Dismiss claim that they are ‘going into the commuter parking business’

Ealing Council have robustly defended their proposal to introduce shared parking spaces in resident parking zones across the borough denying claims that the proposal is a revenue generating measure that will undermine residents’ ability to park near their homes.

Nearly all of the Chiswick area administered from Ealing is in one of CPZs included in the initial implementation of the scheme with 40% of the streets affected. There has been widespread criticism of the plan from residents’ groups including the Bedford Park Society. One resident of a zone where the changes are proposed accused the council of ‘going into the commuter parking business.’ It is feared that the £4.50 daily charge to park in the area will be low enough to encourage commuters to use the shared spaces before catching a tube or a train at local stations or by holiday makers who will leave their cars in the area before departing from Heathrow. Any objections to the plans need to be made before 11 June.

A Transport Strategy report is due to be presented to Ealing Council’s cabinet on 5 June on behalf of the two relevant portfolio holders, Julian Bell, the leader of the Council who is also Cabinet member for Regeneration and Transport and Mik Sabiers, who has responsibility for Environment and Highways. The report states that there is only ‘modest pressure’ on parking spaces within some of the borough’s CPZs and it is necessary to rebalance the proportion of parking spaces in favour of all motorists not just residents. In the same report significant increases in parking permit charges are being proposed including a surcharge for all but the newest diesel cars and a sliding scale of charges based on carbon dioxide emissions. The average charge will increase by 50-60% depending on how the calculation is made.

Mik Sabiers - Ealing Council's Cabinet member for Environment and Highways

There are approximately 52,000 parking spaces in the borough of which 97% are for permit holders only. 86% of the 31,500 permits in the borough are issued due to a residential qualification. The Council’s Transport Strategy states that with the number of permits only amounting to 60% of the parking spaces in the borough a rebalancing is necessary. The report says that 35% of streets in CPZs show an occupancy of over 75% and 10% are under 25% although it does not disclose whether this has been used as a basis for deciding which zones are participating in the shared bay proposal.

The figure of 60% occupancy is based on a figure for visitor voucher use at only 100 at any one time. We have queried this figure as being a possible underestimate but have yet to get a response on how it was calculated. The figures also exclude illegally parked vehicles, vehicles that are loading/unloading and blue badge holders.

When asked about the rationale for the policy of shared bays a Council spokesperson referred us to the borough’s Parking Review Strategy approved in June 2016 which set out four primary objectives.

These were

• P.1 Utilise technology to enhance customer journeys when using the council’s parking services
• P.2 Manage traffic flow and offer appropriate parking solutions to our customers through fair, robust and consistent enforcement
• P.3 Provide parking options to all motorists ensuring a balance of kerbside space
• P.4 Drive value for money through appropriate commercialisation of assets

They say that the shared bays help achieve objective P.3 is met by ensuring suitable parking options are provided for all road users. Through the intended improvements to ‘kerbside utilisation’, they say the proposal will also assist with meeting objective P.4.

The spokesperson said, “CPZs will provide shared-use parking options, ensuring that parking is not exclusive to one set of users and is made available for all. More efficient use of parking will be designed and priced to reflect the value of the space, consequently improving parking provision while helping to fund concessionary bus fares and transport schemes in the borough.”

They dismissed the possibility of the use of local streets by non-residents for parking for extended periods or by commuters saying that, although it was technically possible to do this through the RingGo parking service, their observations of similar bays in the borough, showed that this is a very rare practice. A number of existing shared-use bays are located within walking distance from Ealing Broadway station, and the council say that these operate satisfactorily without imposing on the parking needs of residents.

The spokesperson added, “The bays proposed for shared-use parking, are in locations where the parking appears under-utilised and able to accommodate visitor parking without encroaching on the needs of residents. However, these arrangements are not set in stone, and should it become apparent that the arrangements are impacting on residents’ ability to park near their homes, the council will review and amend the parking as necessary.”

The report states that the proposals will proceed if approved on 18 June although the report later suggests that implementation will not take place until March 2019.

The deadline for submitting comments on the proposed shared bays in CPZs in the area is 11 June. You should email them to highwayServices@ealing.gov.uk quoting ORDER 4114 and include your postal address.

June 1, 2018