Parking (including paid on-street, permit, and residential off-street)
There is lots of talk about parking. Should front yard parking be banned? What should rates be in “Green P” spaces? How much should the city charge for residentail on-street permits?
November 18, 2009 at 10:18 am |
To get this started as a separate topic, I’ve copied/pasted part of my comment on parking from another thread:
On-Street parking rates in Toronto are well below those charged in Calgary and Vancouver ($3.50 per hour here, vs. $5.00 per hour there); Chicago is set to raise on-street parking rates to $6.50 per hour by 2013)
Residential parking permits are similarly under priced at only $143.00 per year for a first car. That’s less than .50c per day! The market value of that space is at least 10x that in most parts of the City. If you buy a condo now, you expect to pay $20,000 per parking space (or $1,000 per year if you amortize over 20 years) Rates for permits need to at least double.
I’ll also add this:
I think that the Budget Committee (And Council) should approve a multi-year increase program for parking rates, just as has been done for Toronto Water.
The increase portion could be dedicated to improved TTC service or even the roads backlog to make it more sell-able.
I’m not stuck on exact numbers
But certainly I want to see on-street rates at least the same as Vancouver’s …so
How about increase the parking rates by .50c per hour each year from 2010 to 2014, topping out at $6.00 per hour.
For residential permits, I same idea, but hit the second-car permit holders harder, faster, and the same for those that actually have parking on their property.
So as an example.
Increase the Monthly charge for permits to
$15 for the first permit in 2010, $40.00 for permit 2, and $60.00 for ‘convenience permits’.
Then increase by $5 per year thereafter through 2014 till the first permit is $35 per month, (still barely a $1 per day) and secondary and convenience permits both cost $60.00 and $80.00 per month respectively.
November 18, 2009 at 10:32 am |
front lawn parking should be banned, however that being said, we need to make street parking affordable, I believe what is being charged at the moment is fair. We need to change the ticketing on the street to past midnight as your guests must leave before midnight for fear of being ticketed at 12:01! Has this not happened to you? And finally, the parking authority must be a bit more lenient during the winter, when spaces on the street are being eliminated due to snow accumulation and given that the city removes snow less often, let’s not punish the residents who live in the city with tickets.
November 18, 2009 at 1:27 pm |
Janice,
I would argue that if your guests came by TTC they would pay $2.50 fare, each way, or $5.00; why should they expect to park for free?
I concur that there needs to be a place for visitor parking on street, and would suggest this be addressed by installing neighbourhood pay and display where non-permit holders can buy parking by the hour at commercial on-street rates or a homeowner can buy a guest permit for the full-night at a slightly discounted charge.
That way there is a place to park for those who need it; but transit riders are not unfairly subsidizing those who drive.
November 20, 2009 at 12:34 pm |
Toronto should have an online or phone-based overnight parking permit system like most other cities in Canada. If you have guests over, and they will be staying past midnight, they can just register for a temporary parking pass valid for that night only. To prevent abuse this can be limited to 3-5 yearly uses per household.
Another major issue is the lack of auto-sharing locations in most parts of the city. Dedicate on-street parking spaces to auto sharing! Each auto-sharing car is the equivalent of 5-10 privately owned cars taking up space on the road.
November 20, 2009 at 1:23 pm |
You can already purchase a parking permit for a guest online. https://secure.toronto.ca/wes/eTPP/welcome.do
It lasts for a week. Why not have overnight permits available too?
No-one has the right to free parking. If parking fees can help fund public transit then the city becomes a more equitable place to live in.
November 22, 2009 at 2:14 pm |
“No-one has the right to free parking” I totally agree. When cities reach a certain density and size, ALL space becomes a premium commodity. Only rural areas can expect free parking. Citizens in a city SHARE public space. They do not have an inherent right to squat on it.
Here’s a very futuristic suggestion: Let’s look into shared carparks, strategically located at key transportation points: subways, GO access, etc. Then issue city permits for parking at those locations that come with passes that allow for people to access their vehicles. Controlled access would provide security as well as fairness in assignment. Visualize multi-level parking structures build above subway stations.
This would require unimnterrupted access. Meaning TTC = essential service. Only those with disability stickers could park in front-yard parking.
Avantages: frees up all streets for transportation. Roads should be for moving on, not sitting idle on.
As to shopping, business commerce? They either provide parking areas themselves, or a service for delivering large items that could not be carried by customers via TTC.
November 22, 2009 at 5:31 pm |
The Toronto Parking Authority should be in the sole business of providing
parking spaces and not in the business of land speculation.
It is current practise for the TPA to out bid private developers for land and then sell off that land for large profits.
What control is exercised over the TPA to ensure that land currently being used as parking lots is not being sold at the expense of reducing needed parking spaces?
November 23, 2009 at 6:42 pm |
The Toronto Parking Authority is one of the most efficient and well run ABC’s in the City. If they buy property and sell it at a profit they are making things better for the public because they will reinvest the money to create more parking at market rates where it is needed. In working in construction over the years for all City ABC’s they are one of he few City agencies that is efficient in delivering their mandate.
My point in this stream is that several years ago Police Services, a very inefficient ABC, was allowed to take over Parking enforcement from the TPA because they had more political clout and the decision should be reversed because they simply not experts in Parking and their ability to manage efficient service delivery is obvious.
November 24, 2009 at 1:06 pm |
minimum parking requirements for new residential developments should be eliminated. more incentives for developers to include secure bike parking and auto-share spaces should be promoted.