Parking Concerns on Lozoway Drive near Ionview Public School

Ward 15 - Scarborough City Centre

 The Scarborough Community Council recommends the adoption of the following report (March 16, 1998) from the Director of Road and Traffic Services, Scarborough, subject to amending Recommendation No. (2) by striking out Column 4 in Appendix 2 and substituting therefor ATimes or Days: 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday@, so that Appendix 2 shall now read as follows:

 Appendix 2

ANo Stopping@

Prohibition to be Enacted

 Column 1Column 2Column 3Column 4

HighwaySideFromToTimes or Days

 LozowayWestBertrand110 metres north8:00 a.m. to

DriveRoadof Bertrand Road9:00 a.m. and

3:00 p.m. to

4:00 p.m.

Monday to

Friday

 Purpose:

 To address the need to amend the stopping restrictions on Lozoway Drive near Ionview Public School.

 Funding Sources:

 The $100.00 (approximate) funds associated with the removal of the stopping restriction signs are contained in the Road and Traffic Services 1998 Budget, Account No. 20000-70200-72260.

 Recommendations:

 It is recommended that:

 (1)the stopping regulations identified in Appendix 1 of this report be rescinded;

 (2)the stopping regulations identified in Appendix 2 of this report be adopted; and

 (3)the appropriate by-law be amended accordingly.

 Background:

 In 1996, at the request of the Councillor Berardinetti, on behalf of a resident of Ionview Road, Road and Traffic Services conducted traffic studies by Ionview Public School (P.S.) on both Ionview Road and Lozoway Drive. Parking and pedestrian movements were investigated and as a result of these investigations we recommended a 30 minute permitted parking limit abutting the school property while restricting stopping on the opposite side of the street from Monday to Friday.

 Following the installation of the signs, we received a complaint from a resident of Lozoway Drive, followed by a petition representing 12 homes on Lozoway Drive requesting that the time periods be adjusted to only restrict stopping during the a.m. and p.m. school peak periods in order to allow residents to park on this street between 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

 Discussion:

 Ionview P.S. is located between Ionview Road and Lozoway Drive, which are located south of Lawrence Avenue, just west of Kennedy Road. Both Ionview Road and Lozoway Drive are residential roads with appropriate signs in place to warn approaching motorists of the school area ahead. Currently, abutting both the back and front of the school, parking is permitted for 30 minutes between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday while on the opposite side of the road, there is a ANo Stopping, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday - Friday@ restriction. During all other times, the unsigned 3 hour limit exists.

 Staff Investigations

 A site examination of area parking trends, on Wednesday, December 10, 1997, shows that on-street parking occurs throughout the day. We would like to emphasize that our study was extensive and covered the school morning, noon hour and afternoon activities (8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.). These studies revealed the existing parking restrictions were required at all times due to the high level of school related pick-up/drop-off and pedestrian activity.

 Along Lozoway Drive, the back stairs/accessway to Ionview P.S. is the focal point of pedestrian/vehicular activity. By allowing temporary parking right next to this area, passengers can access school directly without having to cross in front of through traffic. Through disallowing even brief parking on the opposite side of the road, in this same area, pedestrians are encouraged to remain away from the travel portion of the road.

 If we were to consider the residents= suggestion to relax the parking restriction during the day, we believe, based on the high levels of activity, especially during noon hour, pedestrian safety would be compromised. Specifically, pedestrians (approximately 50 pedestrians) would be crossing between parked vehicles.

 Our current signage is experiencing a high level of compliance; this signage encourages passengers to be dropped off or picked up on the school side of the roadway and thereby reduces the frequency of children crossing the road around parked vehicles.

 The petition suggests that the school related traffic be placed on Ionview Road rather than Lozoway Drive. Our observations show that the school traffic is shared with approximately one-third on Lozoway Drive and two-thirds on Ionview Road. We believe that it would be unrealistic to shift all of the school traffic to Ionview Road since parents would likely not comply and basically, we would be intensifying the current overcapacity situation on Ionview Road.

 There was a conscious effort to achieve a balance between the needs of area residents and those of the public drawn to this school when the existing parking restrictions were installed. The restrictions control parking on Lozoway Drive during normal school hours of 8:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, while at the same time permitting the usual on-street residential parking privileges in the evenings and on weekends.

 Discussions between the new principal of Ionview Public School, Mr. J. MacLean, and City staff indicate that there is a general impression that the new restrictions are being obeyed. In 1996, principal Jane Gow (the predecessor to principal MacLean) was aware of the on-street parking congestion and strongly supported the installation of the school area parking restrictions.

To maximize sight lines of both pedestrians and motorists, and thereby increase the safety of school children, it has been an on-going practice of Road and Traffic Services to encourage Aschool side parking/opposite side no stopping@. To date, 69 schools in the Scarborough District of the City of Toronto have adopted this policy which has been reviewed and applied to each school individually.

The police are aware of and have supported our recent school area parking efforts recognizing the need for clear sight lines between motorists and pedestrians in school zones. The police have also acknowledged the benefits of sign uniformity to enhance practical enforcement. Any significant modification to the AMonday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.@ time period would hinder the efficient use of police enforcement resources.

 Conclusions:

 We believe the 1996 change to stopping and parking restrictions in the Ionview Public School area has had a significant positive effect. The restrictions are generally being adhered to. However, in order to address some of the concerns of the residents on Lozoway Drive, we do support the removal of the ANo Parking@ restriction on Lozoway Drive north of house #12. We are confident this change will not adversely affect the pedestrian and vehicle safety in this area since most of the pedestrian and parking congregation is further south on Lozoway Drive.

 Contact Name:

 Gary H. Welsh

Director, Road and Traffic Services, Works and Environment, Scarborough District

Telephone: 396-5061

Fax: 396-5681

E-mail: welsh@city.scarborough.on.ca

  Appendix 1

 ANo Stopping@

 Prohibition to be Rescinded

  Column 1Column 2Column 3Column 4

 HighwaySideFromToTimes or Days

 LozowayWestBertrandHardcastle8:00 a.m. to

DriveRoadStreet4:00 p.m.

Monday to

Friday

Appendix 2

 ANo Stopping@

 Prohibition to be Enacted

 Column 1Column 2Column 3Column 4

 HighwaySideFromToTimes or Days

 LozowayWestBertrand110 metres north8:00 a.m. to

DriveRoadof Bertrand Road4:00 p.m.

Monday to

Friday