Resident Notification of Proposed

Traffic Control Devices

The East York Community Council recommends that:

The East York Community Council recommends that:

(1)the City Clerk be requested to formally notify all residents within a 60 metre radius of the proposed location when the installation of traffic control devices are being considered;

(2)in the event that an apartment building is located within the 60 metre radius, the owner of the building be notified and requested to post the notice in an appropriate location for the information of all tenants;

(3)the City Clerk be requested to include sufficient funds in the 1999 Operating Budget to cover the costs associated with this notification procedure; and

(4)the following report (November 10, 1998) from the Director, TransportationServices, District One, be received:

Purpose:

To respond to a request of the East York Community Council to report on the implications of routinely notifying residents in the vicinity of proposed traffic control device installations.

Financial Implications:

It is estimated that if East York Community Council were to institute a policy of requiring formal notice to all residents within a 60 m radius advising of its intent to consider changes to traffic control devices (stop signs, speed limits, parking regulations, etc.) the costs could be $5,000.00 to $10,000.00 annually. Such funds are not currently included in the Clerks budget.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that this report be received for information.

Background:

The East York Community Council, at its meeting of October 14, 1998, in considering a number of communications related to the proposed installation of an all-way stop control at the intersection of Hanna Road and Millwood Road, among other things, referred the following motion to the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services for a report to the Community Council on the cost implications thereof:

"It is recommended that, in future, when the installation of traffic control devices are being considered, the staff report in this regard be circulated to all residents within a 60 metre radius of the proposed location advising that deputations will be heard by the Community Council." (Clause 13(c) in Report No. 15 of the East York Community Council.)

Comments:

Unlike matters such as Zoning By-law amendments or physical alterations to the configuration of roadways, there are no statutory, or present policy requirements that proposed amendments to traffic or parking regulations must be subject to formal notice or public hearing. Staff reports recommending the installation of traffic control devices such as Stop signs or changes to other traffic or parking regulations are usually generated by a complaint from local residents, and an assessment is sent to the Ward Councillors prior to submission of the report. When the report is scheduled to appear on the agenda, the Clerks Department notifies the complainant of the meeting and any residents who are listed in the Clerks Department backfile of the same issue. In a case where a report concerns the implementation of a disabled parking space, the policy of the former Borough of EastYork Council was to notify the adjacent property owners of the pending report.

The initiation of a policy requiring specific notice and public deputations could lead to a more cumbersome and protracted approvals process. In the vast majority of cases, amendments to traffic regulations are fairly routine, and it is expected that Councillors would like to maintain the flexibility of having such matters dealt with relatively expeditiously. Of course, in those instances where Councillors' canvassing suggests that a particular issue may be more contentious, a deputation item could be scheduled.

In terms of pursuing a process of formal notification for all installations of traffic control measures, it should be noted that since extensive notification is not part of the current staff workload, this would have to be accommodated within the current resources. Items such as staff time used in determining the properties in the affected area, developing mailing labels, costs of postage or delivery of notices, and photocopying would have to be considered under such a proposal. For example, assuming 30 single-family dwellings located within a 60 metre (197 feet) radius of a proposed all-way stop control installation at an intersection, the estimated labour and material costs are $60.00 per location. If it is the intent to also apply such a process in the case of other traffic control devices (i.e. changing speed limits on a street), the cost of notification would be substantially higher as many more residents would have to receive the notice.

Although the individual figure, in itself is not large, most of the Community Council agendas contain a number of reports recommending changes to traffic control measures. Therefore these costs, and more importantly the staff time, would multiply accordingly.

It should also be noted that, under present policy, if an apartment building is located in the vicinity of a proposed overnight permit parking regulation or a proposed disabled parking space installation, typically only the property owner is notified, not the tenants. The East York Community Council should determine if apartment tenants should be notified in cases where an apartment building is located within this 60 metre radius. Such a case could triple the number of residents requiring notification, thus increasing costs accordingly.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

Bryan Muir,

Transportation Technologist

778-2227