Agenda item

Members will receive an update from officers.

 

Members will then breakout into groups to create a SWOT analysis of Car parking, before feeding back their ideas to the Panel.

Minutes:

The Assistant Director, Operations and Commercial provided the Panel with an update on Car Parking Operations.  A copy of his presentation is attached.

 

The Chair thanked the Assistant Director for his presentation and invited questions and comments from the Panel, as summarised below.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Commercial Services, Councillor Kunes responded to a question regarding fees and charges and explained that they were currently being discussed and would be finalised soon.

 

In response to a question it was confirmed that it was currently more cost effective to process coin payments over card payments.

 

Councillor Rose addressed the Panel under Standing Order 34.  He asked for clarification on yellow zig zags outside of schools.  The Assistant Director explained that there were often issues with parking outside of schools and parking operations would respond with appropriate and proportional action.  He explained that action could be taken if people parked on zig zags which were backed up by a Traffic Regulation Order.  The Assistant Director also explained that the team received a lot of information and intelligence and would use this to plan their workload.

 

Councillor Howland addressed the Panel under Standing Order 34.  He referred to parking on pavements.  The Assistant Director explained that if a vehicle was parked alongside a yellow line then action could be taken.  If there was no yellow line this would become a Police issue and action would only be taken if the vehicle was causing an obstruction to wheelchair users and push chairs.

 

Councillor Morley addressed the Panel under Standing Order 34.  He asked if there was spare capacity in Council owned car parks.  The Assistant Director explained that there were many factors that affected car park usage and capacity.  He explained that if it was icy or snowed, the top level of some car parks would be closed which would reduce capacity, but in general there were always parking spaces available, usually at St James Multi Storey, and there was also a healthy turnover.

 

Councillor de Whalley asked about paying by phone and it was explained that this was included in the card payment figures and was a popular way to pay for parking.  Councillor de Whalley also asked about income from overpayments as machines did not give change and it was explained that there was a procedure for dealing with coin payments and overpayments varied.

 

Councillor Ryves asked if car parking income figures were available and the Assistant Director advised that these would be included in the Budget Papers which would be considered by Cabinet on 4th February 2020.  If Members of the Panel had any questions relating to car parking income once the budget papers had been released, they were advised to contact the Assistant Director.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Manning it was explained that parking was decriminalised in this area in 2011.

 

Councillor Morley addressed the Panel under Standing Order 34 and asked if free parking would ever be an option for King’s Lynn.  The Assistant Director explained that previously some parking promotions had been trialled in King’s Lynn which included free parking days.  He explained that this did not make any difference to the amount of visitors to King’s Lynn so it had been decided that the cost involved in running the promotions would be better put towards encouraging people into the town centre by putting on events.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Bone, the Assistant Director explained that it was difficult to measure the impact of events on car parking because there were many other factors which could influence the amount of people coming into the town centre.

 

Councillor Ryves asked if any statistics were kept on car park users.  The Assistant Director explained that statistics on the amount of permit holders were available and all transactions were recorded, however it was difficult to ascertain how long people stayed in the town centre for, as they may not use the full time limit on their ticket.

 

Councillor Whitby referred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Car Parking.  The Assistant Director advised that the Parking Operations Team only dealt with enforcement in this car park.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Commercial Services, Councillor Kunes explained that he was on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Board of Governors and provided the Panel with detail of some of the concerns and issues raised relating to car parking at the Hospital.

 

Members of the Panel discussed parking at the Hospital and the Assistant Director explained that the Hospital did have a system in place where staff could log on and create a parking stay for a vehicle, should someone get caught up in the hospital and be unable to return to their car before the ticket ran out.

 

The Chair asked if comparative figures were available for car parking income and the cost of enforcement.  The Assistant Director explained that no figures were currently available.

 

The Chair also commented that it was currently cheaper to park in King’s Lynn than it was for some bus tickets, which could put some people off using the buses and this was something that may need to be considered in the future.

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