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Leading the Way REPORT
ENGINEERING SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING
Date: June 13, 2011 Resolution #: of A-yay-//
Report#: EGD-024-11 File #: By-law#:
Subject: NEWCASTLE PARKING STUDY
Recommendations:
It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee
recommend to Council the following:
1. THAT Report EGD-024-11 be received;
2. THAT Staff work in cooperation with the Newcastle BIA to help facilitate the
initiatives outlined in the study to help improve parking in downtown Newcastle;
3. THAT Staff utilize future development agreements between potential developers in
the downtown core of Newcastle to protect and enhance existing parking supply;
4. THAT the Municipality continue to monitor parking to assist in determining the future
need for additional public parking facilities in Newcastle's downtown core and
potential feasible locations for additional public parking should demand require it;
and
5. THAT the Newcastle BIA and all other interested parties be informed of this report.
Respectfully by,
/,
Su•mitted by: A.S. Cannella i wed by: Franklin Wu
Director of Engineering Services
A,�✓ Chief Administrative Officer
ASC/RA/jofjb '
June 8, 2011
CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON
40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L1C 3A6 T 905-623-3379 F 905-623-9282
Report #EGD-024-11
1.0 BACKGROUND
Page 2
1.1 In October 2008 the Newcastle BIA approached Council to review the parking
situation in downtowh Newcastle. As a result, Engineering Services proceeded
to undertake a review of the situation and initiated a parking study.
1:2 The purpose of this Study was to examine the existing parking supply and
demand for parking facilities that primarily serve retail, commercial, and
institutional land uses in the commercial core of Newcastle. The information
found will provide a basis for strategic decision-making with respect to proposed
new developments in Newcastle and the management of public parking.
Key issues considered were related to:
• the location and supply of parking
• changes in parking demand due to new development or redevelopment of
existing properties within Newcastle
• current parking standards and policies
Initial parking inventory data was collected within a broad area surrounding
Newcastle's downtown. core. For the purposes of this Study, the Study Area was
defined based on this initial survey and is generally associated with properties
adjacent to King Avenue between North Street in the west and the retail lands
(IGA grocery) adjacent to Beaver Street in the east. As a basis for organizing
parking data, the Study Area has been divided into two groups with one
representing on-street parking and the other off-street parking. A map showing
the Study Area and the two types of parking facilities are provided on
Attachment 1.
1.3 The Study was originally completed in May of 2010 but due to the submission of
key development applications the Study was not finalized until this year in order
that the additional development proposals could be added as an appendix to the
report in order to include the addition of these private parking facilities in the
Study.
Report #EGD-024-11
2.0 APPROACH
Page 3
2.1 An initial inventory of public and private parking facilities was conducted in
October of 2009 including on-street parking, off-street parking (including
commercial, institutional and some mixed residential), parking regulations and
restrictions, and surface type and general condition of parking lots.
A detailed summary of parking supply characteristics was prepared for the Study
Area. Further inventory data was collected for various parking facilities east and
west of the Study Area that serve specific local commercial and institutional
needs outside of the downtown core as follows:
• New library parking lot
• Newcastle Memorial Arena north, main and west parking lots
• Shared parking for the Roman Catholic Episcopal and the Newcastle
Fellowship Baptist churches
Newcastle Lodge for Senior Adult Living
• Two commercial private lots at 282 & 361 King Avenue East
3.0 DATA COLLECTION
3.1 Parking surveys were conducted within the Study Area during a typical weekday
and Saturday on the following dates:
• Wednesday, October 14, 2009, 7:30 am to 6:30 pm
• Saturday, October 17, 2009, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
The survey days were selected to reflect days with typical parking demand and
were carried out following specified routes and methodology. Advance checking
was done to ensure that there were no special events or circumstances (e.g.,
commercial promotions or construction) that would affect parking usage or
patterns during the study.
Report #EGD-024-11
3.2 On-Street Parkins
Page 4
The data cotlection route for on-street parking was designed to allow data to be
acquired at any given location in 20-minute intervals. The data collected
includes:
• parking occupancy and accumulation counts (number of vehicles parked
by time of day)
• duration (length of time parked)
• turnover (number of different vehicles parked per space)
3.3 Off-Street Parkino
The data collection route for off-street parking was designed to allow data to be
acquired at any given location in 30-minute intervals and includes parking
occupancy and accumulation counts (number of vehicles parked. by time of day).
4.0 ANALYSIS -PARKING DEMAND AND SUPPLY
4.1 The results of the survey established that there are a total of 76 on-street parking
spaces and 504 off-street parking spots,, including 20 public spots at the
Municipal Green P parking lot and 17 spots at Newcastle Town Hall,
available within the Study Area.
4.2 Parking Demand during Special Events and Evening Hours
Discussion at a meeting on February 11 ~h, 2010 with the BIA revealed that
parking. can become an issue for local businesses during special events in the
Newcastle Community Hall and during the seasonal Concert-in-the-Park evening
event that occurs in the adjoining park during the summer months. These events
can impact parking demand in Newcastle's downtown core as business owners
who are regularly open to the public during evening hours must compete for
parking supply with members of the public who are attending these special
events.
Report #EGD-024-17
Page 5
However, the cost of purchasing additional land and constructing permanent
parking to accommodate these occasional and seasonal events is not
recommended at this time as alternate parking is available to patrons of affected
businesses within a reasonable distance in most cases.
4.3 Potential Future Parking Supply
Given current usage and initiatives to improve usage of the existing parking
supply, as well as the Municipality's ability to protect parking supply through
development agreements with future developers, it is anticipated that adequate
parking will be available within the downtown area of Newcastle into the
foreseeable future. However, some discussion of future parking supply is
suggested at this time.
Should additional parking supply eventually be required, two potential lot
locations exist within the Study Area that could provide additional parking supply
to Newcastle's downtown core. These two locations, both. privately owned, would
potentially serve the area of highest demand centred on King Avenue between
Mill Street and Beaver Street. These locations are depicted on Attachment 1 and
described as follows:
1. Lands situated between Municipal Lot 7 (Green P Parking) and the LCBO
(potential 20 to 25 additional spaces)
2. Lands situated south of Massey's Restaurant and adjacent to Beaver Street
(potential 18 to 30 additional spaces)
The Study had initially also identified lands adjacent to the east and north sides
of the CIBC Banking Centre which could have potentially served the Newcastle
Town Hall and vicinity. At that time it was also. recognized that while lands
adjacent to the CIBC Banking Centre are well suited to provide additional off-
street parking they are also exceptionally well suited for further development and
intensification of Newcastle's downtown core. These lands have recently been
Report #EGD-024-11
Page 6
submitted to the Municipality for redevelopment as a Grocery Store and are being
reviewed under the site plan process.
5.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 The Newcastle Parking Study provides key benchmark information on parking in
the downtown. core area of Newcastle and includes a detailed inventory as well
as public and private parking demand characteristics for typical fall (October)
conditions on both a weekday and a Saturday. Conclusions from the Newcastle
Parking Study are as follows:
In general, parking demand displayed the following characteristics:
• Overall, weekday demand is higher than Saturday demand
^ On-street demand is higher on King Avenue than on Beaver
and Mill Streets
^ Weekday on-street demand peaks at 77 percent at 1:50 pm
and again at 2:30 pm
^ Weekday off-street demand peaks at 42 percent in the late-
afternoon (3:30 and 4:00 pm)
^ Parking duration and turnover characteristics indicate that the
prime on-street parking spaces exist on King Avenue between
Mill Street and Beaver Street and that these spaces are being
used properly for short-term parking (less than one hour).
^ Three off-street lots achieve or exceed capacity during the
core of the business day: former Shoppers Drug Mart site,
Massey's Restaurant, and the Newcastle Veterinarian. For
these locations, alternative parking during peak demand times
is available within a walking distance of 50 to 150 metres.
^ Overall parking supply in the Newcastle Downtown core is
adequate to meet existing demand.
The recommendations of the Study are based on both a quantitative and
qualitative analysis of existing parking supply and demand characteristics and
include the following:
Report #EGD-024-71
Page 7
1. Clarington staff work in cooperation with the Newcastle BIA to help facilitate the
initiatives outlined in the study, including:
a. Increase visibility and public awareness of off-street lots from the street
through the use of improved signage at lot entrances.
b. Improve circulation between off-street lots, where appropriate, by
physically connecting contiguous lots through the use of signage,
pavement markings and line painting, and/or paving.
c. Formalize agreements between business owners to provide shared
parking to patrons and customers, where appropriate, and provide
signage to inform the public that parking facilities are shared.
d. Remove posted parking restrictions on private lots where agreement to
share facilities can be reached between lot owners.
2. Utilize future development agreements between potential developers in the
downtown core of Newcastle to protect and enhance existing parking supply.
3. Continue to further monitor parking to assist in determining the future need for
additional public parking facilities in Newcastle's downtown core and potential
feasible locations for additional public parking should demand require it.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 -Study Area & Potential Future Parking
ATTACHMENT 1 ATTACHMENTN0.:1
REPORT NO.: EGD-024-11
STUDY AREA
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POTENTIAL FUTURE PARKING
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~~ ON STREET PARKING NEW REAR LANE
ATTACHMENTI