Parking Regulations on Airdrie Road
The East York Community Council, on condition that the issues with respect to signage and parking limits have
been addressed to the satisfaction of those residents concerned, recommends that:
(1)a 12 hour maximum parking limit be implemented on the north side of Airdrie Road, from a point 15 metres
east of Heather Road to a point 19 metres further east thereof, from May 1, to September 30;
(2)parking be prohibited on the north side of Airdrie Road from a point 15 metres east of Heather Road to a point
19 metres further east thereof from October 1, to April30;
(3)parking be prohibited on the south side of Airdrie Road, from a point 24 metres east of Heather Road to a point
10 metres further east thereof, from May 1, to September30; and
(4)the appropriate City officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action, including the
introduction of the necessary Bill in Council, to give effect thereto.
The East York Community Council reports having requested the Manager, Traffic Operations, District 1, and Councillor
Pitfield, to meet with the concerned residents with respect to the signage issues and parking limits and to submit a report
thereon directly to Council for its meeting to be held on May 11, 1999, when this matter is to be considered.
The East York Community Council submits the following report (March 11, 1999) from the Director,
Transportation Services, District 1:
Purpose:
To respond to a request from East York Community Council regarding an amendment to parking regulations on Airdrie
Road to accommodate local residents during the summer months (May-September) when starlings return and roost in trees
on Airdrie Road.
Funding Sources:
The funds associated with the implementation of the proposed parking regulation amendments in the estimated amount of
$600.00 can be accommodated within the 1999 Transportation Services Division Operating Budget request.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1) a 12 hour parking restriction be implemented on the north side of Airdrie Road, from a point 15 metres north of Heather
Road to a point 19 metres further north thereof, from May 1 to September 31;
(2)parking be prohibited on the north side of Airdrie Road from a point 15 metres north of Heather Road to a point 19
metres further north thereof from October 1 to April 30;
(3)parking be prohibited on the south side of Airdrie Road, from a point 15 metres north of Heather Road to a point 19
metres further north thereof, from May 1 to September 31; and
(4)the appropriate City Officials be requested to take whatever action is necessary to give effect thereto, including the
introduction in Council of any Bills that are required.
Background:
East York Community Council, at its meeting on September 18, 1998, under Clause 14(b) in ReportNo. 13, recommended
that the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services report on the results of discussions with Mr. Gardiner and
interested residents on Airdrie Road to develop an acceptable solution to the problem of starlings residing in trees directly
overhead of private driveways and on the feasibility of implementing a special permit system to allow parking for longer
than the 3 hour limit.
Comments:
In 1998, Mr. Gary Gardiner, 31 Airdrie Road, resubmitted a petition requesting that permit parking be implemented on
Airdrie Road during the summer months in order to allow him to be able to park on the street legally for longer than the 3
hour limit. Mr Gardiner states that Starlings roost in the tree on his front yard during the summer months and soil his
vehicle on a continual basis. Staff have investigated parking options available to Mr Gardiner and other affected residents
on Airdrie Road, including permit parking and relaxed parking regulations. One potential measure which may resolve this
matter to some extent would be the introduction of a 12 hour parking regulation on the north side of Airdrie Road which
would allow for the parking of 2-3 vehicles.
The option of providing a permit for residents on Airdrie Road to park their cars on the street for the summer months is not
recommended. Permit parking is implemented on streets in the City where the demand for parking exceeds the supply. It is
not used to allocate specific on-street parking spaces to local residents. Permits are also issued to prevent non-residents
from parking for extended periods of time during the day or night. This situation typically occurs close to subway stations
or commercial centres which attract motorists from outside the area. There are no current permit parking streets in Leaside
other than a recently implemented section of Randolph Road.
Permits are not required where the supply of parking exceeds the demand. There is no advantage to providing permits to
residents on a street block when only 1 or 2 persons would buy them. Relaxing the parking restrictions would provide a
more cost effective solution for both the residents and the City. The residents would not have to pay for permits and the
City would not incur the administrative costs of providing a specialized permit for the street. It should also be noted that a
poll conducted in 1998 to determine the residents perspective on introducing permit parking on Airdrie Road yielded the
following results:
Number polled 19
Responses 16
In Favour 7
Not in Favour 9
Relaxed parking restrictions, in this case in the form of a 12 hour parking restriction for the months of May, June, July,
August and September also provide a measure of equity since the spaces will be available for the entire street. This will
provide residents with starling problems as well as other residents with equally valid personal parking concerns with
on-street parking for the summer months. For example, the concern for starlings soiling Mr. Gardiner's vehicle may be
equally important to another residents reasons for wanting temporary on-street parking. By providing parking for all
residents of the street, staff are not deemed to be providing personal parking privileges for a few at the inconvenience of
others.
It is necessary to locate the proposed parking spaces on the north side of the street in front of #1Heather Road so that they
are not located underneath trees where the starlings roost. This could present an inconvenience to the resident of #1 Heather
Road and others since parking will occur on the street adjacent to their home for 5 months. To provide some relief, staff
recommend that parking also be prohibited during the remainder of the year at this location. After consulting with area
residents, staff also recommend that parking be prohibited on the south side of Airdrie Road directly opposite the proposed
12 hour parking restriction during the summer months. Copies of this report have been distributed to affected residents on
Airdrie Road, including #1 Heather Road, whom Transportation staff were unable to contact prior to the agenda deadline.
Contact Name:
Peter Bartos
Manager, Traffic Operations
District 1 - East
397-4486
The East York Community Council also submits the following report (April 13, 1999) from the Director,
Transportation Services, District 1:
Purpose:
To respond to a request from East York Community Council to designate 5 permit parking spaces on Airdrie Road to
specific addresses during the summer months (May - September) when starlings return and roost in trees on Airdrie Road.
Funding Sources:
There are no funds associated with the recommendations of this report.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that this report be received for information.
Background:
East York Community Council, at its meeting on March 30, 1999, referred a March 11, 1999 report from the Director,
Transportation Services, entitled "Parking Regulations - Airdrie Road" back to staff with a request to investigate further the
feasibility of designating a total of 5 parking spaces on Airdrie Road as permit parking spaces allocated to specific
addresses on Airdrie Road.
Comments:
The East York Community Council has requested staff comments with respect to a proposal to introduce a permit system
which allows only those residents with starling problems (Nos. 27, 29, 31, 33, and 37 Airdrie Road) access to parking
permits for June to September while other residents on the street would not be allowed to purchase permits and would be
subject to the existing unsigned 3 hour parking restriction.
Staff do not recommend that parking permits be designated for purchase for selected residents on a street. All parking
permits currently issued by the City of Toronto are available on a block by block or area basis. The City does not currently
provide permit parking spaces which are designated to certain residences on a street block or area at the exclusion of other
residents who would be eligible under the City's typical permit program. Permits are available on a first come, first served
basis to all residences on a specific street block, with a priority given to residences with no available on-site parking.
Permits are used by the City to manage the supply of parking for local residents.
The East York Overnight Permit Parking By-law includes a clause which provided a 2 year moratorium on re-polling a
street in the event of a negative poll result unless Council instructs otherwise. In this case, 9 out of 16 persons responding to
the poll conducted in June, 1998 voted against the implementation of permit parking on Airdrie Road. In our opinion, a
permit parking system, which excludes certain residents on the street from participating, would receive even less support
that the standard overnight permit parking program.
The introduction of a permit program which designates eligible and non-eligible residents could not be accommodated by
the current East York Permit Parking By-law. A new By-law, specific to Airdrie Road would need to be developed and
passed by Council. There are currently no By-laws in the City which offer specific residents parking permits at the
exclusion of other residents on the street.
Staff continue to recommend a maximum 12 hour parking limit on the north side of Airdrie Road during the summer
months as a means of accommodating residents with starling and other parking concerns. An additional 2 parking spaces
are available on the north side of Airdrie Road, west of Heather Road, in front of No. 8 Heather Road.
Contact Name:
Peter Bartos
Manager, Traffic Operations
District 1 - East
397-4486
The following persons appeared before the East York Community Council in connection with the foregoing matter:
- Mr. Gary Gardiner, East York; and
- Ms. Bonnie Telford, East York.
