Does the cost of parking add up?

Residents are being undercharged for parking permits, says Centre for London

Car owners are underpaying for their on-street residential parking space across London, according to a new report by think-tank Centre for London. The think-tank calls on councils to act more strategically with parking controls, promote alternatives to car ownership and use, and reallocate parking to prioritise cycleways, disabled parking bays and green space.

The report, Reclaim the kerb: The future of parking and kerbside management in London, was authored by Silviya Barrett, Joe Wills and Mario Washington-Ihieme from the Centre for London.

The authors state: “The opportunity to repurpose London’s kerbsides and transform them into valuable public space is huge: 43% of the city’s cars are parked on-street, taking up space equivalent to 10 Hyde Parks. This space should be used for the alternatives that Londoners value.”
The report was funded by AppyWay and the boroughs of Enfield, Hackney, Barnet, Camden, Hounslow, Waltham Forest and Westminster City Council.

The think-tank found the annual cost of operating residential parking spaces far outstrips the price that drivers pay for residential permits, with even the most expensive permits falling short.

“On average it costs councils £336 to operate a parking space in inner London (compared to average resident permit costs across councils between £51-£230), and £295 in outer London (compared to average permit costs between £29-£154),” states the think-tank. “Instead, pay & display, and enforcement charges, subsidise lost revenue from resident permits.”

The Centre for London looked at data from the JustPark technology platform where residents can rent out their parking space to motorists. This found that spaces were being rented out at a yearly average of £2,740 in inner London, and £1,587 in outer London, up to ten times more than the annual cost of a council permit to park on-street.

The report also found that boroughs reported parking expenditure does not reflect the full cost of parking provision. “Between 2014/15 and 2018/19, London boroughs collectively made an average annual parking surplus of £243m,” says the think-tank. “But when other costs required to operate controlled parking zones (CPZs), such as road maintenance and back office staff are taken into account, this surplus diminishes significantly and even becomes a loss for four London boroughs. Any surplus is ringfenced by government for transport services, including road maintenance and provisions for disadvantaged groups.”

The yearly operating costs per parking space were calculated by dividing the estimated total operational spend on parking in each borough by an estimation of the number of parking spaces within CPZs in each borough (using AppyWay data). This was then averaged for Inner and Outer London.

With more than half of London councils having declared a climate emergency and road transport contributing over 20% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, the report argues that the time has come to rethink parking policies and support the shift towards sustainable modes of transport.

It calls on councils to take a more strategic approach to parking controls and promote alternatives to car ownership and use.

Centre for London recommends that boroughs:

• Develop kerbside strategies that allocate road and kerb space in accordance with clear user hierarchies
• Reallocate road space gradually through introducing a cap on the number of permits issued, and using waiting lists or limited eligibility for new residents
• Set residential permit charges at a level that fully covers operating costs
• Regularly review the coverage, size and operating hours of controlled parking zones
• Move towards an emissions-based charging structure for resident permits, and escalating charges for additional vehicles.

“Residential parking in the capital is under-priced, while Londoners prioritise green spaces and clutter-free pavements over on-street parking,” said Joe Wills, senior researcher at Centre for London. “With a climate emergency on our hands, councils can play an important role in encouraging the shift from car use towards walking, cycling and public transport – and many are already doing good work here. There will continue to be a place for private cars in the short and medium term, but what we need now is action. The time is right to rethink the way councils approach parking and reclaim the kerb, accelerating London towards the greener, safer, healthier city that will benefit us all.”

Ben Boutcher-West, head of mobility at AppyWay said: “This consortium and the resulting report highlights the land value attached to parking, its current utilisation, and the complex approach to parking and kerbside management employed across all 33 boroughs.

“Of note in the report is the very static way in which Traffic Management Orders are managed with a bay allocated to a single purpose. To succeed with mobility, to deliver social and environmental good, and to unlock additional value from a cities assets, the report suggests a fresh look at parking is required with local authorities considering a percentage of dynamic bays.

“AppyWay believe that a binary road pricing model to combat congestion will be hard to scale and enforce. Parking is a well known, widely accepted system, and by innovating within the existing model to create a positive customer experience, the system can be reinvented to support the modern demands of both cities, residents and mobility operators.”Julian O’Kelly, head of technology, innovation and research at the British Parking Association welcomed the report.

“There is an urgent need to transform the way we travel and the energy we use,” he said. “The BPA is at the forefront of research and technological innovation, working collaboratively with our partners and stakeholders, determined to help create a cleaner, safer and less congested world where everyone can move around freely and easily. We encourage the wider adoption and smarter use of technology to manage the kerbside more effectively and we want to ensure that our members have the tools they need to work with communities and deliver solutions.”

Helping people reclaim the street

Cllr Jon Burke, cabinet member for energy, waste, transport and public realm, Hackney Council
“In Hackney, we’re working to radically reassign road space away from cars – by filtering roads, introducing parklets and dockless bike parking instead of bays, delivering emissions-based controlled parking – and through our pioneering vision for 21st Century Streets, with substantial green space displacing car parking, tree cover for a minimum of 40% of the street, new secure and dockless bike storage, and discreet electric vehicle chargepoints. We welcome the Centre for London report calling for more councils to follow Hackney’s lead in prioritising pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport users over cars. Land transport is the UK’s largest and growing source of planet heating emissions, with the largest proportion coming from private cars. Hackney Council is working to ensure that the future of our borough is built around the principles of fewer, cleaner, smaller, and slower motor vehicles on our roads.

Cllr Clyde Loakes, deputy leader and cabinet member for the environment, London Borough of Waltham Forest
“We are proud to be leading the way in helping people reclaim their streets and neighbourhoods from the motor car. When we create areas where neighbours can chat whilst their children play, where plants, trees, and wildlife can flourish, and where space is provided for people to walk and cycle safely, we see stronger, healthier communities thrive. We are helping families reclaim streets through our School Streets and Play Streets programmes alongside increasing numbers of Street Party events, where roads are shut to cars for residents to enjoy and better utilise that valuable community space and get to know each other better.

“We have introduced our award-winning road improvement programme, Enjoy Waltham Forest, which has seen top-quality cycling and walking infrastructure created across the borough, recreating a network of residential neighbourhoods where the needs of people are put first rather than a single mode of transport, opening up new sustainable transport options to thousands and reducing the daily blight of ‘rat-running’ through hundreds of residential streets. Each year, over 9,000 Londoners die because of poor air quality. By tackling unnecessary car use we are taking meaningful steps toward reducing that shocking figure and creating a better quality of life for everyone. This Centre for London report is yet more evidence that shows why these actions are so important.”

Reclaim the kerb: The future of parking and kerbside management in London
www.centreforlondon.org