THE TRUTH ABOUT CONTROLLED PARKING ZONES

Written by Jenny Randerson and published in Cardiff Post on Thu 15th Feb 2007

The attempt of Cardiff Council to introduce Controlled Parking Zones has received much publicity in recent weeks.Probably one of the most common complaints I receive from residents is parking. Unfortunately, the truth about modern life is that we have too many cars on too little roadways. Last week's gridlocks gave us an insight into what we can expect on a daily basis if we do not address this problem now.

Misinformation can be very dangerous and, whilst I fully support "people power", I am concerned when people have conflicting information and conflicting interests. In this case, we clearly have a conflict between residents who want to be able to park outside or near their own homes and who broadly supported the Council's proposed CPZ scheme, and commuters and shoppers who want to be able to park near their place of work and the shops in areas such as Albany Road and Crwys Road.

After listening to their concerns, the Council revised the scheme to introduce free parking for the first 15 minutes and 10p for the first hour. As a nearby resident, I have long stopped shopping regularly in Wellfield and Albany Roads because there is nowhere to park as spaces are taken by cars which stay there all day. It is in the overwhelming interest of traders to have a turn-over of cars in order to attract regular shoppers like me back in the area.

Concern has also been expressed at the Council's intention to hand over the administration of CPZ's to a private company which, it is feared, will become a profit-making enterprise, rather than a venture that has a fair traffic management strategy. In fact, the whole process is controlled by legislation, which dictates that it is the Council, and not private enterprise, which decides the regulations and fees and designates the restricted parking areas etc.

The revenue raised from the scheme is ring-fenced so that any money raised will be used to fund the initial implementation and administration of the scheme and its enforcement through the employment of more traffic wardens. Police statistics have shown a significant reduction in the number of traffic wardens in Cardiff over the last five years and, when the Council currently puts in new residents' parking schemes or refers particular issues to the police, they do not have the resources to deal with them.

Furthermore, any surplus funds from the CPZ can only be spent on transportation improvements in Cardiff, such as park and ride schemes. Perhaps if the Government ring-fenced the billions of pounds it raises every year from its road tax licence, we would have a public traffic and transportation system to be proud of instead of facing the CPZ dilemma of Controlled Parking Zones -v- Congested Problem Zones.

May I refer readers to the Council's website www.cardiff.gov.uk for the latest information on its proposed CPZs.