Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date: October 16, 2007

SUBJECT: Ladyslipper Court – Proposed Vehicular Parking Prohibition

PREPARED BY: Balendra Sinnadurai, Engineering Technician, ext. 2608

Domenic Smarrelli, Traffic Operations Supervisor, ext. 4055

Sabbir Saiyed, Manager of Transportation, ext. 8120

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report entitled “Ladyslipper Court – Proposed Vehicular Parking Prohibition” dated October 16, 2007, be received;

And that the attached by-law to amend Schedule “C” of Traffic By-law 2005-188, pertaining to “Prohibited Parking”, by including the south side of Ladyslipper Court, between Laureleaf Road and the shared lot line of municipal addresses 33/35, be received;

And that the Operations Department be directed to install and maintain the appropriate signs upon approval of the attached by-law;

And that the Parking Control Department be directed to enforce the parking prohibition upon installation of the signs;

And that staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not applicable.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The cost of labour and materials to install these parking signs will be financed from the 2007 Capital Budget account 083-5350-6503-005 . On-going maintenance costs for this installation will be accounted for in future Operations Department budgets.

1. Purpose 2. Background 3. Discussion 4. Financial

5. Others (Environmental, Accessibility, Engage 21st, Affected Units) 6. Attachment(s)

PURPOSE:

This report proposes prohibited parking on the south side of Ladyslipper Court, between Laureleaf Road and the shared lot line of municipal addresses of 33/35. The report also recognizes the parking challenges faced by the three places of worship in the area and recommends staff pursue appropriate remedial measures with them, in consultation with the local Councillor.

BACKGROUND:

Ladyslipper Court – Site Description

Ladyslipper Court is an 8.0 metre, two-lane local residential street with an operating speed of 50 km/h and an average daily traffic volume of approximately 300 vehicles. There are no sidewalks on this street.

Currently, a vehicular parking prohibition exists on the north side of Ladyslipper Court, between Laureleaf Road and the easterly limit of Ladyslipper Court, as per Attachment ‘A’. The parking prohibition was installed to facilitate emergency vehicle access on Ladyslipper Court.

Surrounding Area

Approximately 300 metres to the west of Ladyslipper Court is Bayview Avenue where three religious institutions are located. It has been noted that on occasion, the religious institutions require more parking stalls than what is available on their respective properties.

On these occasions, vehicular parking demand has spilled over to the adjacent local residential streets. In response to this, vehicular parking prohibitions have been installed on many of the surrounding local streets such as Hunt Club Court, Prescott Court, Doncrest Drive, Bayview Forest Lane, Proctor Avenue, and Laureleaf Road. Ladyslipper Court is one of the remaining streets that do not have a parking prohibition on both sides of the street.

Ladyslipper Court – Resident Concerns

Earlier this year, the residents of Ladyslipper Court raised parking concerns to the Town and have requested an additional parking prohibition on their street which would reflect the existing parking prohibitions on the surrounding local residential streets.

DISCUSSION:

Parking Study - Results

In response to resident concerns regarding vehicular parking on Ladyslipper Court, the Engineering Department reviewed the parking conditions on the subject street and surrounding area.

It was determined that Ladyslipper Court was experiencing vehicular parking on a frequent basis from the three places of worship. However, given the existing parking prohibition on the north side of Laddyslipper Court, the Engineering Department confirmed that traffic operational safety and efficiencies are not being compromised.

Vehicular parking on Ladyslipper Court is predominantly being generated by places of worship, including the Jaffari Islamic Centre. Spill-over parking most commonly occurs on Thursday evenings and Friday afternoons. It has also been noted that various religious events throughout the year will also cause spill over parking onto Ladyslipper Court.

To address operational and safety concerns created by on-street parking, Engineering Department’s standard practice is to prohibit parking on one side of the street to ensure two-way flow of traffic is being maintained. The prohibition will effectively confine parking to the opposing side of the street. However, on the five streets surrounding the places of worship, the prohibition has been implemented on both sides. It is recognized that these prohibitions are in place at the request of residents and are not the result of any operational or safety concern. This condition is now creating parking challenges for the places of worship.

Resident Survey

Because of concerns raised by the Ladyslipper residents and the existing parking prohibitions on the surrounding streets, the Engineering Department conducted a resident survey to identify support for a parking prohibition on the south side of Ladyslipper Court. The survey results showed resident support for a parking prohibition on the subject street.

A total of 41 households had the opportunity to vote and 28 households actually responded to the survey. This translates to a response rate of 68% which meets the minimum response rate of 30%. Of the 28 households who participated in the vote, 19 households are in support and 9 are in opposition to the proposed parking prohibition. The support rate is 67% which meets the minimum support rate of 60%.

Given the survey results, the Engineering Department is proposing a parking prohibition on the south side of Ladyslipper Court, between Laureleaf Road and shared lot line of municipal addresses 33/35.

Parking Impacts From Places of Worship

The Engineering Department has worked with the Jaffari Islamic Centre to address the parking demand on their property. This included the use of Travel Demand Management tools, such as car pooling and shuttle buses, and identifying alternative parking areas.

Given the various challenges with each of these measures for this particular site, parking spillover continues onto Ladyslipper Court.

It is expected that parking spillover generated by Jaffari Islamic Centre will subside given that the religious institution will be relocating to a larger facility within two years. Until the relocation, congregation members will experience on-going challenges for parking.

Given the above, Staff and the local Councilor will continue to work with the three places of worship to find alternate parking solutions (e.g. offsite parking, commercial parking structures and shuttle buses).

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The Operations Department has reviewed this request.

RECOMMENDED BY:

________________________ ________________________

Alan Brown, C.E.T. Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P

Director of Engineering Commissioner, Development Services

ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment A – Proposed Parking Prohibition Map

Attachment B – Proposed By-law Amendment