Toronto Motorcycle Parking: Benefits Outweigh the Costs

Free motorcycle parking in Toronto may soon come to and end if Toronto budget chief Mike Del Grande and Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam get their way. In a recent report from the Toronto Sun, Del Grande was quoted as saying about motorcycles, "They burn gas just like everyone else. You take a parking spot, you pay what you pay for cars." Del Grande and Wong-Tam are encouraging other council members to consider charging for motorcycle parking in Toronto.

Inside Motorcycles caught up with Daniel Tessier, President and CEO of the Motorcyclists Confederation of Canada, to get his views on the matter. According to Tessier, "Six years ago, the City of Toronto demonstrated real traffic management leadership by providing free street parking and other improvements for motorcycles and motorized scooters. But the City is about to take a step back if it continues with a proposal to enforce parking charges and fees for motorcycles." Tessier notes that from a strictly functional point of view, parking receipts tend to disappear from parked motorcycles resulting in unwarranted fines. He also points out that by taking up less space on the road, motorcycles have less of an impact on road infrastructure thereby saving municipal dollars. Further, the existing program to encourage free motorcycle parking compliments the Ontario government's tourism strategy to attract motorcyclists from border provinces and states.

Tessier went on to explain the benefits of free motorcycle parking and noted that not only should the parking program be preserved , but the city would benefit from the implementation of a motorcycling strategy. Tessier suggests a traffic safety management strategy could result in less accidents by opening up the lines of site at busy intersections by reserving parking spaces for motorcycles. "Reserving the last parking space at major intersections for motorcyclists would provide systemic allocation of motorcycle parking space. This traffic management approach would ensure uncluttered and clear lines of site for all road users, reducing the number of crashes at intersections involving motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. The City would save emergency response; but more importantly, it would save lives and reduce injury."

Inside Motorcycles // www.insidemotorcycles.com

Source: http://insidemotorcycles.blogspot.com/2011/12/toronto-motorcycle-parking-benefits.html

Akiyasu Motohashi Alan Barnett Alan Carter Alan North Alan Shepherd