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Parking Review: Sandbach Town Centre 2012

Contents Page

1. Introduction: Scope and Objectives

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2. On Street Control and Parking Provision

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3. Off Street Car Parks

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4. Enforcement

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5. Residents’ Parking

6. Consultation

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7. Conclusion and Recommendations

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8. Appendices:

I Map of town centre

II On Street Signs and Lines in need of repair

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1.0 Introduction, Scope and Objectives

1.1. This report sets out findings from a review of the parking situation in the town centre in respect of both on and off street parking and control measures.

1.2. The objectives of this Review are to :

1.2.1. study the controls and facilities for parking in the town centre 1.2.2. Recommend improvements to the provision, control and

management of parking. The study recognises that any recommendations to be made should aim to improve the availability of parking for customers and visitors to the town centre and to encourage the most efficient use of the parking resources in the town as a whole.

1.3. The study focuses specifically on the town centre (as defined on the map shown at Appendix I) in order to understand the effect of parking demand and supply on traffic circulation and parking for all vehicle users in a well defined central area.

1.4. This report summarises the analysis of the current controls and provisions for

parking and makes recommendations to improve both customer service and circulation through appropriate controls.

1.5. Management of public parking in the town centre consists of a combination of

1.5.1. on street restrictions and limited waiting provision, and of 1.5.2. provision of off street public car parks. 1.5.3. Control is exercised through Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) (under the

terms of the Traffic Management Act 2004). Civil Parking Enforcement of both on and off street parking began in 2010. Prior to this on street control rested with the Police.

1.5.4. The enforcement service is provided by one team of up to 24 Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) (11 operating from the South base) and 9 Notice Processing staff covering the whole of the Cheshire East area.

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2. On Street control and provision Parking Patterns on Restricted Streets: a survey was carried out of parking on streets having limited waiting bays. The survey of the relevant car parks and limited waiting bays were done on sample days in November as shown, (to add to a previous sample day in May using a vehicle equipped with Automated Number Plate recognition (ANPR) cameras).

2.1. The occupancy of town centre bays observed was:

Sandbach Limited Waiting Bay Occupancy Nov 2012

Tue 30-Oct Thu 01-Nov Tue 06-Nov Thu 08-Nov Average

1ST OBS

2ND OBS

over stay

1ST OBS

2ND OBS

over stay

1ST OBS

2ND OBS

over stay

1ST OBS

2ND OBS

over stay

1ST OBS

2ND OBS

over stay

% over

BOLD ST 14 12 2 17 16 4 16 16 7 17 16 4 16 15 4 18%

GREEN ST 7 5 3 14 10 10 6 7 2 7 7 5 9 7 5 41%

WELLS ST 9 9 1 9 11 3 9 10 2 9 9 6 9 10 3 22%

CRWNBANK 10 11 4 11 11 8 11 11 8 8 8 5 41%

HAWK ST 8 7 3 10 10 10 8 10 7 7 7 5 51%

HIGH ST 7 6 1 14 18 2 16 14 1 10 8 6 12 12 3 14%

OL MID RD 5 3 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 57%

WELLBANK 13 14 10 15 15 15 14 14 13 11 11 10 60%

Avge: 9 9 5 34%

Mobile ANPR Survey Sandbach Sample Tuesday May 22 2012

LOCATION Type CONTRAVENTION

No. contra- vening

Max capacity

(vehicles)

High Street Sandbach (1) LWB Over stay 1hr + 3 28 High Street Sandbach (2) LWB Over stay 1hr+ 2

Welles Street Sandbach LWB Over stay 1hr+ 6

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Bold Street LWB Over stay 1hr+ 1

18

Old Middlewich Road LWB Over stay 1hr+ 7

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This represents a high proportion of vehicles”over- staying” the restriction maximum. This sample took place on a non- market day. Observations on Thursdays indicate the problem is much worse owing to abuse by market trader vehicles. This clearly conflicts with the intention for which the restriction was put in place in 2003: to provide additional short stay capacity for visitors (and shoppers?) in the town centre. There would appear to be good reason to enforce the maximum stay. Long stay capacity in

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the car parks is available so there should be no reason for the LWBs to be used by workers or business proprietors. Although there may be occasional inconvenience to residents arising from this long stay “blocking” of the street, this does not automatically suggest that a residents parking scheme is needed. The addition of such restrictions at a cost of £50 per annum to each resident would seem disproportionate to the issue. Experience elsewhere in the Borough reinforces this. Even with a shared use scheme (limited waiting in force apart from permit holders) this is likely to be unnecessary on most occasions, and could result in unused space.

2.2. Parking Patterns on unrestricted streets: 2.2.1. No significant problems have been observed on unrestricted streets

except for on market day. 2.2.2. In Hope Street (currently controlled by a single yellow line) residents

have requested a scheme but its width precludes this.

3. Off Street Parking

3.1. Parking Stock 3.1.1. Off street public parking is as follows:

Car Park Bays Disabled

bays Total

Little Common 18 2 20

Scotch Common 129 11 140

Brookhouse Road 148 2 150

Chapel Street 96 4 100

Westfields 0verflow 90 5 95

Crown Bank 11 11

Hawk Street 9 1 10

Well Bank 14 14

489 25 514

3.1.2. Usage and Occupancy:

3.1.3. The condition of the car parks is generally good. Signs conform to

required standards, whilst minor maintenance and repair work will be covered from the Service’s in- year budget. .

3.1.4. Car park occupancy was surveyed in Nov 2012, analysed in the table below. The survey was undertaken over 4 days including 2 Thursdays, covering the 4 main public car parks. Vehicles were counted and lists of vehicle registrations compared at 2 times of the day (morning and

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afternoon) to arrive at length of stay calculations. Long stay is taken to mean at least 6hrs.

3.1.5. Scotch Common: the legal status of this land is that of a Village Green and it functions as an important part of the total parking stock of the town. Signs on the car park indicate areas designated for short stay (2 hours). This is a useful resource for quick turnover of vehicles, which gives visitors a chance of finding a space reasonably quickly. This renders it invaluable to everyone in the town as a central, easy access, short stay space. Unfortunately this is not always honoured sufficiently by motorists who overstay frequently. It is not available for parking on Thursdays due to the presence of the market.

Occupancy Study: Sandbach Car Parks Nov 012

Car Park bays

Avge No. of

Vehicles parked

long stay

Avge Long stay

% of total

parked vehicles

Avge % bays taken

by long stay

Avge total

Occ %

Westfields Public 94 32 52% 34% 66%

Chapel Lane 100 24 52% 24% 46%

Scotch Common 140 44 48% 31% 82%

Lower Brookhouse Lane 147 31 31% 21% 52%

Mobile ANPR Survey Sandbach Sample Tuesday May 22 2012

LOCATION Type CONTRAVENTION

No. of long stay

vehicles

Max capacity

(vehicles)

Scotch Common car park overstay 4 hrs + 43

140

Note: “Average long stay % of total parked vehicles” and “avge total occupancy” refers only to the volumes at times of observation. (We cannot determine what the average volume of short stay vehicles was from only these 2 times per day observed). On Thursdays Scotch Common is occupied by the market. On these days, occupancy on Lower Brookhouse especially, jumped to over 70% average.

3.1.6. The supply of bays in Sandbach is 481 bays on the main car parks plus

some small amounts on Little Common and around Crown Bank. These car parks are well distributed around the town.

3.1.7. Demand management could be improved especially on market days and given the observed high long stay usage in the central car park. A plan for improvement of car park directional signs has recently been completed by CEC Highways and approved by Parking Services to be funded from its

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capital budget. These new signs should help to direct longer stay traffic to lesser used car parks on the edge of the town centre.

3.2. Provision for Disabled Drivers: 25 wide disabled bays are offered on the car

parks. Added to the 3 hour permitted parking on street restrictions other than where there is a total ban on parking, and on street disabled bays in High Street, this should usually be sufficient.

3.3. Parent and Toddler Bays: in the consultation meetings the need for these was raised, as a further accommodation for potential customers in the town centre. The difficulty lies in not limiting the total capacity for all customers.

3.4. Motorcycles: There are no motorcycle bays on off street car parks and it is not felt necessary to provide them given current occupancy levels. Two wheeler “blocking” of full bays is not a major issue in Sandbach currently.

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4. Enforcement:

4.1. Civil Parking Enforcement on and off street was introduced from February 2010. The level of enforcement in terms of tickets issued indicates a reasonable level of compliance. The occupancy and enforcement figures together indicate that capacity overall, for parking in the town, is sufficient for the observed average level of demand.

4.2. However the level of displaced parking must be considered in certain “hot spots”. This is reflected in requests for residents parking schemes.

4.3. In the terraced streets near the centre, there are some difficulties for residents to be addressed through a review of the limited waiting bays.

4.4. The level of enforcement in terms of numbers of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued indicates: 4.4.1. that compliance is generally good though extra vigilance is required on

market day (Thursday). 4.4.2. PCN issue has fluctuated in the years shown partly due to variations in

size of the enforcement team available. 4.4.3. Increase in off street PCNs is due to the start of out of bay and disabled

bay abuse enforcement on Chapel St and Lower Brookhouse cps. 4.4.4. Numbers. issued this year has also been reduced due to CEO staff

shortages. 4.4.5. Signs and lines in several locations are not enforceable due to damage

or lack of maintenance. These also contribute to the lower level of penalties issued.

Sandbach Penalty Charge Notices Issued

YR 10-11

YR 11-12

yr 12-13 to date

mth On street

Off street Total

On Street

Off Street Total

On Street

Off Street Total

April 19 19 53 53 19 5 24

May 12 12 56 56 34 10 44 June 10 10 45 45 23 22 45 July 2 2 36 36 19 24 43 August 46 46 46 46 34 22 56 Sept 48 48 35 35 13 14 27 Oct 38 1 39 30 30 27 17 44 Nov 33 33 25 25 Dec 25 25 32 32 Jan 45 45 24 24 Feb 19 19 33 33 March 67 67 29 3 32

Total 364 1 365 444 3 447 169 114 283

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5. Residents’ Parking 5.1. In the consultation meetings this was discussed but no significant locations were

put forward as needing schemes. The Green/Welles/Bold St area was discussed in light of the need to reinstate the existing Limited Waiting Bays. However it seemed unlikely that residents would want a scheme, at a cost to each householder of £50 per annum, when there is little difficulty in parking in the street other than on market days. It was felt that the moves to remove market trader vehicles from the LWBs, and the improved signage indicating off street long stay parking, should largely resolve this issue. However before the LWBs are reinstated (or rather the enforcement of the time limits) the residents are to be offered consultation on this.

6. Consultation:

6.1. Three meetings were held with CEC ward Councillors, Town Councillors and officers, and Sandbach Traders (STAR) at which views on parking in the town were canvassed. These are dealt with in this report under relevant sections.

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7. Conclusions and Recommendations

7.1. The general conclusion from this Review is that the provision of parking in the town centre is adequate, but that usage of the on and off street capacity needs to be more efficient. It needs to be directed towards improving footfall for the businesses and organisations in the centre, to protect and enhance the viability and vitality of the town. Rather than make significant changes to the control measures, therefore, all user groups should be encouraged to adapt their parking behaviour to make best use of the resource freely at their disposal.

7.2. On Street control and provision 7.2.1. Restore the operation and enforcement of existing Limited Waiting Bay

provision, notably on Green, Bold and Welles Streets. Through the consultation it has become apparent that there is good availability of off street capacity in free of charge, long stay car parks; therefore motorists should be encouraged to use this facility and to free up space in streets near the business centre for much needed customers. This space is best regulated using the limited waiting format which allows for a reasonable stay length for short business trips, and ensuring a turnover of vehicles and therefore customer footfall into the town. It was this for which the scheme in place was designed, consulted upon and implemented in 2003. However this proposal should again be consulted upon with the residents and businesses affected and a communication programme will be drawn up to this effect, to include a residents/businesses’ meeting if desired.

7.2.2. The short stretch of yellow line restriction on Green Street, currently painted out and therefore suspended, to be restored. This restriction was originally in place in order to allow large vehicles to turn out of Bold Street with adequate clearance from parked cars.

7.2.3. In the limited waiting bays on Green Street, there remain traces of the old, former yellow line restriction. This is no longer in force but is confusing to motorists and should be more comprehensively removed.

7.2.4. The restoration of these regulations will be preceded by a full information campaign targeting the local businesses and residents; prior to enforcement, in the first week of patrols officers will issue warning notices only to any vehicle in contravention.

7.2.5. Market traders to be informed by the town council’s market manager, that they should park vans on Scotch Common in an area provided, and not on the side streets, in effect blocking space intended for market and town centre customers.

7.2.6. Cheshire East Highways to carry out required repairs and amendments to signs and lines on street, (as detailed in report forwarded to CEC Highways contractor, see Appx II) to improve clarity of regulations for motorists.

7.2.7. Cheshire East Highways to install the planned new car park directional signs on streets around the town centre in order to direct long stay parking to appropriate car parks.

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7.2.8. A request received from Wrights Printers, of Old Middlewich Road, for a change in the restrictions close to that business, should be dealt with separately by CEC Highways as part of the usual Ward List.

7.3. Off Street Parking

7.3.1. Embark on a promotional campaign jointly with the Town Council, encouraging the use of the off street car parks especially by long stay motorists. The campaign should highlight long stay availability in Chapel St and Westfields’ overflow, in particular. This will help preserve on street parking capacity for shorter stay visitors and thereby improve footfall to the town centre’s businesses.

7.3.2. Approve the new on street directional signage in the town to make it easier for customers to find the right car park for their needs.

7.3.3. Improve signage on Scotch Common car park indicating: - that a greater portion of the car park is designated short stay (maximum 2 hours) - the location of long stay alternatives

7.3.4. Scotch Common line markings to be reviewed and the possibility of including parent and toddler bays explored.

7.3.5. Carry out survey of Lower Brookhouse Road car park with the aim of improving capacity through better line and bay marking. This should also reduce informal, obstructive parking out of bay leading to issue of penalty notices. It may also be possible to increase provision for wider vehicles.

7.3.6. Sandbach Town Council to explore the possibility of dual parent toddler/disabled bays close to the market hall.

7.3.7. Make provision for a review of the parking situation should there be any significant developments in or around the town and any changes in respect of the market.

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Appendix I Map of Town Centre

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Appendix II

On Street Signs and Lines in need of repair

Location Restriction High Street west side S/y line 8am-6pm Mon -Sat

High Street east side S/y line 8am-6pm Mon -Sat

Cross Street, north side S/y line 8am-6pm Mon -Sat

Cross Street, south side D/y line jnct with Green Street

Green Street, east side S/y line 8am-6pm Mon -Sat

Hope Street, east side S/y line 8am-6pm Mon -Sat

Wesley Avenue, north side L.W.B. Mon- Sat 8-6 1hr nr 1hr

Chapel Street, north side S/y line 8am-6pm Mon -Sat

Chapel Street, south side S/y line 8am-6pm Mon -Sat

HighTown, north side S/y line 8am-6pm Mon -Sat

Park Lane west side S/y line 8am-6pm Mon -Sat

Park Lane east side S/y line 8am-6pm Mon -Sat