TOWNSHIP OF ESQUIMALT STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE: July 8, 2024 Report No. EPW-24-019
TO: Council
FROM: Joel Clary, Director of Engineering & Public Works
SUBJECT: Integrated Parking Management Strategy - Action Plan
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council:
a) endorse the Integrated Parking Management Strategy Action Plan; and
b) direct staff to bring forward budget requests identified in the Action Plan as part of annual budget deliberations.
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The purpose of this report is to provide Council with an Action Plan that outlines how the Integrated Parking Management Strategy (Parking Strategy) can be implemented in a prioritized manner. The Action Plan is attached to this report and identifies which resources are needed to implement the Parking Strategy. Any new resources will be brought forward as budget request items as part of the annual budget process beginning in 2025.
BACKGROUND:
The development of an Integrated Parking Management Strategy (Parking Strategy) and updating the Parking Bylaw are identified as a Council Priority. As on-site and on-street parking are linked, these two initiatives were completed at the same time so that both the Parking Strategy and the Parking Bylaw would reflect a wholistic approach to the management of parking. This project started in 2022 and is now at a point where the Parking Bylaw is nearing completion, and the Parking Strategy has been endorsed by Council. As such, this report focuses only on the Parking Strategy and its implementation. For further background information on both projects, see reports listed in the Chronology section below.
Chronology:
All items listed in the below Chronology address both the Integrated Parking Management Strategy and Parking Bylaw:
- May 2, 2022 - Council awards parking study contract to Urban Systems (see staff report EPW-22-007)
- August 22, 2022 - Consultants present preliminary findings to the Committee of the Whole (see staff report DEV-22-076)
- August 21, 2023 - Consultants present drafts of the Integrated Parking Management Strategy and Parking Bylaw (see staff report DEV-23-058)
- September 6 to October 4, 2023 - Community check-in period on final drafts
- February 12 - Committee of the Whole recommend to direct staff to finalize the Parking Bylaw, endorse Parking Strategy and bring forward an Impact Assessment on implementing the actions in the Parking Strategy (see staff report EPW-24-003)
ANALYSIS:
When Council endorsed the Parking Strategy in February 2024, staff were directed to bring forward an Impact Assessment on implementing the actions in the Parking Strategy. Staff continued working with the consultant that developed the Parking Strategy to develop an Action Plan to address this. The Action Plan (Attachment 1) sets an order of priority for each of the actions in the Parking Strategy (short, medium, and long-term) and identifies necessary resources for implementing the actions. Staff recommend proceeding with the Action Plan in order to deliver on the Integrated Parking Management Strategy.
Staffing Impact:
Staff’s assessment of the Action Plan from an Engineering perspective is that a new FTE (full time employee) is needed to deliver on the actions. Over the first 1-2 years as resource intensive actions are initiated (example: transitioning from Residential Parking Only (RPO) to Permit Parking), a new employee would be needed at an almost full-time basis; however, as the Action Plan is implemented over time, this can be decreased to as low as 0.2 FTE to manage ongoing actions (example: new Permit Parking requests).
In the Fall, staff will be developing a staffing plan to outline the upcoming staffing needs in Engineering & Public Works over the next three years. This plan will identify the workload a new FTE will take on when parking doesn’t require most of their time. This staffing request will be identified as part of the 2025 budget process.
Currently the Township’s only full-time Bylaw Management Officer estimates more than 50% of their time is related to parking management issues. The Action Plan identifies a need for a full-time parking enforcement role. Any additional resources in the Bylaw Department will be identified as part of a Bylaw Level of Service review, which staff have been directed to complete by Council. The Level of Service review will consider the findings in the Parking Strategy and the identified resources in the Action Plan. Any additional resources that are identified will be considered as either new staff or contracted services.
No further staffing requests beyond Engineering and Bylaw related to the Action Plan are anticipated at this time.
OPTIONS:
1. That Council
a. endorse the Integrated Parking Management Strategy Action Plan; and
b. direct staff to bring forward budget requests identified in the Action Plan as part of annual budget deliberations.
2. That Council provide alternative direction to staff.
3. That Council request further information from staff.
COUNCIL PRIORITY:
Housing - Parking Strategy and Updated Parking Bylaw
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Detailed financial impact due to any staffing needs identified above will be provided as part of the 2025 budget process. An anticipated need in Engineering for a Technologist II to deliver on the Action Plan is expected to cost approximately $94,000 annually. Additional resources are identified in the Action Plan but will be part of a wider Bylaw Level of Service review. For information, the cost of an additional Bylaw Management Officer is anticipated to cost approximately $128,000 annually.
Beyond staffing costs, further budget requests to implement the actions are identified in the Action Plan. These costs will be included as part of the annual budget process for the given year of implementation. Many of the tasks start with staffing resources to develop the action before the full implementation costs are realized as Capital projects. As such, the Capital costs increase as the Action Plan progresses from short to long-term priorities. The costs in the Action Plan are estimates and will be refined in the year the budget is requested.
COMMUNICATIONS/ENGAGEMENT:
Since the project began, significant community feedback has been gathered. Details on the engagement completed for this project can be found on EngagingEsquimalt.ca.
TIMELINES & NEXT STEPS:
A majority of the actions require additional staff or budget resources to implement and will be included as part of the 2025 budget process. Short-term actions that can be initiated without additional resources will begin in the Fall, in preparation for additional resources.
REPORT REVIEWED BY:
1. Ian Irvine, Director of Finance, Reviewed
2. Deb Hopkins, Director of Corporate Services, Reviewed
3. Dan Horan, Chief Administrative Officer, Concurrence
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
List all items attached to the Staff Report
1. Attachment 1 - Action Plan