The Regional Municipality of Peel
By-law number 62-2013

A by-law to consolidate and amend the by-laws that designate Regional roads as controlled access roads and to prohibit or regulate the construction and use of any access onto a Regional road, and to repeal By-law Numbers 59-77, 45-83, 120-83, 56-93 and 75-2012.

Whereas, under the broad powers delegated under the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25, as amended, a council is authorized to pass by-laws designating highways as controlled access highways and prohibiting or regulating the construction or use of any access onto highways;

And whereas, pursuant to Section 35 of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25, as amended, a municipality may pass by-laws removing or restricting the common law right of passage by the public over a highway and the common law right of access to the highway by an owner of land abutting a highway;

And whereas, By-law Number 59-77 was enacted on May 12, 1977, by the Council of The Regional Municipality of Peel ("The Region") to designate Regional roads as controlled access highways and to prohibit or regulate the construction and use of any access onto highways under the jurisdiction of The Region;

And whereas, amending by-laws have been enacted from time to time by the Council of The Region, to clarify and outline in greater detail the application process and criteria for access to a Regional road;

And whereas, it is the wish and intent of the Council of The Region for all Regional roads to remain as controlled access highways as established by By-law 59-77;

And whereas, By-law Number 120-83 was enacted on July 5, 1983, by the Council of The Region to provide for the for the payment of entrance culvert installation and entrance construction for new entrances to properties abutting on Regional roads;

And whereas, in order to obtain greater efficiency in the administration of access to Regional roads, it is deemed beneficial to consolidate and amend all controlled access and entrance by-laws;

And whereas, the Council of The Region has by resolution passed on the 4th day of July, 2013 authorized the enactment of a by-law to consolidate and amend all controlled access and entrance by-laws, and authorized the repeal of By-law Numbers 59-77, 45-83, 120-83, 56-93 and 75-2012;

Now therefore, the Council of the Regional Corporation enacts as follows:

Interpretation

1. That in this By-law,
   1. "Access" means any private road, entranceway, structure or facility constructed or used as a means of access;
   2. "Applicant" means the Owner or person acting on behalf of the Owner who is applying for a Permit under this By-law;
   3. "Area Municipality" means the City of Mississauga, the City of Brampton, and the Town of Caledon;
   4. "Arterial Road" means a Highway whose primary function is to carry through traffic from one area to another with as little interference as possible from adjacent land uses, but which may provide direct Access to real property as a secondary function, particularly for large traffic generators;
   5. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Public Works for The Region or his designate;
   6. "Commissioner of Public Works" means the Commissioner of Public Works for The Region of Peel and does not include his designate;
   7. "Controlled Access Highway" means a Highway designated as such by The Region, to or from which Access may be denied or controlled, in whole or in part, from or to adjoining real property or an intersecting Highway;
   8. "Equipment" means any type of truck, grader, loader or any other type of Vehicle used for construction or related activities;
   9. "Highway" means a common and public highway, street, avenue, parkway, driveway, square, place, bridge, viaduct or trestle, any part of which is intended for or used by the general public for passage of Vehicles and pedestrians and includes the area between the lateral property lines thereof;
   10. "Median" means the portion of a Highway so constructed as to separate traffic travelling in one direction from traffic travelling in the opposite direction by physical barrier or a raised or depressed paved or unpaved separation area that is intended to prevent crossing vehicular movements;
   11. "Neighbouring Municipality" means the City of Vaughan, County of Dufferin, County of Wellington, Region of Halton, Region of York, Town of Erin, Town of Halton Hills, Town of Oakville and Town of Orangeville;
   12. "Owner" means the registered owner of the property directly adjacent to the portion of the Regional Road which the Applicant is applying for Access;
   13. "Permit" means a road occupancy permit or Access permit issued in accordance with this By-law;
   14. "Person" means any person, firm or corporation;
   15. "Region" means The Regional Municipality of Peel;
   16. "Regional Road" means any Highway designated as a Regional Road in the Regional Road System By-law, being By-law Number 95-2007, as amended or replaced from time to time;
   17. "Traffic Control Signal" means any power-operated traffic control device, whether manually, electrically or mechanically operated, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop and permitted to proceed;
   18. "Transportation Impact Assessment" means a study submitted by the Applicant which estimates the traffic generated by a proposed development and assesses the effects it will have on the surrounding transportation network, to determine what provisions are needed for safe and efficient site Access and traffic flow, and to address other related safety and capacity issues; and
   19. "Vehicle" includes a motor vehicle, trailer, traction engine, farm tractor, road-building machine and any vehicle drawn, propelled or driven by any kind of power, including muscular power and including the live creature providing the muscular power, but does not include a motorized snow vehicle or a street car.

Designation

2. That every Regional Road is hereby designated as a Controlled Access Highway.
3. That every Regional Road is hereby designated as an Arterial Road.

Construction and/or use of access

4. No person shall use, construct, relocate or alter or cause to be used constructed, relocated or altered an Access onto a Regional Road without a Permit having been issued by the Commissioner under this By-law for such Access.
5. No Owner shall use any Access onto a Regional Road except in strict compliance with all terms and conditions of the Permit issued by the Commissioner under this By-law for such Access.

Application for access

6. The Commissioner may approve, with or without conditions, or deny an application for Access onto a Regional Road taking into account the following:
   1. the policies and procedures of The Region including, without limitation;
      1. "Regional Road Characterization Study – Section III: Access Control (2013)" as may be amended or replaced from time to time; and
      2. the Region's Official Plan policies; and
      3. the Region's road design guidelines and standards for the engineering submission process, including the Region's Public Works Design, Standards Specification & Procedures Manual, as amended or replaced from time to time;
   2. the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended or replaced from time to time;
   3. traffic safety and capacity considerations;
   4. input from the staff of the appropriate Area Municipality where the Commissioner, in his sole discretion, has requested such input;
   5. the results of the Transportation Impact Assessment, where the Commissioner has required the Applicant to submit such an assessment as part of the Application, and where found to be satisfactory by the Commissioner; and
   6. where a property abuts an intersection and has a frontage of less than 100 metres, the Commissioner may consider one right in/right out Access at the furthest limit of the property frontage from the intersection, provided that a minimum separation of thirty (30) metres from the intersection and any existing Access is maintained to provide adequate corner clearances.
7. An Applicant for an Access onto a Regional Road shall submit to the Commissioner the following:
   1. a completed application for a Permit, in a form approved by the Commissioner, which application, if approved, shall form the Permit for the Access and shall contain terms and conditions on which the Access is granted by the Commissioner, in addition to any other conditions imposed by the Commissioner pursuant to his authority under this By-law;
   2. all applicable fees under the Region's Fees By-law, being By-law Number 110-2012, as amended, or replaced from time to time;
   3. security in such an amount and form as, in the opinion of the Commissioner, is sufficient to cover the cost of repairing any damage to the Regional Road resulting from road and Access works, which security shall be reduced to 10% upon satisfactory completion of the road and Access works and correction of any deficiencies, and held for the duration of a three (3) year maintenance period;
   4. a letter outlining the reasons and purpose of the requested Access;
      1. in the case of an Access other than to a private residential dwelling or for farming purposes, the application shall be accompanied by two copies each of a site plan and a site grading plan; or
      2. in the case of an Access to a private residential dwelling or for farming purposes, the application shall be accompanied by two copies of a site plan or sketch showing the location and dimensions of the Access; and
   5. at the discretion of the Commissioner, a Transportation Impact Assessment, the cost of which shall be the sole responsibility of the Applicant.
8. In addition to the terms and conditions contained on the Permit, the Commissioner may also impose either or both of the following as conditions of granting an Access onto a Regional Road, the costs of which shall be the sole responsibility of the Applicant:
   1. that a reference plan be prepared showing the location of the approved Access;
   2. that the Owner enter into an access agreement or letter of undertaking, the terms of which shall be determined by the Commissioner, to be registered on title to the Owner's property, setting out the conditions of access approval, including but not limited to;
      1. in the case of an application for an Access, the Owner's responsibility for all costs associated with the construction of the Access; or
      2. in the case of an application for any Access other than full moves access, the Region shall have the ability to physically restrict the Access in the future for safety and capacity reasons as determined by the Commissioner, in his sole discretion.
9. The Commissioner may grant approval for a temporary Access for a specified period of time in order to accommodate site development upon written request from the Owner or Applicant.
10. The Owner shall engage a qualified contractor, approved by the Commissioner, to undertake the construction of an Access at the Owner's sole expense, in conjunction with the overall site work. The materials and methods to be employed shall be approved by the Commissioner. The Owner shall provide forty-eight (48) hours notice to the Region prior to commencement of work on the Access.
11. The issuance of a Permit under this By-law does not limit the liability of the Owner, driver, operator or mover of any Vehicle or Equipment for which the Permit is obtained, from responsibility for all damages which may be caused to the Regional Road by reason of the driving, operation or moving of any such Vehicle or Equipment.
12. All road and Access works required by the Commissioner, whether temporary or permanent, associated with or arising as a result of the granting of an Access to the Owner onto the Regional Road including, where applicable, subsequent reinstatement of the disturbed areas of the Regional Road shall be at the sole expense of the Owner.

Traffic control signals

13. Where the Commissioner has approved a full moves Access, Traffic Control Signals shall be installed when:
    1. the criteria for Traffic Control Signals, as established in Ontario Traffic Manual Book 12, as may be amended or replaced from time to time, are met; or
    2. it is directed by either the Commissioner of Public Works or by the Council of The Region to install Traffic Control Signals.
14. The installation of Traffic Control Signals at an Access approved by the Commissioner shall be solely at the expense of the Owner.
15. The maintenance of Traffic Control Signals at an Access approved by the Commissioner shall be solely at the expense of the Owner for a ten (10) year period, paid by way of lump sum in accordance with the Region's Fees By-law, being By-law Number 110-2012, as amended, or replaced from time to time.

0.3 metre reserves

16. Where The Region is the owner of a 0.3 metre (one (1) foot) reserve that is prohibiting an Access onto a Regional Road; the Commissioner has approved Access onto the Regional Road under this By-law; and the Applicant has complied with any and all terms and conditions imposed, the Commissioner of Public Works may recommend that the reserve at the approved Access location be lifted, and a by-law shall be submitted to Regional Council for approval to dedicate the reserve as part of the public Highway adjacent thereto.

Notice

17. The Commissioner may give to any Person who contravenes Sections 4 and 5 of this By-law notice in writing requiring rectification of the contravention within twelve (12) hours, or immediately if deemed a safety hazard, and notifying such Person that in default of compliance with the said notice, the Region will perform the work at the Person's sole expense.
     
18. In the event that such Person does not comply with the direction in the said notice, the Region may perform the work, or cause it to be done, at the Person's expense, and the cost thereof may be recovered from such Person by court action or the same may be added to the tax roll and collected in the same manner as property taxes.

Boundary highways

19. In the case of a boundary Highway between The Region and a Neighbouring Municipality, over which The Region and Neighbouring Municipality have joint jurisdiction, subject to approval for application for access by the municipality in which the property is situated, the municipality responsible for the maintenance of the Highway shall also be responsible for the construction of the Access, and section 16 of this By-law shall apply. In the case where the Region is responsible for the maintenance of the boundary Highway, Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21 and 22 of this By-law shall apply.

Penalties and enforcement

20. Any Person who contravenes any provision of this By-law is guilty of an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine in accordance with the provisions of the Provincial Offences Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.33, as amended.
21. If a court of competent jurisdiction declares any section or part of a section of this By-law, as amended to be invalid, it is the intention of Council for The Region that the remainder of the By-law, as amended, continue to be in force.
22. The provisions of this By-law may be enforced by the Provincial Offences Officers of the Area Municipalities.

General

23. The following By-laws of the Regional Corporation are hereby repealed:

23. This By-law may be referred to as the "Controlled Access By-law".
24. 25. This By-law shall come into force and effect on the date it is passed.

Read three times And passed in open Council this 4th day of July, 2013.