By Pam Strong, Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority

In the Q2 2020 issue of Parker magazine, we highlighted the significant issues that salt is causing to our road and parking lot infrastructure, as well as to our freshwater resources. Many stakeholders, including road managers and environmental agencies, have been working to tackle this issue and apply less salt; however much of this effort has focused on roads. As part of this effort, the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority retained GHD in 2017 to develop the Parking Lot Design Guidelines to Promote Road Salt Reduction. These guidelines were developed with the recognition that parking lots contribute a significant amount of chloride from salt, approximately 20% in the Lake Simcoe watershed, and significantly more in more urbanized areas, such as Toronto and Peel Region. These guidelines provide some tangible options for those involved in parking lot design and maintenance to reduce the amount of salt that is used in these areas, thus protecting parking lot infrastructure and water resources.

The guidelines were developed to demonstrate to those involved in the planning, design, and maintenance of parking lots that they can be designed from the outset in such a way that they require less salt to be applied to maintain an acceptable level of service and safety. Through stakeholder interviews and design charrettes, we identified four design features that can help to reduce the amount of salt needed to maintain safe conditions. Also included with the guidelines are site examples that demonstrate how the features can be used on several different development types. These site types include:

• Large size commercial development (greater than 10 ha)
• Medium size commercial development (5-6 ha)
• Small size commercial development (less than 3 ha)
• Institutional development (public school)

We also developed two…

Hi All,

Like many Universities when COVID originally shut down our city in March 2020, McGill University suspended paid parking since only essential services (electrical and mechanical trades) were on site. The decision to restart parking came at the end of August and it has taken weeks to set up permits, passes etc for paid parking to begin September 27. Montreal is now entering a second wave and again people are being encouraged to work from home. The University is again considering suspending parking fees. Is anyone else suspending parking for a second wave or is it under consideration?

Jo-Ann Sciampacone, McGill University

Our Campus does not receive the revenue from parking tickets our enforcement staff issue.  We contract with a 3rd party to provide ticket administration and collection.  How common is this arrangement in the campus world?

Do you contract out your ticket administration?

Do you receive all or a portion of the ticket revenue?

Do you have a 3rd party doing your ticket collection or how do you manage outstanding tickets (or is this an issue)?

Pauline Tessier, University of Regina

E-mail: pauline.tessier@uregina.ca