CPC Parking Lot Transportation Rationale Prepared By: NOVATECH Suite 200, 240 Michael Cowpland Drive Ottawa, Ontario K2M 1P6 September 2015 Novatech File: 114093 Ref: R-2015-153
Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION... 2 2.0 DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPORTATION TARGETS... 2 2.1 BUILDING C... 2 2.2 CANADA POST CAMPUS... 3 3.0 ENCOURAGING MULTI-MODAL TRANSPORTATION... 3 3.1 CITY OF OTTAWA INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES... 3 3.1.1 Pedestrians... 3 3.1.2 Cyclists... 4 3.1.3 Transit... 4 3.2 CANADA POST CAMPUS FACILITIES AND PROGRAMS... 5 3.2.1 Parking Management... 5 3.2.2 Cycling End-of-Trip Facilities... 5 3.2.3 Transit Incentive Programs... 7 3.2.4 Canada Post Commuter Challenge... 7 3.2.5 Flexible Working Hours and Teleworking... 7 3.3 FUTURE REDUCTION IN OFF-SITE PARKING SUPPLY... 7 3.4 POTENTIAL TDM INITIATIVES FOR BUILDING C... 8 4.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS... 8 Appendices APPENDIX A - SITE PLAN List of Figures Figure 1: Study Area and Site... 2 Figure 2: OC Transpo Stop and Station Locations... 5 Figure 3: Formal Bicycle Parking... 6 Figure 4: Informal Bicycle Parking... 6 Novatech i
1.0 INTRODUCTION The Canada Post Corporation (CPC) campus located at has leasable office space available in Building C (shown in Figure 1) and has proposed to build a surface parking lot to serve potential tenants. The proposed parking lot is part of a strategy to increase the number of employees on-site through a variety of multi-modal transportation options. The following provides the projected transportation modal shares for both Building C and the CPC campus as well as an overview of the facilities and programs to support multi-modal transportation options. Figure 1: Study Area and Site 2.0 DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPORTATION TARGETS 2.1 Building C Building C has a gross floor area of approximately 100,000 square feet of office space and the current occupancy level is approximately 10%. This facility has remained largely unoccupied for several years and as a result a strategy was developed to increase the attractiveness of this facility through the provision of a dedicated parking lot which is proposed to be gate-controlled and managed independently of the remaining CPC parking. Novatech Page 2
Future tenants in Building C are anticipated as early as 2015 with full occupancy of the building achieved over the next five years. In the next year, it is expected that a tenant will occupy 52,000 square feet with proposed work space provided for a total of 262 employees (or approximately 1 employee per 200 square feet). Assuming the same density is maintained as the building becomes fully leased over the five year horizon, Building C is anticipated to employ approximately 500 employees when fully occupied. The proposed parking lot consists of converting a recently demolished building and parking lot immediately west of Building C into a surface parking lot with up to 204 spaces to accommodate future tenants. The site plan for the proposed parking lot is provided in Appendix A. The existing CPC parking lot passes are over-sold at a rate of approximately 12% to account for staff that are not on-site at all times. Based on the projected 500 employees, and assuming parking is over-sold by 12%, the building could accommodate a total of 228 (204 x 1.12) auto drivers; an auto driver mode share of 46%. This auto mode share is slightly lower (fewer drivers) than the City of Ottawa s Transportation Master Plan (2013) target for auto driver trips in the 20- year horizon period. 2.2 Canada Post Campus The 2011 TRANS OD Survey identified an auto driver modal share of 62% for the Confederation Heights area. The City of Ottawa s Transportation Master Plan (2013) projected employment levels over a 20-year planning horizon and identified 51% of the increase to occur within the inner suburbs (including Confederation Heights). CPC is currently reviewing opportunities to increase the number of employees on-site by reducing the space allocated to each work station and leasing out available areas. If the site achieves a density of one employee per 200 square feet (as identified for the future tenant of Building C), the auto driver modal share will be reduced to 47%; similar to the targets identified in the TMP. 3.0 ENCOURAGING MULTI-MODAL TRANSPORTATION The Canada Post Campus is currently well connected to the city-wide pedestrian and cycling networks and served by both rapid transit and local transit routes. The combination of these facilities and services allows employees to make use of a wide variety of transportation choices. The existing and proposed facilities to be implemented by the City of Ottawa as well as the existing measures in place to encourage multi-modal transportation are further described below. 3.1 City of Ottawa Infrastructure and Services 3.1.1 Pedestrians Existing sidewalks are provided along Heron Road, Riverside Drive, and Brookfield Road adjacent to the site. Sidewalks are also provided along one side of all internal roadways within the Canada Post site. A new sidewalk is proposed along the west side of the access road between the north end of the proposed parking lot and Brookfield Road. Novatech Page 3
3.1.2 Cyclists The site is well connected to the cycling network in the area. The site is currently connected to the Sawmill Creek Pathway with connections to the on-street bike lanes on Bronson Avenue, the local cycling route along Brookfield Road, and connections further south to the Alta Vista, Hunt Club and Greenboro neighbourhoods. The site is also connected to the Hog s Back Road pathway with connections to the Rideau Canal Pathway, the Rideau River Pathway, and the onroad cycling lanes along Prince of Wales Drive. As part of the Ottawa Cycling Plan (OCP), the Confederation Heights area was identified as a major employment node and projects were prioritized with the goal of increasing the cycling modal share to this site. Improvements to Brookfield Road were included as part of the OCP as a Phase 1 (2014-2018) project. Heron Road forms part of a Cross-Town Bikeway with proposed improvements to the east identified as a Phase 1 project and connections to the west proposed as part of the Baseline Road Transit Intensive Corridor work. 3.1.3 Transit The CPC campus is well served by transit with access to the O-Train Confederation Station and several local routes. In addition, the future Baseline Transit Intensive Corridor will provide further transit priority to routes travelling along Heron Road. Rapid Transit The O-Train Trillium Line Confederation Station is located immediately east of the Canada Post Campus and approximately 350m from Building C. The O-Train has been recently upgraded with current service operating on a 12min frequency. An asphalt pathway connects the pedestrian network within the site to the O-Train Confederation Station. The Transitway s Heron Station is located approximately 800m from Building C, with a walking distance of approximately 1km. Heron Station is served by Transitway Routes 97, 98, 99 and 116, express routes to/from the south, as well as several local routes. Local Service Bus stops #1342 and #1569 are located along Heron Road, approximately 350m north of Building C and serve Routes 111 and 118 which both operate on an 8-10min frequency during peak periods. Local routes 87 and 140 travel along Brookfield Road and through the CPC site between Brookfield Road and Heron Road with stops less than 50m from Building C. Stop numbers #0401 and #6901 are located immediately adjacent to Building C on the west side and stop numbers #4128 and #4139 are located immediately south of Building C on Brookfield Road. Route 87 typically serves the local stops every 10-20 minutes during peak periods while Route 140 provides service only in the peak direction with a 30 minute frequency. The location of the OC Transpo stops and stations in the area are shown in Figure 2. Novatech Page 4
Figure 2: OC Transpo Stop and Station Locations 3.2 Canada Post Campus Facilities and Programs The CPC campus currently provides a number of facilities and programs to encourage and support multi-modal transportation options. The following provides an overview of the initiatives in place. 3.2.1 Parking Management The on-site parking passes for the CPC campus are sold monthly on a first-come first-served basis. Paid parking was implemented in the mid-1990s to discourage commuting by private automobile and is currently priced at $51/month. To encourage carpooling, 30 priority spaces have been designated for carpools on the ground level of the parking garage. 3.2.2 Cycling End-of-Trip Facilities The towers currently have a total of 10 showers available to staff (5 men and 5 women) as well as 8 lockers. In addition, access to the Confederation Heights Fitness Centre is available for only $80/year and includes 30 lockers (available on an annual basis) and 16 showers. Novatech Page 5
A total of 210 formal bicycle parking spaces are spread out across the campus for greater convenience to those destined to each building. The majority of bicycle parking spaces are available by the main entrance to the towers, as shown in Figure 3. Building B and the cafeteria each have an additional 16 parking spaces and 56 sheltered bike parking spaces are provided within the garage. An additional 30 bicycle parking spaces are available at the rear of Building C and the main entrance to the Health Canada building. Figure 3: Formal Bicycle Parking In addition to the formal bicycle parking, railings and fencing are used for convenience as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4: Informal Bicycle Parking The City of Ottawa By-Law requires 1 bicycle parking space per 250m 2 of gross floor area. For the entire campus, including Building C, a total of 331 spaces are required. While the existing formal supply of bicycle racks does not meet the by-law requirements, the existing bicycle parking demand will continue to be monitored and additional bicycle racks added as demand Novatech Page 6
increases. Sufficient bicycle parking will be provided adjacent to Building C to meet the by-law requirements for this building. 3.2.3 Transit Incentive Programs The CPC has worked collaboratively with OC Transpo to provide convenient transit service to/from the site. A series of multi-use pathways provide direct connections for pedestrians and cyclists between the campus and the Trillium Line s Confederation Station and Heron Road transit stops. In addition, CPC allows OC Transpo to operate two transit routes through the campus providing stops immediately adjacent to Buildings B and C. In the recent past, Canada Post also participated in OC Transpo s EcoPass program prior to it being replaced by the Presto card. 3.2.4 Canada Post Commuter Challenge The Canada Post Active Commuting Challenge has been aimed at encouraging employees to commute by non-motorized modes since 1996. The program aims to reduce vehicular emissions, encourage awareness of environmental health and fitness and reduce vehicular traffic in the community. The program is typically run between mid-april to the end of October and was recognized through five different award and certificate programs between 1997 and 2000. Between 1996 and 2014 participants have collectively cycled over two million kilometers. 3.2.5 Flexible Working Hours and Teleworking Most employees on-site are permitted to work slightly flexible office hours which can assist employees arriving and departing by transit to align their schedules with the transit service. In addition, Canada Post has implemented a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to facilitate some employees to telework. The availability of these services for different employers within the campus is not known. 3.3 Future Reduction in Off-Site Parking Supply With a limited number of on-site parking spaces, employees who choose to drive but do not have a parking permit have typically parked in the available off-site lot on the south side of Brookfield Road. This off-site lot has a capacity of approximately 400 vehicles and costs $7.50/day. Surveys of this lot on September 3 rd and 8 th identified between 60 and 65 vehicles currently using the lot; although historical aerial photos identify the lot being fully utilized in the recent past. This property is proposed to be re-developed and it is expected parking facilities for the general public will no longer be available. With the reduction in parking in the area, CPC intends to maintain the on-site parking supply which is expected to result in fewer employees driving to work. Novatech Page 7
3.4 Potential TDM Initiatives for Building C The City of Ottawa has developed a comprehensive Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategy as part of its efforts to reduce automobile dependency. TDM measures can reduce transportation infrastructure requirements by encouraging people to change their travel mode, timing or destination. Building C conforms to the City s TDM initiatives by providing easy access to local pedestrian, cycling and transit systems and limiting on-site parking as outlined above. In addition, the future tenants may consider the following: Designating carpool spaces and providing priority passes to those carpooling Providing end-of-trip facilities such as showers and lockers within Building C Allowing employees flexible working hours and teleworking opportunities 4.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The Canada Post Corporation (CPC) campus has leasable office space available in Building C which has remained largely unoccupied for many years. To increase the attractiveness of the leasable area and increase the number of employees on-site, a surface parking lot with up to 204 spaces is proposed to serve potential tenants. Based on the relatively limited parking supply proposed to serve Building C, it is expected that tenants of this building will achieve an auto driver modal share of 46% over the five-year horizon period; slightly lower (fewer drivers) than the City s Transportation Master Plan projections. Multi-modal transportation options are required to serve Building C and the remaining office space on the CPC campus. Canada Post has implemented infrastructure and programs to encourage walking, cycling, transit and carpooling such as: Consistent pedestrian and cycling connections Flexible working hours Teleworking opportunities Paid and limited parking on-site Transit routes through the campus including stops on-site Direct pathway connections the Confederation Station An Active Commuting Challenge Bicycle parking End-of-trip facilities such as showers and lockers The proposed parking lot is proposed to increase the attractiveness of Building C to future tenants and remains one of several multi-modal transportation options available to all employees on-site. Novatech Page 8
APPENDIX A - SITE PLAN Novatech