Parking in Waterloo Region

[Canard]

I think cyclists should pay an annual fee to register their bikes, pay for manditory basic training courses (that remind them it's illegal to blow through red lights), and use that to help pay for their infrastructure. Just like car owners have been doing since time immemorial.

[mpd618]

I think cyclists should pay an annual fee to register their bikes, pay for manditory basic training courses (that remind them it's illegal to blow through red lights), and use that to help pay for their infrastructure. Just like car owners have been doing since time immemorial.

Car owners as a class are not the primary source of funding for the construction of our road and highway network. When tens of millions are spent on widening Weber Street, that comes out of property taxes and from development charges - not from any car license fees.

It's bizarre for my income and property taxes to go to roads and transit, but to draw the line at cycling infrastructure. Almost like the motivation has nothing to do with transportation or taxes, but instead with culture politics.

[plam]

I think cyclists should pay an annual fee to register their bikes, pay for manditory basic training courses (that remind them it's illegal to blow through red lights), and use that to help pay for their infrastructure. Just like car owners have been doing since time immemorial.

You mean like the 7% of people driving cars in New York who go through red lights?

In Paris they've just authorized some intersections where people on bicycles may treat the red light as a yield and proceed straight through. Makes sense to me.

As for cyclist infrastructure, that just doesn't cost very much.

[Coke6pk]

Thanks for the benefit of your expertise and experience, Coke. So, for four months of the year (December 1 to March 31), the 2:30am to 6:00am ban is enforced. And the rest of the time, the three-hour limit (including overnight parking) is only enforced on a complaint basis. Which can make it seem somewhat capiricious to a vehicle owner receiving a ticket. And possibly even the residents of the neighbourhood that is enforced on the morning of December 1.

I explained way back earlier in the thread, the 3 hr by-law is not enforced overnight.... so for 8 months of the year, overnight parking is A-OK!  The City by-law staff do a great job of handing out flyers on the windshields of vehicles parked on the road leading up to Dec 1 informing them of the laws (in addition to the ads in newspapers, radio, website, etc)... so for a group that consistently parks on the street, there will be no surprise come Dec 1.

[Viewfromthe42]

[quote pid='9175' dateline='1435925717']
I explained way back earlier in the thread, the 3 hr by-law is not enforced overnight.... so for 8 months of the year, overnight parking is A-OK!  The City by-law staff do a great job of handing out flyers on the windshields of vehicles parked on the road leading up to Dec 1 informing them of the laws (in addition to the ads in newspapers, radio, website, etc)... so for a group that consistently parks on the street, there will be no surprise come Dec 1.

[/quote]

What's the logic, though? If you need to park on the street because you bought too many cars for the garage/driveway/car storage you purchased, what do you do come winter? If you have a summer guest for a night, the exemption system works for that purpose, but for what purpose is 8 months of an extra spot or two needed?

[mpd618]

What's the logic, though? If you need to park on the street because you bought too many cars for the garage/driveway/car storage you purchased, what do you do come winter? If you have a summer guest for a night, the exemption system works for that purpose, but for what purpose is 8 months of an extra spot or two needed?

If you have a single-width driveway and multiple cars, avoiding the pain-in-the-ass of shuffling cars is probably worth it, even if it's only for 8 months of the year.

[Coke6pk]

[quote pid='9283' dateline='1436271750']
What's the logic, though? If you need to park on the street because you bought too many cars for the garage/driveway/car storage you purchased, what do you do come winter? If you have a summer guest for a night, the exemption system works for that purpose, but for what purpose is 8 months of an extra spot or two needed?

[/quote]

The idea behind the by-law is that the road is not a parking lot, and we shouldn't be parking our cars there in a consistent manner.  I think the city compromised on the non-winter months to appease tax payers, but the trade off was NO EXEMPTIONS in the winter when plows were on the road. 

Does it suck if you have a guest in the winter and no place to park?  Yes.  So you take your chances parking on the street. 

Like all things parking related, you will never please all the people all of the time, and as a former officer, I'd say you upset 99% of the people 99% of the time!

I do take issue with cities like Waterloo who provide an exemption.  If you can get permission to break the law, why is it even a law?  I don't see the OPP handing out 10 speeding exemptions a year as I'm really late today, or an assault exemption as "I might get really drunk and punch someone tonight".  Really, why should I pay $30 fine cause I forgot to call, and someone else is blocking the same snow plow and it's OK?  Just rubs me the wrong way.

[/rant]

[Canard]

No no, you're absolutely right, and I completely agree with you. Rules are rules, laws are laws, no exceptions.

[MidTowner]

I do take issue with cities like Waterloo who provide an exemption.  If you can get permission to break the law, why is it even a law?  I don't see the OPP handing out 10 speeding exemptions a year as I'm really late today, or an assault exemption as "I might get really drunk and punch someone tonight".  Really, why should I pay $30 fine cause I forgot to call, and someone else is blocking the same snow plow and it's OK?  Just rubs me the wrong way.

[/rant]

These aren't fair comparisons. Parking on the street is rarely a safety issue, as speeding often is. As for assault, I'm not sure what to say. If a municipality can find a way to accommodate some street parking in the wintertime and still keep the streets clear and safe, it should. Many cities are able to do this without excluding all street parking on all streets overnight all winter, regardless of weather conditions.

As for the idea that "the road is not a parking lot," street parking has many benefits. It is not an "entitlement" to motorists, it is something that gives value to many different types of road users and residents. It preserves green space on private property, makes efficient use of land, and serves as cost-effective traffic calming. There are many benefits, and street parking is of course a common feature of dense, efficient neighbourhoods. We should be encouraging more of it, generally, not curtailing it.

[ookpik]

The reason why Waterloo has an exemption scheme is because they're trying to deal with two conflicting issues:
1. Deliver the message that streets aren't parking lots.
2. Recognize that residents occasionally have overnight guests who need to park their cars temporarily.

It's not an ideal solution, especially in winter, but it's better than other solutions like (1) a blanket ban on all street parking or (2) no restrictions whatsoever.

[Markster]

The reason why Waterloo has an exemption scheme is because they're trying to deal with two conflicting issues:
1. Deliver the message that streets aren't parking lots.
2. Recognize that residents occasionally have overnight guests who need to park their cars temporarily.

3. Allow street parking for rare instances when your driveway is unusable, i.e. after getting a coat of sealant.

[clasher]

I think cyclists should pay an annual fee to register their bikes, pay for manditory basic training courses (that remind them it's illegal to blow through red lights), and use that to help pay for their infrastructure. Just like car owners have been doing since time immemorial.

Running a registration and training scheme is going to cost more than it will ever net in revenue. There's not even a mandatory driver training course; any training course is optional for drivers. The real effect of ideas like mandatory training, insurance or helmet laws is discourage casual use of cycles.

[Coke6pk]

These aren't fair comparisons. Parking on the street is rarely a safety issue, as speeding often is. As for assault, I'm not sure what to say. If a municipality can find a way to accommodate some street parking in the wintertime and still keep the streets clear and safe, it should. Many cities are able to do this without excluding all street parking on all streets overnight all winter, regardless of weather conditions.

As for the idea that "the road is not a parking lot," street parking has many benefits. It is not an "entitlement" to motorists, it is something that gives value to many different types of road users and residents. It preserves green space on private property, makes efficient use of land, and serves as cost-effective traffic calming. There are many benefits, and street parking is of course a common feature of dense, efficient neighbourhoods. We should be encouraging more of it, generally, not curtailing it.

You are right, the comparisons are not fair.  I was exaggerating my point for clarity, but I still feel strongly that if you can do something "with permission", maybe it shouldn't be illegal to begin with.  It's hard to enforce a law that a car is posing a safety issue/road clearing issue, but it's magically OK if your licence plate is on a list.  Luckily, Kitchener didn't have exemptions to the overnight, so I didn't have to deal with that.  [Although Markster's driveway issue would allow you more than 3 hrs. on street parking]

Yes, there are possible benefits, but like most things man kind does, if you get an inch, you take a mile, and people feel an "entitlement" to that asphalt in front of their house.  I can't agree that we should be "encouraging more of it", as in some neighbourhoods its already out of control.  [Fine example is the Activa Ave area.  There is an S bend street there that had legal parking on both sides.  The city allowed the developer to have single car driveways, so every house had 1-2 cars on the street.  If I drove a car down this street and faced an oncoming car, one of us would be pulling into a driveway to let the other pass.  Now lets think about a fire truck/ambulance on this same street and you know where I'm coming from.  It's a drastic example of failure on the developer and the city's planning dept.]

Coke
(Even after I've moved on, still rocking the boat on parking issues... LOL)

[Canard]

They were saying something on 570 news a few days ago about the region looking into building more parking structures (like the Benton garage) and how to pay for them. It would be so cool if we could get automated parking garages (even more so if they could be installed underground). They have lots of them in Japan and they're gaining traction in Europe as well.

As the unofficial automation capital of North America, there are dozens of local companies that could help design and build them...

[mpd618]

They were saying something on 570 news a few days ago about the region looking into building more parking structures (like the Benton garage) and how to pay for them.  It would be so cool if we could get automated parking garages (even more so if they could be installed underground).  They have lots of them in Japan and they're gaining traction in Europe as well.

I think it's Waterloo that's looking into this in uptown. Underground is a challenge due to the water table, I think.

Any idea why automated garages aren't found much in Canada yet? Is it a cultural or a technical / price issue?