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Home My WebLink AboutBYL 01-21Report to Council Report Number: BYL 01-21 Date: July 26, 2021 From: Paul Bigioni Director, Corporate Services & City Solicitor Subject: Proposed Increases to Parking Fines and Enhanced Parking Enforcement -File: L-2220 Recommendation: 1.That Report BYL 01-21 regarding proposed increases to City of Pickering parking fines recommended in this report be received; 2.That Council approve the parking fine increases recommended in this report, and thatstaff be directed to seek approval from the Ministry of the Attorney General to these fineincreases; and 3.That appropriate City of Pickering officials be authorized to take the actions necessary to implement the recommendations in this report. Executive Summary: The following parking fine increases are recommended for Council’s approval: Offence Current Early Fine Current Set Fine Proposed Early Fine Proposed Set Fine Stopped on/over sidewalk or footpath $25.00 $38.00 $35.00 $50.00 Stopped while snow clearing underway $25.00 $38.00 $75.00 $90.00 Parked within 3 m of a fire hydrant $25.00 $38.00 $45.00 $60.00 Parked in excess of 3 hours $25.00 $38.00 $35.00 $50.00 Parked between 2–5 am Dec 1–Mar 31 $25.00 $38.00 $35.00 $50.00 Park vehicle in fire route $50.00 $75.00 $135.00 $150.00 Stopped in prohibited area $25.00 $38.00 $60.00 $75.00 Parked in prohibited area $25.00 $38.00 $60.00 $75.00 Park in Handicapped space N/A $300.00 $300.00 $500.00 Illegal parking continues to be the most frequent type of complaint received to the City’s Customer Care Centre. In the summer of 2020, and again this summer, significant parking problems have been experienced in the City’s waterfront area. It is important that parking fines serve as a meaningful deterrent to illegal parking, especially in areas that impact traffic flow and pedestrian safety, impede City operations, and create a nuisance to residents. The proposed parking fines represent increases to the most frequent and most serious offences in the City’s Traffic and Parking By-law 6604/05. Larger fine increases are proposed for contraventions that have a greater impact on traffic and safety. BYL 01-21 July 26, 2021 Subject: Proposed Increases to Parking Fines and Enhanced Parking Enforcement Page 2 Council Resolutions 636/21 and 637/21 directed staff to review resource options pertaining to enhanced parking enforcement. Having done so, staff have determined that the additional measures implemented as of June 11 and 12, 2021 have significantly reduced the issues related to vehicle parking. Staff will continue with those enforcement measures. The stationing of manned barricades at the intersection of Westshore Boulevard and Surf Avenue has proven effective, but is a very costly undertaking. As such, it will be reviewed as the City enters Step 3 of the Province’s Re-opening Road Map, and as staff implement additional permanent parking barricades along Beachpoint Promenade. In the short term, the use of City staff for this purpose has continued, and consideration is being given to the use of contract security as well. As the Province re-opens, and residents have a broader choice of recreational opportunities, staff will reassess the need for manned barricades. Financial Implications: Parking Ticket numbers have decreased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, as overnight parking enforcement was suspended for extended periods of time at various stages due to lock down and stay-at-home orders. In order to provide an estimation of the financial impact of the proposed fine increases, the fine increases were applied to the number of tickets actually issued in both 2019 and 2020. Based on the number and type of tickets issued in 2019, the fine increases proposed in this report would result in additional fine revenues of approximately $510,000.00. If 2020 ticket numbers are used, the additional fine revenues would be approximately $385,000.00. Increases to the parking fines will not only act as a stronger deterrent but it will also serve to offset the City’s costs to monitor and enforce parking at the waterfront. The City’s 2021 Budget included $51,000.00 to hire 4 additional summer enforcement staff to address this need. Additionally, manned barricades were introduced on weekends only at Westshore Blvd and Surf Avenue at a cost of approximately $1,500.00 per day. The City has already spent over $15,000.00 to staff this barricade since the weekend of June 11th and 12th. Considering the financial sustainability of this approach, staff are investigating the use contract security staff for this purpose in the future. Now that the Province has reached Stage 3 of its Roadmap to Re-open, it is expected that a broader range of recreational opportunities will be available to the public. As a result, the volume of visitors and vehicle traffic at the waterfront should become more manageable and the requirement for manned barricades at Westshore Blvd and Surf Avenue should be alleviated. Discussion: The City’s Traffic and Parking By-law 6604/05 was enacted in 2005. With the exception of increased fines for accessible parking spaces to meet the minimum fine implemented under the AODA, the set fine amounts for parking violations have not been increased since they were originally implemented by By-law 2359/87. The City’s fines are significantly lower than those in other municipalities, particularly in relation to fire routes, interfering with snow clearing and stopping in prohibited areas. Staff conducted a review of parking fine levels in neighbouring municipalities in late 2019 - early 2020, and prepared a recommendation for fine increases at that time. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the associated increase in on-street parking due to residents working from home and complying with stay-at-home orders, the proposed fine increases were deferred to a more BYL 01-21 July 26, 2021 Subject: Proposed Increases to Parking Fines and Enhanced Parking Enforcement Page 3 appropriate time. Attachment No. 1 is an updated chart comparing Pickering’s existing parking fines to those of neighbouring municipalities. The COVID-19 pandemic has generated additional strain on the City’s waterfront areas and the limited parking available. On-street parking and illegal parking issues became a significant and ongoing issue for residents living in waterfront areas. This further demonstrates the need to increase parking fines, in particular those relating to vehicles parked in prohibited areas. The current fine structure for vehicles parked in a prohibited area is a $25.00 early payment fine, with a $38.00 set fine if the ticket is not paid within the first seven days. The recommended fine for this offence in the proposed fine recommendation attached (see Attachment No. 2) increases to an early payment fine of $60.00 and a set fine of $75.00 if the ticket is not paid within 7 days. The City’s parking fine structure provides for a lower early payment fine if the ticket is paid within 7 days, as early payment eliminates the cost to the City of obtaining the vehicle owner information from the Ministry of Transportation. After fifteen days, the City must pay MTO to obtain vehicle owner information in order to send the notices required under the Provincial Offences Act to collect unpaid fines. This cost is passed on to the ticket recipient in the form of the set fine on the ticket, generally increasing the early payment amount by $15.00. The chart below outlines the current fine and the proposed increased fine for the most common parking offences: Offence Current Early Fine Current Set Fine Proposed Early Fine Proposed Set Fine Stopped on/over sidewalk or footpath $25.00 $38.00 $35.00 $50.00 Stopped while snow clearing underway $25.00 $38.00 $75.00 $90.00 Parked within 3 m of a fire hydrant $25.00 $38.00 $45.00 $60.00 Parked in excess of 3 hours $25.00 $38.00 $35.00 $50.00 Parked between 2–5 am Dec 1–Mar 31 $25.00 $38.00 $35.00 $50.00 Park vehicle in fire route $50.00 $75.00 $135.00 $150.00 Stopped in prohibited area $25.00 $38.00 $60.00 $75.00 Parked in prohibited area $25.00 $38.00 $60.00 $75.00 Park in Handicapped space N/A $300.00 $300.00 $500.00 The recommended parking fines are also set out in Attachment No. 2. The fine increases are based on a comparison of parking fines charged by other municipalities. The proposed increases are appropriate as an increased deterrent to illegal parking, and also to improve traffic and pedestrian safety, assure safe municipal operations and to reduce the frustration of City residents who are impacted by illegal parking. With Council’s approval of this report, staff will send the recommended set fines to the Ministry of the Attorney General for approval. This process will take approximately 4 to 8 weeks, and must be completed before the new fines can take effect. Staff will make every effort to expedite this required approval. BYL 01-21 July 26, 2021 Subject: Proposed Increases to Parking Fines and Enhanced Parking Enforcement Page 4 Council Resolutions 636/21 and 637/21 directed staff to review resource options pertaining to enhanced parking enforcement. A review of the matter has been completed based on the GPS fleet vehicle records and staff scheduling. The GPS reports confirm that substantial patrols of all waterfront area streets have been taking place. During the four weekends starting from June 11 and 12, patrols of key waterfront area streets each day averaged as follows: • Beachpoint Promenande 7 times per day • Front Street 9 times per day • Liverpool Road 10 times per day • Park Crescent 5 times per day • Westshore Boulevard 11 times per day A summary of parking tickets issued on waterfront area streets over those weekends is listed below: Street Name June 5/6 June 12/13 June 19/20 June 26/27 July 3/4 Annland 0 2 1 8 18* Beachpoint Promenade 0 0 0 0 3 Bella Vista Drive 14 14 6 1 3 Cliffview Road 1 0 0 1 1 Front Street 33 15 16 4 22 Liverpool Road 10 7 9 6 7 Marksbury Road 0 1 0 1 2 Park Crescent 11 7 3 7 3 Sunrise 0 0 2 2 0 West Shore Blvd 99 10 14 11 1 Wharf Street 1 1 6 2 4 *Large number due to a residence on the street with a large number of visitors. The key streets for parking issues continue to be Front Street and Westshore Boulevard, however, additional staff resources are not required to continue to monitor these locations. As noted above, multiple patrols of the waterfront area streets are already taking place and the parking infractions occurring are being addressed by officers and are reflected in the number of tickets issued. In one instance, the resident concern was related to the removal or lack of temporary no parking signage. Once the signs were installed, issues have been resolved. In some cases, residents are reporting illegal parking relating to vehicles that are actually parked legally. Apart from the increased staff compliment provided for in the 2021 budget, staff do not recommend the hiring of additional enforcement staff at this time. Staff do suggest that for the 2022 season, the waterfront seasonal enforcement staff complement be increased so that full-time enforcement officers can be removed from waterfront patrols and returned to regular duties. BYL 01-21 July 26, 2021 Subject: Proposed Increases to Parking Fines and Enhanced Parking Enforcement Page 5 Attachments: 1. Chart - Parking Fine Survey 2.Proposed Parking Fines 2021 Prepared By: Original Signed By: Kimberly Thompson, Manager, Municipal Law Enforcement Services Prepared/Approved/Endorsed By: Original Signed By: Paul Bigioni, Director, Corporate Services & City Solicitor KT:kt Recommended for the consideration of Pickering City Council Original Signed By: Marisa Carpino, M.A. Chief Administrative Officer City Meter Obstruct Traffic Interfering With Snow Removal Overnight Parking Municipal Lots Private Parking No Parking No Stopping Fire Route Accessible Parking School Zone Ajax N/A $45 $60 $60 $45 $45 $60 $60 $100 $500 N/A Aurora N/A $25 $75 $50 $45 $45 $40 $50 $100 $400 N/A Barrie $30 $30 N/A $30 $30 $30 $30 $30 $75 $300 $30 Brantford N/A $50 $50 $30 $30 $30 $30 $50 $100 $300 N/A Burlington $24 $47 $120 $47 $24 $47 $47 $64 $120 $400 $47-$400 Clarington $30 $45 $60 $45 $45 $45 $60 $60 $75 $500 $60 Guelph $30 $60 N/A $35 $35 $35 $35 $60 $60 $350 N/A Halton Hills N/A $40 $50 $30 $30 $40 $30 $50 $100 $350 N/A Hamilton $19 N/A N/A N/A $26 $35 $26 $60 $80 $300 $60 Kitchener $20 $25 $80 $30 $20 $25 $25 $45 $75 $300 $80 Markham N/A $40 $150 $50 $40 $45 $55 $50 $200 $350 N/A Milton N/A $50 $50 $40 $40 $40 $40 $50 $100 $300 $50 Mississauga $30 $30 N/A $40 $30 $45 $40 $40 $175 $400 $55 Oakville $20 $50 $50 $40 $20-$30 $30 $40 $50 $100 $400 N/A Oshawa 40/60/80 45/65/85 40/60/80 40/60/80 40/60/80 40/60/80 40/60/80 45/65/85 100/120/140 300/320/340 N/A Peterborough $25 $30 $80 $25 $25 $25 $25 $25 $25 $300 $25-$30 Pickering N/A $38 $38 $38 $38 $38 $38 $38 $75 $300 $38 Uxbridge N/A $45 $40 $45 $45 N/A $45 $45 $75 $300 N/A Toronto $30 $60 $60 $60 $30 $30 Various $55 $250 $450 $100 Waterloo (City)$20 $40 N/A $30 $35 $25 $45 $45 $75 $300 $80 Parking Fine Survey Attachment No. 1 to Report BYL 01-21 Whitby $15 $40 $40 $40 $40 $27 $27 $27 $50 $300 $40 Note: The penalty provision for the offences indicated above is Section 37 of By-law 6604/05, a certified copy of which has been filed. PART II PROVINCIAL OFFENCES ACT City of Pickering By-law 6604/05, As Amended Title: Traffic and Parking By-law Item Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Short Form Wording Provision creating or defining offence Early Voluntary Payment Payable within 7 days Set Fine 1.Park/Stop with right wheels over 15 cm from curb s. 11(a)$35.00 $50.00 2.Park/Stop facing wrong way s. 11(a)$35.00 $50.00 3.Park/Stop with right wheels not near right-hand s.11(b)$35.00 $50.00 limit of highway4.Park/Stop not wholly within a parking space s. 12(a)$35.00 $50.00 5.Park/Stop occupying more than one parking space s. 12(b)$35.00 $50.00 6.Park/Stop prevent use of adjacent parking space, or s. 12(c)$35.00 $50.00 obstruct traffic7.Stopped on/over sidewalk or footpath s. 13(2)(a)$35.00 $50.00 8.Stopped within intersection or crosswalk s. 13(2)(b)$35.00 $50.00 9.Stopped within 10 m of crosswalk s. 13(2)(c)$35.00 $50.00 10.Stopped while salt/sand or snow clearing underway s. 13(2)(d)$75.00 $90.00 11.Stopped – interfere with highway cleaning s. 13(2)(e)$35.00 $50.00 12.Stopped alongside stopped/parked vehicle s. 13(2)(f)$35.00 $50.00 13.Stopped on bridge / in tunnel / in underpass s. 13(2)(g)$35.00 $50.00 14.Stopped on / adjacent to median strip s. 13(2)(h)$35.00 $50.00 15.Stopped in bus stop s. 13(2)(i)$35.00 $50.00 16.Stopped alongside obstruction/excavation s. 13(2)(j)$35.00 $50.00 17.Stopped / interfere with traffic s. 13(2)(k)$35.00 $50.00 18.Stopped within 30 m of crosswalk s.13(2)(c)$35.00 $50.00 19.Stopped in school area s. 14 $35.00 $50.00 20.Parked within 1 m of a driveway/laneway s. 15(a)$35.00 $50.00 21.Parked within 3 m of a fire hydrant s. 15(b)$45.00 $60.00 22.Parked within 3 m of Supermailbox or Transit stop s. 15(b.1)$45.00 $60.00 23.Parked within 10 m of intersecting roadway s. 15(c)$45.00 $60.00 Attachment No. 2 to Report BYL 01-21 Note: The penalty provision for the offences indicated above is Section 37 of By-law 6604/05, a certified copy of which has been filed. PART II PROVINCIAL OFFENCES ACT City of Pickering By-law 6604/05, As Amended Title: Traffic and Parking By-law Item Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Short Form Wording Provision creating Early Voluntary Payment Set Fine or defining offence Payable within 7 days 24. Parked on highway displayed for sale s. 15(d) $35.00 $50.00 25. Parked on highway – washing/greasing/repairing s. 15(e) $35.00 $50.00 26. Parked alongside railway tracks s. 15(f) $35.00 $50.00 27. Parked within 30 m of railway approach side s. 15(g) $35.00 $50.00 28. Parked within 15 m of railway leaving side s. 15(h) $35.00 $50.00 29. Parked on boulevard s. 15(i) $35.00 $50.00 30. Parked in excess of 3 hours s. 15(j) $35.00 $50.00 31. Parked within turning circle of cul-de-sac s. 15(k) $35.00 $50.00 32. Parked within 15 m of end of dead end highway s. 15(l) $35.00 $50.00 33. Parked without a valid licence plate attached s. 15(m) $35.00 $50.00 34. Parked between 2 – 5 am, Dec 1 – Mar 31 s. 15(n) $35.00 $50.00 35. Park vehicle on private property s. 16(a) $35.00 $50.00 36. Park vehicle in fire route s. 16(b) $135.00 $150.00 37. Park / stop vehicle on municipal property s. 17(1) $35.00 $50.00 38. Park on municipal property between 1 – 5 am s. 17(2) $35.00 $50.00 39. Parked within 30 m of Regional road intersection s. 18(a) $35.00 $50.00 40. Parked within 8 m of fire hall s. 18(b) $35.00 $50.00 41. Parked within 30 m opposite fire hall s. 18(b) $35.00 $50.00 42. Parked adjacent to / opposite park s. 18(c) $35.00 $50.00 43. Stopped in prohibited area s. 20 $60.00 $75.00 44. Parked in prohibited area s. 21 $60.00 $75.00 45. Park commercial vehicle on highway s. 22(2) $35.00 $50.00 46. Stop in school bus loading zone s. 23 $35.00 $50.00 47. Park in Handicapped space s. 24(10) $300.00 $500.00 48. Park without valid parking permit s. 25 (3) $35.00 $50.00 Note: The penalty provision for the offences indicated above is Section 37 of By-law 6604/05, a certified copy of which has been filed. PART II PROVINCIAL OFFENCES ACT City of Pickering By-law 6604/05, As Amended Title: Traffic and Parking By-law Item Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Short Form Wording Provision creating Early Voluntary Payment Set Fine or defining offence Payable within 7 days 49. Permit parking – improper use of permit s. 25(4) $25.00 $38.00 50. Stop tow truck on highway within 200 m of accident s. 36.3(3)(a) n/a $300.00