Many of the City’s by-laws regarding traffic, streets, parking meter and disability parking were created upwards of 40 years ago. Much has changed over those four decades. The City of Winnipeg Public Service recently conducted a review and prepared the Enactment of a new Consolidated Parking By-Law and Amendment of the Voluntary Payment of Fines By-Law Report, recommending updates and consolidations to the by-laws. As a result, there are many efficiencies and improvements being enacted, and a public awareness campaign will occur over the coming months.

SPECIFIC to the ongoing residential parking issues we are experiencing in the South Winnipeg-St. Norbert ward, many residential properties are being turned into virtual parking lots (around University of Manitoba and in nearby communities), with excessive numbers of vehicles being parked in these areas.

The new Winnipeg Parking By-Law will fundamentally change the way the City deals with excessive parking on private residential property in a positive and timely manner, as detailed below.

CURRENT PROCEDURE

A complaint would first have to be filed with 311:

In responding to the complaint, a City Zoning By-Law enforcement officer would serve the property owner, and then seek compliance of the owner to adhere to the number of vehicles allowed on residential property.

The Zoning By-law officer would then continue to return during weekday business hours to seek compliance of the owner.

NEW PROCEDURE EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

The new Winnipeg Parking By-law will come into force on September 1, 2016*. This will allow the following to occur:

Winnipeg Parking Authority (WPA) compliance officers will be able to investigate complaints about excessive parking on private property (ie: residential properties) 24/7 and 365 days of the year .

. If WPA determines there are more vehicles parking on the property than the By-Law allows, WPA will now be able to issue a ticket to the vehicles rather than having to serve the property owner and ask for compliance.

to the vehicles rather than having to serve the property owner and ask for compliance. It is anticipated that this will result in faster response to complaints, faster compliance by vehicle owners to comply to the By-Law, and a shorter wait time before fines have to be paid.

A promotional campaign will be launched in the coming months to increase awareness on this specific By-Law change.

*The proposed Winnipeg Parking By-law will come into force on September 1, 2016 when the Municipal By-law Enforcement Act is proclaimed into law which is anticipated to occur this summer.

HOW MANY VEHICLES ARE ALLOWED ON PRIVATE PROPERTY?

Details are contained in Part 4. on Page 22 of the Enactment of a new Consolidated Parking By-Law and Amendment of the Voluntary Payment of Fines By-Law Report, as shown below:

PART 4 – RESTRICTIONS THAT APPLY TO VEHICLES ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

This Part applies to the parking and storage of vehicles on residential property with a single-family detached dwelling or a two-family dwelling as defined in section 48 of the Winnipeg Zoning By-law.

47 Definitions

“GVWR” means the gross vehicle weight rating of a vehicle as stated by the vehicle manufacturer, on a sign on the vehicle or in the vehicle registration.

“large truck” means a truck with a GVWR of more than 4,536 kg (10,000 lbs).

“large vehicle” means a vehicle, other than a recreational vehicle, that

(a) is a large truck; or

(b) has one or more of the following characteristics:

(i) tandem axles;

(ii) a passenger capacity in excess of 15 persons; or

(iii) dual wheels where the vehicle includes a flat deck or other form of utility deck; or

(c) can be generally described as

(i) a bus,

(ii) a limousine,

(ii) a cube van,

(iii) a dump truck, tow truck or flatbed truck, or

(iv) a tractor, trailer, or tractor-trailer combination.

“passenger vehicle” means a motor vehicle (other than a bus, commercial vehicle, motor home, or taxicab) that is designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of people on a street or highway. It includes a pickup truck, a van (other than a cube van), a minivan, a motorcycle, a moped and a scooter.

“property” means a residential property described in section 46.

“recreational vehicle” means a vehicle (other than a passenger vehicle, motor home, travel trailer) that is designed for recreational purposes. It includes a boat, an off-road vehicle as defined in The Off-Road Vehicles Act and a trailer designed specifically for transporting a recreational vehicle.

“small truck” means a truck that is neither a large vehicle nor a passenger vehicle.

“travel trailer” means a trailer that is equipped with sleeping quarters.

48 No more than six vehicles

No person may park or store a vehicle on a property if, at the time of placing the vehicle on the property, at least six other vehicles are already parked or stored on the property.

49 No more than four passenger vehicles

No person may park or store a passenger vehicle on a property if, at the time of placing the vehicle on the property, at least four other passenger vehicles are already parked or stored on the property.

50 No more than one small truck

No person may park or store a small truck on a property if, at the time of placing the truck on the property, another small truck is already parked or stored on the property.

51 No more than one travel trailer or motor home

No person may park or store a travel trailer or motor home on a property if, at the time of placing the vehicle on the property, a travel trailer or motor home is already parked or stored on the property.

52 Large vehicle restrictions

52(1) No person may park or store a large truck on a property if, at the time of placing the vehicle on the property, another large truck is already parked or stored on the property.

52(2) No person may park or store a large truck on a property unless

(a) it is parked further from the street than the front wall of the dwelling;

(b) it is parked in an enclosed structure or is shielded from view from adjacent properties through the use of landscaping that meets the side and rear yard buffering requirements of sections 188 to 193 of the Winnipeg Zoning By-law; and

(c) the owner of the property has a conditional use approval for the parking of the truck on the property.

52(3) Despite subsections (1) and (2), and in addition to any large truck parked or stored on a property in compliance with those subsections, one large vehicle with a GVWR of more than 4,536 kg (10,000 lbs.) may be stopped or parked on the property while it is being actively loaded or unloaded.

53 Front yard parking restrictions

53(1) From May 15 to October 31 of the same year, no person may park or store a recreational vehicle, motor home or travel trailer on a driveway in the front yard of a property if, at the time of placing the vehicle on the property, another recreational vehicle is already parked or stored on a driveway in the front yard of the property.

53(2) From November 1 to May 14 of the following year, no person may park or store a recreational vehicle, motor home or travel trailer on a driveway in the front yard of a property.

53(3) No person may park or store a vehicle on a driveway in the front yard of a property if, at the time of placing the vehicle on the driveway, the number of vehicles in the front yard is already at the maximum. For this purpose, the maximum number of vehicles in the front yard of a property is

(a) two vehicles, if they are not parked in tandem; or

(b) four vehicles, if they are parked in tandem.

54 No parking except on driveway or parking pad

No person may park or store a vehicle on any part of a front or side yard of a property unless that part is a driveway or other area that has been improved for use as a parking area.

My thanks to The Sou’Wester for reporting on this story.

Parking tickets on deck for excessive vehicles

The Sou’Wester By: Danielle Da Silva Posted: 07/22/2016 3:16 PM

Drivers in Fort Richmond and University Heights can expect a parking ticket if their driveway has more than four cars parked on it beginning this fall.

At the July 13 meeting of city council, councillors passed a new parking bylaw which gives power to the Winnipeg Parking Authority (WPA) to ticket vehicles that are in violation of the bylaw by way of too many passenger vehicles parked on the lot. The bylaw comes into effect Sept. 1.

Under the new bylaw, which consolidates existing bylaws, rules about the number, type ,and location of vehicles parked on residential properties become a parking offence in addition to a zoning violation.

Jacquie Field, chair of community relations for the Fort Richmond-University Heights Neighbourhood Association, said giving the WPA power to ticket excessive vehicles on a lot will increase the livability of the neighbourhood.

“It’s an issue in our neighbourhood and we have many households that have basically turned their backyards into parking lots with plug-ins for eight cars,” Field said. “The reason it’s better to have the parking authority do this than the bylaw enforcement officers, is because the parking authority is very vigilant in this neighbourhood because we have restricted parking because of the university.”

Neighbourhoods surrounding the University of Manitoba, in particular, are experiencing the transformation of front and rear yards into parking lots, often to accommodate illegal rooming houses.

“We love having the students in the neighbourhood and they add a diversity that we really enjoy. We really want the students and landlords to maintain the neighbourhood standards,” Field said.

Field said there are other opportunities for residents to secure additional parking.

“There’s so many broad choices, and even if you do (have more than four vehicles), you shouldn’t be parking on your lawn.”

The bylaw will provide enforcement powers to deal with issues in the community surrounding the University of Manitoba, and it will be effective citywide.

Coun. Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert), chair of the standing policy committee on infrastructure renewal and public works, said residents don’t need to worry about unwarranted ticketing of vehicles in the case of family gatherings. Lukes said the WPA will check whether vehicles are registered to properties and other due diligence will be done before tickets are issued.

“They’re not just going to slap tickets,” Lukes said. “If these vehicles aren’t registered to the property then the parking authority will be asking questions, knocking on doors… they will do what they have to do to enforce the bylaw, which was always there.”

There has been criticism on social media of the bylaw, with residents raising alarm that if they have more than four vehicles registered to their property they may be targeted. People have also taken issue with enforcement occurring on private property and on lots that can reasonably accommodate a larger number of vehicles.

However Lukes says zoning bylaws have always been in place to regulate the number of cars on a property. The only thing that has changed is enforcement.

“The WPA works 24-7, 365, allowing for more timely responses,” she said. “If there is an infraction (WPA) can deal with it accordingly, right then.”

Lukes said adhering to the parking bylaws is no different than adhering to building codes on private property. She also noted that vehicles parked in garages will not be included under the parking bylaw.

“When you’re in any municipal environment you have to abide by the laws,” she said.

“Truly, from my experience in Fort Richmond, it’s not a cash grab. It’s dealing with an issue that is blatantly breaking the bylaw.”

Read more by Danielle Da Silva .

twitter short link: https://janicelukes.ca/?p=6546