A six-week consultation on a new parking plan for Cardiff has got under way.
The proposal, which we reported on in January, involves moving towards a new area-based approach to managing parking mainly in southern and central parts of the city, giving residents there a better chance to park on their street, or on adjoining roads close to their home, while reducing opportunities for commuter parking.
The proposals would not directly affect Rhiwbina or neighbouring areas, but would, of course, impact people driving into those southern and central areas.
Cardiff Council cabinet member Dan De'Ath said: "The new parking plan for Cardiff intends to give residents, blue badge holders, cycle and car clubs and local businesses better access to on-street permit parking.
"To give your views, please visit www.cardiff.gov.uk/parkingconsultation and fill in the survey." The consultation runs until 1 December.
Under the new proposed scheme all on-street parking bounded within the areas south of the A48, west of River Rhymney, north of Cardiff Bay and east of the River Ely and the outer wards would be split into four parking management areas with different restrictions in place for each.
These are the City Centre, Inner, Cardiff Bay, and Outer Parking Management Areas. Each area will be made up of several parking zones.
The proposals would bring Cardiff into line with most major cities in the UK, and subject to the results of the consultation will take several years to implement, as separate Traffic Regulation Orders will be required for each parking zone.
The proposed new Parking Management Areas are:
City Centre Parking Management Area will cover the city centre including the centre of Cardiff and the Civic Centre. All on-street parking will be managed 24 hours a day, seven days per week all year and no waiting will be allowed at all. Loading will only be permitted during certain hours to ensure businesses can re-stock. No one can apply for a permit in this Parking Management Area. Taxi ranks, loading bays and disabled parking bays will be unaffected.
The Inner Parking Management Area includes parts of Adamsdown, Butetown, Cathays, Grangetown, and Plasnewydd that are next to the City Centre Area. All on-street parking will be managed from 8am until 10pm and only resident, visitor, community and carer permits can be applied for. Outside of taxi ranks and deliveries, all on-street parking spaces will be managed via restrictions and pay & display between 8am and 10pm.
Cardiff Bay Parking Management Area includes all Butetown south of Callaghan Square. All on-street parking in the Cardiff Bay Parking Management Area will be managed from 8am until 8pm and only resident, visitor, community and carer permits can be applied for. Outside of taxi ranks and deliveries, all on-street parking spaces will be managed via restrictions and pay & display between 8am and 8pm.
The Outer Parking Management Area includes Canton, Gabalfa, Penylan and Splott, and the parts of Adamsdown, Cathays, Grangetown and Plasnewydd that are not next to the city centre. All on-street parking will be managed from 8am until 6pm and only resident, visitor, business, carer and school permits can be applied for. Outside of taxi ranks and deliveries all on-street parking spaces will be managed via restrictions and pay & display between 8am and 6pm.
Dan De'Ath continued: "Parking across the city has increasingly become an issue for many residents who are finding it harder and harder to park outside or near their own homes due to high numbers of commuter traffic.
"This ability for commuters to come and park in the city for free is leading to air pollution and congestion which our residents are suffering from.
"We've always been clear that if we are to clean up the city's air and tackle the climate emergency then we need to reduce our reliance on the private car and get people to think more about taking public transport".
Although having any parking permit doesn't guarantee a parking space, proposals are being put forward to amend the terms and conditions of the permits to free up more space, for example by charging SUVs more to encourage people to own smaller cars and placing new restrictions on permits for student only properties, and to ensure the system cannot be abused.
The new zonal parking scheme proposes that terms and conditions and types of parking permits currently available will change.
The permits that would be available under the new scheme are:
Residential permit: All residents that currently have a permit would need to reapply for a new zonal permit which is specific to the road/area where they live. This will give residents a better chance to park on their street, or on a road close by that is part of their residential zone. All those that want to park a motorbike on-street will also have to apply for a permit under the new system.
Visitor permit: For visitor parking, each household will only be allowed to apply for 240 days of visitor parking each year. By putting this restriction in place, the system is less open to abuse, ensuring that the allocation of visitor parking is shared between households in a specific residential area.
Community permit: Community on street permits can be applied for by certain places of worship or disability access groups that are exempt under specific legislation.
Business permit: Only businesses that have a property in the Outer Parking Management Area can apply for an on-street parking permit, which will only allow a business owner to park vehicles that are needed for the day to day running of the business. So, this is not for commuter or staff parking.
Carer permit: There are two types of carer permits being proposed for on street parking, one for professional health and one for personal care for those that qualify.
School permit: Existing schools that are in the Outer Parking Management Area can apply for an on-street permit to park a vehicle that is needed for the operational running of the school. Again, this is not for commuter or staff parking.
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