CITY CLERK

Clause embodied in Report No. 4 of the Downtown Community Council, as adopted by the Council of the City of at its meeting held on May 30, 31 and June 1, 2001.

63

On-Street Parking and Parking Meters on West (Trinity-Spadina, Ward 20)

(City Council on May 30, 31 and June 1, 2001, adopted this Clause, without amendment.)

The Downtown Community Council recommends that:

(1) the existing “No Parking from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., daily” parking prohibition on the north side of Dundas Street West, from to Beverley Street, be adjusted to operate from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., Monday to Friday;

(2) the existing “No Parking from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., daily” parking prohibition on the south side of Dundas Street West, from Spadina Avenue to Beverley Street, be adjusted to operate from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday to Friday;

(3) the existing two hour maximum parking limit, from 7:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., daily, on the both sides of Dundas Street West, from Spadina Avenue to Beverley Street, be adjusted to operate from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, from 6:30 p.m. of one day to 7:30 a.m. of the next following day and all day on Saturday and Sunday;

(4) the Toronto Parking Authority be requested to install parking meters/pay-and- display machines on both sides of Dundas Street West, between Spadina Avenue and Beverley Street, consistent with the existing parking meter installation on Dundas Street West, west of Spadina Avenue, to operate from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, and from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, at a rate of $1.50 per hour; and

(5) the appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take whatever action is necessary to implement the foregoing, including the introduction in Council of any Bills that are required.

The Downtown Community Council reports, for the information of Council, having requested the Chief General Manager of the Toronto Transit Commission, the Commissioner of Urban Development Services and the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, in consultation with the Ward Councillors, to submit a report to the appropriate committee on the introduction of an exclusive transit right-of-way on Dundas Street between Spadina and University Avenues. Toronto City Council 2 Downtown Community Council May 30, 31 and June 1, 2001 Report No. 4, Clause No. 63

The Downtown Community Council submits the following report (May 7, 2001) from the Director, Transportation Services, District 1:

Purpose:

To report on a request from Downtown Community Council, to report to its May 15, 2001 meeting, on implementing on-street parking, controlled by parking meters/pay-and-display machines on Dundas Street West, between Spadina Avenue and Beverley Street.

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

There are no financial implications resulting from the receipt of this report.

Recommendation:

It is recommended that this report be received for information.

Background:

Downtown Community Council, at its meeting of April 3, 2001, in considering a communication (April 3, 2001) from Councillor Olivia Chow, respecting parking on Dundas Street West, between Spadina Avenue and Beverley Street, deferred consideration of this matter, and requested, amongst other things, that the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and the President, Toronto Parking Authority, report to the Downtown Community Council, at its meeting of May 15, 2001, on the implementation of the recommendation contained in Councillor Chow’s communication (Clause 74(o) in Report No. 3 of the Downtown Community Council, adopted by City Council at its meeting of April 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30 and May 1 and 2, 2001).

Comments:

Transportation Services’ staff, in consultation with staff of the Toronto Transit Commission and the Toronto Parking Authority, have reviewed Councillor Chow’s request to permit parking on Dundas Street West, between Spadina Avenue and Beverley Street, during the off-peak daytime hours and that parking meters/pay-and-display machines be installed on this section of Dundas Street West. It is our understanding that the TTC will be forwarding its specific comments to your Community Council under separate cover.

The subject portion of Dundas Street West is a four-lane arterial roadway with a 50 kilometres per hour speed limit and is located in the heart of Chinatown. Adjacent uses are primarily commercial, consisting of many retail stores and restaurants. TTC streetcar service is provided on this street, which in addition to streetcars, carries in the order of 20,000 vehicles per day, including many trucks.

Generally, on the north side of Dundas Street West, stopping is prohibited from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, parking is prohibited from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., daily, and parking is permitted from a maximum period of two hours from 7:00 p.m. of one day to 4:00 a.m. of the next following day, daily. On the south side, stopping is prohibited from 7:30 a.m. to Toronto City Council 3 Downtown Community Council May 30, 31 and June 1, 2001 Report No. 4, Clause No. 63

9:30 a.m., Monday to Friday, parking is prohibited from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., daily and parking is permitted for a maximum period of two hours from 7:00 p.m. of one day to 4:00 a.m. of the next following day, daily.

Parking was previously allowed during the daytime off-peak hours, but then removed from this section of Dundas Street West in 1990 due to ongoing complaints about traffic congestion and severe transit delays. The opening of an off-street parking facility (the Larch Street Garage, operated by the Toronto Parking Authority) compensated for the loss of on-street parking and increased the overall parking supply in the area. In 1995, parking was permitted during the nighttime periods in order to accommodate patrons of various commercial businesses along this section of Dundas Street West, but remained prohibited during the mid-day periods.

The primary reason for the removal of the on-street parking in 1990 was the problem that parked vehicles created for other vehicles attempting to find open curb space to make deliveries to/from the businesses along this section of Dundas Street West. Often, trucks would double park on Dundas Street West to make deliveries, which would create major delays to the TTC Dundas streetcar service, as well as to all traffic in the area. This situation is quite similar to the one that currently exists on Spadina Avenue, both north and south of Dundas Street West, where trucks can often be seen to double park in order to make deliveries, resulting in congestion. The difference in that case is that the available right-of-way width accommodated a separate streetcar operation, which would be highly constrained on Dundas Street West.

The existing parking prohibition ensures that available curb space along this section of Dundas Street West is reserved for loading activities during the weekday off-peak periods and during the daytime hours on weekends, to facilitate deliveries (under the provisions of the Highway Traffic Act of , a vehicle may temporarily stand in a parking prohibited area while actively engaged in loading/unloading activities). In spite of this prohibition, double parking for delivery purposes still occurs from time-to-time, creating traffic congestion problems. As a compromise to the area businesses and their patrons, the two hour maximum parking limit was implemented in 1995 during the evening hours to increase the available parking supply, as noted above.

In discussions with TTC staff, we were advised that the TTC would oppose the introduction of on-street parking during the mid-day hours on Dundas Street West because of the resultant delays that would be created for streetcars. As noted above, a report from the TTC respecting this matter will be submitted to your Community Council.

It is noted that Community Council expressly requested our report on implementation of parking on the subject section of Dundas Street West. Should Council wish to pursue this, the following would have to be implemented:

1. That the existing “No Parking from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., daily” parking prohibition on the north side of Dundas Street West, from Spadina Avenue to Beverley Street, be adjusted to operate from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., Monday to Friday;

2. That the existing “No Parking from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., daily” parking prohibition on the south side of Dundas Street West, from Spadina Avenue to Beverley Street, be adjusted to operate from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday to Friday; Toronto City Council 4 Downtown Community Council May 30, 31 and June 1, 2001 Report No. 4, Clause No. 63

3. That the existing two hour maximum parking limit, from 7:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., daily, on the both sides of Dundas Street West, from Spadina Avenue to Beverley Street, be adjusted to operate from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, from 6:30 p.m. of one day to 7:30 a.m. of the next following day and all day on Saturday and Sunday;

4. That the Toronto Parking Authority be requested to install parking meters/pay-and- display machines on both sides of Dundas Street West, between Spadina Avenue and Beverley Street, consistent with the existing parking meter installation on Dundas Street West, west of Spadina Avenue, to operate from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, and from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, at a rate of $1.50 per hour; and

5. That the appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take whatever action is necessary to implement the foregoing, including the introduction in Council of any Bills that are required.

Toronto Parking Authority staff have advised that parking meters currently operate on Dundas Street West, west of Spadina Avenue, during the off-peak hours and on weekends at a rate of $1.50 per hour, similar to the hours noted in Recommendation No. 4, above. If parking were to be implemented on the subject section of Dundas Street West, a similar rate could be implemented at this location. Funds are currently available in the Toronto Parking Authority’s capital budget to provide the necessary meters/machines, if requested to do so.

As an alternative, should parking not be approved during the weekday off-peak hours and weekend daytime hours, then to be consistent with the hours of operation with parking meters currently in operation in the general area, parking meters/pay-and-display machines could be implemented to operate daily after 7:00 p.m. in the evening.

Conclusions:

Transportation Services and the TTC concur that the implementation of on-street parking during the mid-day periods on the section of Dundas Street West, between Spadina Avenue and Beverley Street, would be highly problematic and should not proceed due to the anticipated traffic congestion, delays to transit vehicles and loading problems, as were experienced prior to 1990, when the existing parking prohibition was implemented.

Contact:

Stephen Benjamin, Manager Traffic Operations, District 1, Central Area Telephone: (416) 392-7771 Fax: (416) 392-0816 E-mail: [email protected]

______Toronto City Council 5 Downtown Community Council May 30, 31 and June 1, 2001 Report No. 4, Clause No. 63

The Downtown Community Council reports, for the information of Council, having also had before it during consideration of the foregoing matter, the following communications, and a copy thereof is on file in the office of the City Clerk:

- (April 12, 2001) from the City Clerk, Downtown Community Council; and

- (May 9, 2001) from Mr. Richard C. Ducharme, Chief General Manager, Toronto Transit Commission.