Car Parking - what do you want next year?

[grahame]

Chamber of Commerce meeting, 13th April - open to all.  18:30 at Well House Manor, Melksham.

There is a major review of car parking across Wilsthire going on and the Chambers of Commerce have been asked to express their views, views of members and businesses into practical propositions and ideas.

This will effect your business next year - come along, and let's see if we can make it effect it positively - or at least be prepared if there's going to be changes that aren't entirely fitting.

[grahame]

Release for the press ...

Car Parking across Wiltshire in all the authority's car parks is "up for review" for next year.  And the Melksham Chamber of Commerce (and other Chambers across Wiltshire) are asking their members for inputs, at the request of Wiltshire Council.

The Chamber of Commerce's regular meeting on 13th April (18:30, Well House Manor, Melksham) will be open to anyone - whether members or not - to let The Chamber know what their issues are so that The Chamber can help present the views of the business community as a whole.

* Should free parking for short periods be provided?
* Is there a better alternative to pay-on-arrive and display?
* How about parking for staff at town centre businesses?
* How is / should car parking be financed?

We can't promise all the answers on the night, but you will get some further insite into the costs and tradeoffs involved, and be able to help us learn your particular concerns.

Please contact Ann Marie Escott on 01225 355553 for further details of the meeting / Melksham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or visit www.melkshamchamber.org.uk

[grahame]

Car Parking in Melksham.

Summary for discussion this evening

* New Wiltshire wants to standardise parking schemes across county, reducing dramatically the two dozen different schemes at present.

* Inputs being sought via all chambers of commerce / feedback via Wessex Association.

Cost to Wiltshire is an issue.  It's very hard to get figures from them with regards to what they take / what things cost, but they have said that Westbury - 2 car parks - cost around 90,000 per annum to run between them, and that with 2 hours of free parking that leaves a shortfall in their income of the vast majority of that.

Concerns have been expressed concerning

* The need to pay for very short visits to town which tend to drive people out of town

* Parking for staff of town centre outlets, who are typically low paid

* Parking being pushed to residential streets due to high cost in town

* The need to pay ahead of time - so that people making a good visit (or stuck in a queue) cannot extend, but have to leave to the detriment of their contribution to the town

* Overpayment from more cautious types, who buy extra time in case there's a long queue somewhere, but don't use that extra time

* Some odd fees (such as 55p) / lack of change / only certain coins taken which mean that people often pay more than they should

* Draconian enforcement.

* [Melksham specific] Free parking in centre / no right turn into Church steet leading to unnecessary town centre congestion - worse environment and time wasted in queues

* [Melksham specific] Loss of free short term places in Market Square which will be happening - plans for replacement?

Questions ...

Which of these are important / are priorities / how should parking be funded in future?  Is it simply a question of getting the right pricng in place on the current structure or should something more radical be considered such as:
* Parking funded by council
* Pay on exit
* Refund of parking ticket by spending money in shops
* Improving bus services to give staff (especially) an alternative
* Mobile phone payment system to allow topups / extensions

[grahame]

Submissions have been made; and the "with inflation" rises for this year just announced.  It seems that some of them (up from 80p to a pound) are fuelling inflation, rather than just being alongside inflation as we were promised; I do hope that they'll stick with their promise of listening to inputs and giving them full consideration prior to the major review that's to be completed for next year.

[grahame]

Submission as follow to be made to Wiltshire Council shortly (deadline coming up):

Car parking consultation - draft of response to be submitted prior to 9.2010 deadline

We appreciate the need to re-visit car parking schemes and charges with a view to having a system that's suitable for the future, encouraging of vitality and businesses in the town, positive in the impression it leaves on users (be they regulars or occasional visitors to the area), broadly county wide rather than a plethora of different schemes to maintain, and cost effective in how it operates.   And we will applaud the county moving forward with these goals.

Some issues with the current system / some of the proposals

1. Melksham offers free parking of up to one hour in the central car park, which is accessed via a cul de sac which itself has a no right turn at the entrance.  So traffic for that car park from the northern half of the town has to pass along the High Street, around the Market Place and back along the High Street before turning in.  This traffic causes jams and detracts from the town's attractiveness for people once parked up / after they've walked in / got off buses.

2. The current system requires you to know how long you'll be parking for, does not allow for extensions, and punishes heavily if you overstay.   This is against the interest of businesses in the town who would be helped by people being able to stay (and spend more money!) if they wish.

3. All day parking for staff - some of whom are on the lower wages - takes a disproportionate amount of their wages, and for many of them there is no viable alternative.

4. There is a view that rules and regulations are complex, and are applied to the letter with a primary intent of maximising income.  Much of this relates to item (2) where a long queue in the post office can result in a stiff fine for just a couple of minutes.  But cases such as parking on the white line on the edge of a space (only space available ... neighbouring vehicle on arrival overlapping it) have also been raised as being harsh.

5. Charges which require multiple coins of different denominations and machines that do not give change again lead to an overcharging which results in negative feeling. It has been suggested that such pricing (and the complex rules of (2), and pay on arrival) are a cynical ploy to increase revenue without raising the headline parking rates, and in the absence of definitive and east to follow evidence to the contrary, this reflects badly on the organisation in control of the scheme.

6. Figures quoted as being the running costs for car parks have not been fully explained; we find it hard to understand why it costs 48000 per annum to look after a piece of tarmac with a machine to take money on it.

7. All day parking for employees is expensive, and threatens to be more so if the only changes made at this stage are a standardisation and hike in prices. 

8. The current scheme encourages people to park in some residential areas which are close by the town on foot.  Note that there is no major private parking or tied scheme in Melksham as there are in some other towns.

Positive approaches for Wiltshire Council

1. A system which allows people to pay for the time they actually stay (rather than the time they estimate) would be welcomed.  This could be pay on departure, or some form of mobile phone topup system (that last being less favoured as it will be obtuse for occasional visitors).  By standardising systems across the county, you'll have the benefit of scale on a system that would be potentially impractical in just a small area.

2. Car parks at different rates should be re-arranged to ensure that the high turnover spaces are no longer in the car park that requires much of the traffic to pass twice through the centre of town on arrival and again on departure.

3. Practical public transport alternatives should be provided - it needs more to encourage people to use buses than just putting up parking rates.  In Melksham there's a specific opportunity available with changes already underway and the No. 14 bus provides a good starting point.  Add to that services provide by the "section 106" Asda bus which could usefully serve the new housing area BEFORE everyone there buys second cars, and retime Chippenham - Trowbridge and Bath - Bowerhill buses to run every 30 minutes, and you'll have a network that runs every 30 minutes to most areas of the town.  The new zigzag bus (already funded) provides access into town from other villages. With 600 council employees transferring to the outskirts of Melksham for a period of 2 years, this is an ideal time to re-tune the system; I spoke with Faresave at some length (w/c 16 August 2010)  and understand much better why their service isn't already on the opposite half hour.  The employee move may provide an environment in which this can change for the benefit of all concerned.   A bus service should call at Melksham station to connect from and to each of the trains that should be running under the GWRUS proposals.

4. Backing up (3), council owned land at Melksham Station can provide car parking (initially 150 space on currently unlet council owned land, expanding to 300 later) for walk or bus connection into town centre and for rail passenger use.  The current expansion of Melksham would otherwise put more pressure on the town centre.   The coming of the Melksham Link / Wilts and Berks canal is also an opportunity for Melksham, and parking changes should take that into consideration.  Parking at this edge-of-town site should be at a low rate, all day (echoing the response of the president of Chippenham Chamber who's calling for similar things in Chippenham, and probably many others)

5. Consideration should be given to resident's permits for places like Stratton Walk, but we appreciate the cost of running such a scheme.   Have better if the money could be gainfully and positively spend on items (3) and (4).

6. Current very-short-term roadside spaces should not be reduced in number, though there may be a case to switching them to 30 minutes rather than one hour if done in conjunctions with items (1) and (2).