2006-2011 LTP Annex 2

Introduction

Car parking plays a key role in influencing travel decisions, in terms of route, mode and destination.  This strategy concerns the management of car parking in Warwickshire and its role in managing congestion.  Related parking issues for cycles, motorcycles and Heavy Goods Vehicles are dealt with in respective separate Local Transport Plan strategies.

This parking strategy builds on the policies set out in the last Local Transport Plan, but also draws influence from the 2004 transport White Paper ‘The Future of Transport – a network for 2030’ and the Government’s four Shared Priorities for Transport. 

During the last Local Transport Plan period,  Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) was successfully implemented in Stratford District.  The introduction of DPE to the rest of the County will be pursued during this Plan period.  Similarly, following the introduction of a Park and Ride scheme to serve Stratford upon Avon, the County Council will continue to promote local bus and rail based Park and Ride as a means of managing congestion and the impact of traffic in Warwickshire’s towns. 

Policy Overview

The Strategy has been developed within the National, Regional and Local policy environment and aims to be consistent with the wider framework.  An overview of the policy background is provided in Annex 1 of the LTP. 

The Road Traffic Act 1991provided for the decriminalisation of most non-endorsable on-street parking offences within a defined geographical area, subject to successful application to the Secretary of State by the relevant traffic authority.  Particularly significant elements of this provision include:

• Responsibility for enforcement to transfer permanently  from the Police to the traffic authority;
• The issuing and administration of Penalty Charge Notices to undertaken by Parking Attendants; and,
• The proceeds of penalty charges to be used by the local traffic authority to finance the enforcement regime and any profit from the on-street operation to be spent on a number of defined, transport related improvements.

In the Traffic Management Act 2004 a number of new parking offences, including double parking and parking at dropped kerbs are added to the parking offences enforceable under DPE.  In addition, it clarifies the enforcement mechanism for a number of previously existing offences.

Parking Provision In Warwickshire

Introduction

A number of parking studies have been carried out across the County over recent years.  This strategy does not attempt replicate the level of information provided in these and the following discussion simply highlights the main issues and influences on parking relevant to each town.

There are three broad categories of car parking in Warwickshire. The three categories are:

• On-street – Parking within the adopted highway boundary that is regulated by the Highway Authority.  Enforcement of parking regulations has historically been carried out the Police but following the process of Decriminalised Parking Enforcement can be carried out directly by the highway authority or it’s agents;
• Public off-street– Parking areas, normally provided by District or Borough Councils, which are open to public.  Typically users are charged according to length of stay; and
• Private off-street – Parking that is privately owned for use by the owners, typically residents, employers, retailers and leisure facilities.  This category includes commercial parking operations.

On-street parking is the only type over which the County Council has direct control and can change the level and type of provision. 

The majority of parking within the County’s town centres is provided by off-street, publicly operated, car parks and on-street parking. Typically parking stock is added to by large car parks operated by supermarkets and smaller privately operated car parks. In general, in order to support town centre economies short-stay parking tends to be located closer to the town centres and long-stay towards the outside. 

Most of the town centres have market days, which naturally increase parking demand and can lead to some displacement of parking out of central parking facilities to nearby areas.

Decriminalised Parking Enforcement

In the past, inadequate enforcement of on-street parking restrictions across the County has contributed to congestion and parking problems.  Responding to this, Warwickshire County Council has established a policy and commitment to the implementation of Decriminalised Parking Enforcement.  So far DPE has been introduced in Stratford on Avon District and there is a programme for implementation in the remaining Districts and Boroughs.  All DPE schemes in Warwickshire are intended to be implemented in partnership with the District or Borough Councils, who will act as the County’s agent for the enforcement process.  Each District or Borough will have a separate partnership agreement, the principles of which have been agreed for all areas of Warwickshire, except North Warwickshire. 

DPE provides a number of advantages, including:

• Increased turnover and availability of parking spaces, particularly short-stay spaces which do most to support town centre retail economies;
• Less congestion as result of less circulating traffic seeking parking spaces (in Stratford, typically 5 to 10% more drivers go directly to an off-street car park following the introduction of DPE);
• Less illegal parking causing obstructions;
• Easier and more reliable access to designated loading facilities for deliveries, and disabled parking spaces;
• Less parking on footways, making life easier for pedestrians and wheel chair users; and
• Easier access for emergency vehicles and public transport.

As a consequence of the introduction of DPE some existing long-stay parking in designated short-stay locations is transferred to other locations.  Detailed studies of the possible extent of this displacement and other implications are carried out prior to the implementation of DPE.  The issues outlined for each town below should be read in the context of the future implementation of DPE.

Rugby

• Generally occupancy levels of off-street car parking are high (80 to 90%);
• Demand for short-stay parking is high;
• Demand for long-stay off-street car parking provision, particularly in multi-storey facilities, is influenced by the availability of short stay parking across the town centre.  For example, when short-stay parking capacity is reached some short-stay use of long-stay off-street parking can be observed;
• On-street parking in the town centre is entirely limited waiting and is currently subject to significant illegal parking in both designated areas and restricted areas;
• In the face of effective parking enforcement substantial displacement of parking can be expected from the town centre;
• There is significant use of existing Residents’ Zones by long-stay non-residents;
• Greater spare capacity remains within these Residents’ Zones than in uncontrolled parking areas, indicating potential for greater short-stay use of these zones in the face of effective enforcement;
• Development pressure is likely lead to a loss of off-street parking stock;
• Parking associated with the railway station is currently well accommodated, but pressures do exist and are expected to increase following improvements to the station and services as well as local development;
• Disabled parking provision has been improved and linked to a Shopmobility scheme, although further improvements may be required; and
• Existing coach parking facilities are generally under utilised, although the reasons for this are unclear, improved facilities may improve utilisation to the wider benefit of the town centre.

Nuneaton

• Off-street car park occupancy levels vary. The busiest car parks tend to be to the south of the town centre and are full for much of the day. Conversely, the multi storey Harefield Road car park, adjacent to the bus station, invariably has spaces available;
• Overall, demand for off-street short-stay parking far outweighs that for long-stay. This may be because some long-stay events are taking place on-street in areas outside the ring road where parking is generally uncontrolled;
• Demand for short-stay and long-stay car parking spaces is not all accommodated in the town centre car parks. There is considerable pressure in some streets outside the ring road;
• Town centre developments are likely to increase pressure for parking in uncontrolled areas; and
• Disabled parking provision within the town centre is in designated bays in off-street car parks and dedicated parking areas within the pedestrian zone. Use of the latter causes some pedestrian conflict and encourages illegal entry to the zone by other drivers.

Bedworth

• Parking close to the town centre is provided by a variety of surface level and multi-storey car parks operated by NBBC, Tesco and Kwik Save;
• Surface level car parks have higher occupancy levels than the multi-storey car parks at Tesco and Kwik Save. However the multi-storey car parks are in need of improvements and their unwelcoming condition probably accounts for the low usage compared to the surface level car parks; and
• There is limited parking in the vicinity of the Civic Centre.

Stratford-upon-Avon:

• Since implementation of DPE, initial observations include:
  • Generally positive feedback from the public;
  • Support from the majority of residents in Resident Parking Zones;
  • Town Centre streets are noticeably clearer as long-term commuter parking has been discouraged.  However, as expected displacement out of the town centre has been observed;
  • Greater availability of parking spaces for retail related use;
  • Less congestion; and,
  • Positive reaction to increased presence of parking attendants.
• There is a large amount of on-street parking in Stratford, for which a charge is levied for stays of more than 20 minutes in the town centre. The length of permitted stay varies, but the maximum is two hours;
• Some parking subject to charging also lies within the Residents’ Parking Zones (RPZ) in designated areas surrounding the town centre.  Outside the charging zone non-resident parking within RPZs is limited to two hours;
• Occupancy of short-stay on-street spaces is generally close to the maximum throughout the working day;
• Beyond the town centre on-street parking is uncontrolled and spaces within half to three-quarters of a mile from the centre are used quite extensively for long stay parking;
• A large amount of off-street parking (approximately 6,500 spaces) is within walking distance of the town centre.  About two thirds of this parking is quite close to the centre, while many of the remaining spaces are in retail parks further out.  Utilisation of the central car parks appears to depend more on car park size and location rather than whether it is designated short-stay or long-stay;
• The privately operated and free-of-charge spaces in retail parks are highly utilised, especially at weekends, and have until recently have also been used by people working or shopping in the town centre. This practice is now being discouraged through the introduction of limited waiting periods and enforcement;
• A successful Park and Ride service has been operating between the Maybird retail centre on the Birmingham Road and Stratford town centre for several years on Saturdays and Bank Holidays.  By 2006 it is intended that this will be replaced by a daily 15 minute frequency Park and Ride service from Bishopton, close to the A46/A3400 roundabout to the north of Stratford.  This will provide an alternative means of access to Stratford town centre for commuters, shoppers and tourists, complementing the stricter control of illegal long-stay on-street parking occurring under DPE; and
• There are two designated coach parks in Stratford, one of which (Windsor Street) has limited capacity, while the other (behind the Leisure Centre) has space for over fifty coaches.

Warwick:

• Off-street parking provision is predominantly short-stay and almost at full capacity, although some redistribution during the early stages of the 2005-10 period is expected;
• On-street parking utilisation is particularly high and short stay spaces tend to be used as long-stay due to limited enforcement;
• Development of land adjacent to Warwick Racecourse (St Mary’s Land) has limited the availability of long stay parking close to the town centre, although the development is proposed to ultimately provide an overall increase parking capacity;
• Fluctuating demand for parking associated with Warwick Castle;
• Coach parking facilities are limited with only one express stop in the town centre, although new facilities to support the tourist market and to provide layover facilities are to be provided as part of the St Mary’s Land development;
• The release of County Council staff parking for public use at the weekends and in the evenings significantly adds to the available parking stock, although it is often under-utilised;
• A site for Park and Ride to serve both Warwick and Leamington has been identified to the south of the town.  This is to be progressed through the Local Transport Plan and emerging Warwick District Local Plan;
• There are particular parking issues associated with overspill parking from Warwick Hospital into the surrounding residential areas.

Leamington Spa:

• Off-street parking utilisation levels are high, particularly for short-stay parking;
• A number of significant development proposals are likely to affect off-street parking provision;
• As in Warwick, on-street parking utilisation is very high and short stay spaces tend to be used as long-stay due to limited enforcement;
• A coach drop-off and collection point is provided in Leamington town centre although no layover facilities are provided;
• A Park and Ride site to serve both Warwick and Leamington has been identified to the south.  This is to be progressed through the Local Transport Plan and emerging Warwick District Local Plan; and
• Parking at Leamington Station is at full capacity and there appears to be significant suppressed demand. Chiltern Railways, who operate the station, are seeking additional parking on the north side of the rail line.

Kenilworth:

• There is existing spare off-street parking capacity in the town centre on most days;
• There is a high level of short-stay use, particularly in the off-street car parks;
• There is significant misuse of on-street parking restrictions including illegal parking on double yellow lines.  However, the pressures placed on on-street parking capacity do not appear to be as great as in the neighbouring towns of Warwick and Leamington; and,
• Significant retail developments are planned in the town centre, which can be expected to increase the demand for parking and duration of stay. This will reduce any spare parking capacity.

North Warwickshire:

• Atherstone, Polesworth, Kingsbury & Coleshill are all currently free of parking charges.  As a result of the proposed introduction of DPE a number of issues concerning on-street parking charges will need to be addressed and agreed with North Warwickshire Borough Council;
• There are significant development proposals in Coleshill which may effect parking in the town; and
• A new railway station with significant parking provision is proposed for Coleshill, known as Coleshill Parkway.

Problems and Opportunities

A brief outline of the potential mechanisms and approaches to addressing the issues identified with existing parking provision is provided below.

Opportunities:

• ITS – The use of Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS) has the potential to provide improved information for travellers seeking parking.  This can be achieved through the use of Real Time electronic signing, on-line information and linkages to Urban Traffic Management Control.  This can improve car parking utilisation levels, reduce traffic levels and shorten journey times;
• DPE – The introduction of DPE is an established policy and provides the potential to address many on-street parking issues to improve traffic levels and the local economy.  In the event that DPE is able to break even and thereafter remain in the black it may also provide the potential for the release of revenue to fund general transport improvements;
• Best Practice – The County Council can demonstrate best practice through its own use of schemes to reduce the demand for parking and consequently the demand for travel;
• Development control – Through the County Council’s role as Highway Authority it has the opportunity to require new developments to produce Travel Plans.  These can be used to reduce demand for car travel and car parking;
• Local Development Documents – The revision of Local Plans and publication of new LDDs provides the opportunity to influence the allocation of land allocations and developments in a way that is compatible with parking strategy;
• Partner/stakeholder relations – Although good relations with all partner and stakeholder bodies are important the County Council has developed a particularly constructive and positive relationship with partners within the rail industry.  This can help in taking full advantage of opportunities to influence parking habits, both locally and regionally through the introduction of park and ride facilities such as Warwick Parkway and Coleshill Parkway; and
• Park & Ride – As well providing the potential for economically advantageous increases in parking capacity, the provision of P&R could also play an important role in supporting DPE, facilitate the release of land in development -constrained town centres and reduce traffic impact.  Conversely, limited availability of suitable sites can lead to pressure for the introduction of P&R car parks in Green Belt areas.

Problems:

• Enforcement – Poor enforcement of parking regulations leads to difficulties in available parking capacity, traffic flow efficiency, the operation of loading bays and safety.  However, active enforcement is not always well supported or accepted as an approach to increasing parking capacity in town centres.  Consequently the subject of enforcement is often emotive and requires robust justification, both economically and politically;
• Loading bays – Aside from the enforcement issues associated with maintaining available loading bays the overall numbers of bays are limited in many town centres.  However, the benefits of introducing additional bays in terms of supporting trade and limiting traffic conflict must be off-set against any required loss of parking and consequential opposition;
• Schools impact – Parents dropping off and picking-up children from school can cause significant traffic flow and safety problems for short periods of time, which due to the increase of before and after school activities is extending into peak travel periods;
• Tourist peak demands – Warwickshire benefits from a number of important tourist attractions and meeting fluctuating demand for parking by visitors can be challenging.  However, the nature of historic attractions may constrain the types of measure, such as electronic direction signing, that could help meet this demand, and
• Disabled parking – With an aging population and increasing national and local policy focus on mobility issues, the quantity and location of disabled parking is arguably in need of review.  There is potential to address this through the process of introducing DPE in each area across the County.

The Strategy

Objectives

The strategy contributes towards meeting Local Transport Plan objectives by setting out an approach to managing car parking that will:

• Allow good access to employment, education, shopping, recreational and community facilities;
• Help support economic vitality in town centres;
• Support strategies for the management of congestion;
• Reduce the impact of the car on the environment, particularly in areas of high demand such as town centres and in residential areas;
• Improve the environment and safety of those accessing car parking; and,
• Encourage the development and introduction of Park and Ride facilities.

The Policies

a.  Location & Period of Stay – This will be managed so as to encourage long stay commuter parking to use out of town or periphery parking sites in order to release parking capacity in town centres for short stay shopping & service related parking. 

b.  Cost – We will work with District and Borough Council’s to manage the cost of off-road parking in way that will re-enforce local strategies designed to achieve Policy P2.a, including consideration of the use of concessions, differentiated charging linked to the time of day and alternative payment methods.  The use of on-street parking charges will be considered where appropriate in order to encourage the use of off-street car parks in preference to on-street parking.

 In implementing Decriminalised Parking Enforcement we will:

• Work with District and Borough Councils as set out in Policy P1;
• Ensure compliance with Policy P2 by seeking to promote the use of long stay parking for commuters and short stay parking for shopping;
• Review the extent to which on-street parking charges may be required; and
• Review the need for, and introduce if appropriate, residents parking schemes in order to control displacement of parking to residential areas.

Decriminalised Parking Enforcement is a mechanism whereby the responsibility for the enforcement of parking passes from the Police to Highway Authority.  DPE enables on-street parking restrictions and residents parking schemes to be properly enforced. DPE provides a number of advantages, including:

• Increased availability of parking spaces, particularly short-stay spaces which do the most to support town centre retail economies;
• Less congestion as result of less circulating traffic seeking parking spaces and less illegal parking that causes obstructions;
• Easier and more reliable access to designated loading facilities for deliveries;
• Less parking on footways, making life easier for pedestrians and wheel chair users; and
• Easier access for emergency vehicles and public transport.

A consequence of the introduction of DPE can be that existing long-stay parking in designated short-stay areas is displaced to other locations.

Residents Parking Schemes are typically permit schemes that restrict the time and length of parking stay in residential streets for non-resident users and require residents to display a permit to exempt their vehicle from the restrictions.

Park and Ride will be considered particularly advantageous where:

• Its implementation would help manage congestion or help limit the environmental impact of traffic;
• The provision of park and ride or related park and walk/cycle facilities supports local traffic management needs; and
• It can also support ‘Drop and Ride’ facilities to serve school travel demand and minimise the impact of school traffic.

Park and Ride is where a large car park is provided (normally on the periphery of a town), the charge for which also purchases a return trip on a regular public transport service to the town centre and/or other popular locations (typically a bus departing at around 10-15 minute intervals).  Alternatively the parking can be free and bus service charged for. Park and Ride is normally aimed at providing an alternative to town centre parking for commuters and longer stay shoppers and helps reduce traffic volumes and congestion whilst providing a quicker and cheaper option for the traveller.  Notably Warwickshire has examples of both bus and train based park and ride serving both local town centre and regional and national destinations.

Drop and Ride is where facilities are provided to enable parents to drop and collect school children at a secure and supervised collection point.  Bus or taxi-bus then provides a service to and from the schools served by the facility. 

Delivery of the Strategy

Table 11.1 sets out the County Council’s actions in delivering the policies of the Parking Strategy in a way that recognises the existing problems and opportunities outlined earlier in this document.

The delivery of some measures, particularly those related to safety and enforcement, involves a wide range of stakeholders.  These can also often be heavily influenced by strategic and policy decisions and actions taken at a national level.  In these circumstances the nature and timescale of the actions set out below may need to vary.

Indicators And Monitoring

Monitoring the delivery of the actions outlined in the Action Plan will be an important part of the management and control process. Progress against the identified actions and standards will be reviewed on a regular basis (at least annually) to make certain that the Action Plan is achieving the desired outcome.

The monitoring, benchmarking and measuring of targets will allow changes to be identified, incorporated and updated in due course.

Table 11.2 sets out the main indicators that will be used to assess progress with the Parking Strategy.