New parking plan for capital takes another step forward

Ted Peskett Local Democracy Reporter

Plans to introduce a parking system in Cardiff which would require residents to apply for new parking permits have taken another step forward.

Cardiff Council has launched a public consultation on its proposal to split the city into different parking zones.

The scheme, which would see Cardiff split into four different parking areas, is aimed at reducing congestion and freeing up more parking space for certain groups like residents, blue badge holders and businesses.

Under the scheme, SUV drivers would be charged more for a permit and there would be new restrictions on permits for student only properties. Some residents would also not be able to obtain a resident parking permit for their property.

Issue

Cardiff Council’s cabinet member for strategic planning, climate change and transport, Cllr Dan De’Ath, said: “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.

“We believe that changing the way we enable people to park across the city, making the system easier to understand so motorists know where they can or cannot park, will help to alleviate these problems and will encourage more people to think about using public transport which is better for the environment.”

The consultation on the new parking plan will run until Sunday, December 1.

Plan

Each zone, contained in the areas south of the A48, west of River Rhymney, north of Cardiff Bay and east of the River Ely and the outer wards will have its own set of restrictions.

The proposed new parking management areas are as follows:

City Centre Parking Management Area

This 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

This 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 and display between 8am and 10pm.

Cardiff Bay Parking Management Area

This includes all of 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 and display between 8am and 8pm.

The Outer Parking Management Area

This 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 and display between 8am and 6pm.

“Complete overhaul”

Cllr De’Ath added: “As we continue to improve cycling and walking routes, the competition for space on Cardiff’s’ road network has increased and as it is impossible to create more on-street parking space due to the physical restraints, so changes need to be made.

“So, what we are proposing here is a complete overhaul of the on-street parking policy by creating a ‘zonal approach’ within Parking Management Areas so we can better manage and enforce the car parking spaces available so that the system isn’t abused.”

The proposal to increase the charge for SUV resident permits is aimed at encouraging people to own smaller cars.

As part of implementation, the council said it will explain how people can apply for new parking permits.

Under the local authority’s current proposal, residents living within an existing parking zone would not be eligible to obtain a resident parking permit if their property was either built or converted after September 1, 2011.

Residents living within a new parking zone would not be eligible to obtain a resident parking permit if their property was either built or converted after September 1, 2024.

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. People who 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
• 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. 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. The council said this is also not for commuter or staff parking

You can view the public consultation here.