Chelmsford Annual Report 2009

8/8/2019 Chelmsford Annual Report 2009

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Parking Services

Annual parking enforcement report

September 2009


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Table of Contents Page

1 Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this document 3

1.2 Two tier authority on-street agency agreement. 3

1.3 Objectives and challenges in relation to civil parking enforcement. 4

1.4 The parking enforcement operation 8

1.5 A note on the Council website 13

2 PCN challenge and appeals process

2.1 The challenge and appeal process 14

3 Whats new

3.1 The introduction of differential Penalty Charge Notice charging 16

3.2 New powers under Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA 2004) 16

3.3 The car park modernisation programme 18

3.4 Car park zones and tariff structure 19

3.5 Changes to the Residents Parking Scheme 23

3.6 On street pay and display 27

4 Statistics

4.1 Recovery statistics 28

4.2 Financial 29

Glossary 30


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1: Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this document.

In October 2002 the Secretary of State gave local authorities powers to

implement and operated decriminalised parking enforcement using the Road TrafficAct 1991.

On 31st March 2008 part II and schedule 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1991(RTA 1991)was replaced by part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA 2004).A requirement of the new act requires that local authorities produce an annual reporton their enforcement activities.

This is the first report of its type produced by Chelmsford Borough Council (CBC)and the report sets out to offer an overview in the following areas:

The parking enforcement operation and the role and responsibilities of CBCand Essex County Council (ECC).

Objectives and challenges in relation to civil parking enforcement Information regarding new powers since the implementation of TMA 2004 Various Statistics relating to the performance of the parking enforcement

operation. The residents parking scheme and on-street pay and display Improvements to town centre car parks

1.2 Two tier authorities and on-street agency agreement.

The TMA 2004 makes reference to powers given to the enforcement authority. Theenforcement authority is the authority that has sole responsibility and ownership forthe area to be enforced using the powers of the TMA 2004. Reference will be given tothe term on-street and off-street enforcement where on-street refers to the publichighway and off-street refers to public controlled car parks.

ECC is the highway authority and has responsibility for the public highway throughoutEssex and therefore is the enforcement authority for on-street enforcement. Throughagency agreements ECC have granted the local borough and district councils thepower to enforce the on-street operation on their behalf.

The agency agreement permits CBC on behalf of ECC to carry out assessments andimplement Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs), enforce all on street parkingrestrictions and manage the resident parking scheme. This agreement is a financial nondeficit agreement.

The current agency agreement between CBC and ECC runs until March 31st 2011.

CBC own and control the public car parks within Chelmsford and is therefore theenforcement authority in their own right regarding off-street enforcement.


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1.3 Objectives and challenges in relation to civil parking enforcement

Objectives

Listed are the key objectives identified by TMA 2004 in relation to the aims of parkingenforcement

Managing the traffic network to ensure expeditious movement of traffic Improving road safety Improving the quality and accessibility of public transport Meeting the needs of people with disabilities some of whom will be unable to

use public transport and depend entirely on the use of a car Managing and reconciling the competing demand for kerb line space

A technical team employed by CBC work in partnership with ECC highwaysdepartment and the transport policy team, to ensure the aims and objectives of ECCCounty wide transport policies are achieved and complement the CBC town centre

parking strategy. The CBC town centre parking strategy can be found athttp://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/media/pdf/7/g/Car_Parking_Strategy_September_2007.pdf

The technical team are responsible for; Monitoring existing parking restrictions and investigating new traffic and

parking issues reported or highlighted by ECC, the emergency services and thegeneral public, in relation to all public highways in the borough of Chelmsford.

Producing and implementing legal Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO) andsubsequent variations.

The following Consolidation orders can be found at the following links;

Borough Council of Chelmsford (Waiting, Loading and Parking Consolidation) Order2009 http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=6229The Borough Council of Chelmsford (Off street parking places) (General) (Variation)Order 2009 http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=17416

The technical team have adopted a policy for waiting restrictions and Resident PermitParking which sets out the criteria when considering the implementation of a TRO.This is set out on the following two pages.


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TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDERPOLICY GUIDELINE

Background

The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 gives six reasons for implementing a TrafficRegulation Order, namely:-

1. for the avoidance of danger to road users;2. for preventing damage to the road or a building near the road;

3. for facilitating the passage of road users;4. for preventing the use of the road by unsuitable traffic;5. for preserving the character of the road;6. for preserving the amenities of the area.

Whilst the latter may be relevant to the requests received, making an Order foreconomic benefit is not a valid reason.

Many parking restrictions are introduced with the aim of resolving particular local issues,however the highway is intended for the purpose of passing and repassing and that noright of parking exists on the highway. Parking provision is therefore a concession and,however desirable, should not be at the expense of the purpose of the highway.

However, where it is safe and desirable parking should be allowed.

Waiting Restrictions

Waiting restrictions are largely introduced to remove dangerous or obstructive parking andalso aim to reduce traffic congestion and promote the flow of traffic.

Waiting restrictions will be considered if:-

an accident investigation identifies that parking on a regular basis is acontributory factor to the road safety situation at that location;

it is considered parking on a regular basis is causing potential road safety hazardsat a particular location, including impairing visibility for pedestrians or other roadusers.

Waiting restrictions are generally introduced at junctions, outside schools or onstrategic and distributor roads to improve traffic flow.


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TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDERPOLICY GUIDELINES

Resident Permit Parking

The majority of residential estates were not designed for the level of car ownership or

the volume of traffic using them today. The inadequacy of on-street parking provision isthe main cause of complaints from residents. Due to the number of requests forresident permit parking and budgetary constraints, it is necessary to investigate andprioritise each request so that those areas in most need are given greater priority. Thecriteria for determining such requests for a resident permit parking scheme are asfollows:-

The parking by non-residents must be sufficiently severe to cause seriousinconvenience to residents;

The majority of residents have no off-street parking facilities available to them;

The majority of residents are in favour;

The introduction of a scheme would not cause unacceptable problems inadjacent roads;

The Council is satisfied that a reasonable level of enforcement can bemaintained.

Any scheme will take into account the width of the road for access by emergencyservice vehicles. If the width of the carriageway is less than 6.8 metres then the design ofthe resident permit parking scheme will not allow parking both sides of the road.General parking restrictions will not be considered if the parking problem occurs occasionally

or is a short lived invasion.Parking restrictions will not be considered in residential areas across driveways or culde-sacs where the problem appears to be caused by the residents themselves.

The above criteria should be used as a guide and be treated as reasonable requirementsfor a scheme, however special circumstances that may arise from time to time need tobe taken into consideration and it is therefore important to consider each scheme on itsown merit.


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Challenges

Chelmsford attracts a high turnover of visitors to the town creating many challengesin relation to parking issues and how they are controlled

Attraction Challenges without controlmeasures

Control measures in place Future schemes

A central trainstation offering easyaccess to centralLondon

Many offices, retailoutlets andrestaurants attracting

a large workforce

A central bus stationproviding local andnational busnetworks

An attractive towncentre with manyshops, bars,

restaurants, cinemas,theatre and leisurefacilities.

Many schoolsattracting largenumbers of parentdrop off / pick up atrelevant school times

Attracts a high level ofcommuter base and retailcustomer.

All day commuter parking onmain through routes andresidential streets.

Congestion caused bypassenger drop off and pickup around train station

Main bus routes and stationobstructed by inconsiderateparking preventing free flowof traffic

Prime location short stay carparks intended for retail

customers full with all daycommuter parking.

Inconsiderate parent parking,causing obstruction andcongestion to residentialareas and main throughroutes

Various No Waiting, NoWaiting and No Loading,Limited Waiting and LimitedWaiting on street pay anddisplay restrictionsimplemented in strategic areasdependant on road network,traffic flows and parking habits.

8 resident parking zonesintroduced in central locationsto enable residents theopportunity to park in theresidential areas free from allday commuter parking.

Priority bus lanes during peakhours.

Provision of competitivelypriced long stay car parks forcommuter and all day parkingwith season tickets available atsome car parks.

Introduction of ECC Park andRide site at Sandon.

Pricing strategy for short stayretail car parks offering

competitively priced short stayparking up to 4 hours afterwhich the price increasebecomes greater to detract allday parking

Dedicated school patrolenforcement rotas

Continuedassessment andreview of;current TROs.New TROs

On-street payand display tobe consideredfor MoulshamStreet.(Subjectto consultation

with MoulshamStreet Traders)

Increasecapacity at

current Parkand Ride site.More Park andRide sitesidentified forfuture


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1.4 The Parking Enforcement Operation

The parking enforcement operation consists of a team of trained Civil EnforcementOfficers (CEOs) responsible for the enforcement of parking restrictions both on and

off street. These Officers are responsible for maintaining the free flow of trafficthroughout the town, ensuring that car parks are used for the intended purpose andare available to give motorists professional helpful advice regarding correct andincorrect parking practices. If a vehicle cannot be moved on, CEOs will issue aPenalty Charge Notice (PCN) to any vehicle which is in contravention of a parkingrestriction.All Civil Enforcement Officers are highly trained and have gained a qualification in

City and Guilds Parking Attendant level 2.

The back office staff are responsible for processing the issued PCNs.This will involve;

Receiving payments; Dealing with informal and formal challenges, Sending out the various legal correspondence, Providing details and attending adjudicator hearings Registering debt at the traffic enforcement centre. Dealing with bailiff companies. Issuing resident permits

The back office staff are well trained in the legislation of TMA 2004, have all attendedvarious customer service courses and have an excellent knowledge of various signsand lines legislation. The staff are available to give helpful advice on all parking relatedmatters.

These teams are supported and managed by the Parking Operations Manager.


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Chelmsford Borough Council aim to manage the parking enforcement operation forboth on-street and off-street efficiently, effectively and economically with the schemebeing self financing.The current staffing levels meet these criteria and ensure;

Adequate enforcement coverage of the many parking restrictions and carparking spaces within the borough

Provide sufficient back office staff to fully process the Penalty Charge Notices. Ensure a concentrated resource to review new and current parking

restrictions.

The following pages contain;

Appendix A: Parking Service staff structureAppendix B: Total on street restrictions and on street parking bays requiring

enforcement coverage.Appendix C: Car parks and space numbers


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TechnicalandParking

ServicesManager

Cemetery&Crematorium

3xTechnicians

Technical

SupportOfficer

P

arkingOperations

Manager

CarPark

Supervisor

CarParkProjects

Officer

2xParking

Enforcement

Supervisors

ParkingOffice

Supervisor

5xParkingOfficers

(PCNprocessing)

1xParkingOfficer(carpark

income

reconciliationandcarpark

season

ticketadministrator)

Allstaffprocessresidentpermitand

performgeneraladministration

functions

12xCivil

EnforcementOfficers

OnandoffStreet

AssistantCar

ParkSupervisor

12xCarPar

k

Attendants

5xSundaystaff

ParkandRide

Supervisor

ParkandRide

Assistant

Supervisor

2xParkandRide

Attendants

ParkingServicestaffstructure

AppendixA


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OnStreetParkingPlac

esandWaitingRestrictionsAnalysis

Area

T

otal

Metres

No.Of

bays

No.Of

permit

Type

Zone1

6

610

1322

Res

ident/Worker/Visitor/Temppermit

Zone2

1

526

305

Res


Zone3

2

193

438

Res


Zone4

12240

2448

Res


Zone5

4

447

889

Res


Zone6

2

347

469

Res


Zone7

5

120

1024

Res


Zone8

1

090

218

Res


Total35573

7114

Res


Marks&Spencer

ServiceYard

49

14

Bus

inessPermit

Boroughwide

1

384

277

n/a

FreeLimitedWaiting

Boroughwide

661

132

n/a

Pay

&Display

Boroughwide

262

52

n/a

DisabledBays(TownCentre)

Boroughwide

284

43

n/a

DisabledBaysIndividual(

6.6m)

Boroughwide

69507

n/a

n/a

No

Waitingrestrictions

Total72098

518

OverallTotal10

7671

7632

N

oWaitingRestrictionsincludeTaxiRanks,LoadingBays,C

learwaysandavarietyofoperationaltimes

D

oesnotincludep

endingrestrictionsforVariation24

Zo

nalpermitparkingdoesnottakeintoaccountd

rivewayswheredog-bonemarkingshavebeenplacedtheabovementioned

numberofbayswo

uldbereduce

AppendixB

.

Totalonstreetrestrictionsandon

street

parkingbay

srequiringenforcemen

tcoverage


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AppendixC

CarPark

Number

ofbays

Season

ticket

bays

Blue

badge

bays

Typeofcarpark

BaddowRoad

328

6

SurfacecarparkPayandDisplay

CovalLane

179

8


FairfieldRoad

52

303

3


GlebeRoad

55


MeadowsSurface

201

9

SurfacecarparkPayonFoot

MoulshamStreet

164


NewWrittleStreet

150

8


Parkway

85

5


RectoryLaneEast

70

4


RectoryLaneWest

294

9


ReginaRoad

56


Riverside

373

15


WaterhouseLane

79

1


WaterlooLane1

63

1


WaterlooLane2

52

1


WestEnd

37

4


WharfRoad

300

10


HighChelmerMulti

Storey

862

200

15


MeadowsRetailMulti

Storey

377

50

22


TownfieldStreet

531

214

6



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1.5 A note on the Council website

Up to date information regarding all services offered by the parking department isprovided on the Council website by accessing the following links.

www.chelmsford.gov.uk/parking

Car Parks Residential Parking Blue Badge Parking

Chelmsford car parks >> Residents Parking Scheme >> Disabled Parking>>

Parking Fines Other Useful Contact UsInformation

Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) > Park and Ride >> Contact us >>How to Pay a PCN >> Parking Enforcement >> Frequently askedHow to Challenge a PCN >> TMA 2004 >> questions >>Challenge Rejections >>


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2 PCN challenges and appeals

2.1 The challenge process

Once a PCN has been issued and served to a contravening vehicle the legal process asmapped out by The Traffic Management Act 2004 commences.

The motorist is offered a 28 day period to pay the penalty charge in full before aNotice to Owner will be issued to the registered keeper. The motorist is also offereda 50% reduction of the full penalty charge if the PCN is paid within 14 days of issue.If the motorist wishes to challenge the PCN within this initial 28 day period themotorist may submit an informal challenge for the council to consider. Once aninformal challenge is received the case will be frozen until a decision has been made.If the informal challenge is submitted within the initial 14 day discount period and thechallenge is subsequently declined, the motorist may be offered a further 14 days topay the PCN at the discounted rate.

If a motorist has had an informal challenge declined the motorist may still challengethe case further submitting a formal challenge / representation using the Notice toOwner form sent after the 28 day period.

All motorists that receive a Notice to Owner are given the option to either; Pay the full amount Send in formal representations to the council within 28 days from the date of

issue on the Notice to Owner.

If the council decline the formal representations, the motorist has the further optionto appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for an independent adjudication.

In all cases the Traffic Penalty Tribunal decision is binding and final.Information regarding the Traffic Penalty Tribunal can be found atwww.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk

CBC will consider all challenges and representations submitted and may applydiscretion in certain circumstances.Chelmsford Borough Council has a parking enforcement discretion policy which canbe viewed at http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=6285

Following the challenge process, any payments owed and not received within the

specified time will result in the issue of a charge certificate which will increase thecharge by 50%. Failure to pay this new charge within the specified time may result in aCounty Court order for recovery of debt and a warrant being issued to a bailiff.

All correspondence and contact details regarding payment and how to challenge aPCN are clearly listed on all documentation issued.


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PCN

processflowchart

Pen

altycharge

notic

ediscounted

by

50%ifpaid

within14days

from

issuedate.

Caseputonhold

while

challengeis

considered.

C

hallenge

Accepted

Penalty

chargenotice

cancelled

Y

Declineletter

sent,payment

required.

N

Discountedrate

expiresafter1

4

days.Full

paymentrequired.

Higherlevel

70

Lowerlevel50

28daysfromissuedate,

electronicDVLAenquiry

submitted.Onceowner

detailsreceived(Usually

within1day,butsome

DVLAstakelonger.If

detailsarenotreceived

within6mths,caseclosed)

Noticetoowner(NTO)

sentdayafterreceiptof

details.

Fullpaymentrequired

Representation

accepted

IssueNTOto

othervehicle

owneror

cancelticket

21daysgiven

forapp

eal

N

YIfappealreceived,

casedategivenby

TrafficPenalty

Tribunal

28daysfrom

Noticetoowner

Chargecertificate

isissued.

Paymentrequired

isincreasedby

50%

Higherlevel105

Lowerlevel75

Casewon

P

enaltycharge

notice

cancelled

Dategiven

forfull

payme

nt.

Higherlev

el70

Lowerlev

el50

14daysfromissue

ofCharge

C

ertificate,debtPE2

PE3issued

5courtregistration

feeisaddedto

paymentrequired.

Higherlevel110

Lowerlevel80

Nopayment

receivedwithin

21days.

Warrantto

bailiffs

requested

N

Ownerrespondsto

noticewith

representation

Y

Penaltycharge

notice(PCN)

issued.

Higherlevel

contravention

70

Lowerlevel

contravention

50

Noappeal

received

within21days

WrittenChallenge

received


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3: Whats new

3.1 The introduction of differential Penalty Charge Notice charging

Under the previous RTA 1991 the Penalty Charge was set at 60.00 and was appliedto all parking contravention codes. This Penalty Charge had remained unchanged sincethe introduction of RTA 1991 in October 2002

It has been considered that a single penalty charge does not necessarily remainproportionate to the contravention. For example, many may consider that acontravention for parking on a No Waiting No Loading restriction is more seriousand should attract a higher fine than, say, overstaying in a pay and display car park.

Under TMA 2004 differential Penalty Charge Notice charging was introduced for ahigher and lower level penalty charge.A choice of 2 bands was given;

Band Higher Level penalty charge Lower Level penalty charge1 60 402 70 50

To remain consistent throughout the county of Essex, it was agreed and approvedthrough the cabinet process that both ECC and CBC would adopt band 2 for bothon-street and off-street enforcement. These new charges were introduced from 31stMarch 2008.

3.2 New powers under TMA 2004

With the introduction of TMA 2004 new powers (listed below) have been introducedto local authorities outside London to complement the existing powers and benefitthe aims of parking enforcement.

Parking enforcement via an approved CCTV camera device. Dropped kerb and double parking. Penalty Charge Notice issued by post.

Parking enforcement via an approved CCTV camera device.

Currently the use of CCTV has not been used at Chelmsford to enforce parkingrestriction but regular reviews will take place to consider if CCTV enforcement is aviable option.The benefits of CCTV are apparent in areas where high volumes of vehicles park incontravention of parking restrictions during short peak time periods causingobstruction and reducing the free flow of traffic. Areas such as rail stations andschools for the purpose of waiting to collect passengers meet such criteria.


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Dropped kerb and double parking.

An amendment to TMA 2004 has enabled local authorities since June 2009 to enforcedropped kerb parking and double parking without the need to erect signs in thenecessary area.CBC will enforce these new powers and together with ECC have supplied the policystatement reproduced below:

Parking across Dropped Kerbs and Double Parking

With effect from 1st June 2009 legislation enabled Enforcement Authorities outsideLondon to commence enforcement of these two contraventions, without the need tointroduce specific Traffic Regulation Orders introduce any specific signing.

At the introduction of the powers for Enforcement Authorities outside London RosieWinterton MP, then Minister of Transport, said:

Dropped footways are provided to help wheelchair users and those with powered mobilityvehicles or prams get around easily and safely. They also allow residents to easily reach their

garages or park on their driveways. The Highway Code says that you should not stop or park

in such places and we believe placing of traffic signs and/or road markings to indicate theserestrictions should not be necessary - as is the case in London.

The same rules should apply to allow councils to enforce against double parking - a

dangerous activity that causes an unnecessary obstruction of the road, putting all road users

at risk.

While we believe signs and markings are not necessary in these specific and restrictedcircumstances, we expect local authorities who want to use these powers to publicise their

plans to do so. All other restrictions will continue to require clear signs and markings.

Acting as agents of Essex County Council, the Enforcement Authority, Borough andDistrict Councils will enforce this legislation as follows:

Civil Enforcement Officers, who, in the course of their normal patrols, come across incidents

where a vehicle is parked across a dropped kerb at a junction, or other location primarily to

assist pedestrians, wheelchair users and those with powered mobility vehicles, or prams,should issue a penalty charge notice.

Where a dropped kerb is intended to allow access to residential or commercial properties

CEOs should only react to requests for assistance from residents or proprietors. Response tosuch requests will be within a reasonable time dependant upon circumstances including other

demands or duties, and availability/location of the nearest CEO. In cases of persistent abuse

serious consideration will be given to including the location in CEOs regular patrol routes.Instances of greater urgency, or serious obstruction, should be directed to the police with a

view to their additional powers to deal with obstruction being utilised.


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Penalty Charge Notice issued by post.

There are occasions where a contravening vehicle has had a Penalty Charge Notice(PCN) produced but the PCN has not been served because the motorist preventedthe PCN from being served or the vehicle drove away.In these instances the TMA 2004 permits the issue of a Regulation 10 PCN served bypost. The Regulation 10 PCN acts as both a PCN and a Notice to Owner.CBC has recently incorporated the Regulation 10 PCN to the enforcement systemand will be issuing by post in circumstances as noted above.

3.3 The car park modernisation programme

When operating the public town centre car parks enforcement measures are essentialto ensure that the various car parks are used for the intended purpose. It is alsoessential to ensure that the best possible facilities are available to members of thepublic to ensure these measures can be reasonably enforced.

During 2007/08 1.5 million was spent on improving car parks in the following areas;

New solar powered pay and display machines installed in all surface car parksoffering credit card payment and associated management control and reportsystems giving real time information on the operational status of the machinerysee (Note A.)

New pay on foot control systems, offering change facility and credit cardpayment, installed in all Multi Storey and Meadows Surface car park, includingCCTV and customer Intercom help points and associated management controland report systems giving real time information on the operational status ofthe machinery see (Note A.)


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New car park entrance boards and tariff boards. New car park customer enquiry office at Meadows Retail and Meadows

Surface car parks

New parking enforcement rest room facility built at Meadows Retail car park. New car park height barriers.

Note A

This real time information is essential to enable action to be taken prior to thepotential failure of the equipment. A basic example of how this function has improvedmachine reliability is the pre warning function that the ticket stock is low. This alertsthe central user that the ticket stock is low and needs to be replenished in advancerather than the problem arise once the machine has run out of tickets and themachine fails.

More advanced pre warning functions are also available with the same benefits.The reduction in machine downtime and the high levels of reliability ensure aconsistent approach to the parking enforcement.

All these improvements have been carefully considered and implemented with theintention to offer the customer alternative methods of payment for parking, withincreased reliability of machinery and clear information boards detailing tariff andPenalty Charge Notice information thus giving the customer every opportunity to fullycomply with the parking requirements.

Safer parking

19 Chelmsford Borough Council car parks have been re-accredited withthe safer parking Park Mark award. Accredited assessors from Essex Police and theBritish Parking Association inspect car parks looking at all aspects of security, car parkcondition, operational procedures and the operational management practices. Moreinformation on this scheme is available on the British Parking Associations website-www.britishparking.co.uk. All car parks that have been accredited with Park Mark arelisted on the safer parking website www.saferparking.com

3.4 Car park zones and tariff structure

In April 2009 a car park zoning system was introduced to ensure a clear consistentapproach to implementing car park fees and charges, taking into account location,availability and demand whilst ensuring adequate provision for long stay and short stayparking needs.


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Chelmsford Borough Council is responsible for long stay, short stay; mixed stay andlimited waiting short stay car parks. The zones consist of Long Stay Zone A, B &C andShort Stay Zone A, & B. There will be a further 2 car parks which will complementthe on street controlled parking zones and will offer short stay limited waiting.Long Stay Zone A

Offering easy access, high demand, and prime location parking situated 3 to 5 minuteswalk from the railway station.The pricing structure reflects the high demand for parking, Monday to Friday, whilerecognising the reduced demand for parking between Saturday and Sunday.Car parks in this zone are attractive to early morning rail commuters

Long Stay Zone B

Offering Long stay parking situated 7 to 10 minutes walk from the railway station.The pricing structure reflects the high demand for parking, Monday to Friday, whilerecognising the reduced demand for parking between Saturday and Sunday.

Car parks in this zone are attractive to rail commuters and customers working withinthe town.

Long stay Zone C

Offering long stay parking on the outer edge of Chelmsford Town Centre. Car parksin this zone are located in excess of 12 minutes walk to the train station and within 7to 10 minutes walk from the town centre offices and Shops.The pricing structure takes into account the demand for parking Monday to Fridaywhile recognising the locality to the town centre shops and the demand for retailparking at weekends.

Car parks in this zone are attractive to customers working in the town, customerswho require extended parking whilst visiting the town centre and customers visitingthe town centre at weekends.

Short Stay Zone A

Offering easy access, high demand, and prime location parking situated 3 to 5 minutesfrom the heart of the shopping town centre.The pricing structure takes into account the demand for continual turn over of spaceto satisfy the high demand for short stay parking and does not encourage long stayparking.

Car parks in this zone are attractive to customers visiting the town centre shops.

Short Stay Zone B

Car parks in this zone are situated on the outer boundary of the town centre and arealso located within the boundary of Long Stay zone C. Car parks in this zone arelocated in excess of 7 minutes walk to the train station and within 7 minutes walk ofthe town centre offices and shops.The need for short stay parking and turn over of space is high, but is not asdemanding as car parks situated in zone A. This presents the opportunity to offer an


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element of long stay parking within this zone. Therefore the car parks situated in thiszone are mixed stay car parks and the pricing structure reflects the demand for shortstay parking, with the long stay fee set at such a level that it does not encourage fulloccupation of the car park with long stay parking.Car parks in this zone are attractive to customers wishing to visit the town centre forshort periods of time but also offer the opportunity for long stay parking within easyreach of the town centre should an extended visit be required.

Short Stay Zone CCar Parks in this zone are situated to the outer east ring of the town centre. Carparks in this zone offer parking with good locality to the Town Centre but are notideally placed to serve the train station. These car parks offer equal long stay andshort stay provision and appeal to customers working in the town or visiting the townfor short or extended periods of time.

Limited waiting short stay car parks

These car parks are situated on the outskirts of the town centre and provide parkingfor customers wishing to visit the retail outlets in Moulsham Street and West End.The amount of spaces available in these car parks is limited, and limited waitingrestrictions have been introduced to these car parks to ensure availability of spacesfor customers wishing to visit these outlets. The pricing structure compliments thecurrent on street controlled parking zone situated in the West End.

A map of Chelmsford car parks and the Off street parking order including current carpark tariffs and zone areas can be download at;http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=6229


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3.5 Changes to the Residents Parking Scheme

After consultation with the emergency services, particularly the Fire Service it wasapparent that areas of the resident parking scheme, which incorporated parking onboth sides of the road, did not allow sufficient road width to allow large vehicles suchas fire appliances a safe unhindered through route.

Clearly this raised a serious issue, resulting in the Chelmsford Borough Counciltechnical team being assigned the task to review all current residents parking zonesand identifying the potential problem areas.

Having reviewed the areas it was identified that from all the various roads, which formthe resident parking scheme, 84 % of the roads will need consideration to removesome of the existing resident parking capacity and potentially replace with No Waitingrestrictions.

When managing a resident parking scheme it is important to ensure that availableparking areas are not over subscribed. When the resident parking scheme was firstintroduced in the early 1990s and the total available parking area had beenimplemented, it was perceived that sufficient parking would be available for residentsbased on a two car family while allowing some capacity for visitor parking.It was also perceived that some of the residents would either have one vehicle or novehicle at all. Therefore during this period the number of resident permits perproperty was not limited.

In subsequent years, the amount of vehicles on the road has increased and therefore

so has the demand for public highway kerb space. The resident parking scheme is noexception to this trend. Also the town has increased in size with many newdevelopments and therefore with the aim of protecting the amount of residentparking space available, a planning policy was introduced in 2002 which prevented anynew residential properties built within the resident zones automatically qualifying for aresident permit.

With the continued increase of vehicle numbers registered against residentialproperties and having ascertained the need to improve road access by removing someelements of the available resident parking space, it was essential to propose somecontrol methods to protect the future of the resident parking scheme from risk of

over subscription.

In June and July 2008 Parking Services undertook a consultation with households usingthe residents parking scheme to seek residents views on a number of specificproposals.

The following article was released in Borough Life magazine in February 2009.


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LIFE Article - February 2009

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Results of the Residents Permit Parking Consultation 2008.

In June and July 2008 Parking Services undertook a consultation with households usingthe resident permit parking scheme within Chelmsford to seek their views on anumber of specific proposals for changes to the scheme and also to receive generalfeedback on its current operation within their area. There was an excellent responsewith a total of 1747 forms completed and returned of the 3524 forms distributed.

The responses to the specific questions posed are shown in the table below. Manyresidents took the trouble to make a number of helpful observations in relation togeneral parking issues. These have provided a valuable source of information and willbe used as a basis for further investigation and may result in future improvements tothe scheme.

Specific questions were posed on the proposal to place limits on vehicle lengths andheights and the exclusion of adapted food and goods vehicles/trailers. These receivedsubstantial support. The majority of respondents were also in favour of limiting thenumber of permits per household to a maximum of two, at present there is no limit.

The results of the survey were presented to the Councils Cabinet on 7th October2008. Cabinet members agreed at that meeting to four changes to the scheme asoutlined below;

Vehicles over 2.2metres high to be excluded from the scheme

Vehicle & trailers over 5.25metres long to be excluded from the schemeAdapted food & goods vehicles or trailers to be excluded from the schemeThe limiting of the number of permits per household to 2.

These changes will be phased in during 2009

A review of roads with regard to emergency and service vehicle access is ongoing. Anumber of roads have been identified where access can be very difficult for largervehicles at certain times of the day. Preliminary discussions have been held with EssexCounty Council on the possible options for amending the existing restrictions in theseroads to reduce this problem whilst endeavouring to minimise any loss of parking for

residents.

Any proposals to formally change an on street restriction will need to follow theappropriate legal and democratic process. Residents that may be affected will have theopportunity to make formal representation on any such proposal at the relevant time.

There was significant interest expressed in taking part in the future Parking Forum.Approximately 1300 respondents wished to be involved. Whilst we would not expectthere to be a regular need to consult as changes are fairly infrequent, in view of thenumbers it is likely that we will only contact a representative sample


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We would like to take this opportunity to thank those residents that took the troubleto complete and return the questionnaire.

Tabulated results(The majority view is displayed first)

Exclude vehicles over 2.2 metres high from the scheme? Yes : 1167 No : 540

Exclude vehicle & trailers over 5.25 metres long from the scheme? Yes : 1451 No : 272

Exclude adapted food & goods vehicles or trailers from scheme? Yes : 1320 No : 387

Charge according to CO2 emissions or engine size? No : 1108

Yes : 598

Limit number of permits per household? Two vehicles : 909 No limit : 566 Onevehicle: 249

Additional permits to be more expensive? No : 1167 Yes : 559

Keep the permit scheme? Yes : 1629No : 92

Extend the hours to the working day? No : 1092Yes : 557

Include Sundays in the scheme? No : 1413Yes : 296

Include Bank Holidays in the scheme? No : 1386Yes: 321

Are any occupants registered for Disabled parking? No : 1574Yes : 129

Age Over 60 : 601 40-59 : 56817-39 : 531

Do you wish to take part in future forums? By post : 1087No : 420 e-mail: 221


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Following the cabinet members decision on 7th October 2008, Variation Order 25 wasadvertised in The Essex Chronicle and all comments were received and presented tothe licensing and regulatory committee where the cabinet proposals were agreed. Thefinal Has Made order was advertised on 25th June 2009 with an implementation date of1st July 2009.

A letter was sent to all current Resident permit holders with 3 or more permits. Theintention of the letter was to reiterate the previously advertised changes to thescheme and to inform that although new applicants joining the scheme from 1 st July2009 would not be able to obtain more than 2 permits per household, a grace perioduntil July 2010 had been applied to current residents affected, therefore giving at leastone year notice to make alternative arrangements.A copy of the residents parking scheme policy can be found athttp://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=6277


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3.6 On street pay and display

In areas where limited waiting parking is available, effective enforcement of theseareas requires many visits by the CEO, detailing and observing vehicle activity. Thisprocess is both time consuming and gives opportunity for abuse of the restriction.Therefore to ensure the restriction is used as intended and the best use of CEOpatrolling time is utilised, on street CPZs have been introduced in Victoria Road andWaterloo Lane replacing the existing limited waiting restriction. The tariffs for thesezones have been set in line with the existing West End CPZs with the exception offree parking for the first 15 minutes in Waterloo Lane.


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4 Statistics.4.1 PCN issue and recovery

Currently CBC does not carry out CCTV bus lane enforcement, CCTV moving trafficoffences and immobilisation of vehicles

Financial period 2008/09 TotalPCNs

On Street Off Street

Number of Higher level PCNs issued 7112 6599 513Number of lower level PCNs issued 6468 1914 4554Number of total PCNs issued 13580 8513 5067

Number of PCNs paid 9611 6613 2998Number of PCNs paid at discount amount 7807 5349 2458Number of PCNs against which an informal orformal representation was made

3875 1798 2077

Number of PCNs cancelled as a result of an

informal or a formal representation

2576 916 1660

Number of PCNs written off for otherreasons (e.g. CEO error or driveruntraceable)

291 191 100

Number of appeals to adjudicator 20 15 5

*Number of appeals rejected 10 5 5*Number of appeals allowed 8 8 0*Number of appeals non-contested 2 2 0% against total PCNs Issued Total

PCNsOn Street Off Street

Percentage of Higher level PCNs issued 52.37% 77.52% 10.13%

Percentage of lower level PCNs issued 47.63% 22.48% 89.87%Percentage of PCNs paid 70.77% 77.68% 59.16%Percentage of PCNs paid at discount amount 57.49% 62.83% 48.50%Percentage of PCNs against which an informalor formal representation was made

28.53% 21.12% 40.99%

Percentage of PCNs cancelled as a result of aninformal or a formal representation

18.96% 10.71% 32.76%

Percentage of PCNs written off for otherreasons (e.g. CEO error or driveruntraceable)

2.14% 2.24% 1.97%

Percentage of appeals to adjudicator 0.1% 0.03% 0.3%*Percentage of appeals rejected 50% 34% 100%*Percentage of appeals allowed 40% 53% 0%*Percentage of appeals non-contested 10% 13% 0%

* These figures relate to cases which have been appealed to the Traffic PenaltyTribunal for adjudication.Appeals rejected are decisions awarded in favour of the council.Appeals allowed are decisions awarded in favour of the motorist.Appeals non-contested are appeals which have been withdrawn by the council.


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4.2 Financial

The table below gives financial information for on-street and off-street parkingenforcement during period 01/04/08 to 31/03/09

On-street enforcement

Expenditure EmployeesOther expenditure 218,060275,130 493,190

Income On-street fines 282,950

Residents parking 170,600On-Street CPZs 71,130 524,680

Net Surplus 31,490

The net surplus for 2008/09 has contributed to reducing the accumulateddecriminalised parking enforcement deficit from previous financial years.

Off-street enforcement

Expenditure Employees 75,400 75,400

Income Off-street fines 97,450 97,450

Net surplus 22,050

The net surplus for 2008/09 has contributed to the improvement of car parks, mainlyessential surface repair works in High Chelmer car park.


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Glossary

This glossary provides: The full title to common acronyms used through this document. Definitions oftechnical terms used.

CBC: Chelmsford Borough Council

CEO: Civil Enforcement Officer, formerly known as Parking Attendant priorto the introduction of Traffic Management Act 2004.

Consolidation order: Revokes provisions of one or more existing order.Re-enacts those provisions without any change of substance.

Contravention: This refers to a breach of a parking restriction, formerly known as anoffence.

CPZ: Controlled Parking Zone: On street areas where parking is regulatedwithin certain hours in the form of pay and display and permit control

ECC: Essex County Council

Notice to Owner: Legal document sent to registered keeper of vehicle in contravention ofa parking restriction.

PCN: Penalty Charge Notice.

RTA 1991: Road Traffic Act 1991, previous legislation prior to Traffic ManagementAct 2004.

TMA 2004 part 6: Traffic Management Act 2004 part 6, current legislation regarding allparking enforcement matters.

TPT: Traffic Penalty Tribunal, independent adjudicator for all parking relatedappeals.

TRO: Traffic Regulation Order, a legal instrument by which traffic authoritiesimplement most traffic controls on their roads. Under the provisions of

the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, local authorities can implementTraffic Regulation Orders, designed to regulate, restrict or prohibit theuse of a road or any part of the width of a road by vehicular orpedestrians.


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Parking Services

Directorate Safer CommunitiesCivic CentreDuke StreetChelmsfordEssexCM1 1JETelephone: 01245 606303www.chelmsford.gov.uk

Chelmsford Annual Report 2009

Documents

Transcript of Chelmsford Annual Report 2009