ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: 24 June 1997

Dept. File No. 3651

File No. H193-35

CC File No.: 5651

TO: Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic

FROM:General Manager of Engineering Services

SUBJECT:Overnight Parking Restrictions for Large Vehicles

RECOMMENDATION

A.THAT the Street and Traffic Bylaw No. 2849 be amended to prohibit overnight parking of large vehicles as outlined in Appendix B and C.

B.THAT the Director of Legal Services be requested to prepare the necessary amendments to the Street and Traffic Bylaw.

COUNCIL POLICY

Council approves and amends changes to the Street and Traffic Bylaw to regulate all parking restrictions within the City of Vancouver.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, there has been a growing concern regarding the overnight and extended parking of large vehicles on city streets. The City's Street and Traffic Bylaw presently restricts overnight parking of commercial vehicles which seat more than nine people and trucks which exceed a gross vehicle weight of 5 500 kg. When buses are converted or modified by private owners so that there are fewer than nine seats, there is no restriction for this type of vehicle parking on the street regardless of its size or weight. Trucks under the 5 500 kg gross vehicle weight can presently park overnight on the street regardless of their size. Under the proposed amendment to the bylaw, all vehicles and trucks over 6.4 m in length will be prohibited from parking overnight on the street.

The City has received numerous complaints regarding convertedschool buses, converted tour buses and large trucks parking overnight or for extended periods of time on city streets. These large vehicles, when parked for extended periods of time, can be disruptive, a safety hazard, create a parking shortage, and cause a view obstruction. Some of these vehicles are quite old and detract from the character of the neighbourhoods.

Presently, in one instance a converted school bus is parked on a city street and it has been there for over two years. Various City staff members including Parking Enforcement, the Police and the Neighbourhood Integrated Service Team have tried to remove the vehicle on numerous occasions but have been unsuccessful. The vehicle cannot be towed away because it is legally parked and is licensed and insured. (Motorhomes and buses do not have to pass or go through AirCare to get insurance).

Since the parking of large vehicles has been a source of neighbourhood conflict, it is proposed to amend the Street and Traffic Bylaw in order to limit the duration that these vehicles will be allowed to park on city streets. By amending the bylaw, staff can respond to complaints from the public on this issue, enforce and ticket offenders, or have them towed away.

A survey of surrounding municipalities shows that many have similar bylaws limiting the gross vehicle weight or overall length for vehicles parking on their streets. Appendix A outlines the restrictions for each municipality.

It is suggested that section 20.1 and 20.2 of the Street and Traffic Bylaw be amended to include a length limit of 6.4 m for passenger vehicles and trucks parking overnight on city streets. The 6.4 m length limit was chosen to allow the majority of personal vehicles including full sized pickup trucks to park on the street.

Other vehicles such as motor homes, trailers and camper vans over 6.4 m in length would be prohibited from parking on the street. Limousines are currently prohibited from parking on the street as a commercial vehicle and would continue to be prohibited by the length limit under the new bylaw.

The suggested licensed gross vehicle weight limit of 5 500 kg for trucks is the same as the existing weight limit for commercial vehicles in the current bylaw.

The Police Department also suggested that a definition of truck, similar to the Motor Vehicle Act, be included in the Street and Traffic Bylaw in order to define the bylaw better and administer it more effectively. This will have no ramifications for other sections of the bylaw.

CONCLUSION

It is recommended that the Street and Traffic Bylaw be amended as outlined in Appendix B and C.

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Appendix A

Criteria For Vehicle Parking Restrictions On The Street

Municipality	Weight Limit(GVW)		Length Limit	Parking Restriction
Richmond	<=5000 kg		none	10 p.m.-6 a.m.
Burnaby	<=3637 kg		none	1 a.m.-6 a.m.
Dist. N. Vancouver	<=4500 kg	or	<=6.0 m	6 p.m.-6 a.m.
City N. Vancouver	<=4500 kg	or	<6.1 m	10 p.m.-6 a.m.
West Vancouver	<=2500 kg		none	12 a.m.-6 a.m.
Port Coquitlam	<=4600 kg		none	none
New Westminster	none		none	none
Coquitlam	none		none	none
Surrey	none		none	none

Appendix B

Suggested Wording of Amended Bylaw

20.1 No person shall park a vehicle on any street:

( a) abutting premises used for business purposes for more than 3 hours unless such premises are the property of or leased by such person or an employer of such person;

( b) between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of the following day;

( c) abutting property used for a public park, school, church or residential purposes, unless such vehicle is required for a service call or is required at a construction site;

except for:

(d)a vehicle designed primarily for the conveyance of passengers and having a seating capacity of fewer than 10 people and an overall length not exceeding 6.4 m; and

(e)a truck with the licensed gross vehicle weight of 5 500 kg or less and an overall length not exceeding 6.4 m.

20.2 No person shall park a trailer or a semi-trailer on any street without the motive power unit attached in such a manner as to allow the safe transportation of the trailer or semi-trailer, in accordance with the standards established in the Motor Vehicle Act.

Appendix C

"Truck" means a motor vehicle designed or used primarily for the transportation of property.

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(c) 1997 City of Vancouver