Patrizia Tilly/
Shutterstock.com
BPA ACTIVITIES MONTHLY ROUND-UP
You don’t get anything for free, says Kelvin Reynolds – someone, somewhere, is picking up the cost
THERE’S NO SUCH THING
ot a week goes by without me hearing or reading about a call for free parking in town centres, or
Proper and effective traffi c management is essential; without this, high streets will become more congested
at hospitals or, indeed, everywhere. What is it about parking charges that is so emotive? Just how do we meet the cost of providing free parking? These are all questions that will be debated in the master classes at the BPA’s Annual Conference later this month. We are running this event in collaboration with the Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM),, which has become a close ally in our work to see the UK’s towns and city centres revitalised. Proper and effective traffi c management is absolutely essential; without this, high streets will become more congested and costs to local authorities will increase without signifi cant economic benefi ts. Congestion is both bad for the environment and costly to business and commerce, and so government is seeking to reinvigorate town centres.
as free parking! N
Our work with ATCM is designed to bring about a better understanding of the contribution that effective traffi c and parking management can make to town and city centres. This is all in support of our Master Plan objective of ‘improving the economic wellbeing of the UK’. The government has released signifi cant funds to town and city centres across the UK – to so-called ‘Portas towns’ – in the hope that this funding will kick-start regeneration of the town centres. Town teams are also very much in vogue; just what are they and how can they make a difference?
The true cost of parking The Portas Report recommends that local areas should implement free, controlled parking schemes that work for their town centres, and we should have a new parking league table. We feel this ignores the true costs of free parking and so-called ‘league table fatigue’. There is no such thing as free parking – someone has to pay for it. To call for it to be made free is to misunderstand the nature of parking as a resource to promote the prosperity of a town. It is widely accepted that when parking charges were abolished in hospital car parks in Scotland and Wales, patient accessibility did not improve; instead, a disproportionate number of spaces were taken up by staff and commuters, to the detriment of visitors and patients. The same risk applies in towns. Tariff policies should be set to encourage shoppers and deter all-day parkers where demand exceeds supply, though we recognise that local authorities have a responsibility to consider all needs. Parking should be managed intelligently for it to work as intended, requiring effective enforcement – which costs money. People are prepared to pay for good customer service and quality parking facilities. They do not like to pay for poor service. We believe that the people who use the facilities should pay for them.
16 SEPTEMBER 2012
www.britishparking.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64