Opinions sought over commuter parking scheme

People living in Leicester’s Clarendon Park are being asked for their feedback on proposals to make permanent a pilot scheme to tackle commuter parking in residential streets.

The experimental scheme was introduced on February 1 to help address the problem of commuters parking all day for free in the area, with enforcement brought in from March 1.

Figures show that around 37% of car parking spaces in the area are now unoccupied, freeing up spaces for residents, local shoppers and visitors to the area instead.

Now after six months of the scheme, the city council must decide whether to make the restrictions permanent, and is writing to residents to ask for their views.

At the same time, similar experimental measures are due to be introduced in surrounding areas immediately outside the existing scheme, to crack down on parking by commuters displaced by the original parking restrictions.

The measures restrict non-residents from parking between 9.30am and 10.30am on weekdays.

Motorists who fail to display a relevant parking permit face a penalty charge notice of £70, reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days.

The existing scheme covers the streets immediately adjacent to Queens Road – which contain around 530 parking spaces – but it does not cover Queens Road itself, so that customers visiting businesses in the area can still park.

It includes Cradock Road, Oxford Street, Edward Road, Montague Road, Seymour Road, Cecilia Road, West Avenue, Central Avenue, East Avenue, North Avenue and Orlando Road, as well as parts of St Leonards Road, Howard Road and The Avenue.

Properties on Queens Road and the northern side of Clarendon Park Road that are adjacent to the scheme area are able to apply for permits, although Queens Road and Clarendon Park Road are not subject to the new parking restrictions.

The extended experimental area will now also include dozens more streets, including the whole length of Howard Road, Hartopp Road, Lytton Road, Adderley Road, Lorne Road, Thurlow Road, Leopold Road and Lytham Road. On the other side of Welford Road, streets will include Westbury Road, Brookland Road, Brentwood Road, Keble Road and part of Ashford Road.

To the south, it will include Avenue Road Extension, Bulwer Road and the remainder of St Leonards Road not already included in the original scheme, as well as Portland Road, Cross Road and Springfield Road.

As before, the new measures will be brought in as an experimental order so they can be adjusted to meet local needs and will run for six months to gauge whether they were a success.

Castle ward member Cllr Danny Myers, along with fellow ward members Cllr Patrick Kitterick and Cllr Deborah Sangster had called on city council officers to tackle commuter parking situation in Clarendon Park.

Cllr Myers said: “We’ve kept a close eye on how the experimental measures have worked over the last six months, and we are finding that just over a third of parking spaces are now still available rather than them all being occupied, providing ample parking for residents and visitors.

“This suggests the scheme has been successful in increasing the availability of parking spaces for residents.

“We now have to decide whether to make the scheme permanent, so we are asking for any further feedback from residents and businesses to support the decision-making process in the coming weeks.”

Similar parking measures are already in place in parts of Nottingham and London.

Permits are available to residential and business properties in the area, and people are not charged for permits during the trial period. Provision is made for essential visitors such as carers, as well as Blue Badge holders.

Cllr Kitterick said: “People have been generally supportive of the scheme, with a number of residents in neighbouring streets asking about similar measures covering a wider area.
“So while gauging the success of the original scheme, we will also be bringing in further experimental measures in other nearby streets. As before, we will watch closely to see whether they are effective over six months before deciding upon the next step.”