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CITY OF VANCOUVER ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT |
Date: |
June 25, 2004 | |
Author: |
Ian Adam, P.Eng. | |
Phone No.: |
7331 | |
RTS No.: |
3238 | |
CC File No.: |
5561 | |
Meeting Date: |
July 6, 2004 |
TO: |
Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic |
FROM: |
General Manager of Engineering Services, in consultation with General Managers of Corporate Services and Human Resources |
SUBJECT: |
Transportation Demand Management Measures at the City of Vancouver |
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT the City participate in TransLink's Employer Transit Pass Program, as described in this report at a cost of between $24,000 to $27,000, source of financing to be the contingency reserve, and that staff report back in one year from implementation date on participation levels, costs and any additional resources required to continue the program.
B. THAT improvements to employee bicycle facilities be implemented using
$10,000 as provided in the 2004 Budget item "New and Non-recurring Expenditures"; further, THAT staff continue to seek funds in future budget years for improvements to commuting alternatives, reporting back to Council as necessary.
C. THAT the Sustainability Coordinator created under the Corporate Climate Change Action Plan be designated as the City Hall Sustainable Transportation Co-ordinator.
D. THAT the Park Board, Police Board, and Library Board be encouraged to extend the terms of these TDM proposals to their worksites.
CONSIDERATION
E1. THAT staff, in consultation with employee Unions, prepare alternatives for employee pay parking in accordance with Council's previous motion, concentrating initially on the downtown core, City Hall campus, and then outlying areas, subject to a report back to Council on details of implementation.
E2. THAT staff, in consultation with employee Unions, prepare alternatives for employee pay parking in accordance with Council's previous motion, dealing with all 150 Civic work sites, and subject to a report back to council on details of implementation.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council has supported Transportation Demand Management through a number of measures such as the Corporate Climate Change Action Plan, City Transportation Plan, Clouds of Change, and its reviews of TransLink budgets, and has requested a report back on employee commuting (see motion below)
PURPOSE
At the Traffic and Transportation Standing Committee meeting of February 10, 2004, Council heard a presentation on Transportation Demand Management by Mr. Todd Litman, and invited TransLink representatives to return for a further discussion on this issue. This report transmits a background paper on Demand-Side Management (Appendix D), sets out action steps to implement improvements in City Employee Commuting practices, and outlines options for further changes in the future.
BACKGROUND
On several occasions Council has considered the issue of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) for City employees, and more specifically the issue of whether City Hall employees should pay for parking. Most recently, on February 13, 2003, Council directed:
"....that staff, in consultation with their employees, and without prejudice to existent contracts, come back with a report on the best way to reduce vehicle traffic to and from all municipal locations and worksites, subject to the following conditions:
· there be no net extra cost to the City of Vancouver;
· staff expected to use their cars for work on a regular basis should be exempt;
· any allowances for transportation or parking should be equitable to all employees;
· special consideration may be given to car pool vehicles;
· that all employees provided with a City of Vancouver owned vehicle be required to reimburse the City for all mileage of a personal nature, including the commute to and from work;
Be it further resolved that City Council request staff to enter into discussions with TransLink's On Board Program for volume discounts, such as the Upass, on transit passes for the City's 8,000 employees and do so in conjunction with the Cambie Corridor Working Group and other municipalities in the GVRD for increased volume discounts."
Since that time, considerable progress has been made on a number of items on that list, and other items continue to be challenging. This report provides an update on these items and sets out options for further action.
DISCUSSION
1. On-Board Program
Staff has entered into discussions with TransLink's On-Board Program; during 2003, the City Hall precinct participated in the "OnBoard: New Commuting Options" Program to assess opportunities for reducing single occupant vehicle (SOV) trips by employees to the City Hall campus area. The program consisted of an employee transportation survey conducted in late June/early July of 2003, an assessment of the existing parking supply and facilities that support active transportation, as well as a review of opportunities for reducing/eliminating barriers to more sustainable commuting identified by employees in the transportation survey.
The City's participation in the OnBoard Program also prompted several additional initiatives to encourage alternatives to SOVs, including:
· an employee transportation fair held in September 2003 to inform staff about the many options for commuting to City Hall and to promote more sustainable transportation modes;
· the creation of an employee transportation resource display on the sub-ground (outside the cafeteria);
· the creation of an active transportation facilities map to better inform staff of available facilities (a copy is attached for reference as Appendix C);
· improvements to the security of bicycle facilities; and
· the beginning of a process to consult with employees about needs and priorities in terms of facilities that support walking, jogging, cycling and roller-blading to work.
The City has received TransLink's final report and recommendations. The executive summary of this report is attached for information (Appendix A). The recommendations arising from that program are contained in this report, and outline initiatives aimed at reducing SOV trips to the City Hall campus, many of which will also be applicable to other City work sites.
The specific recommendations are as follows:
· Assign responsibility and designate an employee as Sustainable Transportation Coordinator: Council has created a position of Sustainability Coordinator as part of the Corporate Climate Change Action Plan, which is currently being filled. The Terms of Reference for this position include responsibility for the TDM Coordinator role, among others.
· Promote and market the program goals and Guaranteed Ride Home Program; introduce a comprehensive incentive package to encourage alternatives: These tasks will be undertaken by the designated coordinator.
· Reserve carpool spaces; give priority to larger carpools; review policies: Carpooling has been very successful at City worksites. Carpool spaces have been provided in three lots. Over 100 vehicles are used for carpooling each day, serving about 300 employees. Twenty-seven regular City fleet vehicles are in carpool service, and Council has added dedicated vans to the fleet for carpooling on a cost-recovery basis. Policies will be reviewed on an on-going basis.
· Implement pay parking; direct funds into other options; discourage parking on nearby streets: Staff has begun preparations on this task, but it is not yet complete, as detailed below. Potential parking rates have been researched; an inventory of employees' work locations and facilities is being constructed. Parking restrictions have been implemented on nearby streets. It appears that Pay-parking is unlikely to generate substantial surplus revenue initially, but funds can be directed into sustainable transportation modes as they become available.
· Enroll in Employer Transit Pass Program; promote fare-saver tickets for work-related trips; consider a subsidy: Staff has investigated participation in the Employer Pass Program and recommends that the City do so (see below). Fare-saver tickets are now available and being used for work trips - further promotion can be undertaken as discussed above. Council will be able to consider a further incentive in the future.
· Evaluate specific facility improvements for cyclists: Funds of $10,000 have been allocated in the 2004 budget to begin this process, and further funds will be sought in subsequent years to continue improvements. Working in collaboration with employees, Facilities Management staff has identified projects to upgrade and expand bicycle parking in several locations around the City Hall campus. This is proceeding to implementation of an additional 40 secure spaces.
· Evaluate alternative work schedules; investigate telework: The City has adopted guidelines that establish alternative schedules and telework, where operationally feasible. A number of employees are already participating in these alternatives, in accordance with provisions in operating agreements. Changing work schedules are the subject of on-going discussions with employee Unions. More extensive application of teleworking would require definition of procedures and modification to existing agreements with employees.
2. Employer Transit Pass Program
Staff has investigated TransLink's Employer Pass Program, and recommends participation as a pilot. This program provides a 15% reduction in the cost of transit passes, with the expectation that the discount may increase in the future. There is a high degree of interest in the program by employees, and it is anticipated that up to 100-200 employees at City Hall may participate. With the inclusion of other departments and worksites, this total may increase to 400 or more employees. A high degree of promotion will be needed at the outset, to maximize this participation.
It is difficult to judge the amount of administrative effort that will be associated with the program. TransLink offers the discount, in part, because it does transfer some workload from current distribution channels, on to employer staff. The workload will ultimately depend on the number of employees participating and the number of changes experienced (eg. number of employees opting out of the program, additions, zone changes, etc.). It is therefore recommended that Council approve creation of up to 1.0 temporary full-time position in Corporate Services - Payroll for the first year of the program to assist with the implementation and ongoing administration of the program. Staff will monitor the workload of the program and report back at the end of the year as to whether there is an ongoing need for additional resources. Estimated cost for 2004 budget year is $18,000.
There is also an initial fee of $15 per employee, which we recommend the City would contribute. The cost for the 2004 budget year is estimated to be $6,000 to $9,000. Thus, the City will be supporting the program in two respects, through the administrative workload and through the application fee. It is recommended that the total cost of $24,000 to $27,000 be funded from the 2004 contingency reserve.
Council will also have the option of directing additional funds as a further incentive for transit passes, or other suitable improvements. Any cash grant provided to an employee would be treated as taxable income to the employee for income tax purposes, under current legislation. This is a fundamental inequity in the federal rules, and Council is on record as reminding the Federal Government of the need for a more equitable arrangement.
3. Employee Pay Parking
In asking staff to investigate pay parking for City employees, Council defined the issue in accordance with a number of parameters. Staff has been working to complete this assignment in accordance with Council's directions, but a number of obstacles remain at this time:
· Dealing with all municipal locations, worksites, all employees, the Cambie Corridor Consortium, and other municipalities: The City has up to 9000 employees, reporting to several Boards as well as Council, belonging to over a dozen unions and associations, and located at over 150 worksites. Each of these worksites is uniquely different, and has different commuting provisions. Staff has been working to build an inventory of these worksites. However, policies that are appropriate at one worksite may not be suitable for another. See "Personnel Implications" below, and Appendix B, for further details on these issues. Adding in the Cambie Corridor Consortium (with several thousand employees) and extending some actions to include all other municipalities will further complicate this task.
· In consultation with employees: Between 150 and 200 employees attended the Employee Transportation Fair last September, and other individuals have participated in discussions on different aspects of this issue. However, ongoing discussion must of necessity involve the representative unions.
· Issues of equity arise from these provisions. For some employees, an additional cost even as low as $50 per month would be burdensome. For worksites where ample free parking is available (such as industrial areas or Oakridge Shopping Centre), charging for City space would be problematic. And for employees who work shifts and may have to return to their cars late at night, security would be an issue if they are discouraged from parking on-site.
· The majority of spaces, particularly at City Hall, will be occupied by carpools, fleet vehicles, employees using their vehicles for work, etc. It is likely that only about 100 spaces will actually be paid for, creating another equity issue.
· Parking fees must be paid out of after-tax income. Additionally, the City must pay tax and operating costs from the income. Only about one-third of the overall cost will be recovered. Nonetheless, applying pay parking would undoubtedly be an encouragement to alternative forms of transportation.
· Employees who report to isolated locations (such as works yards, the Delta landfill, or some community centres) already face issues such as lack of transit service, and are already very creative about transportation alternatives. Following implementation, the program would be reviewed in detail and could be expanded to other remote locations as appropriate.
With the intention of responding to Council's request in a timely manner, the following approach could be considered:
· Complete application of pay parking in the downtown area. (Most worksites other than fire halls are already on a pay basis downtown).
· Investigate pay parking for the City Hall precinct, in discussion with our employee Unions, for report back. The City Hall campus is in an area that is rapidly becoming more like the Downtown in terms of density and transit availability; it is also an area where parking generally is charged for.
· Request Park Board, Police Board, and Library Board to consider similar policies for their central-area worksites.
· Review worksites outside the central area to determine where pay parking may be consistent with the surrounding community.
Motion E1 for consideration would proceed on this basis.
4. Resources for TDM Activities
It is recommended (by the OnBoard Program) that one employee be designated as the Sustainable Transportation Coordinator. Council recently created the new Office of the Sustainability Coordinator, and employee TDM measures are part of the terms of reference for that position. Accordingly, it is proposed to appoint the Sustainability Coordinator to this official title as described by OnBoard. This individual will have a number of different issues to coordinate, but should be able to devote sufficient time and resources to promote TDM among City Hall employees.
Should Council wish to undertake a more expansive role in TDM activities, this would exceed the resources currently available. As noted above, dealing with all 150 worksites is a large task that cannot be handled on a shared-staff basis. Furthermore, Council has expressed an interest in involving Cambie Corridor employers, other municipalities, in working with all BIA's, and in approaching Downtown employers on a door-to-door basis. Undertaking TDM on this scale would require dedicated resources. Council should also be aware that these activities would substantially duplicate the efforts of TransLink, which has a program dedicated to precisely these matters (partly as a result of earlier requests from the City). TransLink representatives will be available to address these issues at the Committee meeting.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The Employer Transit Pass Program will increase City costs, as noted. Some of these proposals will have further financial implications but all are subject to report back before implementation.
PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS
Alterations to commuting patterns will have substantial implications for employees and our collective agreements. Appendix B provides a listing of extracts from the language, and further comments on the provisions contained in numerous collective agreements. In addition to these specific provisions, there are "Conditions Not Mentioned" clauses in the various collective agreements. These provisions will need to be considered and discussed with each of the Unions, and resolutions may be different with each group. It is unlikely that a single, consistent policy affecting all employees and worksites could be agreed upon. This report has been shown to our Unions but the required discussions are yet to be undertaken.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
Improving employee commuting options at City worksites would have benefits for the environment, as documented in a number of analyses. At present City Hall commuting patterns are better than at many other employers, but they could be improved further through the measures described here.
CONCLUSION
The OnBoard program outlined a number of steps to improve support for employee commuting options at the City Hall campus. This report outlines a number of steps that have been taken already to implement these recommendations, and presents courses of action to complete the work.
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