Item - 2017.PW25.12

The Public Works and Infrastructure Committee recommends that:  

1. City Council approve the Curbside Management Strategy as described in the report (November 14, 2017) from the General Manager, Transportation Services, including the next steps associated with the Quick Wins outlined in Recommendations 2, 3, and 4 below.

2. City Council authorize the implementation of stands for taxicabs at hydrants, designated delivery vehicle parking zones and designated motorcycle parking zones by amending Chapter 950 (Traffic and Parking), Chapter 910 (Parking Machines and Meters), Chapter 610 (Penalties, Administration of), Chapter 903 (Parking for Persons with Disabilities), and Chapter 925 (Permit Parking) as described in Attachment 2 to the report (November 14, 2017) from the General Manager, Transportation Services.

3. City Council authorize Transportation Services to work in partnership with the Financial District Business Improvement Area to undertake a pilot project of permit-only delivery vehicle staging zones

4. City Council authorize Transportation Services to initiate discussions with the Provincial Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of the Attorney General regarding automated parking enforcement methods.

The General Manager, Transportation Services gave a presentation on Curbside Management Strategy.

Curbside space, the access point between the road and the sidewalk, is increasingly  in high-demand for a number of competing users including motor vehicle drivers, cyclists, transit, taxis, motor-coaches, couriers, other goods movement operators, parking (including accessible parking), Wheel-Trans, filming, food trucks, local businesses, and emergency services.  These demands have increased with the recent rise in e-commerce and associated delivery systems.

First identified as a part of the Congestion Management Plan, the objective of the Curbside Management Strategy (CMS) is to provide the strategies and tools necessary to effectively manage curbside space in a way that supports mobility and access for people and goods.  Particularly in the Downtown core, it is critical to prioritize curbside uses that supports the robust economic activity of the area while effectively managing related impacts on traffic movement.

The CMS is intended to be both a high-level policy approach to guide future decision making around issues that impact curbside allocation, as well as an implementation plan.

At a policy level, the CMS is made up of three guiding principles: mobility matters, safe and reliable access, and communication of value to all; as well as eight policies covering the following themes: appropriate street use, equitable user priority, accessibility needs, effectiveness, value, efficiency, safety, and reduction of use.

The CMS implementation plan has identified 18 tactics (quick wins, as well as short and medium term initiatives) that Transportation Services proposes to undertake to improve how curbside space is managed immediately and over the next several years.