off-street parking lots. Staff Comment This can be easily accomplished. Recommendation #5 That the municipality engage in an aggressive advertising campaign to inform the public of these new downtown parking strategies, ie, new permanent signage, use of billboards, newspaper display advertising, etc. Staff Comment The municipality does not have the required funds in this year's budget to undertake this advertising initiative. Council could refer, however, to the funds provided to the BIA from the west Bowmanville developers for the purpose of promoting the downtown. The amount of this contribution was $10,000 per year for a period of 10 years. Recommendations #6 and #7 That Council make it a priority, in 1998 and 1999, to locate 200 additional parking spaces in the downtown area. That Council continue to pursue the acquisition of the former Petro-Can site in the Downtown for public parking. Staff Comment The Property Manager will address these two issues following receipt of outstanding documentation. 721 .. .... . . Report CD-31-98 -4- June 22, 1998 Staff Recommendations Staff understands the concern of the downtown businesses with respect to competing with the malls and their large supply of free parking for their patrons. Unfortunately, the recommendations put forth by the BIA would cause an administrative nightmare for the parking enforcement officers. In order to alleviate the concerns of the BIA without creating an unenforceable situation, it is staff's recommendation that parking at all meters throughout the downtown area, the Division/Church Street Lot and the Silver Street Lot be declared to be free for the months of July and August 1998. This time frame could be used as a pilot project for the BIA to determine if paid parking is a deterrent to their patrons, Should Council agree with this recommendation, the full-time parking officer's duties would be reassigned (for the months of July and August) within the By-law Enforcement Division. This would allow additional manpower in that area for outstanding investigations to be completed during the peak summer months. Respectfully submitted Reviewed by ~~ W.H. Stock ell Chief Administrative Officer Individuals to be advised of Council's decision: G. Gilpin Secretary-Treasurer and General Manager Bowmanville Business Centre P.O. Box 365 Bowmanville, Ontario L 1 C 3L 1 722