Shropshire Council

Parking strategy - section 1

  • Period: 21 July 2017 - 17 October 2017
  • Status: Closed
  • Audiences: Everyone
  • Topics: Traffic management
  • Type: Public

This section of the proposed new parking strategy relates to: linear parking, pricing bands, unrestricted parking, evening parking, loading bays, ‘pop and shop’ parking and Raven Meadows opening hours. All current concessions for blue badge holders, residents and permit holders will remain unchanged.

Proposal 1 - The introduction of a set price per hour (known as ‘linear’ pricing)

We’re proposing to introduce a set price per hour in each of our car parks, though the charge will vary between car parks (see proposal 2) depending on their location.

Why?

At the moment charges per length of stay vary from car park to car park and from town to town. It can be difficult to understand how much you need to pay – and customers often find that they don’t have the right coins, which can lead to paying too much as the machines don’t give change.

A simple, consistent, easy to understand hourly charge will make it easier for customers to choose how long to park for. The charge will vary depending on where you park, with each car park or on-street parking area being placed into a ‘band’. These proposed new charges would apply seven days a week. The proposed hourly charge for each band is...

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Band 4

Band 5

Band 6

Band 7

£2.50

£2.00

£1.00

£0.70

£0.50

£0.30

Free

Additional info/example: Parking at Frankwell car park in Shrewsbury currently costs: 1 hour (£1.70); 3 hours (£2.70); 10 hours (£4).

With a linear (hourly) charge of 70p an hour, charge would be: 1 hour (70p); 2 hours (£1.40); 3 hours (£2.10) etc – which we think is much simpler and easier to understand.

‘Get the parking that you pay for’: Under these proposals – and thanks to new machines that would be introduced – drivers would get the parking time that they pay for, eg parking in a ‘band 4’ car park would cost 70p an hour. If you only have £2 in change you would get £2 worth of parking – ie just under three hours.

Does this mean that parking charges are going up? It depends where you park and for how long. In some cases parking would be more expensive than it is now, but in many cases charges would in fact be cheaper. For instance, if you were to park for up to five hours in Abbey Foregate or Frankwell in Shrewsbury you would pay less than you do now.

To comment on this proposal, click on the 'How to get involved' tab above.

Proposal 2 - A standard countywide car parking banding/ranking system

We’re proposing to introduce seven new pricing bands. Each car park and on-street pay and display area will be placed into one of these bands, depending on its location, capacity and the likelihood of finding a parking space.

Why?

This will help to standardise and simplify our parking charges structure to ensure that there is consistency across the county, and to make it easier for people to understand.

The proposed hourly charge for each band is...

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Band 4

Band 5

Band 6

Band 7

£2.50

£2.00

£1.00

£0.70

£0.50

£0.30

Free

Proposed bands

The proposed banding level for each identified on and off street parking area:

Car Park

Town

Band

Shrewsbury on-street

Shrewsbury

Type 1

 

£2.50/hour

Quarry Swimming & Fitness Centre

Shrewsbury

 

Ludlow on-street (Red)

Ludlow

Type 2

 

£2/hour

Bridge Street

Shrewsbury

St Austin’s

Shrewsbury

Raven Meadows

Shrewsbury

St Julian’s Friars

Shrewsbury

Castle Street

Ludlow

Type 3

 

£1/hour

Listley Street North & South

Bridgnorth

Sainsbury’s

Bridgnorth

Festival Square

Oswestry

Ellesmere on-street (existing)

Ellesmere

Riverside

Bridgnorth

Type 4

 

70p/hour

Beatrice Street

Oswestry

Frankwell Main, Riverside & Quay

Shrewsbury

Smithfield

Bridgnorth

Ludlow on-street (Blue)

Ludlow

Back Lane

Much Wenlock

Galdeford Zone A

Ludlow

Type 5

 

50p/hour

Frogmore Road

Market Drayton

Easthope Road

Church Stretton

Queen Street

Market Drayton

Abbey Foregate

Shrewsbury

St Mary’s Lane

Much Wenlock

Falcons Court

Much Wenlock

Pepper Street

Whitchurch

Castle Hill

Whitchurch

Innage Lane

Bridgnorth

Type 6

 

30p/hour

Severn Street

Bridgnorth

Galdeford Zone B

Ludlow

Oswald Road

Oswestry

Towers Lawn 1 & 2

Market Drayton

Smithfield

Ludlow

Oak Street

Oswestry

Newtown

Whitchurch

St John’s Street

Whitchurch

Brownlow Street

Whitchurch

New Road

Much Wenlock

Talbot, Cross, Spar bridge

Ellesmere

High Street

Wem

Mill Street

Wem

Prees Heath HGV/coach/cars

Prees Heath

Crossways

Church Stretton

Newport Road

Market Drayton

Gobowen Station

Gobowen

Crown Hotel, High Street 

Albrighton

 

Church Street

Bishop’s Castle

Type 7

 

Free

Harley Jenkins

Bishop’s Castle

Dark Lane

Broseley

Clun

Clun

Lloyd Street

Oswestry

High Street

Highley

Auction Yard

Bishop’s Castle

Bridgnorth Road

Broseley

Childe Road East & West

Cleobury Mortimer

Corvedale Road

Craven Arms

Newington Way

Craven Arms

Gatacre

Oswestry

Sherrymill Hill

Whitchurch

Church Street

Prees

It’s recommended that all car parks within the Shrewsbury river loop should be a minimum of band 2 to help achieve the objectives of the Shrewsbury Integrated Transport Package.

To comment on this proposal, click on the 'How to get involved' tab above.

Proposal 3 - Parking tickets for unrestricted periods

We’re proposing to end the current system of long-stay and short-stay parking by introducing parking tickets that allow you to park without a maximum stay limit in our car parks and on-street pay and display areas.

Why?

This will be made possible by the introduction of banding (see proposal 2), which will allow us to better manage our car parks and remove the current time limits. This will enable you to park in your preferred location for as long as you want/need to, as long as you’re willing to pay the appropriate charge.

To comment on this proposal, click on the 'How to get involved' tab above.

Proposal 4 - Introduce linear (set price per hour) charges between 9am and 8pm

Evening parking across the county is currently free after 6pm and take-up by both residents, businesses and visitors can be high, which is great for our evening economy, but can cause congestion in our car parks and on-street parking areas, plus additional operational and maintenance costs.

Why?

This would address the above issues, keep things simple and easy to understand, and would make it easier for us to manage and enforce parking. It will also allow residents to continue to park overnight free of charge. To allow for overnight parking we would start charging at 9am, rather than 8am as we do now. This option would also help us to meet the objectives of the Shrewsbury Integrated Transport Package. Any additional income raised through evening charges would be put towards the costs of managing and maintaining our car parks.

To comment on this proposal, click on the 'How to get involved' tab above.

Proposal 5 - The extension of on-street loading and taxi bay provision in the evenings and early mornings

Loading bays are provided in our market towns, and the times they can be used for loading and unloading varies from bay to bay and town to town. Outside of these times the bays can generally be used for unrestricted parking. We’re now proposing that the loading bay restriction times should be extended in line with the evening parking charge proposals.

We’re also proposing that all existing loading bays within the Shrewsbury river loop are used as taxi bays between 8pm and 7.30am. If this is successful we’d consider introducing similar measures in other market towns.

Why?

If on-street evening parking charges are introduced we’ll need to make sure that the loading bays can used for loading and unloading. There’s also a shortage of taxi bays within the Shrewsbury river loop, and this would support the night-time economy, help ensure that there’s appropriate taxi provision throughout the night, and help ensure the safety of people visiting the town at night.

To comment on this proposal, click on the 'How to get involved' tab above.

Proposal 6 - Removal of the 15-minute ‘pop and shop’ period

We’re planning to end the ‘pop and shop’ period that allows you to park in all of our pay and display parking areas for 15 minutes without having to pay. If you include the ten minute ‘observation period’ before a ticket can be issued, people can currently park for free for up to 25 minutes. We’re proposing to end this, but you will still have a ten minute period after parking before a ticket can be issued.

Why?

Shropshire Council and local businesses want to encourage people to come into our towns for longer, rather than rushing to get their shopping done in 15 minutes. However, under the plans, people who do need to stop briefly will still have ten minutes.

To comment on this proposal, click on the 'How to get involved' tab above.

Proposal 7 - The extension of opening hours in Raven Meadows multi storey car park in Shrewsbury

We’re proposing to open the car park 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Why?

With the ongoing development of the ‘night-time economy’ there is now a demand for a safe and secure car park in Shrewsbury that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

New parking machines, barriers and number plate recognition have recently been installed in Raven Meadows to improve the service to customers. Now a refurbishment programme is proposed that will improve safety and security at the car park, which will enable the extension of opening hours.

Opening 24/7 would also provide additional, much-needed, parking for users of the nearby railway station, and for the neighbouring Premier Inn hotel.

To comment on this proposal, click on the 'How to get involved' tab above.

Have your say on any or all of the seven proposals included in section 1 of the parking strategy consultation using our survey.

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