Attachment 3: Technical Memo - Parking Assessment by McElhanney

1. Introduction

McElhanney Ltd. (McElhanney) was retained by Canadian Tire to conduct a parking review in support of a store expansion proposed at an existing Canadian Tire store site located at 1519 Admirals Road in View Royal, British Columbia. The purpose of this parking study is to review parking requirements associated with the proposed development expansion and to determine the parking supply required to handle the parking demand of the proposed expansion.

1.1. Site Description

The proposed Canadian Tire expansion is located at 1519 Admirals Road in View Royal, British Columbia. The site is located approximately 120m west of the Island Highway and Admirals Road intersection, on the west side of Admirals Road. The site location is shown in Figure 1.

As shown in the site plan, the following three accesses are provided for the Canadian Tire Retail and Automotive Centre:

• Access #1 – Full movement access on Glentana Road, about 95 metres northwest of the Glentana Road and Admirals Road intersection
• Access #2 – Right-in-right-out access on Admirals Road, about 55 metres northeast of the Glentana Road and Admirals Road intersection
• Access #3 – Right-in-right-out access on Island Highway, about 120 metres northwest of the Island Highway and Admirals Road intersection

1.2. Development Proposal

Based on the site development plan provided in Appendix A, the existing 69,806 ft² Canadian Tire Retail and Automotive Centre is proposed to be expanded with an additional 21,288 ft² building. Canadian Tire plans to expand their retail operations by moving the garden centre compound to the site of an existing surface parking lot located adjacent to the Retail and Automotive Centre. To accommodate the store expansion, the proposed parking layout suggests a minor reduction in the parking supply from 208 stalls to 205 stalls, resulting in a loss of 3 parking stalls. Note that this proposed parking scheme also includes parking for the CRU 1 retail building, located on the same lot.

2. Parking Surveys

2.1. Parking Counts

To gain a better understanding of the parking demands at the site, Canadian Tire conducted parking utilization surveys. The surveys were carried out on Friday, February 11th, 2022, and Saturday, February 12th, 2022 over a 12-hour period between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM. A surveyor was on-site to record the number of vehicles parked in the parking lot. The survey data, which was recorded at 1-hour intervals, is presented in Table 1. Detailed count sheets are also included in Appendix B.

Table 1: Parking Counts

In general, peak travel conditions are typically observed during the summer months, particularly in July and August. Since the parking counts were conducted in February 2022, it was assumed that the parking demand during the summer months would be 50% more. Table 2 presents the adjusted summer peak parking demand.

Table 2: Adjusted Summer 2022 Parking Demand

3. Parking Demand Forecast

The Institute of Transportation Engineers’ (ITE) Parking Generation (5th Edition) manual provides data on surveys across the United States and Canada of peak parking demand for different land uses. ITE’s Parking Generation (5th Edition) manual was used to determine the parking supply that would be required to handle the parking demand of the proposed expansion. The manual provides reliable estimates on parking demand typically observed at home improvement stores.

For this study, the parking generation rates for the land use category 862 (Home Improvement Superstore) were applied to evaluate future parking requirements for the proposed expansion. To reflect the proposed site expansion, the estimated parking demand is based on parking generation rates that were developed for home improvement stores located in a general urban setting for typical Friday and Saturday peak periods.

The ITE parking generation rates are displayed in Table 3 and the estimated peak parking demand for the proposed site expansion is shown in Table 4.

Table 3: ITE Parking Generation Rates for Proposed Expansion

Table 4: ITE Parking Demand Forecast for Proposed Expansion

Based on ITE parking rates, it is expected that the proposed expansion would demand approximately 40 to 69 parking spaces during the weekday peak period and about 65 to 94 parking spaces during the weekend peak period on top of existing peak parking demands.

4. Bylaw Parking Requirements

4.1. Town of View Royal’s Zoning Bylaw

There are several parking requirements pertaining to the proposed site expansion based on the Town of View Royal’s Zoning Bylaw No.900 (2014). This document can be found in Appendix C. The applicable guidelines described in Section 5 of Schedule A - Zoning Text are discussed below.

Bylaw No.900 5.5.1.(a) states that each required off-street parking space must be a minimum of 2.6m in width and a minimum of 5.5m in length exclusive of access aisles. The length of each parking space may be reduced to 5m if the off-street parking areas are intended to accommodate spaces for more than 100 vehicles and if significant tree landscaping is made an integral part of the overall parking area.

The developer shall ensure that the vehicle parking stalls meet the dimensions stated above.

Bylaw No.900 5.10. – Parking and Loading Schedule states that off-street parking and loading spaces must be provided in accordance with Table 5.2 – Off-Street Parking Schedule.

Table 5.2 – Off-Street Parking Schedule describes the minimum number of off-street parking spaces required based on the type of development. Table 5 below summarizes the minimum number of off-street vehicle parking spaces required to satisfy the bylaw requirements for the different retail services offered on the subject property.

Table 5: Bylaw Requirements (Vehicle Parking)

Given Canadian Tire’s proposed expansion of 21,288 ft² (1,978 m²) and the size of the CRU 1 building, the site is required to provide a minimum of 283 parking spaces according to Town of View Royal’s Zoning Bylaw No.900 (2014). The current development plan proposes a supply of 205 parking spaces which is a reduction of 28% (or -78 stalls) from the number of required stalls (283) specified in the bylaw.

Bylaw No.900 5.11.1. – Bicycle Parking states that bicycle parking must be provided in accordance with Table 5.4 – Bicycle Parking Schedule.

Table 5.4 – Bicycle Parking Schedule describes the minimum number of bicycle spaces required based on the type of development. Table 6 below summarizes the minimum number of bicycle parking spaces required to satisfy the bylaw requirements for the different retail services offered on the subject property.

Table 6: Bylaw Requirements (Bicycle Parking)

As shown, the minimum number of required bicycle spaces for the “Shopping Centre” land use designation is 1 per 250 m² of floor area for the first 5000 m², plus one per 500 m² of additional floor area. Additionally, 30% of the required bicycle spaces must be provided with a “Class 1” parking facility designed to accommodate long-term parking for employees, usually within a building or covered, fenced area. The remaining 70% shall be provided with a “Class 2” short term visitor bicycle parking facility, such as a bike rack at the store entrance. The minimum number of required bicycle spaces for the “Industrial” land use designation is 1 per 950 m² of floor area, with 80% being “Class 1” and 20% “Class 2”.

Based on the total floor area of the development site, a minimum of 25 bicycle parking spaces, of which 9 shall be designed with a “Class 1” parking facility, while 16 shall be designed with a “Class 2” parking facility, should be provided.

Bylaw No. 900 5.13.1. states that for every commercial or multiple unit residential development that requires more than 100 parking spaces, an electric vehicle charging station is required on the lot, in a location which is accessible to the patrons or residents.

Since the site requires a minimum of 283 parking spaces, an electric vehicle charging station should also be provided.

Bylaw No. 900 5.13.3. states that every required Class 1 bicycle parking must be an Energized Electric Bicycle Space.

The developer shall ensure that the “Class 1” bicycle parking facility complies with the requirement stated above.

Bylaw No. 900 5.14. – Accessible Parking states that one of every 100 spaces must be accessible when 50 or more spaces are provided. Furthermore, the accessible designated stalls must have a minimum width of 3.7m and a minimum length of 5.5m.

Currently, the site development plan proposes the provision of 4 accessible stalls in the parking lot which satisfies the bylaw requirement of 2 accessible designated stalls. The developer shall ensure that the accessible parking stalls meet the dimensions stated above.

4.2. Bylaw Parking Requirements Summary

Based on the off-street vehicle parking requirements outlined in the Town of View Royal’s Zoning Bylaw No. 900 (2014), as described in Section 4.1, an analysis was completed on the number of parking stalls required. The number of required parking stalls to satisfy Town of View Royal’s bylaw requirement is summarized in Table 7 below.

Table 7: Parking Bylaw Requirements for Proposed Site Expansion

As shown, the proposed parking supply does not meet the Town of View Royal’s bylaw requirement of a minimum of 283 parking spaces. The proposed bicycle parking supply does meet the Town of View Royal’s bylaw requirement of 25 spaces.

5. Parking Analysis

5.1. Existing Parking Utilization

The existing Canadian Tire store site currently has 208 stalls available for employees and customers to park their vehicle. Based on the findings of the parking surveys, it is expected that the hourly parking demand would range between 24 and 137 vehicles on a summer day, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Parking utilization analysis was conducted to identify whether the existing parking facility operates at, below, or above capacity. Generally, parking facilities are considered “effectively full” at a utilization rate of 85%. This utilization rate is a common target for parking space occupancy and indicates the moment at which finding an available parking space becomes challenging for drivers, resulting in increased circulation as users look for parking.

Based on the weekday and weekend peak demands, the existing parking facility is not currently being used to its full capacity. Table 8 displays the peak demands and utilization during the weekday and weekend peak hours. As indicated in the table, the current parking facility is only 62% utilized during the weekday peak hour and 66% utilized during the weekend peak hour. Both utilization rates are well below the 85% effective capacity threshold, indicating that the current parking facility operates well below capacity and is sufficient to accommodate existing peak parking demands.

Table 8: Existing Parking Utilization Rate for Peak Summer Demands

Note: ¹ Includes Canadian Tire Service Centre, Warehouse, Retail and Automotive Centre Store, Garden Centre, Office, and CRU 1 Building.

5.2. Parking Utilization of Proposed Site Expansion

Proposed Parking Supply

As part of the site expansion, the proposed parking scheme suggests reducing the parking supply from 208 stalls to 205 stalls. To assess whether the proposed parking supply would be able to handle peak demands associated with the proposed site expansion, utilization rates were calculated using the estimated parking demand forecast and the proposed parking supply.

Table 9 shows the peak demand forecasts and expected utilization rates for the weekday and weekend peak periods. As shown, the parking lot is anticipated to be 88% utilized during the weekday peak period and 102% utilized during the weekend peak period. Since the ITE parking rates are generally considered to be conservative and are only based on 29 sites that were surveyed between 1980 and 2000 across the United States, supplying 205 stalls, which is 4 parking stalls short of the projected peak weekend demand, is anticipated to be adequate to handle the proposed expansion parking demand.

Table 9: Parking Utilization based on Proposed Parking Supply and Parking Demand Forecast

Town of View Royal Bylaw – Parking Stalls Required

To evaluate how much of the parking facility would be utilized if it were to be designed in accordance with the bylaw requirements, utilization rates were calculated using the estimated parking demand forecast and Town of View Royal’s parking supply requirement. Table 10 shows the peak demand forecasts and expected utilization rates based on bylaw requirements for the weekday and weekend peak periods.

Comparison of the utilization rates indicates that designing the parking facility in compliance with the bylaw requirements would decrease parking utilization during the weekday and weekend peak periods from 88% to 64% and 102% to 74%, respectively.

Table 10: Parking Utilization based on Town of View Royal Bylaw and Parking Demand Forecast

6. Recommendations

Although the Town of View Royal’s Zoning Bylaw No.900 (2014) requires a minimum of 283 parking spaces for the proposed expansion, the parking utilization analysis indicates that supplying this many parking spaces would result in the parking facility being only 64% utilized during peak weekday usage and 74% utilized during peak weekend usage. Abiding by the bylaw requirements would therefore result in an overdesigned parking facility.

Based on the proposed parking supply of 205 stalls, the parking utilization analysis showed that the parking facility would be 88% utilized during the weekday peak period and 102% utilized during the weekend peak period. Although these rates are above the 85% preferred utilization rate, it is important to acknowledge that the ITE parking demand rates tend to be more on the conservative side and thus, the parking demand forecasts developed for this study may potentially be higher than observed in the future.

In comparison with the existing utilization rate and the utilization rate based on bylaw requirements, the anticipated utilization rate, based on the proposed parking supply of 205 stalls, suggests that the proposed parking scheme would allow for better usage of the parking facility.

Based on the estimated peak summer demands for existing conditions and projected demands associated with the site expansion, the proposed parking supply (205 stalls) should be sufficient to meet existing and anticipated future parking demands.

7. Closing

The information within this report is true and accurate to the best of our knowledge. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this analysis, please contact the undersigned.

Yours truly, McElhanney Ltd.

Appendices A – Site Development Plan B – Parking Counts C – Town of View Royal Zoning Bylaw No.900 (2014)

cc: Kevin Brooks, McElhanney

APPENDIX A Site Development Plan

APPENDIX B Parking Counts

APPENDIX C Town of View Royal Zoning Bylaw No.900 (2014)

5.0 PARKING AND LOADING

5.1. GENERAL PARKING REQUIREMENTS

5.1.1. Owners or occupiers of any lot, building or other structure within the Town must provide off-street parking and loading spaces for such buildings or other structures, including spaces for use by persons with a disability, motorcycles, bicycles, scooters, and electric vehicles in conformity with the standards prescribed in this Bylaw.

Where the number of required parking spaces is based on seating, the maximum capacity of the building, prescribed by the Fire Commissioner, applies.

5.2. LOCATION AND DESIGN

5.2.1. All off-street parking and loading spaces, including spaces for use by persons with a disability, required to be provided under this Bylaw must be located on the lot on which the building or other structure requiring the parking spaces is situated.

5.2.2. All required off-street parking and loading areas must: a) not be located closer than 1.2m from any lot line, unless otherwise specified in this bylaw. b) be surfaced with a permanent surface of asphalt, concrete or similar pavement, so as to provide a surface that is durable and dust-free for the purpose intended; c) have fences or curbs to prevent the crossing of sidewalks and boulevards by motor vehicles except at driveway crossings; d) have the individual parking spaces, manoeuvring aisles, entrances and exits clearly marked by curbs, fences, or lines and signs; e) have a maximum gradient and cross slope of 6 percent for residential zones and a maximum of 2 percent for non-residential zones; f) have surface drainage directed either to approved planting areas or through a storm sewer system and rock pits or if a public storm sewer is available, be connected to such storm sewer; g) have the lighting of the parking lot, if lighted, placed in such a manner so as to minimize light falling on abutting lots.

Section 5.2.2 does not apply to park and playfield use as specified in a P-3 and P-6 zones. Section 5.2.2 applies where more than 3 spaces are required in an agricultural or residential zone.

5.3. SITING

5.3.1. No more than two off-street parking spaces can be located in a front yard in a residential zone except in: a) An RM-1, RM-2, RM-3 or RT-1 zone, in which case no parking space may be located in a front yard or within 1.2m of any side or rear lot line; and b) An R-1, R-1A, R-1B, A-1, or A-3 zone, in which case up to three parking spaces may be located in a front yard in association with a secondary suite or home occupation use so long as the portion of the front yard occupied by parking spaces does not exceed 50m² exclusive of driveway to the parking spaces. The 50m² limit does not apply to parking space width in excess of 2.6m, provided this excess width does not itself equal or exceed 2.6m.

5.3.2. Off-street loading spaces must be located so that no backing or turning of vehicles going to or from the lot causes interference with traffic on the adjoining or abutting highways, and must be located so that all materials and commodities can be easily loaded or unloaded, collected or distributed within the lot.

5.4. NUMBER OF SPACES ON LOTS WITH MIXED USES

5.4.1. The total requirements for off-street parking on a lot must be the sum of the requirements for all of the uses computed separately in the case of mixed uses.

5.4.2. Parking facilities for one use must not be counted as parking facilities for any other use on the same or any other lot.

5.4.3. Off-street loading spaces must not be counted as off-street parking spaces and off-street parking spaces must not be counted as off-street loading spaces.

5.5. SIZE

5.5.1. Each required off-street parking space must be a minimum of 2.6m in width, a minimum of 5.5m in length exclusive of access aisles and a minimum overhead clearance of 2.1m. However: a) Where off-street parking areas on a lot are intended to accommodate spaces for more than 100 vehicles, the length of each parking space may be reduced to 5m provided that significant treed landscaping is made an integral part of the overall parking area. b) Overhead clearance may be reduced to 1.8m for projections into a space not more than 0.5m from an interior wall, into the shorter dimension of the space. c) Where a required off-street parking space is positioned immediately adjacent to a wall, pillar, planter or other obstruction the width of the space must be at least 0.3m more than the minimum width of the required space.

5.5.2. For parallel parking, the required minimum width is 3m and the minimum length of each parking space is 7.5m except for end spaces which must be a minimum length of 6m.

5.5.3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, up to a maximum of 30% of the number of off-street parking spaces other than parallel parking spaces, in any off-street parking area, may be 2.4m in width and 4.8m in length. Such spaces must be marked “Small Car Only”.

5.5.4. Where off-street Recreational Vehicle parking is provided, each space must be a minimum of 3m in width and a minimum of 7m in length exclusive of access aisles. For parallel parking, the required minimum width is 3.5m and the minimum length of each parking space is 8.5m except for end spaces which must be at least 7m in length.

5.5.5. Each required off-street loading space must be no less than 30m² in area and no less than 2.5m in width and have no less than 4m of overhead clearance.

5.6. ACCESS

5.6.1. The access to all off-street parking and loading spaces from a highway must not be less than 6m in width and not more than 9m in width.

5.6.2. Driveway access provided for a detached garage located in the rear or side yard must be a minimum of 2.6m in width.

5.7. MANOEUVRING AISLES

5.7.1. Manoeuvring aisles must be unobstructed at all times. Manoeuvring aisles of not less than the following widths in Table 5.1 must be provided.

Table 5.1 - Parking Angle in Degrees Width of Aisle

5.8. SECONDARY SUITE PARKING FACILITIES

5.8.1. Parking spaces located within a garage must not be taken into account in determining compliance with the requirements of Section 5.10 or parking spaces for buildings containing a secondary suite. Parking spaces located within a carport may be taken into account in determining compliance with the requirements for buildings containing a secondary suite, provided the parking spaces are used solely for the parking of motor vehicles.

5.8.2. Parking spaces for dwelling units in a building containing a secondary suite must, in the case of a corner lot, be located at least 6m from the point of intersection of the abutting highways.

5.8.3. Parking spaces for dwelling units in a building containing a secondary suite must, if not located as a direct extension of the driveway: a) be surfaced with permanent surface of asphalt, concrete or similar pavement b) be screened from adjacent residential lot by a landscape screen not less than 0.6m in height, c) and accessed from any driveway existing at the time the secondary suite use commences.

For secondary suite parking facilities clarity, please refer to the following figure:

5.9. PAYMENT IN LIEU OF PARKING

5.9.1. In all areas requiring a Commercial, Intensive Mixed Use, Neighbourhood Mixed-Use or Mixed Residential Form and Character Development Permit under the Town of View Royal Official Community Plan, the owner or occupier of the land, building or other structure may, in lieu of providing the required parking spaces as required by Town regulations for a given use, pay to the Town the amount of $12,000 per parking space for up to 15% of the parking spaces required in Town regulations for that use.

5.9.2. If payment in lieu of parking is provided, the owner or occupier of the land, building or structure must also pay an additional $10,000 per reduced parking space if the Town owns and operates an off-street parking facility within 250 metres of the land, building or structure for which the parking spaces are required.

5.10. PARKING AND LOADING SCHEDULE

Off street parking and loading spaces must be provided in accordance with Table 5.2.

Table 5.2 – Off Street Parking Schedule

Table 5.3 - Off Street Loading Spaces Schedule

5.11. BICYCLE PARKING

5.11.1. Bicycle parking must be provided in accordance with Table 5.4.

5.11.2. In this section: a) “Class 1” means a secure, weather-protected bicycle parking facility used to accommodate long-term parking, such as for residents or employees, usually within a building or covered, fenced area; b) “Class 2” means a short-term visitor bicycle parking facility that may offer some security, and may be partially protected from the weather, for example a bike rack at a building’s entrance.

Table 5.4 – Bicycle Parking Schedule

5.12. MOBILITY SCOOTER PARKING

5.12.1. Where parking spaces for mobility scooters are provided, they must be located adjacent to the entrance of the building or use and must not impede access to the entrance.

5.12.2. Parking spaces for mobility scooters must be located on a sidewalk provided a clear distance of 2m from the parking space to the roadway curb is available so as not to impede or restrict pedestrian movements on the sidewalk.

5.13. ELECTRIC VEHICLE AND ELECTRIC BICYCLE INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS

5.13.1. For every commercial or multiple unit residential development that requires more than 100 parking spaces, an electric vehicle charging station is required on the lot, in a location which is accessible to the patrons or residents.

5.13.2. Every required residential parking space, excepting secondary suites and Home Occupation parking requirements, must be an Energized Electric Vehicle Space.

5.13.3. Every required Class 1 bicycle parking space must be an Energized Electric Bicycle Space.

5.13.4. Non-residential uses with less than 10 required vehicle parking spaces do not require any Energized Electric Vehicle Space, 10-14 required vehicle parking spaces require that one of them is an Energized Electric Vehicle Space, and more than 15 required spaces requires that two of them are Energized Electric Vehicle Spaces or that 5% of the total number of required spaces are Energized Electric Vehicle Spaces (whichever is greater).

5.14. ACCESSIBLE PARKING

a) One of every 100 spaces must be accessible when 50 or more spaces are provided. b) A minimum width of 3.7m is required. c) A minimum length of 5.5m is required.