The Municipal Parking Management Principles and Objectives are based on the role of the parking program established in the 2008 Transportation Master Plan and are the result of extensive consultation during 2008 and 2009 with Business Improvement Areas, Community Associations, Church representatives, and members of the public interested in issues including accessibility, tourism, cycling, motorcycle and scooter riding, and transportation demand management.

The following statement will govern the Municipal Parking Management Program’s policies and objectives and guide its actions:

The Municipal Parking Management Program values efficiency, transparency, and clarity. Stakeholders will be engaged through regular and timely communications and opportunities for consultation.

The following Objectives of the Municipal Parking Management Program clarify its purpose and can be reasonably achieved within the expected timeframe and with the available resources. They will serve as the basis for policy and performance appraisals, and act as glue that binds the entire organization together.

1. Provide and maintain an appropriate supply of affordable, secure, accessible, convenient, and appealing public parking.

2. Provide and promote affordable short-term parking services, and fair and consistent enforcement services, that support local businesses, institutions, and tourism.

3. Promote, establish, and maintain programs and facilities that encourage the use of alternative modes of transportation including public transit, car/van pooling, taxis, auto sharing, cycling, and walking.

4. Support residential intensification and resolve parking problems within residential areas caused by significant traffic generators or conflicting uses of the roadway, including implementing on-street permit parking programs to relieve area residents and visitors from parking regulations directed at the non-resident.

5. Ensure the revenues generated by the Municipal Parking Program are sufficient to wholly recover all related operating and life-cycle maintenance expenditures; contribute to a reserve fund to finance future parking system development, operation, and promotion; and then assist in the funding of related initiatives to encourage the use of alternative modes of transportation.

2 Funding Model

Overall Financials

The Municipal Parking Management Program will be financially self-sustaining as a whole.

Municipal Parking Management Program Costs and Revenues will be determined based on the following components:

Revenues

· On and Off-street Paid Parking Fees

· Parking Permit Fees

· Cash-in-Lieu of Parking Levies

· Net Proceeds obtained from the sale of any parking facility[1]

Costs

· Operating Costs

· Development Costs

· Program Support Services (Finance, Legal, HR, IT, Supply, Records)

· Surface Operations Services (Winter Control)

· Roadway & Curb Lifecycle costs[2]

· Corporate Administration Allocation

· Depreciation Of Equipment And Facilities

· Facility Operating And Lifecycle Costs

· Debt Servicing

· Contributions To Parking Reserve

Opportunity Costs

· Track special event costs and revenues, and estimate revenues lost due to special events and meter hoodings

Services between Departments:

Where the Municipal Parking Management Program is provided a service by another area of the City, such as Surface Operations for snow clearing, OC Transpo for coin processing, or RPAM for facility operation and life-cycle costs the funds returned to these groups will be earmarked specifically for Municipal Parking Management Program support services.

Use of Revenues

Cash-in lieu of Parking revenues shall be used for the acquisition, establishment, laying out or improvement of additional parking lots or facilities and other parking related activities in accordance with the City's Cash-in-lieu of Parking Fund By-law No. 2004-321, as amended.

Parking Fee revenues shall be used to fund the Municipal Parking Management Program, which includes:

· On-street Paid Parking Program

· Off-street Paid Parking Program (including the development of new facilities)

· On-street Permit Program

· Local Area Parking Study Program ($150,000 per year)

· Marketing and Promotion Program (including an maximum annual grant of $5,000 per BIA per year for promotion and projects in keeping with Municipal Parking Management Strategy objectives)

· Tour Bus Parking Program

· Related initiatives to encourage the use of alternative modes of transportation

Long Term Planning

A capital program plan shall be developed to plan costs and revenues over the longer term and to ensure the Municipal Parking Management Program assets are maintained and new assets are built or provided through other means such as Public Private Partnerships as required.

Approvals / Financial Documents

Annual Budget and Work Plan – Approved by Council annually

Annual Report – Received and reviewed by Council annually

Capital Program Plan – Approved by Council; Updated as Required

3 Parking Rate Setting Guideline

1. On-street and Off-street Public Parking Rates, hours, and locations will be set by Council on an Annual Basis as part of the approval of the Parking Management Program Work Plan and Budget approval, based on the results of Local Area Parking Studies.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 above, On-street Public Parking Rates, hours, and locations may be varied by staff at any time throughout the year provided the variation of the rates is consistent with the Municipal Parking Management Strategy and is within the range approved by City Council as part of the annual budget, and the local Ward Councillor, BIA, and Community Association concur;

3. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 above, off-street rates maybe varied by staff at any time throughout the year to reflect seasonal and market adjustments, or to encourage alternative modes of transportation, such as motorcycles, scooters, and auto-share vehicles provided the variation of the rates is consistent with the Municipal Parking Management Strategy and is within the range approved by City Council as part of the annual budget..

4. Local Area Parking Studies will be undertaken for all designated areas, by order of priority based on the following criteria:

a. On-street utilization in the area is less than 75% or greater than 85% during peak periods.

b. There is a Community Design Plan, a traffic network study or a similar related study that the Local Area Parking Study would benefit from being integrated with.

c. Stakeholders are actively asking that the City find a solution to a problem or to make a change to existing public parking hours, rates or locations.

d. The City is ready to undertake the study (funding, resources, corporate priorities)

e. Identified Stakeholders are ready to participate in the study.

5. All areas subject to paid parking will be monitored with respect to utilization rates and turnover for both on and off-street facilities on an annual basis. These results will be communicated to stakeholders. Should utilization change unexpectedly, staff and stakeholders may consider adjusting the rates prior to the next annual report to Council.

6. On and off-street rates and hours for different areas should vary only where there is an appropriate justification for the variance. A comparison of rates and hours in various locations will be included in the annual report.

7. When on-street paid parking is introduced to a new area or a new off-street facility is opened a special introductory rate should be considered, and a communication plan should be developed to advise the public of the change.

8. Transportation modes that take up less than half of a regular parking stall (such as motorcycles, scooters, and smart cars), or otherwise reduce the demand for space in parking facilities (auto share vehicles or registered car/van pool vehicles) should be considered for a reduced rate where practical.

9. The On-Street Parking Permit Program should be provided on a cost recovery basis.

10. Unsecured bicycle parking should be provided free of charge; secured bicycle parking will be provided based on the recovery of operational costs.

4 Performance Measures

An Annual report will be prepared and provided to Council and made available to stakeholders.

It will include:

· A review of performance measures noted below that relate to the Principles and Objectives of the Municipal Parking Management Program

· An overview of identified goals and objectives for the current year and progress towards meeting them

· A financial overview of the Municipal Parking Management Program, including revenues and expenses as well as capital budgets (cash-in-lieu fund; parking reserve fund)

· Identification of new program initiatives and budget implications

· Marketing information regarding availability of parking for various needs

The Municipal Parking Management Program values efficiency, transparency, and clarity. Stakeholders will be engaged through regular and timely communications and opportunities for consultation.

Efficiency:

a. Gross operating cost per on-street space (in accordance with OMBI)

b. Gross operating cost per off-street space (in accordance with OMBI)

c. Net revenue generated per on-street space (in accordance with OMBI)

d. Net revenue generated per off-street space (in accordance with OMBI)

Transparency & Clarity

e. Principles and Objectives promoted and available

f. Financials accessible for review

g. Description of number and type of opportunities for consultation / delegations

Regular and Timely Communications

h. Number of Stakeholders Consultation Group Meetings

i. Minutes of meetings available

j. Annual Business Report

k. Number and variety of stakeholders engaged for various parking studies and operational issues

l. Provision of parking study results to public

1. Provide and maintain an appropriate supply of affordable, secure, accessible, convenient, and appealing public parking.

a. Number of managed on-street and off-street spaces

b. Impact of adjustments to improve management of supply

c. On-street sustained peak utilization by area – target 75% to 85%

d. Review of any security issues and what actions were taken

e. Number Disabled parking spaces provided

f. Measures to improve convenience of facilities and equipment

g. Photographic review of facilities illustrating the up-keep of existing parking, use of art in public places, quality of landscaping and streetscaping.

2. Provide and promote affordable short-term parking services and fair and consistent enforcement services that support local businesses, institutions, and tourism.

a. Number and use of short-term visitor parking spaces provided

b. List of improvements to management of short term parking undertaken

c. Number, location, and use of Tour Bus Parking Spaces

d. Marketing and Promotion activities undertaken and their results

e. Analysis of cancelled tickets to ensure adherence to Council approved enforcement standards

a. Number and use of auto share spaces provided

b. Number and use of car/van pooling spaces provided

c. Number and use of bicycle parking spaces provided

d. List of any related initiatives to encourage alternative modes of transportation funded by program

4. Support residential intensification, and resolve parking problems within residential areas caused by significant traffic generators or conflicting uses of the roadway, including implementing on-street permit parking programs to relieve area residents and visitors from parking regulations directed at the non-resident.

a. Number of On-street Residential Parking Permits issued

b. Number of Other On-street Permits issued

a. Municipal Parking development, operating, and life-cycle maintenance expenditures recovered

b. Amount of contributions to Reserve Fund

c. Promotion and marketing initiatives undertaken and funded

d. Related transportation demand management initiatives undertaken and funded

5 Parking Function Accountabilities

A variety of City Departments are responsible for different aspects of the Parking Function. These accountabilities are documented below. Key coordination points and lead roles are outlined below.

High Level Policies

The Strategy for the Municipal Parking Management Program must align to overarching policy documents and programs managed by internal and external interests. The following are examples:

· Highway Traffic Act

· Municipal Act

· The Official Plan & Transportation Master Plan

· The Cycling Plan

Focussing on Municipal Parking Management

All of these high-level policies have contributed to the creation of a single document that brings focus and establishes the role of the management of municipally controlled parking:

· The Municipal Parking Management Strategy**

Tools for Implementation

There are a number of tools used to implement the different high-level policies. The use of these tools must be coordinated, understanding that many of them have broader concerns that must be balanced with Municipal Parking Management Strategy objectives. These include:

· Community Design Plans*

· Neighbourhood Planning Initiatives*

· The Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw*

· The Traffic and Parking Bylaw**

· Local Area Parking Study Program **

· Parking Stakeholders Consultation Group**

* Coordination Point: Led by Planning and involve multidisciplinary teams

** Coordination Point: Led by Traffic and Parking Operations and involve Parking Enforcement, Planning, Economic Development, and others as appropriate.

Supporting Functions to Ensure Success

A successful Municipal Parking Management Program requires effective coordination of the following functions:

· On and Off- Street Paid Parking Programs

· On street Permit Parking Program

· Tour Bus Strategy

· Cash-in-Lieu of Parking Program

· Parking Enforcement

[1] Costs to be paid to the City and the balance remaining after payment of incidental expenses be paid into the Parking Reserve Fund

[2] Roadway costs relate only to infrastructure specifically constructed to accommodate on-street parking