Mayor Tory is trying to tackle Toronto\u2019s $6 billion traffic congestion problem by cracking down on lane-blocking vehicles, but shredding trucks might be immune to the \u201cnew normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The City started a campaign in January to target illegally parked vehicles, including courier trucks and shredding trucks, and Toronto Police parking enforcement says that these large vehicles are complying \u2014 for the most part.<\/p>\n
Councillor Jaye Robinson, the chair of the City\u2019s public works and infrastructure committee, says that shredding trucks have been a \u201csignificant problem\u201d in the past. As part of the blitz campaign, they have been ticketing and towing as fast as they can, she says.<\/p>\n
But shredding trucks often start their operations knowing that they may be ticketed in the process if they can\u2019t find legal parking. Denis Cordick, vice president marketing of AMJ Shredding, a Toronto-based shredding company, says that it\u2019s just part of the industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you have no choice \u2026 if you have a big customer for whatever your business is, and you happen to get a \u2026 ticket \u2026 you as a company decide that we\u2019re just going to eat that because it\u2019s worthwhile,\u201d says Cordick. Based on where these trucks normally park, the ticket fee could be anywhere between $40 and $150.<\/p>\n
They have also doubled up on drivers in their trucks so that while one employee picks up documents, the other drives the truck around to avoid tickets and blocking lanes. It eventually has to stop, however, for the shredding mechanism to work, and having at least one driver in the vehicle means the truck can\u2019t get towed. Cordick says that towing hasn\u2019t been a problem for the company since the January blitz began.<\/p>\n
According to Brian Moniz, of Toronto Police parking enforcement, out of the more than 3,500 vehicles towed since January, three or four have been shredding trucks. The large, heavy-duty tow trucks required to haul away mobile shredding vehicles could take up to two hours to arrive at the scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can state that we have seen a great improvement with shredders and courier vehicles, where for the most part they\u2019re not impeding the rush hour routes,\u201d says Moniz, adding, \u201cThere are still some issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the most part, Cordick says, drivers of shredding machines do try to find alternative parking options on side streets whenever they can. \u201cFrom our standpoint, we don\u2019t want our brand blocking the street. Because the people driving that we\u2019re inconveniencing, they’re not going to be happy with us, either.\u201d<\/p>\n
But if they can\u2019t, a $150 parking ticket fine is just the price of business for these shredding companies. Towing is easily avoidable if there\u2019s a second driver, so enforcement or not, mobile shredders might just continue blocking roads if it\u2019s convenient for them and their clients, and if they don\u2019t have other options.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they want to continue to violate [by-laws], we can increase the fines again,\u201d says Stephen Buckley, Toronto\u2019s general manager of transportation services. \u201cWe can take it up to $300 and they can see if they want to incorporate that in the cost of doing business as well. It\u2019s illegal behaviour and it will be enforced.\u201d Banning the shredding trucks from the roads altogether isn\u2019t an option, Buckley adds, because it would be illegal to prohibit certain classes of vehicles.<\/p>\n
Cordick says that a higher parking ticket fee would be billed to their clients, who would have to choose between paying the fine or paying extra hourly rates for the truck to take the documents to an off-site facility. \u201cI think most big companies would say, you know what? The $200 ticket is better than the three extra hours of charges,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Grant Humes of the Financial District BIA says that shredding trucks have emerged as a necessary tool for many businesses in the area. Mobile shredders destroy on-site confidential documents that companies can\u2019t risk being intercepted. \u201cPeople have such sensitivity around privacy; the shredding is really important. The trucks are a new phenomenon. They\u2019ve only been around for the last 15 years,\u201d says Humes.<\/p>\n
Many buildings used to have their own shredding facilities, but over the years, the service was outsourced to companies like AMJ Shredding and Shred-it, he says. Brookfield Place on Bay Street still offers a confidential shredding service, where tenants can hand in their documents to building facilities, after which it is delivered to an off-site location to be destroyed.<\/p>\n
For the many businesses in the downtown core, however, the trucks are convenient. While several clients allow companies to move their trucks to side streets to avoid blocking arterial roads, Cordick says that some demand the shredding happen right at their doorstep, causing traffic back up. \u201cIf you do a one-time shred for a law firm, they absolutely might want to see it get shredded,\u201d he says. If there are several years worth of documents to be destroyed, shredding could take days, with the truck having to stay in place for up to eight to ten hours per day.<\/p>\n
If they aren\u2019t required to set up shop right in front of, say, the entrance to a skyscraper on Wellington, shredding companies may have other options. The City has expanded its courier loading zones from 13 to 40 in a pilot project. These are side streets around the city on which courier trucks \u2014 and shredding trucks, if they\u2019re willing \u2014 would be able to park without impeding traffic on arterial roads. Cordick says this would be a viable option if it was convenient and close to the point of document pick up. The expansion is being evaluated, so it\u2019s possible that the new courier zones could shift to accommodate demands from stakeholders.<\/p>\n
The City has been co-ordinating with the Canadian Courier and Logistics Association, which represents courier companies like Purolator and FedEx to find solutions. Canada Post announced in January that they would be shifting their delivery times to off-peak hours between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and after 7 p.m. to alleviate traffic congestion in the core.<\/p>\n
AMJ Shredding\u2019s trucks do off-peak jobs a \u201csmall percentage of the time,\u201d according to Cordick. But he says that if the City mandated they do their business at this time, they would comply.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Shredding trucks have] been a big part of the problem. Now we\u2019re trying to get them to be a big part of the solution,\u201d says Councillor Robinson. \u201cThey might just have to look at adapting their business operations to accommodate the new normal in Toronto.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"