Free Parking is NOT good for high streets.
Really disappointed to hear people suggest that town centres introducing free parking will give small town centre businesses a level playing field with out of town developments. Absolutely not. There is no evidence to suggest that. Plenty of evidence to the contrary. The biggest hit shops per se comes from the rise in internet shopping. Why battle your way through parked cars and cluttered streets when you can shop from the comfort of your armchair on your laptop or phone even!?
Jane Lorimer talks about a previous Welsh Assembly debate which saw ‘free parking’ hailed as the saviour of Llanelli at Christmas time. This was followed the next week by news that the Welsh Government is reviewing the impact of car parking charges on town centres. In both cases, the assumption that free parking was positive for the local high street went unchallenged – but Sustrans would question whether that really is the case and I would agree. It is predominately the right wing press that promotes and campaigns for ‘free parking’. We must not would take such a simplistic view of this issue. An integral part of a high quality environment is a quality transportation system that everyone can use to easily get around locally and regionally. Yet we constantly hear of subsidised public transport and that it can’t be afforded. We never hear of subsidised car parking!
There is no such thing as free parking! Car parking needs management
The space has an economic value, needs to be maintained, and enforcement provided to prevent abuse. In out of town shopping centres the stores pay for the parking provision in their service charge in order to provide it free at point of use.
Curb space is limited and needs to be managed for the benefit of all. In most places this means short term on-street parking (as well as provision for loading bays) and off-street for longer term. The most common form of management is through the rates charged and duration permitted. In the Vale there is 3 traffic wardens for Penarth and Bridgend which means little or no management. Often parking spaces are taken up by shop staff for the entire day. Other shops park vehicles with advertising outside their premises.
So don’t assume that more parking is the answer to struggling high streets. Across Europe, studies have linked the quality of public spaces to people’s perceptions of attractiveness of an area, contributing towards their quality of life and influencing where they shop.
Failure to do so results in high streets dominated by betting shops and payday loan companies with local people powerless to have any say in the shops and services they need. Sorry to say but this is the case in Barry.
IT – The Digital High Street
This comes alongside a Digital High Street 2020 Report that suggests high streets could generate billions of pounds in additional revenues by enabling shoppers to use the power of the internet on the high street.
Out-of-town
shopping centres can appear more attractive than high streets because of free
and easy parking, says the report, which suggests new solutions in retailing,
logistics and traffic management are now needed so towns and cities can bring
new life to their high streets, using technological changes and solutions to
bridge the online and offline and changing the way we shop.
The Pedestrian Pound - The business case for better streets and places, is a report published by Living Streets, a national charity working to create safe, attractive and enjoyable streets around the UK. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative evidence, it aims to show public realm improvement can create additional economic benefits, in both existing and new businesses.
The Penarth Town plan is good and looked at this issue and others in depth. Three key areas for improvements were identified early: The Esplanade, Windsor Road / Glebe Street and Station Approach / Plymouth Road. Within all of these areas, common improvements were discussed: more seating; improvements to surfacing; more planting and greenery; areas of pedestrianisation; measures to manage traffic / reduce vehicle speed; and, more efficient use of existing car parking, through reorganisation and management.
The town plan also suggested a group be formed, called the momentum group to work to bring forward improvements.
Unfortunately they have made little progress and all
my attempts to get details of membership, including the 3 Cllrs have failed. There has been no reports to the
town council in the last year. We are still waiting for the promised street
benches.
The momentum group has allowed Chris Loyn brutalist architect to ‘design’ a cheekily named 'Penarth bench' but there has been no consultation yet although I can tell you that a Penarth based company Concrete Carrot who have been commissioned to make the “Penarth Bench “ in association with Penarth Youth Action (but not with older people most likely to use/pay for it) – but they say it is not yet ready to be shown to anyone . What is clear however is
that Penarth Town Council has paid Concrete Carrot a total of
£1,080.40p for just one prototype concrete bench - even
more expensive than the unnecessary replacement benches which were
installed on the Esplanade last year . Twenty of those new “Victorian- style” benches cost
£800 each plus fitting charge and replaced the earlier – larger - benches which
just needed sanding down and an application of wood-stain.
Finally Promoting Penarth better
Penarth Tourism Assn on twitter @PenarthTourism oddly has Protected Tweets There is also Visit Penarth @VisitPenarth. Both lead you to the website could be improved. http://www.visitpenarth.com/
NOTES
http://www.sustrans.org.uk/
http://www.theretailbulletin.
http://www.100ways.org.uk/parking-charges.html
http://archive.ads.org.uk/designforum/qualityofplace/pdf/highlight-the-pedestrian-pound?tid=9
Penarth Town Place Plan https://www.penarthtowncouncil.gov.uk/download/penarth-town-place-plan/
Really disappointed to hear people suggest that town centres introducing free parking will give small town centre businesses a level playing field with out of town developments. Absolutely not. There is no evidence to suggest that. Plenty of evidence to the contrary. The biggest hit shops per se comes from the rise in internet shopping. Why battle your way through parked cars and cluttered streets when you can shop from the comfort of your armchair on your laptop or phone even!?
Jane Lorimer talks about a previous Welsh Assembly debate which saw ‘free parking’ hailed as the saviour of Llanelli at Christmas time. This was followed the next week by news that the Welsh Government is reviewing the impact of car parking charges on town centres. In both cases, the assumption that free parking was positive for the local high street went unchallenged – but Sustrans would question whether that really is the case and I would agree. It is predominately the right wing press that promotes and campaigns for ‘free parking’. We must not would take such a simplistic view of this issue. An integral part of a high quality environment is a quality transportation system that everyone can use to easily get around locally and regionally. Yet we constantly hear of subsidised public transport and that it can’t be afforded. We never hear of subsidised car parking!
There is no such thing as free parking! Car parking needs management
The space has an economic value, needs to be maintained, and enforcement provided to prevent abuse. In out of town shopping centres the stores pay for the parking provision in their service charge in order to provide it free at point of use.
Curb space is limited and needs to be managed for the benefit of all. In most places this means short term on-street parking (as well as provision for loading bays) and off-street for longer term. The most common form of management is through the rates charged and duration permitted. In the Vale there is 3 traffic wardens for Penarth and Bridgend which means little or no management. Often parking spaces are taken up by shop staff for the entire day. Other shops park vehicles with advertising outside their premises.
So don’t assume that more parking is the answer to struggling high streets. Across Europe, studies have linked the quality of public spaces to people’s perceptions of attractiveness of an area, contributing towards their quality of life and influencing where they shop.
Failure to do so results in high streets dominated by betting shops and payday loan companies with local people powerless to have any say in the shops and services they need. Sorry to say but this is the case in Barry.
IT – The Digital High Street
This comes alongside a Digital High Street 2020 Report that suggests high streets could generate billions of pounds in additional revenues by enabling shoppers to use the power of the internet on the high street.
 |
| Parking in Penarth and some dodgy flower poles have had a bump or 2 |
The Pedestrian Pound - The business case for better streets and places, is a report published by Living Streets, a national charity working to create safe, attractive and enjoyable streets around the UK. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative evidence, it aims to show public realm improvement can create additional economic benefits, in both existing and new businesses.
The Penarth Town plan is good and looked at this issue and others in depth. Three key areas for improvements were identified early: The Esplanade, Windsor Road / Glebe Street and Station Approach / Plymouth Road. Within all of these areas, common improvements were discussed: more seating; improvements to surfacing; more planting and greenery; areas of pedestrianisation; measures to manage traffic / reduce vehicle speed; and, more efficient use of existing car parking, through reorganisation and management.
The town plan also suggested a group be formed, called the momentum group to work to bring forward improvements.
The momentum group has allowed Chris Loyn brutalist architect to ‘design’ a cheekily named 'Penarth bench' but there has been no consultation yet although I can tell you that a Penarth based company Concrete Carrot who have been commissioned to make the “Penarth Bench “ in association with Penarth Youth Action (but not with older people most likely to use/pay for it) – but they say it is not yet ready to be shown to anyone . What is clear however is
 |
| Penarth town bus stop prevented from pulling in by parking |
Finally Promoting Penarth better
Penarth Tourism Assn on twitter @PenarthTourism oddly has Protected Tweets There is also Visit Penarth @VisitPenarth. Both lead you to the website could be improved. http://www.visitpenarth.com/
NOTES
http://www.theretailbulletin.
http://www.100ways.org.uk/parking-charges.html
http://archive.ads.org.uk/designforum/qualityofplace/pdf/highlight-the-pedestrian-pound?tid=9
Penarth Town Place Plan https://www.penarthtowncouncil.gov.uk/download/penarth-town-place-plan/
