As we prepare for mobiliTO, we have been speaking to people representing pedestrians, bikers, drivers, transit users, taxi drivers, and couriers. We have come across a few useful primers on the issues facing couriers in Toronto:

• Challenges facing express delivery services in Canada’s urban centres (PDF), Institute of Housing & Mobility, Ryerson University
• Help us park legally, couriers plead, Toronto Star

In areas of the city with extremely high densities of offices and businesses and few loading docks or back alleys (e.g. the Financial District), couriers are often forced to deliver to addresses with no parking or drop-off zones available. They must make the delivery, and they end up blocking bicycle and car traffic while incurring parking fines which are passed on to you, the consumer. How can we fix this? The Canadian Courier and Logistics Association is advocating one possible solution: parking bays for deliveries, similar to those used by buses and BIXI bikes, which would enable couriers to make their deliveries without blocking other modes of traffic.

We all depend on express deliveries and smooth traffic flow. Would you support the creation of parking bays for couriers near office buildings that lack loading docks or back alleys?