Object

Representation ID: 226

Received: 05/01/2024

Respondent: Dennis R Whittaker

"1.b. the type of parking - ensuring that where appropriate long-stay parking is managed and minimised in town centres, to support parking for leisure and retail customers and to encourage commuters to use more sustainable means and reduce peak hour traffic flows."
I most strongly object to minimising Long-stay Car Parking provision in Town Centres
Although I understand the reasoning behind this idea, it is seriously flawed.
Sufficient Car Parking should be provided to meet the needs of both regular Commuters and Visitors -- be they people there on Business or those there for Shopping or Leisure.
Otherwise, without controls, most long-stay spaces would be occupied by Commuters early in the day before Leisure and Retail Customers arrived.
I can not see what controls would actually work. If, say, a time limit were imposed on the length of stay, then that Car Park would no longer be Long-stay.
If the pricing regime were structured to deter people from staying too long then that would hit both Commuters and Customers.
I can not see how this part of the Policy can be applied and enforced in practice. Ultimately it would do more harm than good.

Comment

Representation ID: 642

Received: 22/12/2023

Respondent: TfWM and WMCA

While these policies on parking management are strongly welcomed, there are no policies which promote parking provision for alternatives to car ownership, such as the use of ULEV car clubs or car sharing as examples. Additionally, whilst this would be complex, considering a workplace parking levy which aims to get more people to leave their cars at home when they commute could be something the local plan considers, and we would welcome exploration of this.
The reduction of long stay car parks is welcomed, but the Dudley Local Plan could be more ambitious and specific in its parking management, particularly for town centres.
Within our LTP Core Strategy, we further promote the managing of car parking more carefully (both in terms of availability and price). While we appreciate removing car parks all together and using the land for other uses, or raising car parking prices can often be contentious at first, they will often encourage more people to use public transport in the longer term. Where many places have undertaken these policies and raised revenue for reinvestment in more sustainable modes of travel, more positive results for both high streets and the wider locality have been achieved so we feel this policy could be strengthened.
There is further nothing relating to the enforcement of pavement parking laws to give that space back to people walking or wheeling or for better enforcement of parking, moving traffic offences and Traffic Regulation Orders together with the digitisation of these to make them more accessible to the wider public, noting proposals in the government’s Plan for Drivers documentation. We would especially like to see reference to how Dudley will prepare for and participate in the National Parking Platform and how this can link to the wider network management and customer (Road user) benefits.
This should also coincide with a simplification of on-street waiting and loading restrictions across Dudley – and an agreed alignment across the West Midlands – to ensure drivers are not confused. This will help make enforcement easier and ensure greater compliance from road-users, ensuring there are fewer disruptions on our road networks caused from indiscriminate parking. If the policy section could capture these additions, we feel this could make a significant difference.

Comment

Representation ID: 740

Received: 21/12/2023

Respondent: Police Crime Commissioner for West Midlands (PCCWM)

Agent: Tyler Parkes

The Safer Parking Scheme is a national standard for UK car parks that have low crime and
measures in place to ensure the safety of people and vehicles. Each car park undergoes a rigorous
assessment by specially trained police assessors and a Park Mark is awarded to each car park that
achieves the challenging standards. A Park Mark is awarded to parking facilities that have met the
requirements of a risk assessment conducted by the Police, meaning the operator has put in place
measures that deter criminal activity and anti-social behaviour (NB. based on ParkMark - About
The Scheme).