| Providing for Parking- Many of our residential areas were not designed for current and projected levels of car parking
- Demand for on-street car parking should be managed in ways that minimise its impact on the wider functions of residential areas
- This section gives an overview of issues related to parking and offers guidance and further reading to help resolve parking issues
As the UK's population and prosperity continues to rise, so the number of cars on our roads grows. This places increased strain on out-dated and inadequate residential parking facilities. A lack of parking facilities is not simply inconvenient for drivers, it can also lead to a range of other problems as drivers are forced to park indiscriminately. Poor parking can:
- Restrict the free flow of traffic
- including buses and cycles
- Block lines of sight and make streets less safe
- Block access for wheelchair users and pushchairs
- Restrict street cleansing
- Restrict emergency services
For all these reasons, parking needs to be an integral part of general transport and planning policy and its wider community strategy.
Options for controlling parking
The provision, management and enforcement of parking needs to be formulated in the light of the economic, social and environmental needs of the wider area. But people expect to be able to park close to their home, and should be consulted in decisions that affect parking on their streets.
Traffic authorities have a range of options when it comes to controlling parking. They can:
- Create parking places for particular types of vehicle and user; decide how to control these places and set charges
- Use Traffic Regulation Orders to create parking places, ban waiting, create parking restrictions and enforce certain parking regulations
- Create Controlled Parking Zones to restrict parking for residents to certain time periods
- Wheel-clamp or remove vehicles that are parked in contravention of parking controls
- Include communal garages
- Include resident bays
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