ITEM CMDT3
CABINET MEMBER FOR TRANSPORT – 14 FEBRUARY 2008
WEST OXFORD CONTROLLED PARKING ZONE – 2007/08 Review
Report by Head of Transport
Introduction
1. On 18 July 2006, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet considered a report on the introduction of Charges for Residents’ and Residents’ Visitors’ Permits. That meeting resolved to instruct officers to review the West Oxford Controlled Parking Zone and draw up a programme of regular reviews for Oxford Controlled Parking Zones generally. This report is a consequence of that review.
Background
2. A Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) has been in existence in West Oxford for over 20 years and was last reviewed during the early 2000s. This culminated in the present Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) which came into force in 2002.
3. In common with the rest of Oxford, Disabled Persons Parking Places (DPPP) in the area are covered by their own TRO which was last reviewed in 2007. Although this Disabled Parking Review updated some provisions in the area it was not possible to make all the desired changes without introducing anomalies. Consequently this review proposes further amendments to the DPPP Order as well as the necessary complementary changes to other parking restrictions.
4. The review also proposed to consolidate other loading and waiting restrictions in the West Oxford area, particularly the Osney Mead CPZ which is entirely non-residential, into the new West Oxford CPZ. The extents of both Controlled Zones are shown in Annex 1 (download as .pdf file).
5. The main aims of the CPZ remain to:
· tackle congestion by removing parking places available to commuters who park in the area, either near to their work or to access other forms of transport for onward travel; · deliver accessibility by protecting junctions and narrow streets from inappropriately parked vehicles; and · prioritise the remaining parking places for residents or short term visitors to businesses and residents in the area.
The Review Process (including an Informal Consultation)
6. Officers reviewed the existing parking arrangements by carrying out day and night parking surveys, on site measurements and an informal consultation which sought residents’ views on the existing scheme by distributing questionnaires to all properties within the existing zone. Copies of the letter and questionnaire can be found in background Document A, which is available in the Members’ Resource Centre.
7. The Questionnaire and covering letter asked the recipients how the existing CPZ could be improved and asked for an opinion on the following issues
(i) The times of day that Permit Holders Only Parking Places are reserved for permit holders; (ii) Whether or not Permit Holders should be exempt from the 2 hour time limit in the 2 hour parking places throughout the zone; (iii) Whether the existing permit restraint should be reduced from the present two permits per household to one.
8. Following the informal consultation, an informal meeting was held with local members from both Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the results and find out any additional information that would be useful to the review process.
9. From the results of the informal consultation, it was clear that the Permit Holders’ Only Parking should remain in force at all times, 93% of those that responded favoured this option. Similarly it was felt that we should propose making Permit Holders exempt from the 2 hour time limit in the 2 hour parking places (59% favoured this option, while only 13% were against).
10. The situation regarding permit restraint was not as clear with opinion evenly divided. However, since the response rate was low (less than 20%) it was felt that there was not enough support to include any change to this in the formal proposals.
11. Of the comments received, one of the major concerns was that of capacity and the inability of residents to find parking places within certain roads. Other concerns were to do with charging and enforcement issues, both of which lie outside the scope of this review.
Formal Proposals
12. The previous review had done much to maximise the amount of on-street parking. However, some extra spaces could be created by rearranging some of the existing restrictions.
13. Additionally, a fairly significant amount of extra parking could be made available in Cripley Road and Ferry Hinksey Road. The latter would involve consolidating the West Oxford and Osney Mead Controlled Zones into one TRO in order to allow West Oxford permit holders to use the parking places.
14. There are 29 roads within the overall scheme area, of which 2 have been absorbed from the existing Osney Mead Controlled Parking Zone and part of one which has been adopted since the last review. The additional lengths of road were not eligible for permits under the original West Oxford CPZ, and those in Osney Mead did not have any permits since there were no permit schemes associated with the existing Osney Mead CPZ. Consequently there are no proposals to add these lengths of road to those eligible for West Oxford Permits.
15. Overall, the proposals provide for approximately 540 ‘permit holder only’ spaces (an increase of 20) and approximately 160 short term spaces (an increase of 80). Of the 160 short term parking places, 130 would now be open to permit holders for an unlimited time period. This compares with only 9 which are currently similarly available. The number of uncontrolled or 24 hour parking places would reduce by 3 and would all become parking places without time limit.
16. Night-time traffic surveys indicate that the maximum residential on street parking demand is approximately 460 and suggests that the demand is within the proposed zone’s total capacity, although it is accepted that some residents will not be able to park in their own street, but would have to find space elsewhere in the zone.
17. A more detailed description of the proposals is contained within Annex 2 (download as .doc file).
18. The review revealed that in some parts of the zone the existing signing does not meet current national standards, which will be resolved as part of this review.
Formal Consultation Process (28 September 2007 – 26 October 2007)
19. Approximately 1400 consultation packs were delivered to every property within the existing West Oxford and Osney Mead CPZs. These packs contained a covering letter, an extract of the plan showing the proposed parking controls, and other relevant documents which were listed in the covering letter. Similarly, information was also sent to 39 formal consultees. Examples of these covering letters can be found in background Document A.
20. The documents referred to in the Residents’ and formal Consultees’ covering letters were the same as those which were placed on deposit for public inspection, at the Central Library, County Hall and Speedwell House and these can be found in background Document B, which is also available in the Members’ Resource Centre.
21. Street notices were placed in every road within the zones for the duration of the consultation period and was published in the Oxford Times.
22. During the consultation period a “drop in” session was held on 4th October 2007 at the West Oxford Community Centre. Officers also attended Oxford City Council’s Central, South and Western Area Committee to publicise the Review and answer questions.
23. A total of 43 responses to the consultation were received, 3 of which were from formal Consultees, and these are summarised in Annex 2. A fuller synopsis of each comment or objection together with an officer response and recommendation can be found in Document C, available in the Members’ Resource Centre; this also includes a complete list of respondents. Copies of the original comments can be viewed in Document D, also available in the Members’ Resource Centre.
24. For the scheme as a whole, 12 of those who commented made comments about features of the existing zone which were not proposed for change. The most common of these concerned the issue of permit charging either as an outright objection or suggested modifications.
25. In relation to the proposed additional parking at the southern end of Mill Street, 9 respondents objected to the proposal (0.6% of all zone consultees; 21% of replies received). Consequently, additional alternative proposals were drawn up and the views of all residents in Mill Street and Barrett Street were then sought between 5th December 2007 and 4th January 2008. The results of this additional consultation are contained within Annex 3 (download as .doc file), while copies of the covering letter and returned Questionnaires can be found in Document E, available in the Members’ Resource Centre.
26. Other concerns which resulted in additional local consultation relate to access protection in Binsey Lane and Abbey Road, and rectifying the accidental omission of a number of apartments from permit eligibility in Binsey Lane. The results of these were that there were no objections to the revised proposals.
27. The opportunity was also taken to review the provision of Disabled Persons’ Parking Places in the area. From this some additional space for permit holders has been obtained by either removing spaces that are no longer required or by combining spaces where this makes a more efficient use of kerb space without any detriment to those likely to use the space.
Conclusion
28. From the objections received the main issue arising is that the scheme does not provide enough parking in every street for all the residents in that street. Unfortunately, this is common where there are narrow Victorian terraces built before the advent of widespread car ownership. However, it is believed that the changes will result in enough capacity throughout the zone as a whole.
29. It should also be noted that the proposals do increase the amount of permit parking places as well as opening up existing time limited parking compared with the present situation.
How the Project Supports LTP2 Objectives
30. These proposals are in line with the LTP objective of improving the street environment.
Financial Implications (including Revenue)
31. As set out in the report to the Cabinet meeting on 19 December 2006, which approved the implementation of charges for residents’ permits, the costs of approved amendments to West Oxford Controlled Parking Zone will be met from permit income. The cost of these proposals is estimated to be around £50,000 (including advertising costs and additional signing as described in paragraph 18).
RECOMMENDATIONS
32. The Cabinet Member for Transport is RECOMMENDED to authorise the making of:
(a) The Oxfordshire County Council (West Oxford And Osney Mead) (Controlled Parking Zone And Waiting Restrictions) Consolidation Order 200* with the following amendments:
(i) Abbey Road: No Waiting at Any Time to be provided in place of Permit Holders Only Parking across the access to number 24 Abbey Road;
(ii) Binsey Lane: No Waiting at Any Time to be provided in place of Permit holders Only Parking across the access to numbers 19 and 21 Binsey Lane;
(iii) Binsey Lane: Edwin Court addresses to be added to the schedule of addresses eligible for permits;
(iv) Botley Road: 63a Botley Road to be added to the schedule of addresses eligible for permits;
(v) Mill Street: The draft TRO to be amended to reduce the proposed 1 hour parking at the northern end of Mill Street by 9 metres and the adjacent Permit Holders Only parking to be extended 9 metres northwards;
(b) The Oxfordshire County Council (City Of Oxford and North Hinksey) (Bus Lanes, Cycle Lanes and Traffic Management) (Variation No. [4]) Order 200* as advertised; and
(c) The Oxfordshire County Council (Disabled Persons’ Parking Places – Oxford) (Variation No. [ ]) Order 200* as advertised.
STEVE HOWELL Head of Transport Environment & Economy
Background papers: Document A, containing covering letters associated with the Formal Consultation; Document B, containing documents placed on deposit for public inspection; Document C, contains a synopsis of the responses from the formal consultation together with officer comments; Document D, contains responses from the formal consultation; Document E, Contains returned Questionnaires from the Additional Consultation in Mill Street;
Contact Officer: Stephen Axtell, Tel 01865 815967
February 2008
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