Title
PARKING PRINCIPLES (STRATEGIES) - PARKING STRATEGY AND RATE REVIEW
That the following parking principles (strategies) be adopted:
a) Ensure the City of Barrie collaborates and communicates openly and regularly with its key stakeholders such as the Downtown Barrie Business Improvement Area (BIA), Historic Neighbourhood Strategy Group (HNC), Barrie Downtown Neighbourhood Association (BDNA), the community and other groups affected by parking to ensure that common goals are attained. A committee, including representatives from the community interest groups and City Departments, will be continued;
b) Ensure that the parking policies are resilient enough to withstand projected growth and demographic changes;
c) Paid parking services will be provided in consideration of supporting and complementing transit and other transportation modes; it will endeavour to create a people/transit environment with diminished use of, and dependency, on cars. To this end, monthly parking passes should cost at least 20% more than monthly adult transit passes;
d) The parking supply must be rationalized against demand and be designed and constructed in a manner considering the needs and demands of customers including walk times to destinations and functional and aesthetic designs with a target of 85% occupancy of available supply;
e) A positive business case should be made to support any development or investment in parking lots, structures and equipment, and the business case must financially support the goal of sustainability;
f) Performance measures will be developed, monitored and reported on a quarterly and annual basis. For example, but not to be limited to: OMBI Measures including public and private supply, occupancy rates, revenue and expenses by lot, customer satisfaction and enforcement costs and effectiveness;
g) Ensure that the parking supply is operated and structured in a way that is able to support new traffic demand management initiatives;
h) Continue to have a parking reserve that is user rate funded and is sustainable. Sustainable means the degree to which financial obligations and service commitments are maintained; and
i) Rates should be competitive and supportive of policy decisions - neither the highest nor the lowest when compared to similar parking services and other municipalities. Parking must be perceived as having a value. Free or discounted parking must be carefully considered and aligned to strategy, desired goals and behaviours. (ENG008-12) (File: T02-PA) (P24/10)