Parking shake-up recommendations in Westminster

Westminster Council is looking

to introduce a raft of new measures as part of the biggest shake up of

parking in central London for a decade.

 

A number of

recommendations have been put to the council's cabinet for consideration

next week (Monday 1 August) that could see major changes to the way

parking is regulated and managed across the city.

The

nine proposals address a number of complex issues including managing

the traffic demands of the West End, improving the availability of

resident and visitor parking, improving loading and waiting facilities

and a review of green transportation initiatives, such as electric

charging point bays and car club provision.

Protecting

residents' parking bays north of Oxford Street with 24-hour,

seven-day-a-week controls is one of the recommendations. This would

standardise protection for residents' across the whole of Marylebone and

comes after calls from residents that large numbers of visitors

shopping and visiting the West End were making it increasingly difficult

to park in a residents' bays in the evening.

In

addition, the council is looking to extend the 'hours of control' from

Monday to Saturday until midnight and between 12:00-18:30 on Sundays.

This would include the concession that the cost of any extended evening

parking would be discounted by 50% from Monday to Thursday and disabled

blue and white badge holders would be allowed to park on single yellow

lines during any extended hours of control.

The

proposal follows research showing occupancy rates for some paid for

parking spaces on weekends was above the 'parking stress limit' of 80%

and exceeded the 'parking pressure limit' of 70% on weekday evenings.

The

report's recommendations are based on findings from two public

consultation exercises involving thousands of residents, businesses and

specialist organisations such as faith groups and are supported by a

council review of parking provision across the city that has included a

public survey on parking priorities, traffic counts on key Westminster

roads, and a study of how, when and where parking spaces across the city

are used.

This includes

traffic count findings which show some areas of the West End see some of

the highest levels of traffic flow at around 10pm on weekday evenings.

In some areas the high number of vehicles in the city on weekends in the

early hours of the morning, from 2am to 3am, were also shown to be

similar to that of a traditional 'rush hour' between 5pm and 7pm.

The

level of demand for parking spaces on a Sunday is also shown to be

higher in some parts of the city than on weekdays, with motorists

particularly struggling to find spaces in paid for bays in zones E, G

and parts of F which cover the busy shopping, entertainment and tourism

areas of the city.

Other recommendations include:

• Introducing a higher rate of approximately 100% for second or third resident parking permits

• Introducing more taxi hubs and marshalled taxi ranks in the city

• Reviewing the current visitors permit scheme with a view to introduce a city-wide scheme if appropriate

• Providing more 'shared use' loading bays and improving loading times for commercial deliveries, particularly in the West End

• Extending double yellow lines were appropriate to assist emergency vehicles and reduce congestion

• Looking

at increasing, where appropriate, the provision of green modes of

transport including electric charging points and the council's car club

scheme

• Introducing a provision for residents societies, local

businesses, and organisations to review parking controls of their local

area

If agreed by cabinet the

proposals would be introduced on an experimental basis for a period of

up to 18 months to test their effectiveness, with any changes expected

to be implemented by December 2011.

Martin

Low, Westminster Council's City Commissioner for Transportation, said:

"It's more than ten years since we last reviewed our parking policies

and in that time we have seen a significant increase in population,

businesses and visitors to the city. As a council we have a duty to

ensure we are able to adequately address these competing demands.

"We

recognise that parking controls aren't popular but they are a necessary

part of keeping the city moving and these recommendations are based on

clear evidence which demonstrates that the kinds of pressures we are

seeing, particularly in the heart of Westminster  in the evenings and at

weekends, means we are facing a growing challenge to meet our legal

duties."

Figures show that

Westminster's residential population of almost 250,000 swells to more

than one million people every day as workers, visitors and tourists pour

into the city, placing enormous demands on the council's transport and

parking network.

As a result,

a number of the city's busiest streets and roads now struggle to

accommodate the sheer amount of traffic driving through.

The last major review of parking provision in Westminster was in 2001.

A final decision on the recommendations will be made by cabinet on Monday August 1st.