Bedford Annual Parking Services Report

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Bedford Parking Services Annual Report

Date: February 2010

1. Executive Summary

0.1 Introduction

All local authorities are now required by the Traffic Management Act 2004, Part 6, toproduce an annual parking service review report. This report provides a review of theannual performance of the Councils parking services for the year ending March 2009.This represents the first year since the changes in parking legislation fromdecriminalised enforcement to civil enforcement.

0.2 Bedford parking policy

Parking policy in Bedford is governed at two levels: at a regional level the East ofEngland Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) sets overarching policy objectives; at amore local level the Bedford Local Transport Plan (LTP) (2006/7 2010/11) provides alocal policy context.

The aims and objective for parking services within Bedford can be summarised as:

Influence private car usage through parking controls to help manage growth andreduce congestion;

Use parking controls to manage conflicts between parking demand both in towncentres and residential areas;

Encourage shorter-stay car parking in the town centre; Effectively enforce parking controls to ensure they deliver the benefits for which

they were intended; and Cover the cost of parking provision through revenue generation with any surplus

being used to re-invest in local transport.

0.3 Overview of parking services

The provision and management of parking in Bedford is an important functionundertaken by the Council. Issues relating to parking provision and controls are oftenhigh on the community agenda, be that in relation to residential supply or supporting thelocal economy.

Bedford has both on and off-street parking controls. A combination of ControlledEnforcement Areas (CEAs) covers a large proportion of the town centre and immediatesurrounding areas. Residential, business and healthcare permits are available, alongwith Pay & Display parking bays. In addition, there are fee-paying car parks around thetown centre and some free car parks in local retail areas.

Bedford Parking Services has the responsibility for the enforcement of parkingregulations, both on-street and off-street. Part of this role involves the issuing of ParkingCharge Notices (PCNs) for parking contraventions. In line with current legislation, theCouncil has a transparent process for enabling customers to appeal PCNs that areissued against their vehicle. The Councils website provides further information aboutthis, as well as all other aspects of parking services.


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0.4 Operational performance

The Council is continually seeking to improve the parking services that it offerscustomers. The Council ensures that all representations for changes to parkingprovision are considered on merit. Likewise, all major changes to parking services in thearea are comprehensively consulted upon. Customer satisfaction surveys are also

undertaken in relation to the standards of off-street car parks.

0.5 Statistics

The Council collects and monitors statistical information about parking in Bedford. Thisprovides valuable information about the performance of the provision and anyalterations that may be required.

Over 22,000 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) were issued in 2008/09, the majority ofwhich were for parking on yellow lines, parking without a valid ticket or overstaying themaximum time limit. Around 60% of PCNs were paid within 28 days. The rest wereeither challenged or ignored (and appropriate recovery action taken where informationwas available)

0.6 Finances

A breakdown of the Councils parking services finances is available annually. Thishighlights income and expenditure and provides an overall indication of the balancesheet.

In the year ending 31 st March 2009 the Councils off-street parking services produced a

net surplus balance of around 105,000. In comparison the on-street parking servicesproduced a net deficit of around 30,000, although this included a 50,000 contributionto the operating costs of the Elstow Park and Ride service.


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1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose of report

All local authorities are required by the Traffic Management Act 2004, Part 6, to producean annual parking service review report from 2009 onwards. Furthermore, the TrafficPenalty Tribunal (TPT), the independent tribunal that oversees the operation of CivilParking Enforcement (CPE) across the country, has also strongly encouraged localauthorities to openly report on their management of CPE services.

This report provides a review of the annual performance of the Councils parkingservices for the year ending March 2009. This represents the first year since thechanges in parking legislation, the implications of which are set out in Section 4 below.

1.2 Bedford as a unitary authority

Back in March 2007, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)

started the process of consulting on whether unitary local government was best forBedfordshire. The change would mean replacing the present county council and threedistrict or borough councils (Bedford Borough Council, Mid-Beds District Council andSouth Bedfordshire District Council) with new arrangements for the delivery of localservices throughout the shire. The proposals submitted by the three district Councilsproposed a two-unitary approach with Bedford Borough Council becoming a UnitaryCouncil and a Central Bedfordshire Unitary Council being formed from Mid-Beds andSouth Bedfordshire District Councils. The proposals meant that Bedfordshire CountyCouncil would be abolished.

The proposals were approved by Parliament on 27 March 2008. The unitary council wasformed on 1 st April 2009.

Whilst these changes have only recently taken place, and were prior to the periodcovered by this annual parking report, they have had some impact upon the operation ofparking services in Bedford at a strategic level, and will certainly result in changes goingforward. The implications for this are discussed further in Section 4.

2. Bedford Parking Policy

2.1 Overview

Parking policy in Bedford is governed at two levels: at a regional level the East ofEngland Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) sets overarching policy objectives; at amore local level the Bedford Local Transport Plan (LTP) (2006/7 2010/11) provides alocal policy context.

Within the East of England RTS, Bedford was identified as a Regional InterchangeCentre (RIC) highlighting its importance as a centre for transport interchange. As part ofthis role the RTS promotes the use of traffic management measures to discourage theuse of cars and promote public transport interchange. Linked to this, parking provision isto be constrained further in RICs to reflect their accessibility by public transport. Thisprovides the broad policy context within which parking services in Bedford are to bemanaged.


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2.2 Relationship of parking enforcement with Local Transport Plan (LTP)

At the time of the first Local Transport Plan in 2001, parking management controls werecomparatively limited in Bedford. Since then it has considerably improved through theintroduction of greater parking controls to reduce parking conflicts, as well as throughthe introduction of decriminalised parking enforcement, which gave local authorities

greater control over the management of parking services and revenue generation.

The second Local Transport Plan (LTP2), whilst coming towards the end of its tenure,represents the key local document for parking policy. At the time, a separate ParkingPolicy document was not developed as it was considered that Bedfordshire CountyCouncil did not directly control much of the total supply of parking. Instead policies andpriorities are set out in the LTP2 document.

Within LTP2 it describes how parking provision can be managed to provide a useful toolto help deliver overall transport policy aims. It can help manage growth, reduce

congestion and encourage a shift in travel patterns. It must also though be consideredwithin the context of the economic, environmental and practical impacts it can havewithin an area. For example, restricting parking in one area of parking conflict cansimply cause a shift to nearby locations and cause similar undue problems there. TheLTP2 document does recognise, however, that parking management will continue to beone of the key ways in which the Council can influence car use.

On-street parking restrictions are noted within LTP2 as a popular method by the publicof tackling parking problems and there is recognition that these will continue to beintroduced where there are good reasons to do so. On the enforcement side, LTP2 setsout the Councils continued commitment to continue to effectively enforce local parkingcontrols in order to maximise the benefits to the local communities.

LTP2 sets out that on and off-street parking charges will be regularly reviewed. Thegeneral policy is to ensure that the costs of provision are covered by revenuegeneration with any surplus re-invested in local transport. The charging policy alsoseeks to continue the emphasis on encouraging short-stay car parking in town centres.

2.3 Aims and objectives

The aims and objective for parking services within Bedford can be summarised as:

Influence private car usage through parking controls to help manage growth andreduce congestion;

Use parking controls to manage conflicts between parking demand both in towncentres and residential areas;

Encourage shorter-stay car parking in the town centre; Effectively enforce parking controls to ensure they deliver the benefits for which

they were intended; and

Cover the cost of parking provision through revenue generation with any surplusbeing used to re-invest in local transport.


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3. Overview of parking services

3.1 Parking in Bedford

The provision and management of parking in Bedford is an important functionundertaken by the Council. Issues relating to parking provision and controls are oftenhigh on the community agenda, be that in relation to residential supply or supporting thelocal economy. Conflicts between differing demands for parking often create arequirement for the Council to manage, regulate or control parking provision.

Bedford has both on and off-street parking controls. A combination of ControlledParking Zones (CPZs) covers a large proportion of the town centre and surroundingareas. In addition, there are fee-paying car parks around the town centre and some freecar parks in local retail areas.

3.2 Geographic areas of enforcement

There are a total of 10 zones within the CPZ in and around Bedford Town Centre,classified by letters between A and L. The majority of these cover areas in the towncentre; however there are also several within residential areas or streets. A map of theareas covered by the CPZ can be found in Appendix A along with the specificboundaries for each individual zone.

A separate map in Appendix B indicates the location of the off-street car parks aroundBedford Town Centre.

3.3 Off-street car parks

There are a total of eight car parks in and around Bedford Town Centre. Their locations,the type of car park and the number of spaces available, including disabled spaces areindicated in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Off-street Car Parks around Bedford Town Centre

Car Park Type Primary use Number of spaces

Allhallows MSCP Pay & Display Short-stay 576 (+ 1 disabled)

Duck Mill Lane Pay & Display Short-stay 12 (0 disabled)

Lurke Street MSCP Pay on foot Medium-stay 790 (+ 22 disabled, + 8 parent and child)Melbourne Street Pay & Display Long-stay 197 (0 disabled)

Queen Street MSCP Pay on foot Long-stay 640 (+4 disabled, + 8 parent and child)

Riverside Square Pay & Display Short-stay 140 (+ 6 disabled)

River Street MSCP Pay on foot Short-stay 465 (+ 14 disabled, + 8 parent and child)

St Peters Pay & Display Short-stay 113 (+3 disabled)

Total 2,933 (+50 disabled, +16 parent and child)

The Pay & Display car parks are those that you drive into, go to a machine, and thenpurchase a ticket which you place inside your car but visible from the outside. The Payon foot car parks are those where you generally enter through a barrier and take a


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ticket that you keep with you. When you return to the car park you go to a machine andpay for the time you have stayed. The obvious advantage of the latter system is thatcustomers are not required to decide how long they want to stay before they leave theircar.

Combined, the car parks offer a total of 2,933 spaces, along with 50 disabled spacesand 16 parent and child spaces. This gives an overall total of 2,999. Disabled spaces,therefore, make up 1.67% of the total provision.

Car parking charges vary across the eight car parks in Bedford in relation to theproximity to the town centre. The pricing structure of the car parks is related to theproximity to the town centre and follows the policy of encouraging shorter-stay carparking closer into the town centre. Therefore, the car park located furthest away,Melbourne Street, is the cheapest with 2 hours costing 90p.

In addition to ad hoc Pay & Display tickets that are bought upon arrival at a car park,customers can also purchase season tickets. These can be purchased for periods ofone, two, or three months and offer a discount to regular users over the standard dayrates. Motorcycle parking is free in all Council car parks.

3.4 On-street Parking Controls

The Bedford Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) is an area where parking regulations havebeen introduced to deal with a range of parking problems. Designated parking bays areprovided with signs indicating their use. Yellow line restrictions single and double -apply outside the designated bays. Enforcement of the bays and lines is carried out by

the Councils Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs). Only a vehicle displaying a parkingpermit, a valid pay-and-display ticket, a Visitor Voucher or a Disabled Badge can park inthe designated bays.

There are a range of types of parking bays available, as follows:

Resident/Pay-and-Display Bays: In these bays you may park while displaying a permit, a pay-and-display ticket, a Visitor Voucher or a Disabled Badge.

Permit Only Bays: In a few areas pay-and-display tickets cannot be bought and parking is restricted to holders of permits, Visitor Vouchers or Disabled Badges.

Special Bays: There are a variety of bays reserved for specific road users, such as Blue Badge Holders, motorcycles, buses/coaches, and taxis.

The number of bays, by type, is as follows:

Pay & Display bays = 2,736 Resident only parking bays = 60 Disabled bays = 49

Coach bays = 5 Taxi rank bays = 20


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The Council has implemented the CPZ as it believes it brings the following advantages:

It allows for a fair distribution of parking spaces for local residents by removingcommuter parking. This is achieved by the creation of a permit-parking scheme;

It creates a more pleasant residential environment due to the reduction in

vehicles looking for a parking space in your street; There should be a reduction in traffic congestion in general with a corresponding

reduction in pollution and improved public transport reliability;

Visitors, doctors/medical staff can find parking more easily;

There is a greater turnover of parking spaces in shopping areas to the benefit oflocal traders and shoppers;

Pedestrian and highway safety is improved by a reduction in unlawful parking on

yellow lines; and There is an improvement in security as CEOs are conspicuous as they patrol the

streets.

Since the aim of the CPZ is to be cost neutral, these benefits can all be deliveredwithout the requirement for funding from local taxation and any surpluses will be used tofund improvements to alternative modes of transport, particularly to support Park andRide services. The Council does recognise, however, that there are somedisadvantages with the CPZ, namely:

Residents, businesses, visitors and shoppers need to pay for on-street parking;

Commuter parking may be displaced to other areas outside the CPZ;

It does not protect residents' parking space outside the CEOs hours and

It does not guarantee parking space immediately outside individual properties.

As a result of this impact, the Council seeks to continually review the provision andmanagement of the CPZ to ensure that overall the benefits derived continue tosignificantly more than off-set any negative implications.

3.5 On-street Pay & Display Parking

Pay and Display machines are located across the CPZ, with around 125 in total. Theon-street pay and display charges are as follows:

0.40 Up to 30 Minutes 0.90 Up to 1 Hour 1.30 Up to 2 Hours 3.00 Up to 3 Hours

6.50 Up to 4 Hours 9.00 Over 4 Hours

Parking is free and without time limit for holders of Blue Badges when using a markedparking bay.


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The machines are constantly monitored by the Parking Service to ensure that they arefully operational. Maintenance teams are available to repair machines within a 24-hourperiod should they become faulty. Data is also regularly collected from machines tomonitor the levels of tickets issued. This data allows the Council to monitor the changingrequirements for parking provision across the town. As an example, data provided from

revenue summaries, which will be presented later in the report, indicates that across theyear from April 2008 to March 2009 the most frequent time duration for on-streetparking was Up to 1 hour followed by Up to 2 hours.

3.6 On-street Permit Parking

There are three categories of parking permit available for the CPZ in Bedford, asfollows:

Resident permits (and associated visitor permits) Business permits

Healthcare and voluntary organisation permitsEvery resident within the CPZ is eligible to apply for Residents Parking Permits for theirvehicles, except residents of new developments of flats/apartments constructed after1st April 2008. Permits are valid for 12 months from the beginning of the month theapplication is made. Up to three permits per household can be purchased. The cost forthese permits increases based upon the number of cars per household, as follows:

1 st vehicle = 20; 2nd vehicle = 70 3 rd vehicle = 90.

A charge of 5 is made for changes to permits. Properties within the CPZ are entitled toone free Visitor Permit Book each year and a further two books may be purchased byresidents at 15 per book within the same year. For the Council to issue a ResidentsParking Permit, the resident must provide proof of residency and demonstrate that theyare the owner of the vehicle (although there are a few exceptions, for example withcompany cars). Each permit states a zone where parking is allowed. There can be noguarantee that residents will be able to park outside their property or in their street.

Business vehicles can park in any pay-and-display bays in the CPZ. Businesses basedwithin the CPZ may apply for permits if they can demonstrate a need. These permitscost 130 per year for the first permit and 200 for the second. Each permit would havethe name of the company displayed, but could be used by any vehicle registered by thebusiness.

Healthcare Parking Permits are available to doctors, nurses, midwives and other keyhealthcare workers to enable parking within the CPZ while attending to patients. Thesepermits are not valid on yellow lines. Charges for the permits are 20 for Healthcare / 5for Voluntary and they are valid for two years. Should the permit need to be alteredwithin this period there would be a charge of 5.


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3.7 Parking Enforcement

Bedford Parking Services has the responsibility for the enforcement of parkingregulations both on-street and off-street. This is carried out by Civil EnforcementOfficers, formerly known as Parking Attendants. Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), whichare often referred to as parking tickets, are issued when a driver parks a vehicle in

contravention of parking regulations (e.g. by parking in the wrong place or failing todisplay a valid parking permit/ticket).

There are two levels of charges depending on the nature of contraventions, along with adiscount rate for prompt payment:

Higher Tariff for more serious contraventions = 70

Lower Tariff for less serious contraventions = 50

Discounted amount (50%) if paid within 14 days = 35 / 25

Appendix C presents the list of contraventions for both on-street and off-street parking.In general the higher contraventions relate to parking a vehicle in a location for which itis not permitted, whilst the lower contraventions relate to a vehicle parked incorrectly orparked for too long in a permitted space.

Currently, in Bedford, there is no policy to clamp and remove vehicles. Unlawful parkingcauses problems for everyone else and by enforcing regulations, we aim to:

Keep traffic flowing freely;

Ensure that there is a fair and even distribution and turnover of available parkingspaces throughout the area, not only for visitors, but also for residents, traders,customers, businesses and healthcare workers;

Make the Borough a safer place to drive, walk, or cycle through;

Ensure that designated disabled bays are used only by those lawfully displayinga valid Blue Badge in accordance with the Blue Badge Scheme;

Ensure that bays designated for use by specific vehicles such as taxis, busesand goods vehicles are kept clear for their intended use;

Ensure that vehicles park only within the permitted time limits to make sure thateverybody has equal access to limited parking space; and

Ensure that pedestrians are permitted to walk safely without fear or obstruction inpedestrianised areas.

3.8 The parking appeals process

There is a comprehensive and fair procedure for customers to challenge any PCNissued against their vehicle. A challenge must be received by the Council within 14 days

of the PCN issue date for the discounted rate to apply (50%). Should the challenge notbe successful, the discount period of 14 days is reinstated. If neither a challenge norpayment is received within 28 days then a Notice to Owner (NtO) is issued and served.


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If the NtO is ignored then a Charge Certificate is produced for the full value of the PCNplus a 50% surcharge. If payment is still not made, the Council will pursue the PCN asa debt in the County Court and a Notice of Debt Registration is produced to notify thecustomer. A fee of 5 is added to the outstanding amount of the PCN for theregistration. Finally, as a last resort for payment collection, a warrant is issued and the

debt is passed over to the bailiffs for recovery.If after receiving the NtO a customer wishes to appeal then the Council will consider allwritten representations. If the Council rejects the representations then the customer canmake a further appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, who acts as an independentadjudication service. This represents the final avenue for appeal and if it is dismissedthen the PCN, must be paid in full.

At any stage throughout this process the Council may cancel the PCN if it is deemedappropriate. The case would then be closed and no further action would take place.

3.9 Customer Services

Bedford Parking Services have produced a clear and concise guide in relation to theenforcement of parking, with a particular emphasis on advising customers how to avoida PCN. The document also details the appeals process in the event that a customerrequires this information.

If customers are issued with a PCN then there are three straightforward processes formaking payment. Customers can pay by posting a cheque, by credit or debit card overthe telephone or in person by cash, cheque or credit/debit card. This information is all

presented clearly on the reverse of the issued PCN.Should a customer wish to challenge a PCN then the process is again clearly set outwithin the Bedford Parking Services Document entitled Enforcement, which can befound on the Councils website or obtained upon request. The Council has a clear setof guidelines under what circumstances a representation for a customer will beconsidered. It sets out conditions under which different representations may beaccepted or rejected. This information is also available on the Councils website or uponrequest.

Each case that is put before the Council is considered on its own merits taking intoaccount all of the evidence available and the uniqueness of the circumstances that ledup to the contravention taking place.

Should a customer have an appeal rejected then the legislation allows for a furtherappeal to the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal. This ensures that the process isentirely transparent and impartial.

The process of tracking the issue of PCNs, subsequent payment and appeals is allrecorded electronically. This allows each individual contravention to be monitored and

tracked throughout the process.The Councils website provides information regarding all aspects of parking in Bedford,from the location of car parks and CPZs, through tariffs and permit prices, as well asenforcement procedures. The website is constantly updated to ensure that it reflects the


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most up-to-date information available. Customers wishing to contact the parking servicecan either go to the premises on Harper Street in person, or may write, email or phone.

A car park charter also exists which establishes the Councils commitment to providinga high quality secure, safe and pleasant car parking service. The charter addressesissues such as staff behaviour, information provision, cleanliness and enforcementprocedures.

The Council also carries out customer satisfaction surveys to ensure there is feedbackfrom customers about the provision of parking. The results for the last survey arepresented below in Section 5 on Operation Performance.

4. Changes to parking services

4.1 Operation changes

As mentioned at the outset of this report, the operational year to the end of March 2009was one leading up to large structural change within the local Councils as a new unitaryauthority was formed on 1 st April 2009. Whilst the majority of changes have obviouslytaken place after this date, the period beforehand was one in which services tended tobe operated on a day-to-day basis rather than at a strategic planning level as it wasacknowledged that changes to administrative processes would be impending.

Under the previous Council structure, and as set out in LTP2, Bedfordshire CountyCouncil had taken over responsibility for parking enforcement from the police and thedistrict councils operated as the administrators for parking services. A Joint ParkingBoard (JPB) was established to oversee the operations. The JPB was made up of 50%Borough Councillors and 50% County Councillors. The JPB would meet to consider andapprove any alterations to parking services across the borough.

Upon becoming a Unitary Authority on 1 st April 2009, the JPB was disbanded withresponsibilities being passed to the portfolio holder for environment, whose remitincluded parking.

The 31 st March 2008 was the implementation date for Part 6 of the Traffic ManagementAct (TMA) 2004. From that date, parking enforcement was undertaken under theprovisions of the TMA, replacing the previous Road Traffic Act 1991. This necessitatedthe introduction of a number of changes for the service.

The new legislation has changed the name of parking enforcement officers from ParkingAttendants to Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) to reflect the wider role that they arenow able to undertake if required. All CEOs must also be subject to a Criminal RecordBureau check and have been trained to a standard equivalent to a Level Two nationallyaccredited qualification.

A key change with the TMA was the introduction of differential penalty charges, toreflect the severity of the contravention. A uniform approach to penalty charges is nowapplied across the country, with the exception of London, with a higher rate of 70applied to more serious contraventions and a lower rate of 50 for other contraventions.


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The TMA introduced a number of new contraventions to be managed through the civilenforcement process including enforcement of:

Bus lanes; Dropped kerbs;

Double parking; Vehicle drive-aways; Pedestrian crossing zig-zags; as well as Some moving traffic contraventions.

The process for issuing a PCN, often referred to as a parking ticket, has also beenstrengthened, in particular with the ability to serve PCNs through the post andempowering CEOs to inspect disabled persons blue badges.

Finally, the TMA also brought about changes to the process for considering informalchallenges, formal representations and independent appeals. A more standardisedapproach is now required across local authorities.

The changes that have resulted from the TMA required a number of alterations to theprocedures applied in Bedford to ensure compliance.

4.2 New Zones

Within the assessment year of April 2008 to March 2009, was the introduction of a newCEA Zone L that provided parking places in Beverly Crescent and Granet Close. Thiswas introduced to provide resident permits and reduce parking conflicts with non-residents.

Since the end of March 2009 a further Zone H has been introduced that encompassesPemberley Road. This is to provide residential parking and to reduce conflicts with othervehicles accessing the school located along this road.

A further new Zone K has been approved and will cover the area of Clarendon Street,Palmerston Street, Beaconsfield Street and Park Road West. This will be introducedlater this year.

4.3 TariffsParking tariffs are continuously monitored. During the review year from April 2008 toMarch 2009 there were no significant alterations to pricing structures for either on or off-street car parking.

From April 2009, however, a significant increase in the cost of long-stay on-street carparking in the town centre has been implemented. It is now notably cheaper for acustomer to park in an off-street car park rather than park on-street. This change is inline with the Councils policy to encourage high turnover of on-street car parking spaces

in the town centre, allowing a greater number of people to utilise the most convenientparking spaces for short trips into town for shopping.


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5. Operational Performance

5.1 Public Consultations

The Council ensures that all representations for changes to parking provision areconsidered on merit. Likewise, all major changes to parking services in the area arecomprehensively consulted upon. All of the current and potential future extensions tothe CEA area have resulted from community representations regarding perceivedparking conflicts in specific localities. Each representation received is considered andadditional preliminary information sought to verify the likely extent of the parkingproblem. Where there is considerable vocal support for change, or obvious safetyissues, then a more formal process of assessment is undertaken.

The recent proposal for extending the CEA into the Black Tom area was as a directresult of local representation from residents.

For any extensions to the CEA area a two-staged consultation process is undertaken.An initial consultation seeks to understand the issues and opportunities surroundingparking in the specified area. A more detailed consultation exercise is then undertakento present and seek feedback on specific scheme proposals. The results of eachconsultation process were presented to the Joint Parking Board (JPB) in order forelected members to understand the views of the community before deciding whether, orhow, to take a scheme forward.

Detailed consultation on the proposed new Zone K was presented to the JPB during2008. The Board concluded that there was strong support for the scheme and hassubsequently given it provisional approval, subject to formal objections.

5.2 Customer satisfaction surveys

An off-street car park customer survey was conducted in October 2007, askingcustomers several questions about seven car parks (all but Duckmill Lane car park).The questions asked were:

How often do you use this car park? For what purpose do you use this car park? How do you rate the standard of this car park? How does this car park compare to other car parks that you use? How do you rate the helpfulness of the car park staff?

In terms of frequency, all car parks displayed varied responses, most of which rangedfrom daily to weekly to weekend only. Only St Peters Street has a significant ofresponses (50%) saying they used the car park occasionally.

In terms of purpose, customers used the following car parks for shopping: Allhallows,Lurke Street, Riverside Square, and River Street. Melbourne Street and Queen Streetwere primarily used for workplace parking. St Peters Street car park was used most for

appointment and social purposes.

In terms of ratings, the highest ranking car park was River Street, with 64% ofcustomers giving it an excellent rating, the only car park which received a majority votein that category. This was followed by Melbourne Street, which received a very good


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rating from 59% of customers. Lurke Street received a very good rating by 55%. Afterthis came Queen Street, with 41% of customers giving it a good rating (and 32% ratingit as excellent). Around 60% gave Riverside Square a good rating (but only 10% gaveit an excellent rating). The second to last was St Peters Street which received 50% ofresponses as good (and 25% as fair). The worst rated car park was Allhallows, which

received a poor rating by 54% of customers, and, unlike all the others, it received not asingle very good or excellent vote. This car park will, however, be replaced as part ofa wider redevelopment programme.

Comparing the car parks to each other, clear majorities voted firstly River Street, LurkeStreet and Melbourne Street as being better than other car parks used. Queen Streetand Riverside Square received nearly equal amount of votes for better or same as othercar parks. St Peters Street was described as being the same as other car parks by65%, and lastly Allhallows was judged as being worse than other car parks by 73% ofcustomers.

Staff helpfulness was voted highest at River Street, with 84% stating it was excellent.This was followed by Lurke Street, where 50% of people gauged helpfulness as beingexcellent. At Queen Street, the largest proportion (41%) stated it was very good. Andlastly again, the largest amount of people (35%) stated helpfulness was good atAllhallows. This data was not obtained at Melbourne Street, Riverside Square and StPeters Street.

Some additional comments regarding the car parks were also provided. For Allhallows,it was noted that the stairwells were very smelly and dirty, the doors were too heavy and

that a speed ramp was needed. According to some customers, Queen Street could becleaner. For Riverside Square a comment was made that the disabled bays are rarelyavailable. For River Street, a request was made for more disabled bays. The lifts couldalso be better and the lift floors cleaner.

6. Statistical Information

6.1 Total Penalty Charge Notices

The total Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) totals for the year April 2008 to March 2009 canbe found in the Table 2 below.

Table 2: Total Penalty Charge Notices Issued

Type Number Percentage

Number of higher level PCNs 7,997 35.9%

Number of lower level PCNs 14,289 64.1%

Total 22,286 100%

Overall this demonstrates that there were nearly twice as many lower level PCNs as

higher level ones (64.1% versus 35.9%), indicating that the majority of contraventionswere for contraventions such as exceeding time limits for parking or parking incorrectly,rather than for parking in an unlawful location.


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Table 3 below presents a breakdown of the on-street PCN data for the same timeperiod. Firstly this indicates that 79% of PCNs that were issued were for on-streetparking. This suggests that a far greater proportion of contraventions occur on-streetthan within off-street car parks.

Table 3: On-street Penalty Charge Notices

Type of penalty charge Total(Apr 08 - Mar 09

)

Percentage

Zig Zag: Parking on a zig zag line 171 1.0%Yellow Lines: Parking on yellow lines 4,088 23.2%

WrongClass:

Parking in a bay designated foranother vehicle class

368 2.1%

Suspended: Parking in suspended bay 15 0.1%

Overstay: Overstaying the paid for parking time 3,121 17.7%OverstayFree:

Overstaying the free parking time 90 0.5%

Out of Bay: Parking outside of the bay 412 2.3%

Footway: Parking on the footway 46 0.3%No Permit: Parking without a permit 1,877 10.7%No P&D: Parking without a Pay & Display

ticket4,543 25.8%

Meter Feed: Parking without feeding the meter 2 0.0%

Loading Bay: Parking in a loading bay 632 3.6%Loading Ban: Parking in a loading ban area 1,068 6.1%Disabled: Parking in a disabled bay 1,149 6.5%Bus Stop: Parking in a bus stop 35 0.2%

Total 17,617 100.0%

Table 3 also indicates that the highest number of on-street penalty notices resulted fromparking without a Pay & Display ticket (25.8%), followed by parking on yellow lines(23.2%) and overstaying the pre-paid time (17.7%).

An analysis of the monthly trends for the categories with the highest proportions ofcontraventions (those greater than 2.5%), shown in Figure 1, identifies some distinctvariations across the year.


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Figure 1 Monthly Profile of Major PCN Contraventions

The category with the largest variation is parking on yellow lines. As can be seen in thefigure below, the amount jumps significantly from October to November and thensteadily declines again across the winter months.

Parking without a permit also shows some variation, though not as numerous as theprevious category. Here the numbers decline drastically from August through toOctober, then peak again in December and fall again thereafter.

Parking in a loading ban area shows a general trend across the year. Numbers arelowest from February to May and then steadily increase to September after which theysteadily decline again.

Unauthorised parking in disabled bays also shows a trend. Numbers peak in Novemberand December, fall to their lowest point in February and then begin to rise again fairlysteadily across the year.

In the category parking in a loading bay, there are two significant peaks throughout theyear, one of which is in July and the other is in December. The two lowest periods are inSeptember and even lower in February/March.

6.2 Payment of Penalty Charge Notices

Table 4 presents a breakdown of all the PCNs issued (both on and off-street) bywhether they were paid, cancelled or appealed.


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Table 5: Off-street car park (fee earning) Financial Summary

Income

Fees & Charges 1,939,554

Season Tickets 462,453

Penalty Charge Notices 106,847

Contribution from DSD 1,212

Total Income 2,510,067

Expenditure

Premises 1,558,272

Supplies & Services 134,377

CSD Management Fee 526,726

Bedford Design Group Fees 33,903

Central Support 105,397

Total Expenditure 2,358,675

Net Surplus 151,392

7.2 Off-street car park (non fee-earning)

The income and expenditure from the non fee earning off street car parks can be foundin Table 6 below. Due to the absence of any revenue generation there is an overall net

deficit of 45,361.Table 6: Off-street car park (non fee earning) Financial Summary

Income

Contribution from DSD 205

Total Income 205

Expenditure

Premises 39,789

Bedford Design Group Fees 100Central Support 5,677

Total Expenditure 45,566

Net Deficit 45,361

7.3 On-street parking

The income and expenditure from the on street parking can be found in Table 7 below.The largest proportion of income comes from fees. The greatest expenses are themanagement fees (488,401.84 or 34.6%), salaries (311,999.82 or 22.2%), andcontributions to reserves and equipment fund (191,900 or 13.6%).


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Table 7: On-street car park (fee earning) Financial Summary

Income Percentage

Recharge to Internal Departments 91,268 6.6Fee Income 1,290,631 93.4Total Income 1,381,899 100

Expenditure Percentage

Finance & Resources 83,280 5.9Contribution to Reserves and Equipment Fund 191,900 13.6Bedford Design Group Fees 55,965 4.0Miscellaneous Insurance and Expenditure 1,411 0.1IT Equipment 33,599 2.4Telephone, Postage and Trade Refuse 11,181 0.8Management Fee 488,402 34.6Various fees (arbitration, cash collection, etc) 39,155 2.8Court and Legal Fees 11,861 0.8Stationary and Printing 25,581 1.8Purchase/Maintenance of Equipment and Furniture 101,028 7.2Transport (car allowances and public transport) 4,016 0.3Insurance, cleaning and maintenance 10,412 0.7Sewerage, water, gas, electricity and NNDR 8,479 0.6Rent 27,500 2.0Employers insurance, medical certificates and training 3,061 0.2Salaries 312,000 22.1

Total Expenditures 1,411,416 100

Deficit Charged to Appropriate Account 29,517

Overall expenditure exceeded income for the year by nearly 30,000, after a 50,000contribution was made to the Park and Ride service.

Table 8 presents the overall balance sheet for the on-street parking account. It can be

seen that in addition to the net deficit on the appropriate account, a contribution of50,000 was paid to the Elstow Park and Ride scheme. Despite these two netexpenditures, the overall balance on the account, as of 31 st March 2009, was around65,000. This is due to the opening balance on the account of around 145,000.

Table 8: On-street car park (fee earning) Balance Sheet

Appropriation Account

Brought Forward 1 April 2008 144,510

Deficit -29,517

Contribution to Elstow Park & Ride -50,000

Balance 31 March 2009 64,993


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Appendix A

Maps of the areas covered by the CEA


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Z O N E A

Z O

N E B


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Z O N E C

Z O N E D


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Z O N E E

Z O N E F


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Z O N E G

Z O N E H


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Z O N E J


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Appendix B

Locations of off-street car parks around Bedford Town Centre


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Appendix C

Contraventions for on-street and off-street parking


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CC OO NN TT RR AA VV EE NN TT IIOO NN CC OO DD EE SS CC AA RR PP AA RR KK SS

CCOODDEE DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN LLEEVVEELL OOFF CCHH A ARRGGEE

74 Using a vehicle in a parking place in connection with the saleor offering or exposing for sale of goods when prohibited 70

80 Parked for longer than the maximum period permitted 50

82 Parked after the expiry of paid for time 50

83 Parked in a car park without clearly displaying a valid pay &display ticket or voucher or parking clock 50

86 Parked beyond the bay markings 50

87Parked in a designated disabled persons parking place withoutdisplaying a valid disabled persons badge in the prescribedmanner

70

93 Parked in car park when closed 50


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CC OO NN TT RR AA VV EE NN TT IIOO NN CC OO DD EE SS OO NN -- SS TT RR EE EE TT

CCOODDEE DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN LLEEVVEELL OOFF CCHH A ARRGGEE

01 Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours 70

02 Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting andloading/unloading restrictions are in force 70

05 Parked after the expiry of paid for time 50

06 Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay & display ticket or voucher 50

07 Parked with payment made to extend the stay beyond init ial time 50

16 Parked in a permit space without displaying a valid permit 70

18 Using a vehicle in a parking place in connection with the sale or offering or exposing for sale of goods when prohibited 70

21 Parked in a suspended bay or space or part of bay or space 70

22 Re-parked in the same parking place or zone within one hour* of leaving 50

23 Parked in a parking place or area not designated for that class of vehicle 70

24 Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space 50

25 Parked in a loading place during restricted hours without loading 70

26 Parked in a special enforcement area more than 50 cm from the edge of thecarriageway and not within a designated parking place 70

30 Parked for longer than permitted 50

40 Parked in a designated disabled persons parking place without d isplaying avalid disabled persons badge in the prescribed manner 70

45 Parked on a taxi rank 70

46 Stopped where prohibited (on a red route or clearway) 70

47 Stopped on a restricted bus stop or stand 70

48 Stopped in a restricted area outside a school when prohibited 70

62 Parked with one or more wheels on or over a footpath or any part of a road other than a carriageway 70

99 Stopped on a pedestrian crossing or crossing area marked by zigzags 70

Bedford Annual Parking Services Report

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