Draft sustainable parking strategy set for consultation

The council’s Cabinet is being asked to approve the launch of a consultation into the Parking Supplementary Parking Document (SPD) when it meets on 29 October.

If given the go-ahead, the consultation would commence on 11 November and last for six weeks.

The Parking SPD, which replaces the existing Car Parking Guidelines SPD adopted by Cabinet in May 2012, sets out a clear parking strategy for the city, with proposals including:

• Prioritisation of sustainable transport infrastructure over parking provision.
• Removal of all no-fee on-street parking within the city centre, along with parking charges to discourage long-stay on-street and commuter off-street parking.
• A controlled parking programme in areas on the edge of the city and in urban centres, including resident parking schemes.
• A nuanced approach to defining parking standard zones based around public transport accessibility, population density, local parking controls and air quality objectives.
• Revised parking standards which promote sustainable transport including high levels of provision for quality cycle storage, car clubs, and low emission vehicles, as well as incorporating proposed government legislation regarding electric vehicle charging provision levels.

Parking management will be one of the bold ‘Big Moves’ outlined in the council’s Birmingham Transport Plan 2031, which is due to go before Cabinet in November ahead of its own public consultation.

Councillor Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “It is estimated that the growth in Birmingham’s population will result in 1.2 million additional daily trips across our highways network by 2031.

“Accommodating all these trips by private car is simply not sustainable and so we now need to look at ways of keeping the city moving in a sustainable and efficient way, reducing our over-reliance on private vehicles while also making greener travel options more accessible to everyone.

“We also know that vehicle emissions are the main cause of air pollution in our city, while also contributing to climate change. Birmingham City Council recently declared a climate emergency with the aim of becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and managing parking in the right way can make a real difference.

“Too much parking provision increases demand for private car travel, while too little can hinder economic and social activity, particularly in areas with limited access to public transport. This Parking SPD aims to strike the right balance, future-proofing the way we move around our city.”

The Cabinet report and associated papers can be found on our committee papers website.