Aurora council mulls parking rule changes

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 10, 2015
By Teresa Latchford

New parking rules could give Aurora residents more options at their homes and around town.

Town council is currently contemplating a new parking permit management solution presented this week by Techa Van Leeuwen, the town’s director of building and by law services. If it receives final approval, the system would allow residents to purchase permits to park on town streets and parks during the winter and overnight.

The parking management solution would cost the town $27,500 to implement and $8,000 annually to maintain.

“If we were to go ahead with the Web+, it would allow for residents to purchase permits anytime
online,” Van Leeuwen added. “So if someone needed a last minute permit to park on the street overnight, the permit could be paid for and printed out in minutes.”

The town’s current parking rules prohibit parking on town streets between 2 and 6 a.m. from November to April to allow for snow clearing, states that parking around town parks is intended for park users and is not allowed overnight unless authorized by a permit.

The exploration of the parking solution was sparked by complaints the town received about commuters and residents using Town Park parking and others regarding on-street parking requests.

The new system would address short-term overnight on-street parking, winter parking permits at town facilities, special requests for short-term parking such as RV’s or travelling sports teams and year round Town Park overnight parking.

The system would allow the town to create an unlimited number of permits types and to offer daily, weekly, monthly and annual fixed cost permits it desired. The system would help with data collection and works by assigning the permit to a license plate. Bylaw officers would be sent permit information electronically through their Automated Issuance Management System hand-held devices so tickets would not be issued to permit holders.

“The system would also allow us to block out time,” she added. “If we knew there was going to be a snow event, we could decide not to issue permits at that time to allow snow clearing on streets.”

Parking permits are currently being issued for Town Hall, allowing residents to pay $10 to $100, depending on their frequency of use, to park in one of the 17 dedicated spaces at the facility overnight.

“We need a very strong communication plan in place or our phone lines will be burning up,” Mayor Geoff Dawe said after a councillor suggested the system be implemented before the winter months.

While all of the final details have yet to be worked out, council unanimously agreed to refer the subject to the 2016 capital budget process for consideration.