14           USE OF VISUAL MARKINGS ON CITY VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT

 

utilisation de marques visuelles sur les véhicules et l’équipement de la ville

 

 

 

Committee Recommendation

 

That Council receive this report for information.

 

 

Recommandation du comité

 

Que le Conseil prenne connaissance du présent rapport

 

 

Documentation

 

1.   Deputy City Manager, Public Works and Services’s report dated 4 June 2008 (ACS2008-PWS-FLT-0001).

 


Report to/Rapport au :

 

Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee

Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique

 

and Council/et au Conseil

 

4 June 2008 / le 4 juin 2008

 

Submitted by/Soumis par : R.G. Hewitt,

Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint,

Public Works and Services/Services et Travaux publics 

 

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Ron Gillespie,

Director/Directeur Fleet Services Branch/Services du parc automobile

(613) 842 - 3636 x 2201, Ron.Gillespie@ottawa.ca

 

City Wide/à l'échelle de la Ville

Ref N°: ACS2008-PWS-FLT-0001

 

 

SUBJECT:

USE OF VISUAL MARKINGS ON CITY VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT

 

 

OBJET :

utilisation de marques visuelles sur les véhicules et l’équipement de la ville

 

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

 

That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee and Council receive this report for information.

 

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

 

Que le Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique ainsi que le Conseil prennent connaissance du présent rapport.

 

BACKGROUND

 

At the Council meeting on September 26, 2007, the following motion was carried:

 

MOTION 21/26

 

That staff prepare a policy on the use of decals or symbols, similar to the “Support our Troops” decal, that may be placed from time to time on City vehicles and report back to Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee.

 

Moved by Councillor G. Bédard

Seconded by Councillor C. Doucet

 

 

DISCUSSION

 

Although the City’s Visual Identity manual prescribes the look and placement of standard City logos, it does not address which vehicles must carry the logos, or which may be exempted.  It does not contain any direction with regards to special decal schemes such as used by Fire, Transit Services, etc. or special decals such as the “Support our Troops” decal.  A new Policy dealing with the application of approved decals and logos is required.  The policy developed recommends that:

 

All City owned and operated vehicles and equipment shall be equipped with visual markings as per the City Visual Identity Manual. Exceptions, such as guidelines for unmarked vehicles and branch specific decaling schemes such as Fire, Transit Services, etc. are also outlined in the Policy.  Also included as per Council directive are guidelines for the applications of special event decals such as the "Support our Troops" decal.

 

 

CONSULTATION

 

Consultation with various Fleet Services clients who would be impacted by this Policy was conducted.

 

 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

 

None identified.

 

 

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

 

Document 1 – Policy – Use of Visual Markings on City Vehicles and Equipment

 



Approved By

Executive Director Business TRansformation Services

Approval Date

  May 28, 2008

Section

TRansportation

Effective Date

  May 28, 2008

 

     

Revision Date

 

 

Policy Statement

 

All City owned and operated vehicles and equipment shall be equipped with visual markings as per the City Visual Identity Manual, and / or as approved by Council for special events.  Exceptions are outlined in the section “APPLICATION”.

 

Purpose

 

This policy aims to provide guidelines to be followed in the determination of whether or not a particular unit is required to have City visual markings attached, or under what circumstances it could be exempted from that requirement.

 

Application

 

This policy applies to all City of Ottawa owned, leased and/or rented vehicles and equipment operated by City staff.  This policy in its entirety does not apply to Ottawa Police and Ottawa Community Housing vehicles, which have their own vehicle marking policies.

 

Some City departments or branches have specific visual identity schemes.  The requirement for visual markings as per the City Visual Identity Manual does not apply to the following vehicles, but instead will be subject to visual identity schemes arranged by the branch with, and approved by, Communications and Customer Service:

§         Fire department vehicles,

§         Paramedic units,

§         By-law vehicles,

§         Transit Services (OC Transpo, Para Transpo) buses and their support vehicles.

 

(Please note that vehicles and equipment in the above category are not exempted from the Special Decals requirements).

 

 

Policy Requirements

 

The Ontario Highway traffic act stipulates that all commercial vehicles MUST be equipped with a sign indicating the vehicle owner (exemptions only by the power of the Ontario Minister of Transportation[1]). For this reason, NO commercially registered vehicles (recognisable by a license plate having BLACK letters and numbers on a white background) will be granted an exemption from this Policy, and allowed to be unmarked.

 

Exceptions to the Policy for eligible vehicles may be granted under the following conditions:

 

All exceptions shall be negotiated on an individual basis, and must be given client DCM approval prior to implementation. This approval shall be provided to the Director of Fleet Services in writing for filing and future reference, and include a brief explanation of the rationale for the exception.

 

§         The vehicle considered for an exception to the Policy must be equipped with a licence plate bearing BLUE letters and numbers on a white background.

 

§         Reasons for allowing unmarked City vehicles:

o       Where the display of City visual markings could somehow threaten the safety of the driver or vehicle occupant(s),

o       Where the display of City visual markings could impede the work the vehicle or driver is involved in (i.e. undercover work etc.)

o       Where the display of City visual markings could attract undesirable attention

 

Special decals:

 

§         Application of special decals, ribbons, flags, etc. (such as the 2007 “support our troops”) must be directed or approved by Council. All other decals, ribbons, flags, “decorations” etc. not identified in the Visual Identity Manual or in a Branch specific scheme approved by Communications and Customer Service are not permitted.

§         Direction regarding the look, size, and placement of Council approved special decals must be provided / approved through Communications and Customer Service.

§         External sponsorship of City programs etc. may need to be recognised. When this recognition is in the form of a decal or decaling scheme on a City vehicle, Communications and Customer Service shall approve this decal or decaling scheme.

 

§         Legislated decals, mandatory safety inspection decals, equipment specific operating or safety decals, and other required service stickers affixed by Fleet Services etc. are not considered visual markings as defined by this policy, and may never be removed or omitted except by authorized personnel.

 

Use of City visual markings on Private vehicles:

 

§         Employee owned vehicles as a rule are not allowed to display City visual markings. Exceptions must be established as follows:

o       All exceptions to this clause are to be negotiated on an individual basis between the Director of the branch requesting the exception, and the Director of Fleet Services.

o       Any vehicle thus authorized for an exception shall display the temporary sign only when actively engaged in the work where City identification is required;

o       Any vehicle authorized to display a City logo will be considered to represent the City of Ottawa, and as such will not display any other decals, signs or insignia that could be considered offensive or incompatible to the City image at that same time.

o       The temporary sign will carry the City logo as well as an indication of the purpose or origin of the vehicle (e.g. Traffic Survey).

o       The decal used must be approved through Communications and Customer Service.

o       Any driver or operator of a private vehicle authorized to display a City visual marking must have successfully completed a City driver course or assessment.

o       The Branch authorizing employees to display City visual markings on a private vehicle shall keep accurate records of all instances and circumstances where these markings are displayed so any external sightings or reports can be matched with the authorized vehicle and driver by the authorizing Branch.

 

Contractors / agencies hired by, or working for the City:

 

§         Contractors or agencies hired by, or working for the City of Ottawa are required to do so under their own name or logo.

§         Where required, a special decal indicating the program or service the contractor is performing for the City may be shown. This decal is to be approved by Communications and Customer Service, and may not obscure the contractor’s decaling or signage.

 

Vehicles rented / leased which are operated by City staff:

 

§         Vehicles and equipment rented / leased that are operated by City staff are to be equipped with City visual markings if kept for more than 90 days.

 

 

Responsibilities

 

Managers and Supervisors are responsible for ensuring employees are aware of, and adhere to this policy.  Employees are responsible for ensuring that their actions adhere to the provisions of this policy.

Monitoring/Contraventions

 

It is the responsibility of the various branches that operate vehicles and equipment for City business to ensure that the policy is adhered to. Unauthorized removal of City visual markings, or unauthorized additions of decals noted by the Fleet Services Branch will be reported to the Director of the Branch responsible for operating the vehicle in question.

 

 

References

 

City Visual Identity Manual.

 

legislative & administrative authorities

 

Highway Traffic Act, Ontario:

103.  (1) Every commercial motor vehicle shall have attached to or painted on both sides of the vehicle in a clearly visible position a sign showing the name of the owner

 

Definitions

 

“City visual markings” is meant to mean the markings prescribed for that specific unit as outlined in the City Visual Identity Manual, or any other markings prescribed or authorized by Council.

“Unit” is meant to mean any mobile piece of equipment or vehicle belonging to; or rented \ leased by the City of Ottawa Fleet.

 

Keyword Search

 

Equipment

Decal

Logo

Markings

Unit

Vehicles

Visual

 

 

Enquiries

 

For more information on this policy, please contact:

 

Manager

Fleet Operational Support & Policy Division

Fleet Services Branch, 

Public Works and Services Department

613-842-3636 Extension: 2301

 

Appendices

 

N/A

 

 

 

 



[1] This exemption may be issued at the licence bureau to a private owner for a commercial vehicle that is also required for private transportation. This exemption is indicated by a special red sticker on the front license plate opposite the plate validation tag.