Request to Re-open Item TE19.52: Parking Amendments - Market Street

The St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood BIA has requested that the City permit these patios to remain over the winter, to allow the adjacent restaurants their best opportunity to remain in business. Several years ago, Market Street in the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood was redesigned to become a curbless, flexible boulevard. During the winter, pay-and-display parking is introduced, while in the summer the parking is removed and bollards provided to create a more attractive streetscape that can be more easily closed for events. Transportation Services staff have raised safety concerns with allowing the bollards to remain without further intervention, such as additional barriers to protect pedestrians. Market Street slopes downward from Front Street East, and staff are concerned the existing bollards that are installed during the summer will not properly protect pedestrians should a vehicle slip on snow or ice. The BIA has proposed exploring solutions to properly protect pedestrians during the winter months on Market Street, but require more time to work with Transportation Services to come to a mutually acceptable solution. If the City does nothing, the existing Market Street patios will need to be removed on November 16 along with the temporary bollards, with pay-and-display parking then being reintroduced. This motion is intended to allow the patios to remain until December 15 this year, to allow the BIA time to work with Transportation Services on a solution that can be potentially brought to the December 2, 2020 meeting of Toronto and East York Community Council.

Toronto and East York Community Council amend the parking machine regulation in effect from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday to Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Sunday, from October 16 of one year to March 31 of the next following year, inclusive, for a maximum period of 3 hours and at a rate of $4.00 per hour on the west side of Market Street, between The Esplanade and Front Street East, to be in effect from December 16 of one year to March 31 of the next following year, inclusive."