new forest district council lymington parking study

New Forest District Council

Lymington Parking Study

Initial Consultations and Questionnaire Feedback

17th July 2009

17th July 2009

WELCOME

Cllr Chris Treleaven

Portfolio Holder Planning and Transportation

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INTRODUCTIONS

John Bull - Parking Manager New Forest District Council

Ian Hastings - Technical Director Project Centre Consultants

HOW WE GOT HERE

• The District Council’s Planning and Transportation Review Panel believe a more long term plan for managing parking should be in place ;

• During the peak summer months and on market days, Lymington has the greatest parking problems ;

• If successful, the Lymington Study could be used as a model for other Towns in the District.

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THE COUNCIL’S COMMITMENT

• Despite the present difficult financial climate, a Budget of £15,000 allocated to the project ;

• The council does not have the in-house expertise and capacity and has appointed Consultants to assist with the Study (following a tendering process) ;

• To work closely with all stakeholders particularly the Highway Authority (Hampshire County Council).


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VISITOR BUSINESS

TOWN GOOD / VERY GOOD

%

POOR / VERY POOR

%

GOOD / VERY GOOD

%

POOR / VERY POOR

%LYMINGTON 53 23 7 80NEW MILTON 65 18 30 50RINGWOOD 60 13 29 48

TOTTON 70 19 55 28

VISITOR AND BUSINESS PERCEPTIONS OF PARKING 2006 (Citizens Panel 2006)


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The Public’s Priorities When Trying To Park -In Priority Order (Citizens Panel 2006)

1 Convenience in relation to destination ;

2 Safety of self and vehicle ;

3 Cost ;

4 Quality / environment of location.


Objectives of the Parking Study :

• To review the existing needs for parking in Lymington town centre through research, surveys, investigations and observations ;

• To estimate / determine the future needs for parking in Lymington over the next 10 years ;

• Assess / propose options for managing parking to meet this need, both off-street and on-street ;

• Report the findings and proposals for consideration by the Council by November 2009.

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Stage 1 - Consultations with Members and Key Stakeholders

The first stage of the study has been to consult Local Council Members and Key Stakeholders on a range of issues to determine existing views on parking in Lymington.

These consultees were asked 20 questions about parking in the town and the feedback on the responses is shown on the next slides.

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1017th July 2009

Stage 1 - Consultations with Members and Key Stakeholders

The Questionnaires were sent to :

• Lymington and Pennington Town Council *;• New Forest District Council Members *;• County Council Local Member• The Lymington Society * ;• Lymington and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry *;• Quay Traders Association ;• Lymington Community Association *.

• * Six responses were received in the consultation process.



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Feedback from Consultations

Q2 - In your role (in the Council or organisation) - to what degree do you believe the provision of ‘parking’ as a commodity or service is important for the economic well-being of the town ?

Responses :

• The respondents consider that the town’s car parks are either very important or extremely important to the vitality of Lymington and its ability to attract visitors, shoppers and income.

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Q3 - How well located does your organisation consider that the car parks / on-street parking places in Lymington are for residents / businesses / visitors ?

Responses :

• The consultees find that the car parks are either just about sufficient for most destinations within the town, or that it’s difficult to locate convenient parking space, and the Council should take action to reduce this problem.


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Q4 - How well do you think that the car parks are signed in Lymington ?

Responses :

• The majority of consultees believe that the town’s car parks are signed fairly well and signing is not recognised as problem in Lymington.

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Q5 - Is there any aspect of signing that you believe could be improved ?

Responses :

• Although car park signing in general (last question) was seen to be adequate, all respondees agree that signing on the approaches or ‘gateways’ to the town could be improved. Signing from the direction of the Forest and the Ferry terminal would be very helpful.

• This could be with the introduction of signs showing the capacity, current occupation levels and alternative locations if full. (Variable message signing is a potential solution).

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Q6 - In contrast, does your organisation think that any further signing should be avoided to reduce ‘street clutter’ to keep the town looking attractive ?

Responses :

• The majority of respondents consider that whilst additional signing, possibly VMS should be considered for approaches to the town, extra signing within the centre of the town is not required.

• Any signing would have to be sympathetic to the surroundings and not used in proliferation.

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Q7 - What is the most common feedback or comments that your organisation receives about the availability of parking in Lymington ?

Responses :

• Too much parking in residential roads by visitors and residents’ parking schemes should be considered.

• Difficulties in the town for employees to come to work by car.

• The car parks are frequently full and there is insufficient space. Parking in the High Street area is very difficult particularly on Market Days and in the tourist seasons.

• Visitors are directed to the town centre before signing directs them to car parks. 16

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Q8 - On the level of parking provision in Lymington - What are your organisation views on sufficiency ?

Responses :

• The respondees consider that either parking space is sufficient for most of the time except on Saturdays and that the Council should consider taking some action during peak times, or that finding parking space can often be difficult the Council should make it a high priority to create more space as soon as possible.

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Q9 - Some car parks are divided into short-term / long term areas with different charges - do you consider that the balance is right ?

Responses :

• There were mixed views on the balance of short and long-term parking, with some believing that the balance was about right.

• Two requests for more short-term parking and one request for more long-term parking were made.

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Q10 - Parking on-street - Is the balance between yellow lines and white parking bays right ?

Responses :

• The majority of consultees consider that the Council has got the balance between the provision of yellow line restrictions and white parking bays about right.

• Two consultees consider that because traffic conditions are often difficult around Lymington, no more on-street parking should be provided.

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Q11 - Are there any particular areas of the town where you consider that parking space is insufficient or unduly restricted ?

Responses :

• Controls in Daniels Walk, Grove Road, Stanley Road, Westfield Road, East Hill and Church Lane should be looked at where drivers avoid parking charges.

• The quay and the hospital are unduly restricted or has insufficient space.

• The car parks in general are busy on Saturdays and holiday periods.

• Space in Cannon Street East and Bath Road car parks is insufficient.

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Q12 - Are there any locations / sites where you believe that parking space could be created / converted from another use by the Council ?

Responses :

• Parking space in the town hall car park at weekends could be better publicised, and parking could be provided at the front of the town hall.

• Implement ‘Park and Ride’ at Ampress Park, Strawberry Fields or Pennington.

• Cannon Street car park could have 2 or 3 storey decking.

• Locations at the quay, Bath Road, the hospital and Social Services sites could be adapted or used for public parking.

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Q13 - Decked Car Parks - If extra land cannot be made available for further car parks in Lymington, what are your organisation’s views on the construction of multi-storey car parks (two / three decks) to create extra parking space.

Responses :

• No-one considered that decked (multi-storey) car parks would be entirely inappropriate in Lymington.

• All respondees considered that the Council should look at their provision because a lack of parking space in the future will affect the town’s economic well-being, although two respondents said that this should not be the first option.

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Q14 - ‘Park and Ride’ is a solution that some towns use . . . . . . . . . . . What is your view on the idea of Park and Ride for Lymington ?

Responses :

• The majority of consultees considered that ‘Park and Ride’ was a good idea to reduce congestion and the Council should look to see how this could be achieved.

• Two consultees believed that this option was unrealistic or that it would be too inconvenient for most people.

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Q15 - In Lymington, do you consider that parking is cheap, about right or too expensive ?

Responses :

• The consultees considered that the cost of parking in Lymington is either surprisingly cheap compared to other towns in Hampshire or Dorset or that parking was priced ‘about right’ for the location and amenities available.

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Q16 - ‘Pricing Management’ is a way of creating more space . . . . . . . . . What are your views on using this mechanism to create more space if no more land is available for building car parks in the future ?

Responses :

• The majority of consultees believe that prices should never be increased by more than the annual inflation rate and only if parking problems become more severe.

• One consultee considered that higher levels of parking charges should be used as a way of freeing-up parking space in the town’s car parks.

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Q17 - How do you believe parking charges compare with other town centres in the Region (Hampshire / Dorset) ?

Responses :

• All respondents believe that parking charges are either favourable or similar to other local towns and that people are generally happy to park in Lymington for shopping tourism and business.

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Q18 - What do you believe people consider to be the main problems with parking in Lymington ?

Responses :

• Insufficient parking available in the town on Saturdays and at weekends, causing people to hunt around for spaces without knowledge of availability.

• Boat trailer parking in Stanley Road, unorganised market-trader parking, double-ranked loading in the High Street, and abuse of disabled parking bays all cause problems. Restrictions in the High Street start too late for Charter Market users.

• Mixed stay areas in car parks are unclear and general signing needs to be improved, motor-cycle and cycle parking needs improvement.27

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Q19 - Do you have any suggestions for improving the parking in Lymington?

Responses :

• Better publicity for town hall parking on Saturdays, provision of parking in front of town hall, make Social Services parking area available on Saturdays.

• Increase parking in the High Street by introducing one-way traffic and diagonal parking. Improve signing and improve cycle parking. Increase turnover by decreasing minimum parking times to 30 mins in the High Street. Increase charges for long-stay parking to improve turnover and capacity in car parks.

• Abandon amenity permits and charge at amenity car parks. Use Wellworthy Road car park as park and ride for hospital. Multi-storey and Park and Ride parking.

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Q20 - Are there any other comments you wish to make on parking in Lymington Town Centre ?

Responses :

• Specific provision could be made for special events relating to the marina, yachting, regattas etc. Negotiate public parking on Redrow development site.

• Integrated parking and bus services (park and ride) on the edge of the town.

• Car parking strategies should link with other transport providers (eg rail).

• High Street parking should be for a shorter period (eg 30 minutes), and High Street signing should deter access for Isle of Wight ferry traffic.

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Feedback from Consultations - Summary of Views and Areas for Further Study

• Signing - Look at the use of VMS signing at town entry points / key locations.

• Pricing - This is not seen by the majority as an area for major changes, but options for fine-tuning could be worth considering.

• Availability of Parking - The key point of the study - all worthy suggestions will be explored, for both on-street and off-street locations.

• ‘Park and Ride’ - The principle and practicalities of this will be examined in more detail.

• Decked (multi-storey) car parks - the suitability, cost and possible locations will be investigated further

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Next Steps in the Parking Study

• Consider and investigate suggestions and ideas given in consultations ;

• Conduct peak period (July and August) parking surveys on a weekday and Saturday ;

• Customer usage surveys in car parks ;

• Observations of existing on-street and off-street parking provision – can extra capacity be found ?

• Consider workable proposals for the Council and key stakeholders to look at ;

• Present draft / final report to the Council in October / November 2009.

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CONCLUSIONS

CLLR CHRIS TRELEAVEN


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new forest district council lymington parking study

Documents

provision of parking

lymington study

lymington society

greatest parking problems

lymington town centre

local council members

pennington town council

county council local