In 2018 Oshawa Council hired a consultant (at cost of $180K) to do a city-wide parking Study.
The contract was awarded to the transportation consultant IBI Group in Nov 2018 and just a couple weeks before January 1, 2020, it seems IBI submittted the Study's Draft Report to be reviewed by City Staff.
Although Section 3 of the Terms of Reference for the Contract stated: "The Study is to be completed within six (6) months of being awarded" clearly it's a bit behind...but good to see the IBI GROUP Project Lead, Peter Richards has his phone number and email on the City of Oshawa's website for consultation. ( 416-596-1930 [email protected] )
Before submitting the Final Report, IBI Group will be conducting Phase 2...as noted on the City's website (although the time-frame is delayed from what was originally expected) "Phase 2 of the Study will present preliminary findings and recommendations to the community for review and comment... Stay tuned for Phase 2 engagement opportunity details!"
Looks like it will be the spring of 2020 before we see the Final Study. Meanwhile, the review continues and is to involve:
"The City of Oshawa is a growing community of 167,000 and is the largest city in Durham Region. The City has experienced a significant amount of growth in recent years with a forecast to continue in the future. Major influences on parking include but are not limited to:
The timing of this parking study is extremely important and seeing it done well is crucial. Oshawa's current traffic and parking problems are a mess, and with the continued high growth forecast on the horizon, more people will be driving, parking and using transit to get around.
The contract was awarded to the transportation consultant IBI Group in Nov 2018 and just a couple weeks before January 1, 2020, it seems IBI submittted the Study's Draft Report to be reviewed by City Staff.
Although Section 3 of the Terms of Reference for the Contract stated: "The Study is to be completed within six (6) months of being awarded" clearly it's a bit behind...but good to see the IBI GROUP Project Lead, Peter Richards has his phone number and email on the City of Oshawa's website for consultation. ( 416-596-1930 [email protected] )
Before submitting the Final Report, IBI Group will be conducting Phase 2...as noted on the City's website (although the time-frame is delayed from what was originally expected) "Phase 2 of the Study will present preliminary findings and recommendations to the community for review and comment... Stay tuned for Phase 2 engagement opportunity details!"
Looks like it will be the spring of 2020 before we see the Final Study. Meanwhile, the review continues and is to involve:
- parking standards and policies including dimensions of parking spaces, driveways, location of parking spaces,
- the Downtown parking exempt area identified in the Zoning By-law 60-94 and the ratio of parking for residential uses;
- the existing and future municipal parking supply in the downtown;
- the parking needs associated with the Transportation Hubs identified on Schedule B-1 Transit Priority in the Oshawa Official Plan;
- the financial aspects of parking and
- develop a plan to support:
- Recommend changes to existing parking regulations (no parking, no stopping, no standing, durations, vehicle types, etc.), free overnight parking both on-street and within City parking garages, short-term on-street paid parking, loading zones, and accessible parking;
- Recommend triggers (such as target levels of development measured by units or floor area) to review the existing parking supplies and progress towards the planned ultimate supply;
- The potential for the provision and management of special event parking related to public and private programming within the Urban Growth Centre;
- The immediate parking needs of the Urban Growth Centre (i.e. are the parking standards in the Urban Growth Centre currently sufficient to meet market demands as well as short and long term needs;
"The City of Oshawa is a growing community of 167,000 and is the largest city in Durham Region. The City has experienced a significant amount of growth in recent years with a forecast to continue in the future. Major influences on parking include but are not limited to:
- greenfield developments in the Kedron and Columbus Part II Planning Areas which are intended to develop at densities that are higher than other areas of the City;
- redevelopment opportunities in intensification areas, the Urban Growth Centre, transportation hubs and regional and local corridors; and
- development both on-campus and off campus associated with the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Trent University Durham and Durham College."
The timing of this parking study is extremely important and seeing it done well is crucial. Oshawa's current traffic and parking problems are a mess, and with the continued high growth forecast on the horizon, more people will be driving, parking and using transit to get around.
