and Council / et au
Conseil
18 January 2011 / le 18 janvier 2011
Submitted by/Soumis par : Diane
Holmes, Councillor/Conseiller
Somerset (14)
Contact Person/Personne
ressource : Diane Holmes, Councillor, Somerset Ward
(613) 580-2484,
diane.holmes@ottawa.ca
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Ref N°: ACS2011-CCS-TRC-0002 |
SUBJECT:
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OBJET :
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Règlements sur le stationnement sur rue ZAC du
quartier chinois Somerset |
REPORT
RECOMMENDATION
That Transportation Committee recommend to Council that the current temporary conditions of allowing for free on-street parking on Saturdays on Somerset Street between Bronson and Preston Streets be extended until January 2012.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité des transports
recommande au Conseil de prolonger jusqu’en janvier 2012 les conditions
actuelles temporaires permettant le stationnement sur rue gratuit les samedis
rue Somerset, entre les rues Bronson et Preston.
BACKGROUND
The Somerset Chinatown Business Improvement Association (BIA) has been
diligently working to revitalize this commercial neighbourhood with a number of
initiatives including the construction of the Chinatown Gateway.
During
the construction, which involved a road closure of Somerset Street at Bronson,
the City of Ottawa extended free Saturday on-street parking to the area from
May 31, 2010 to October 31, 2010.
Since May 31, 2010, the BIA has reported increased commercial activity even with the road closure in effect and attributes the increase in business to the free Saturday parking. The BIA is interested in continuing this free on-street parking provision until staff can analyse the parking patterns on the street.
This
increase in business is in contrast to the months previous, where the Somerset
Chinatown businesses reported significant losses including one business closure
following the opening of a major suburban Asian supermarket in November 2009.
The
Somerset Chinatown BIA has noted that restoring paid Saturday on-street parking
would make for an inconsistent parking arrangement within the Somerset
Chinatown BIA on Somerset Street (Bay to Preston Street). The regulation would
allow for free on-street parking on Saturdays in two blocks of Somerset Street
(from Bay St to Bronson Ave.), and paid Saturday parking on Somerset in the
rest of the BIA area (Bronson Ave. to Preston St).
The
BIA has also noted that all the surrounding BIAs in the ward, including the
Preston BIA, Bank St. BIA and Somerset Village BIA, allow for no-cost on-street
parking on Saturdays. This area (between Bronson and Preston on Somerset Street
) in the Chinatown BIA is the only area in Centertown that has to pay for
parking on Saturdays.
Additionally,
the BIAs to the west on Somerset Street include Wellington West BIA and
Westboro BIA which enjoy unmetered no-cost parking at all times.
As a result, the BIA believes that the discrepancy in parking regulations as compared to other areas, coupled with the attraction of free parking at suburban grocery stores catering to the same market, is a disadvantage and artificially restricts the ability of the commercial area to flourish.
There are no rural implications as a result of this report.
The Dalhousie Community Association has been advised of the details of this report.
Public Works Department
Staff recognize that there are currently differences with respect to
paid on-street parking on Saturdays in the Somerset Chinatown BIA. This has been in place for a number of years,
pre-dating the Parking Management Strategy.
The Municipal Parking Management Strategy (ACS2009-COS-PWS-0009), approved by Council in 2009, includes
comprehensive guidelines relating to setting parking rates (based on peak
parking utilization). In addition, the process for reviewing parking in detail
is the Council-approved Local Area Parking Study process, which represents a
comprehensive review of parking conditions.
Such a study is currently included in the Parking, Operations,
Maintenance and Development Branch Workplan, and tentatively scheduled for
2012.
Staff support the recommendation to extend Saturday free on-street
parking in the Somerset Chinatown BIA to January 2012, as a temporary measure
until a comprehensive Local Area Parking Study can be scheduled, to assess
localized parking conditions and provide recommendations with respect to
parking rates, consistent with the Parking Management Strategy.
Community
Sustainability Department
The Community
Sustainability Department (Economic Development Branch) is supportive of the
recommendations of this report, noting that Chinatown is a cultural tourist
destination and that customers of the businesses in Chinatown often travel by
automobile from greater distances than other similar downtown districts. The
recommendations contained in this report will temporarily eliminate an
inconsistency in the parking arrangement within the Somerset Chinatown BIA on
Somerset Street that otherwise would have allowed for free on-street parking on
Saturdays in two blocks of Somerset Street (from Bay St. to Bronson Ave.), and
paid Saturday parking on Somerset in the rest of the BIA area (Bronson Ave. to
Preston St.).
Councillor Holmes is supportive of this request which will make the on-street paid parking regulations consistent with other nearby BIA and commercial areas.
There are no legal/risk management impediments to implementing the recommendation in this report.
N/A
As noted by Public Works the financial for extending free parking on Saturdays on Somerset Street West between Bronson and Preston Streets would be $49,000 annually.
Staff to implement the decision of City Council.