From parking rage and parking tickets to bad parking jobs and no parking spaces, there’s nothing quite like the issue of parking to stir up residents’ emotions.
Newmarket’s elected officials are now reviewing the town’s residential parking rules, which could include changes to increase the supply of on-street parking by reducing restricted areas, increasing the maximum time allowed to park, broadening the use of exemptions, and permitting parking permits for dwellings without spaces.
Residents could also see overnight parking permitted at town-owned lots, the town-sanctioned use of parking apps such as Rover, which makes it easy for residents to rent out a parking space they own and are not using, and a review of driveway zoning to create parking pads.
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A two-hour presentation made this morning at a council workshop on the subject by town planner Ted Horton provided a mountain of data and trends for council to consider.
Take, for instance, that a significant majority of households in Newmarket’s older, established neighbourhoods are occupied by only two people.
“We see population declines in the stable residential areas, declines in the number of households in the stable residential areas, and a rapid increase in population in the newly developed areas and they tend to have more people per household,” Horton said. “We don’t see rapid population change across much of the town, rather, we see a different picture in each ward and even each street.”
Just over 70 per cent of people are still reporting the single-occupant vehicle as their principal way of getting around, based on 2016 census data, with people choosing to carpool, take public transit, and either walking or cycling making up the remainder.
From 1986 to 2016, transportation data shows that the number of people whose primary trip mode of choice is public transit has declined slightly, while the number of vehicles per household with two or more cars is on the rise, with nearly 20 per cent having three or four or more vehicles.
On the subject of increasing parking by allowing residents to pave over their front yards to create parking pads, Mayor John Taylor issued a warning.
“I think it’s healthy to look at the expanded front yard parking concept, but we need a lot of public consultation,” Taylor said. “I think we’ll hear from a lot of residents who say they don’t want all of their neighbour’s front yards paved, that they like the look of their street, and they like the green.”
Parking apps were also a concern for Taylor.
“Take the downtown for instance, that has become more event-driven, but as these apps come on, people will expand their driveways and use an app to sell one-off parking over and over as a revenue stream,” he said. “It might help with parking for some of our events, but it will also create a very interesting challenge in certain areas like the hospital and other areas. I’m a little nervous about that one.”
Taylor then raised what he called a “politically treacherous” issue regarding the potential future development of a town parking authority.
“When do we contemplate creating a parking authority, having structured parking, having lots that then provide parking that’s monitored, provides revenue to help pay for the parking, provides greater opportunity, and might be able to alleviate the greater increased need for on-street parking?” Taylor said.
“Wouldn’t a robust parking authority with multiple parking options around a fairly compact city start to impact how you might look at (residential parking) policies such as on-street residential parking?”
The creation of a parking authority has not yet been considered by council, but at least two parking structures are being examined for congested areas such as that around Southlake Regional Health Centre.
Councillor Victor Woodhouse suggested the town consider an on-street parking pilot program for certain areas that are having parking issues, such as the local hospital.
“This could solve speeding, too,” Woodhouse said. “The enforcement area around the hospital has the most parking infractions, and I hear about those that are in my ward on a fairly regular basis. Is there any thought to do metered parking or permits?
It’s obvious that each area of Newmarket is different, and any new parking solutions should be strategic and unique, Councillor Bob Kwapis said.
“It’s complex to get the balance between things like active transportation (bike lanes) and parking on roads,” Kwapis said. “The cars are still needed and people still have two-plus cars. Perhaps we could provide a solution for residents to be able to park overnight on public parking lots.”
Deputy Mayor Tom Vegh said council has “to go into this with our eyes wide open and look at different solutions for the different areas”.
“With regard to private condos, we have to start talking to these developers and have some bylaws in place that deal with the street width, and parking and visitor parking,” Vegh said, referencing the fact that as it stands, developers decide what and how much or little parking gets built.
In her northwest area of Newmarket, Councillor Christina Bisanz said parking is consistently the No. 1 issue, whether the complaints are about a lack of parking or too many vehicles parked on neighbourhood streets.
Bisanz said she’s particularly interested in developing new policies or tools around working with builders in advance of new townhouse and condo projects, in particular, with regard to such things as adequate parking, including for visitors.
In 2018, the previous council asked that staff prepare a report on options and opportunities to address residential on-street and off-street parking challenges.
Specifically, the report was to consider the impact that changing economics and demographics have on housing occupancy and ways in which the Town of Newmarket can better balance reasonable parking needs with streetscape esthetics, active transportation objectives and effective enforcement of bylaws.
Parking issues not considered in the report include non-residential parking, Main Street area public parking, and regional and private roads.
To read the full report on the residential parking review, visit here.
