Community and Protective Services Committee

WHEREAS shopping carts create a hazard and an eyesore when taken off store property and left on City property; and, WHEREAS the City spends countless hours and resources returning shopping carts to their respective stores; WHEREAS on 2 May 2012, the Transportation Committee considered a report from the City Clerk and Solicitor with respect to the issue of abandoned shopping carts on City property in response to direction given to staff by the Committee in December 2011, to examine the costs and benefits of the establishment of a program to retrieve abandoned shopping carts from City property; and, WHEREAS the City has undertaken consultation with the Business Advisory Committee, representatives from retailers, grocers, property managers and other stakeholders to develop non-regulatory options for preventing carts from being removed from private property and abandoned elsewhere, and also for the pickup and retrieval of abandoned shopping carts from City property, including educational programs, cooperative solutions with retailers, and community-led initiatives, together with fees for retrieval of the carts and potential costs for the City; and, WHEREAS a pilot project was undertaken in Beacon Hill-Cyrville and Rideau-Vanier Wards; and, WHEREAS the City of Ottawa may be held liable for damages or injuries resulting from the presence of carts on City property; and, WHEREAS the Cities of Markham, Mississauga and Milton have existing Bylaws regulating abandoned carts and the City