Report to/Rapport au
:
Transit Committee
Comité du
transport en commun
and
Council / et au Conseil
09
November 2009 / le 09 novembre 2009
Submitted by/Soumis par: Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager/Directrice municipale adjointe,
Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability/Services d’infrastructure
et Viabilité des collectivités
Contact Person/Personne ressource : Alain Mercier, General Manager/Directeur général
Transit Services/Services du transport en commun
613-842-3636 x2271, Alain.Mercier@ottawa.ca
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Ref N°: ACS2009-ICS-TRA-0018 |
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
EXTENSION DU SECTEUR
DE TRANSPORT URBAIN AUX ZONES EN VOIE D’AMÉNAGEMENT |
REPORT
RECOMMENDATION
That the Transit Committee recommend Council approve the revisions to the boundary of the Urban Transit Area
detailed in this report to be effective on January 1, 2010, to provide for the
provision and funding of transit service in expanding areas of the city, and
that Council enact an implementing By-law.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité du transport en commun
recommande au Conseil d’approuver les révisions à la limite du secteur de
transport urbain décrites dans le présent rapport de façon qu’elles entrent en
vigueur le 1er janvier 2010,
afin d’assurer l’extension du service de transport en commun aux secteurs en
expansion de la ville de même que le financement de ces services; et que le
Conseil adopte un règlement de mise en oeuvre.
BACKGROUND
At
its meeting of July 11, 2001, Council approved a report entitled Financing
Methods – Funding City Services, which directed that “properties…be
automatically included in the Urban Transit Area (UTA) as they receive the
defined level of service.” Staff identify the areas to be added to the UTA
through the normal development approval and transit planning processes,
however, the by-law to define the UTA needs to be approved by Council.
DISCUSSION
Current Transit Levies
Property taxes to fund the net capital and operating
costs of transit service are now collected at different rates in four different
areas, and different service standards apply in each of these areas. The four
areas are:
- Urban Transit Area (UTA)
- Town Transit Area (TTA)
- Rural Transit Area A (RTA-A)
- Rural Transit Area B (RTA-B)
The Urban Transit area is the subject of this
report. The transition of the Stittsville TTA into the UTA is not part of this
report and will continue, with fare reductions and accompanying tax rate
increases in 2010, as per the strategy approved by Council at its meeting of
October 31, 2008, with the intent that Stittsville will be included as part of
the UTA for all purposes in January 2011.
Expanding the Urban Transit Area
The UTA, currently defined by By-law No. 2008-469,
sets the area within which regular transit service is provided and within which
a tax levy to contribute to the costs of transit service is applied. The UTA encompasses the central, urban parts
of the city, generally from Kanata to Orléans and as far south as South Nepean
and Riverside South.
Within the UTA, transit service is provided to bring 95 per cent of the population within a five-minute walk of transit service in peak periods and within a 10-minute walk at other times of the day. Taxes are collected to cover the net operating costs of transit service provided in the UTA (total operating costs less fare revenue) and to cover the net capital costs of transit equipment and infrastructure (total capital costs less contributions from other levels of government). In 2009, the UTA levy for a typical residential property assessed at $292,750 was $506.
Council and the former Regional Council have
approved revisions to the boundary of the UTA from time to time to keep pace
with the growth of the urban area. The
boundaries of the UTA were last updated January 1, 2009, following the approval
of a report to Council at its meeting of October 31, 2008. Since that time, new
areas outside the UTA have been identified and approved for development in the
near future. The following two areas are recommended to be added to the UTA
starting on January 1, 2010, and are shown on the map in Document 1:
- A condominium development east of Trim Road and north of Highway
174; and,
- The Riverside South Community lands near River, Earl Armstrong and
Limebank Roads.
Both of these areas are part of the Urban Area of the City as defined in the Official Plan, and should be added to the UTA now so that they share in the funding of the cost of building and operating the transit system. Transit service will be introduced into these areas as development proceeds and as roads and houses are built. Planning and consultation for service in these areas will be conducted as part of the normal annual Transplan process.
The inclusion of these areas into the UTA will have no impact on current customers or on current service levels. Conventional service will be introduced when there are enough new housing units to allow the service to meet the financial performance standards. Para Transpo fares in these areas will decline from the current Zone 2 fares to the standard Zone 1 fares as in the rest of the UTA.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
The
expansion of the Urban Transit Area has no effect on the rural parts of the
city.
CONSULTATION
The
recommended expansion of the Urban Transit Area follows long-standing Council
direction and was the subject of no specific consultation. Consultation on
expanding transit service into developing areas is conducted through the normal
Transplan consultation process.
COMMENTS
BY WARD COUNCILLOR(S)
The
Ward Councillors have been consulted and understand the reasons for the staff
recommendation.
LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
There are no legal/risk management impediments to the implementation of this report’s recommendation.
CITY STRATEGIC PLAN
I3 – Make growth pay for itself.
TECHNICAL IMPLICATIONS
N/A
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The
expansion of the Urban Transit Area has no financial implications. Rather, it
increases the number of properties over which the net costs of operating
transit service are shared. Any operating cost increases to serve new areas of
the UTA would be part of the transit operating budgets as submitted for 2010
and subsequent years.
SUPPORTING
DOCUMENTATION
Document
1 Expansion of the Urban Transit Area
into New Developing Areas
DISPOSITION
Upon
approval of the recommendation to expand the Urban Transit Area, a by-law will
be presented for enactment. That by-law will replace the current by-law.
EXPANSION
OF THE URBAN TRANSIT AREA INTO NEW
DEVELOPING
AREAS DOCUMENT 1
