CURBSIDE ACCESSIBLE PARKING PROJECT
Background & Context EPark and the Automated Parking Enforcement Program The City of Edmonton’s EPark system was introduced in 2015 as the first major project intended to modernize parking services in curbside parking zones and in City of Edmonton-owned parkade facilities. In 2015, EPark machines replaced existing traditional parking coin meters in Old Strathcona, Downtown, and Westmount/124th street. The next phase of parking services modernization that The City is undertaking is the introduction of an Automated Parking Enforcement Program (APEP). Currently, parking enforcement is performed by patrol officers who observe vehicles and any associated placards or parking passes displayed on their front windshields, and manually write tickets where violators are observed. The Automated Parking Enforcement Program involves the use of cameras mounted to enforcement vehicles that will scan rear-mounted licence plates and identify vehicles not registered as paid on the EPark system. The goal of APEP is to significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of parking enforcement, and free up resources for parking patrol bylaw officers to attend to other parking issues that arise across Edmonton - including in school zones, tow-away zones and residential areas where parking is restricted. Because enforcement is carried out via the scanning of rearmounted license plates, the APEP system will not recognize parking placards or hangtags traditionally displayed on a vehicle’s dashboard or hanging from a rear-view mirror. This includes provincially-issued Parking Placards for Persons City of Edmonton EPark Zone street side payment terminals
with Disabilities (Parking Placards). As such, the introduction of APEP has significant implications for drivers who take
advantage of the existing Curbside EPark Accessible Gratuity Program (Gratuity Program) that the City of Edmonton has historically provided for drivers displaying Parking Placards. In this program, drivers displaying a Parking Placard in a curbside EPark zone can receive 2 hours of free parking. In spring of 2018, The City of Edmonton’s Accessibility Advisory Committee and Parking Placard holders provided feedback to city administration regarding implications of the APEP launch to the Gratuity Program - Feedback provided has resulted in the postponement of the launch of APEP until a modernized parking management policy and program can be developed that balances the requirement to launch APEP and effectively manage curbside parking supply, with the equitable delivery of curbside accessible parking for Parking Placard holders.
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