The Council has operated parking controls since 1994, but, in the light of increased traffic and environmental concerns, a number of changes are on the horizon.
Commenting on the proposed changes, Cllr Daniel Moylan, Deputy Leader
of the Council, said: "Without fair and effective parking rules,
traffic would grind to a halt, residents would be unable to park
anywhere near their homes and the situation would swiftly descend into
anarchy. We are updating many aspects of the way we manage parking in
the Royal Borough to ensure the system is fair, comprehensible and
effective and that it can offer something to all road users."
The proposals are outlined below:
Clamping and lifting policy
The
Council is revising its clamping and removals policy and in the light
of the extension of the Congestion Charge Zone, is looking at the
possibility of releasing unused pay and display bays for residents'
parking and other uses.
This is because there is now a body of
opinion that suggests that clamping is no longer the "visual deterrent"
it used to be and therefore has little material effect on driver
behaviour.
Many residents park overnight in pay and display bays
and on yellow lines outside the hours of parking control. They do so,
not out of choice, but because of the serious lack of available
residents' parking bays. Many of the vehicles clamped or removed are
therefore residents who overstay and remain parked once the parking
controls resume the next day.
The Council is therefore proposing
a clamping policy that does not seek to clamp any residents' vehicles
parked on a pay and display bay and does not clamp any vehicles on
yellow lines. The exception of course would be if the vehicle is the
subject of a permit fraud investigation, is a persistent evader or an
illegally parked foreign registered vehicle. In these circumstances
assuming the vehicle was not parked dangerously, the vehicle would be
clamped and then removed as soon as a removal vehicle was available.
The
Council is also proposing a removals policy that does not seek to
remove vehicles from permitted parking bays but concentrates resources
on contraventions where parking is prohibited.
Graduated permit charges
The
Council is set to introduce fees for residents' parking permits that
will be based to some extent on vehicle emissions. This decision is a
direct response from the Council to the growing issue of climate
change.
The Council believes that the sliding scale of charges
proposed will give residents a signal to consider less polluting
vehicles. Also being proposed is a supplementary charge for second
permit holders in a household. The Council has already consulted on
this scheme with its Residents' Panel and will be keeping residents
informed of future developments.
Suspensions
While the
Council's policy on suspensions has been subject to annual review, the
charges have remained the same since 1998. This is largely because this
is seen as a service to residents carrying out domestic removals and
building work.
The Council has also operated a discount policy
for suspensions of over 90 days duration, which significantly reduces
the daily fee. However, there is evidence to suggest that the discount
actually encourages some customers to keep unneeded suspensions in
place rather than cancel.
The Council is therefore conducting
a review of the policy on suspensions with a view to addressing this
anomaly and encouraging the early closure or cancellation of
suspensions so the bays can be released for parking.
Motorcycle permits
The
Council has recently carried out a review of the motorcycle parking
policy that will benefit residents and visitors who own motorcycles.
This will lead to the introduction of a new system that will increase
the total number of motorcycle parking spaces from approximately 1,600
to 2,600, so that every motor-bike owner will have access to a secure
parking bay within a few minutes' walk of their home.
The new
system will introduce dedicated resident permit-only parking bays for
motorcycles, while still allowing visitors to park free of charge in
separate bays. This will be achieved by converting a proportion of the
existing free bays to permit-only and introducing additional bays as
necessary. Having access to secure motor-cycle parking close to home
will be a significant step to reducing theft of motorbikes and scooters.
To
help offset the cost of implementation it is proposed to increase the
cost of a motorcycle permit to £50 (discounted to £35 for those holding
a recognised advanced rider certificate).
Hours of parking controls.
On
a separate matter, the Council recently carried out consultations on
all roads to the south of Kensington High Street and is currently
considering the results to see if residents want longer hours of
parking controls.
Cllr Moylan added: "I trust that all motorists
in Kensington and Chelsea recognise that these changes are not only
necessary to improve traffic flow, but are also a reaction to the
environmental concerns of this age."
Notice of changes to parking charges
As in the rest of London, differential parking penalties will be introduced on 1 July in the Royal Borough.
The
effect of the new system will be to introduce a higher penalty charge
where the offence is associated with prohibited parking and a lower
penalty charge where the offence has been committed where there is
permitted parking for that class of vehicle.
Offences classed
as being more serious will incur a penalty charge of £120 (up from
£100), while others will incur a reduced penalty charge of £80. In both
cases the existing 50 per cent discount will still apply if the penalty
charge is paid within 14 days. The charges for clamping and removals
have also increased and further information can be found on the
Council's website at www.RBKC.gov.uk, or by request to
parking@rbkc.gov.uk.
These reforms come on top of the recent
expansion of the Council's car club scheme. Research undertaken by the
Department for Transport and car club user surveys suggest that at
least five cars are taken off the road or not bought for every one car
club vehicle provided.
http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/pressrelease/pressrelease.asp?id=2453
