Boulevard Parking (Kitchener)

[Rainrider22]

No, it counts as ignorant !!

[jamincan]

I wish I had 7 bikes.

I'm told the 3 we have now are "enough" and if I get another one, one has to go... something about storing and working on them in the kitchen over the winter doesn't sit so well with the other half... which is funny since my sister-in-law's SO keeps his motorcycles in their living room...

There are two theorems regarding bike ownership.

The first: the correct number of bikes to own is n+1, where n = the number of bikes you currently own.

The second: the correct number of bikes to own is s-1, where s = the number of bikes at which your spouse would leave you.

The 2nd Law isn't fully accepted amongst scholars, many who believe the 1st has no limit. Most of them have no spouses.

[Spokes]

One year pilot project approved for this

[danbrotherston]

One year pilot project approved for this

Ugh, FFS.  Do you know the voting record?  Is this city wide?

[Spokes]

Kitchener council approves one-year pilot project that allows residents to park on boulevards

City council passed a resolution for a one-year pilot project that permits parking on the paved portion of a boulevard (driveway ramp or apron) in Wards 1-4 and Wards 6-10, from now until March 31, 2019.

“In 2014 council approved parking on the boulevard in Ward 5 which has helped address concerns with limited parking in neighbourhoods,” says Gloria MacNeil, director of bylaw enforcement. “Allowing parking on boulevards during the winter months reduces the number of vehicles parked on roadways which helps our operations crews clear the roads, and keeps pedestrians and cars safe.”

There are some areas where boulevard parking is not applicable as there is not enough space for vehicles to park. The following standards outline where parking on the boulevard can occur:

• Vehicles, if parked parallel to the road, must be facing the direction of travel. 
• Vehicles must not park on the landscaped or hardscaped portion of the boulevard or access the paved portion of the boulevard by driving over landscaped, or hardscaped portions of the boulevard. 
• The vehicle must be fully encompassed on the paved portion of the boulevard. 
• All tires must be fully on the hard surface. 
• No part of the vehicle can overhang the sidewalk or the curb/road edge. 
• Residents with abutting driveways must not overhang the projection of the property line. 
• No boulevard parking will be permitted within 15 metres of an intersection. 
• Only driveways providing access to single family, semi- detached and street fronting townhouses are applicable.

https://www.kitchenerpost.ca/news-story/...oulevards/

[Spokes]

That's all I've seen, no voting info.

[dtkmelissa]

One year pilot project approved for this

Ugh, FFS.  Do you know the voting record?  Is this city wide?

The one year pilot project is for all Kitchener wards except for ward 5 as it had done its own pilot 2 years ago I believe. So basically, yes, it's city-wide but after the one year pilot, I assume it will need to pass Council to be accepted in wards 1-4, and 6-10.

[dtkmelissa]

That's all I've seen, no voting info.

I do wish it was standard practice to post voting records in these types of releases/updates though.

[embe]

Kitchener council approves one-year pilot project that allows residents to park on boulevards

City council passed a resolution for a one-year pilot project that permits parking on the paved portion of a boulevard (driveway ramp or apron) in Wards 1-4 and Wards 6-10, from now until March 31, 2019.

I don't get it.  I'm picturing a car parked on an apron, and it snows a bunch overnight, the road plow goes by (or maybe even a sidewalk plow)!

How would the car not be pretty much stuck until the next significant thaw?

[clasher]

Seems to me it'll only be useful in certain parts of the city. The boulevards on the street I live are big enough for a recycle bin but that's about it.

[Spokes]

I couldn't help but laugh at the picture in the Record's article on this.  By definition, the vehicle in the picture is breaking the rules right?  Hanging over the driveway?  Is that what "The vehicle must be fully encompassed on the paved portion of the boulevard" means?



https://www.therecord.com/news-story/911...d-parking/

[robdrimmie]

Yeah I don't think that car was parked without "driving over landscaped ... portions of the boulevard".

[danbrotherston]

Yeah, you can see how carefully those rules will be followed, and of course, there is no enforcement, which means probably most drivers if you complain about them, will get a ticket, but ONLY if someone complains.

And of course, partially blocking a sidewalk will be treated the same way...parkers will feel attacked if they're ticketed (because they are), even though they're harming the public realm for everyone.

YAFBB (Yet another fundamentally broken bylaw).

[MidTowner]

The situation doesn't change much as I see it. In my neighbourhood, motorists leave their cars in aprons (most can't accommodate a car, but some can). The risk of being ticketed is almost zero, I would imagine, since it's complaint-based and no one has much cause to complain about this particular infraction.

The way for the pilot to work (or, really, be meaningfully different from the current situation at all) would be to take the position that boulevard parking is now allowed, but improper boulevard parking (for example, leaving the rear end of a vehicle hanging over the street or sidewalk, or driving over landscaping to park a vehicle) will be proactively ticketed.

[robdrimmie]

In theory bylaw officers paying attention to snowy sidewalks could also be paying attention to boulevard parkers so enforcement of both is a positive feedback loop. Also, I think most of the people taking advantage of this will be parking in the boulevard all the time. There'll be some folks who do it while visiting, but most are residents of the homes where they're parking. That could also make it easier for bylaw to patrol for regular offenders.

Overall though I'm pretty skeptical about bylaw enforcement. It's been proven time and again that most bylaws like this have no teeth.