Brighton & Hove City Council Press Release
Council consults on extending controlled parking zone
Brighton & Hove City Council is to begin consulting residents and business owners to gauge support for a residents parking scheme to the north of Preston Park Station, known as area A. The area to the south of the station already operates a controlled parking scheme. The consultation period will start on Monday, 2 September when questionnaires will be sent to all households in the area.
The consultation is in response to an increasing number of comments and complaints received by the council about the high number of commuters parking during the day and into the evening which creates severe parking pressure on residents. The proposed scheme would operate between 9am – 8pm on all days of the week and provide bays for use by residents and their visitors, businesses and services. The proposals also address other issues in the area, such as double parking, and parking on pavements and double yellow lines, with a view to improving safety for pedestrians as well as improving traffic flow and access for emergency vehicles.
A staffed exhibition to illustrate details of the proposals and to give people the opportunity to put their questions to council officers will be held at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Dyke Road, on Tuesday 17 September between 1-5pm and Wednesday 18 September between 4-8pm. There will also be an unstaffed exhibition at Hove Town Hall, in the ground floor foyer, between 9am and 5pm from 2 September to 11 October 2013.
Anyone unable to attend the exhibition but who would like further technical information should email parking.scheme@brighton-hove.gov.uk or call (01273) 291706.
The consultation period will run for 6 weeks, and all comments received during this time will be carefully considered. The results of the consultation will be reported to the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee on 26 November 2013.
Councillor Ian Davey, lead member for transport, said: “Many residents living to the north of Preston Park Station have made their wish for controlled parking in their area known to the council. The consultation is intended to allow all residents to have their say. We want to find the right balance for residents, businesses and visitors as well as to keep traffic moving safely. Residents parking schemes have worked well to ease parking pressures in other areas of the city and could be a viable option towards making significant improvements here too.”
More information and a map of the consultation boundary can be found on the council website here: http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/parking-and-travel/parking/consultation-extension-area-a-residents-parking-scheme
New technology will make it easier to park
From next month drivers will have the option of paying for parking by phone at 18 different locations along the seafront.
Brighton & Hove City Council, in partnership with PayByPhone, is making the choice available from 16 September in both on-street bays and car parks.
The service is being offered alongside pay and display machines to give as much choice as possible.
Councillor Ian Davey, lead member for transport in Brighton & Hove, said:
“Having the option of paying for parking by phone was one of the recommendations to come out of the citywide parking review – 78% of people taking part in the review said they wanted to use credit and debit cards for parking and 45% said they would probably use this system*.
“The new scheme is designed to make it easier for people. If you choose to pay by phone you won’t need to find exact change to put in the machine, but if you do wish to pay the traditional way, then that option will still be there.
“We looked at how to make the service available in Brighton & Hove as it is already well established in other areas and by joining the scheme in Lambeth we were able to keep costs down.”
Brighton & Hove will be monitoring the take-up of cashless parking and plans a phased approach to introducing the scheme. Signs and stickers are being installed in the areas where PayByPhone is available which include simple instructions on how to use it.
Robin Bevan, Commercial CEO at PayByPhone said: “We are very excited to be working with Brighton & Hove City Council and introducing PayByPhone as a new and convenient way for customers who struggle to find the right cash to pay for their parking.
“When using PayByPhone, parking is charged to your credit or debit card, but the beauty of our service is that you don’t have to find a Pay and Display machine to make the payment. All you need to do is park up, read the instructions on the sign and make the payment from your car – what could be easier? You can also choose to receive text message reminders before your parking ends so you can top up your parking without having to return to your car. ”
People with smartphones can choose to use the mobile website or PayByPhone app and other phones can access the service by calling a number which is charged at local rates. The service does not use a voice recognition system which has been problematic in other areas and card details are collected the first time the service is used via a secure payment process.
When parking, the driver sends in a location code displayed on the signage, the length of time they wish to stay and the three digit security number on their registered card. Drivers using the scheme will also be able to extend their parking time remotely if, for example, they are in a meeting or shopping, without having to return to their car.
There is a service charge of 15p for PayByPhone transactions, in line with the practice of most other councils which offer the service alongside pay and display machines. This covers the cost of providing the service and processing the payment. PayByPhone is widely available across London and in other areas of the UK such as Manchester, Lincoln and Tunbridge Wells.
For an additional 15p there is a further option of text messages to remind the driver just before their parking session expires.
PayByPhone is planned to roll out to other central areas of Brighton & Hove from December and the rest of the city by spring next year.
