Feasibility of a New Year's Eve Grace Period for Permit Parking Violations

A New Year's Eve grace period, as outlined in Item MM2.15, requires an amendment to the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 925 (Permit Parking), allowing for the elimination of the Permit Parking By-law during the designated time period. Based on parking violation notice (PVN) issuance between 10:00 p.m. on December 31, 2018 and 10:00 a.m. on January 1, 2019, it is anticipated that a grace period will reduce PVN issuance by approximately 330 PVNs. This corresponds to approximately 54 fewer disputes being administered through the City's APS Program (screening and hearing reviews combined) based on 2018 PVN dispute statistics. Staff have reviewed the proposal to implement a New Year's Eve grace period for the violation of "Park in Permit Parking Location without a Valid Permit" and have identified two concerns which need to be considered: the impact to residents who have purchased on-street parking permits or temporary on-street parking permits and the impact of additional parking on residential streets for emergency vehicle access. Implementing a New Year's Eve grace period as proposed would limit the number of available on-street parking spaces during the designated time period for residents that purchase parking permits and temporary parking permits through the Residential On-Street Parking Program. This would place permit holders at a disadvantage during the designated time period, as on-street parking spaces may not be available. Temporary parking permits are available to the public on New Year's Eve. This Program supports safe celebration practices during the holiday season. A New Year's Eve grace period could create public safety concerns. An influx of illegally parked vehicles on City streets may create pinch points on residential streets and could even restrict access for emergency vehicles in some cases. Staff completed a jurisdictional scan of Brampton, Burlington, Oakville, Oshawa, and Vaughan to determine if other municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area have similar parking policies on New Year's Eve. Several municipalities offer free parking in town/city-owned parking lots during the holiday season. None of the municipalities in the jurisdictional scan offer a grace period for permit parking violations.