Committee approves new rules to allow planting food in boulevard gardens

The Public Works and Infrastructure Committee today approved amending the rules for residential boulevard gardening to allow growing food and placing planters in the residential boulevard. The residential boulevard is located on the right of way, the City-owned portion of land that includes roadways, shoulders, sidewalks, and boulevards beside your property, governed by the Use and Care of Roads By-law. The changes to the by-law would allow more residents to undertake gardening projects, support residents’ access to food and increase plant diversity which has environmental benefits. Allowing raised beds and containers can mitigate health concerns regarding the suitability of the boulevard for growing food, including the unknown quality of the soil in the boulevard. Raised garden beds and moveable containers would require setbacks to mitigate safety concerns and to meet operational needs. The Committee approved procuring new parking payment systems as the City’s current contracts with Precise ParkLink and PayByPhone are set to expire in 2026. Both companies provide the equipment and services for parking payment including Pay and Display parking, gated parking, and pay-by-phone. Public Works staff will extend the contract with the vendor PayByPhone for paying for City-managed public parking by phone, as well as prepare multiple Requests for Proposals for:

• a new parking payment system using pay-by-plate technology
• services related to gated parking facility payment systems
• a second vendor for paying for City-managed public parking by phone

Pay-by-plate technology will be more convenient for users as they will no longer have to return to their vehicle to place the receipt on the dash. It could reduce the need for kiosks and will reduce the need for printed tickets. This new technology would cost between $8 million and $12 million, which would be covered by the Parking Reserve Fund. The Committee approved the City’s continued participation in Ontario’s e-scooter pilot program for an additional five years as the Province has extended the pilot. For 2025, staff recommend setting the operating season from approximately April 30 to November 15 to meet rider demand, and extending the hours of operation to 24 hours a day. The City would extend its contracts with the two e-scooter providers, Bird Canada Inc. and Neuron Mobility, and look at the possibility of expanding the current deployment zone, which could include Business Improvement Areas, town centres and areas near rapid transit stations. To keep everyone safe, the City will also continue to work collaboratively with providers to refine and enhance the service, hold more safety and enforcement blitzes and improve the process for submitting, tracking, and responding to complaints. Items considered at this meeting will rise to Council on Wednesday, April 16. Related topics

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