Parking World

For Public or Profits?

The revelation that Cardiff council in Wales has received more than £600,000 in parking fines, since they took over illegal parking enforcement from the police in July 2010, shows why people question the motives of councils when it comes to parking enforcement. Even if the original intentions were pure - as Cardiff said their goal was to crackdown on illegal parking so as to reduce congestion and open up more short-stay parking - how does a city council continue to focus on the public good and not let this massive revenue stream dictate the terms?

Cardiff council announced that they are adding 10 more civil parking enforcement officers. They can afford to add more CEOs which in turn will bring in even more cash.

However, none of the reports I have seen so far show how much congestion has actually been reduced since July.

 

Pete Goldin

China: 10 Million EV Parking Spaces by 2020

China is planning to make at least 10 million parking spots for electric vehicles available by 2020, Reuters reports. The Chinese government  has not actually announced this yet - the announcement is expected to come soon - by this is another huge push towards worldwide adoption of EVs. Considering the fact that China is now reportedly the largest auto market in the world, that makes the news even more significant.

The report does not explain what types of parking spaces these will be. Are they going to be EV-only parking spaces scattered around cities, or entire eletric vehicle parking lots? But other reports mention that all of the 10 million parking spaces are expected to be equipped with EV charging stations, because we can expect to see more influence exerted on the global auto industry.

There seems to be an EV theme going on in my blog this week, but I am just reporting the news coming out of the world of parking. Just one more indication that 2011 will be the "Year of the EV".

Click here to read the Reuters article.

 

Pete Goldin

Smart Cars

In 2010, we heard a lot about handheld parking applications, but in 2011 we may start hearing a lot more about parking apps embedded in cars, as part of vehicle communication systems.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Audi is demonstrating the latest version of its Car-2-X system, which will allow cars to communicate with transportation infrastructure as well as with other vehicles. Although this has a myriad of uses, from the parking perspective Audi claims the system will be able to guide drivers to vacant parking spaces.

Also related is Audi's "Travolution Project" which has been tested in the automaker's home city of Ingolstadt since 2006, allowing onboard payment of parking fees and an on-board monitor that allows  the driver to see how many parking spots are still available.

Audi's long-term vision is for cars to drive - and park - themselves, by interacting with the environment. The first step on the way to autonomous autos is already available in Audi 2011 models - a parking system that helps drivers with parallel parking in reverse or parking at right-angles to the road. The system identifies suitable spaces either parallel to or at right-angles to the road, and then guides the car automatically into and out of parking spaces.

 

Pete Goldin

Another Screw Up

This is just what I mean! I have just written an article for Parking World explaining why it is no longer newsworthy when a Council screw up operating parking and here’s yet another example.

Devon County Council wants to introduce parking restrictions in Okehampton, Honiton, Budleigh Salterton, Sidmouth, Kingsbridge, Braunton and Tavistock. And despite still being in the process of a public consultation, the council has bought 100 pay-and-display machines at a cost of £290,000. The council said "a lot" of the meters were to replace old ones. Or put it another way some of the meters have been bought to install the schemes that they are currently consulting on because, yes, you heard it here, it’s a foregone conclusion.

The law is very clear. The Council must consult; that consultation must be meaningful and the Council must consider any objections with an open and receptive mind. How in the name of Hades can any consultation be lawful if you are already buying the stuff to implement the scheme?

 

Peter Guest

War is Over?

I wrote an article entitled Ending the War on Motorists, which outlines the UK Government's move to abolish national planning restrictions put in place in 2001 requiring councils to limit the number of parking spaces allowed in new residential developments, and to set high parking charges to encourage the use of alternative modes of transport.

Not everyone is celebrating this momentous change. Since Parking World is using that great headline "Ending the War on Motorists" on our home page right now, it seems only fair to highlight the opposing viewpoint.

"Leaving it up to local councils to decide on parking charges and spaces won't help tackle congestion, the biggest concern for many drivers," says Richard Hebditch, Campaigns Director for Campaign for Better Transport, who sees the announcement by the Government as little more than a publicity stunt -- and one they have pulled before multiple times.

"The removal of residential parking standards is most worrying," Hebditch notes. "We need to be creating new housing developments where people have real choices about getting around and which support local shops and services people can walk to. Car dependent estates which just add to the traffic levels in surrounding streets are a retrograde step which will return us to the failed policies of the 1970s and 1980s."

 

Pete Goldin