The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council has announced that it has signed up to a programme that will see the borough offer completely cashless parking by 2020. The council is working with mobile parking payment provider PayByPhone. The removal of more than 700 parking machines in Kensington and Chelsea will take place in phases in order to give residents and visitors ample time to adjust to the change. PayByPhone signage will be clearly displayed to inform drivers on how to use the

Barnet Council has started rolling out public electric vehicle (EV) chargers built into street lamp columns. The first 40 lamp column charging points for EVs have been installed by the north London council and a further 40 will be installed later in autumn. An additional 30 standalone electric vehicle charging points will be added to car parks in the borough throughout the year. The charging points have been supplied by CityEV, a UK-based company that both manufactures hardware and develops so

The slow growth of public charging infrastructure could slow the uptake of electric vehicles, suggests predicts BloombergNEF, a provider of primary research on clean energy, advanced transport, digital industry, innovative materials, and commodities. BloombergNEF’s Electric Vehicle Outlook is an annual long-term forecast of how electrification and shared mobility will impact road transport from now to 2040. It draws on a team of specialists from around the world and looks at how these tre

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has set out plans for an expansion of the capital’s electric vehicle (EV) charging network. Khan wants the public and private sector to work together to deliver EV infrastructure. The new Ultra Low Emission Zone in central London is also designed to encourage companies to electrify their fleets. The plan has been developed with the world’s first Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Taskforce, which is made up representatives from business, energy, infrast

The Welsh Government has exempted housing developers from a requirement to equip new properties with charging points for electric vehicles. The latest version of Planning Policy Wales requires at least 10% of new non-residential parking spaces to have EV charging points, transport minister Ken Skates told an Assembly committee. “The policy focuses on non-residential development to address people’s concerns about not being able to top up when using an electric car,” he said. &l

Three parklets have been created in the City of London’s historic Square Mile. The miniature landscaped spaces are the result of a competition organised by London Festival of Architecture (LFA) in partnership with the City of London Corporation. They are intended both to showcase fresh design talent and explore the boundaries between the individual and public realm within the City. Tamsie Thomson, director of the LFA, said: “City Parklets not only showcase London’s talented po

So often in our day-to-day practice, architects and designers create compelling visions for transforming places across the country, but find that car parks soon dominate the conversation with clients, authorities and communities. With continued and unprecedented urban growth, cities are under increasing pressure to create meaningful and purposeful environments for its citizens, whilst also providing the necessary support structures that help maintain their vibrancy. This calls for architectural

Flowbird Urban Intelligence has launched terminal-based digital technology to enable local authorities to levy variable surcharges on vehicles that exceed set levels of CO2 and diesel pollutants. The new system can be used to generate a separate fee for higher polluting cars at the time of parking, using data linked to official government figures covering vehicle emissions. The digital system is loaded onto Flowbird’s solar-powered, multi-service terminals and provides authorities with a

Pupils in Lewisham’s primary schools were invited to design a banner that will be used as part of a campaign against engine idling across the south-east London borough. Lewisham Council selected a design by Mehri from Haseltine Primary School to be turned into a banner and displayed around borough. Road safety goodie bags were presented to second placed Nikita from Rathfern Primary School and third placed Polina from Hatcham Temple Grove Primary School.

The east London borough of Hackney has developed a blueprint for banning motor traffic outside schools at opening and closing time, which was shared with every council in the country during national Walk to School Week. The School Streets project seeks to reclaim the roads outside schools from cars, improve air quality at the school gates and make it easier for children to walk and cycle to school. Hackney’s toolkit provides advice on how to set up, manage and enforce bans on vehicles sto

Campaign group Better Streets for Tower Hamlets installed a 'guerilla' parklet in a parking bay in East London to highlight ways of making town centres greener and healthier places. The 24-hour parklet was created without permission from the local authority on Bethnal Green Road on 19 May. Better Streets for Tower Hamlets says it wants to make streets places where people can walk and cycle in safety and comfort. It argues that streets which are full of people relaxing and socialising will boos

Town Centre Securities (TCS) and its subsidiary CitiPark were commended at the British Property Federation (BPF) Futures Tomorrow’s Leaders Awards. The companies’ head of corporate social responsibility, Charlotte-Daisy Leeming, was a finalist in the Community Engagement category. This recognition follows TCS and CitiPark’s winning the Contributing to the Community Award at the Yorkshire Business Master Awards 2019 in recognition of their charitable work.

Car dealerships with staff skilled in selling and servicing electric vehicles will be formally approved and promoted by a new government-backed scheme.The ‘Electric Vehicle Approved’ (EVA) scheme recognises dealerships skilled at selling and servicing electric vehicles. Uncertainty and poor advice have been identified as a key barrier to electric vehicle ownership. The EVA scheme aims to create a trusted brand, increasing the confidence of drivers looking to buy an electric vehicle.

Half of UK motorists would be likely to choose either a plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle as a main or second household car in the next five years. And the same number would be willing to buy a pure electric battery car as a second vehicle. These are key findings of a TRL study into UK consumer attitudes to pure electric vehicles. The Consumers, Vehicles and Energy Integration (CVEI) project was undertaken by TRL for the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI). Over 440 motorists were asked to dr

An electric vehicle charging network created by leading car manufacturers has been launched in the UK. IONITY is a joint venture between Daimler, Ford, BMW and the Volkswagen Group with Audi and Porsche, which aims to increase the feasibility of EVs by establishing convenient high-power charging (HPC) sites across the continent. The first UK station equipped with four high power chargers, each capable of charging up to 350kW is located in Maidstone (M20 Junction 8). Further chargers will be se

CitiPark has launched CitiCharge, a subscription-free electric vehicle (EV) charging network. The first 480-volt electric vehicle rapid charging station has been set up at the Merrion Centre in Leeds. It has an electric output of 50kWh and is capable of providing 80% charge to EVs in between 20 and 40 minutes. The charger allows two vehicles to charge simultaneously, using either the 50kWh DC port (CCS or CHAdeMO) or the 43kWh AC port (Type 2). Ben Ziff, managing director of CitiPark and CitiC

The City of London Corporation has launched the Square Mile’s first rapid electric charging point. The Noble Street rapid electric charging point will be dedicated for use by the new zero-emission capable (ZEC) taxis, which have been on the capital’s roads since January 2018. These taxis can operate without emitting toxic tailpipe emissions, including nitrogen dioxides and particulate matter, which can cause asthma, heart disease and cancer. Transport for London (TfL) figures show t

An LED lighting fixture system that features an integrated solar panel and battery has been developed by Light Efficient Design UK. The fixture has been designed for use in outdoor car parks, transit shelters and bus stops. The all-in-one design means there is no need for trenching or wiring, as the fixture does not connect to any power feed. The fixture turns on at night automatically and can be set to either stay at 100% light output, or dim down if there is no motion in order to extend batte

Fear of air pollution is preventing a generation of children walking to school, says the charity Living Streets, which has launched a School Streets toolkit aimed at parents who want to prevent cars from surrounding their child’s school. Research by Living Streets indicates that two-thirds (65%) of UK parents of 4-11 year olds are concerned about the effect of air pollution on their child’s health. This marks a 17% increase on 2018 data. And two-fifths (40%) are specifically concerne

The London Festival of Architecture and the City of London Corporation have revealed the winners of the design competition to create three parklets, which are miniature landscaped spaces. The parklets will be installed across the City when the festival returns to London’s streets in June. The parklets will be created by architects Fatkin, PARTI and Patrick McEvoy. Each practice will have a £6,500 budget to turn their designs into reality. A total of 91 teams of architects, designer

Parklet campaigner Brenda Puech was named Walking Champion 2019 by Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking. Puech was awarded the Charles Maher Award on 29 March at Living Streets’ National Walking Summit. The award was set up in honour of Charles Maher, a campaigner and supporter of Living Streets. Puech was recognised for transforming a parking space outside her home in east London into a mini-park, or ‘parklet’. When she created the parklet, Hackney Council ask

Campaign group London Living Streets is worried that pavements across the capital are becoming cluttered with electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. The campaign has produced a checklist designed to help local authorities identify suitable off-street locations before placing charging points on footways. “In the rush to foster demand for electric vehicles, London is letting bulky EV charging points clutter its footways,” said London Living Streets. “These installations

A new electric vehicle charging site is to open at the UK headquarters of vehicle leasing and fleet management company Arval. The company is installing 50 charging points at its Windmill Hill Business Park offices in Swindon: 43 points will be available to Arval employees and seven for other businesses using the same building. Arval has unveiled plans to install new charging points at its other UK premises in Manchester and Birmingham. Ailsa Firth, Arval’s human resources director, said:

Ford has developed an algorithm which it believes could support increased electric vehicle use by identifying the most beneficial places to install charging stations. Data scientists at the company developed the algorithm, based on more than one million kilometres of driving data, including where vehicles actually stopped, to pinpoint the places that could help drivers integrate charging within their operating patterns, rather than making special journeys to out-of-the way locations. Following

CitiPark’s parent company, Town Centre Securities (TCS), took home the Contributing to the Community Award at the Yorkshire Business Master Awards 2019. The trophy was presented in recognition of TCS and CitiPark’s charitable work across the region. Charitable donations by TCS and CitiPark in 2017-18 amounted to £144,500, £28,500 of which was raised through events, collections and competitions. The judges were impressed by CitiPark’s plastic recycling scheme and N

Source London has installed its 1,000th electric vehicle (EV) charging point in the capital. Source London, which is operated by the Bolloré Group, works with London boroughs and Transport for London to provide EV infrastructure that caters to all types of EV users including taxis, car sharing services, private vehicles, delivery companies and corporate fleets. Christophe Arnaud, managing director of Source London, said: “We are delighted to have reached our 1,000th chargepoint, w

Art and car parks are not natural bedfellows. The association between the two would not normally go beyond provision of parking as an ancillary facility at an arts venue or festival, or commissioning some public art to beautify a car park. In Wrexham, however, the arts have been transplanted into a multi-storey car park through the conversion of some of the structure to form galleries and performance space. The local authority, Wrexham County Borough Council, has handed operation of the car park

The latest trends and technologies were showcased and debated at Parkex 2019, which took place at Birmingham’s NEC between 2-4 April. The British Parking Association (BPA) used the three days to explore a wide range of topical issues and raise awareness of campaigns such as the Positive Parking Agenda, Halt the Hate and Baywatch. The BPA Parkex Hub hosted a wide range of topical themes, ranging from the importance of data in mobility, the role of parking in clean air zones, the potential

Could the advent of electric and autonomous vehicles spell the end of classic cars being able to drive on public streets? This is a question increasingly being asked by driving enthusiasts across the world. FIVA (the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens) is the worldwide organisation dedicated to the preservation, protection and promotion of historic vehicles and related culture, as well as their safe use. Since 2017, FIVA has been a non-governmental partner of

Transport for London (TfL) has announced that five business groups across London will be offered a share of £170,000 of funding for innovative projects that will reduce traffic, ease congestion and improve air quality. The schemes being jointly funded by TfL will include schemes to enable cycle freight, enable people to cycle to work and reduce freight vehicle movements on the roads. The funding allocations follow on from the mayor’s recent Freight and Servicing Action Plan and the

German carmaker Audi will be discussing the work it is doing developing self-parking cars at the annual Parking & Property conference. The day will also see Gatwick Airport reveal details of its upcoming trial of a parking robot that will marshal cars in one of its surface car parks.The evolution of the connected, autonomous, shared and electric cars will have a profound impact on the design and operation of car parks. A panel of architects, automotive experts and parking operators will addr

A universal rapid charging hub that can accommodate eight electric vehicles at one time has been opened by Milton Keynes Council and BP Chargemaster. The hub, which is operating on the Polar public charging network, is located within a minute’s drive of the M1, just off junction 14 at Milton Keynes Coachway. Milton Keynes Council and contractor Ringway designed and built the hub as part of its Go Ultra Low City programme. Funding for the project came from the Office for Low Emission Vehi

Jaguar Land Rover has installed 166 smart charging outlets for electric vehicles at its Gaydon engineering centre. The outlets are for use by employees to encourage uptake of electric vehicles. Charging points will also be installed in the visitors’ car park, so visitors can take advantage of fast charging. The 7kW AC smart charging stations have been supplied by NewMotion, which is a Shell company. The outlets can add 22 miles of range to an all-electric Jaguar I-PACE in an hour and 176

The mechanisms by which electric vehicles can feed surplus energy back into the power grid or specific buildings are being studied at Aston University. VIGIL is a control platform for both vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and vehicle-to-building (V2B) systems and distribution networks. The platform that supports different electric vehicle charge-posts and ensures distribution network limits are not exceeded is being trialled at the university’s Birmingham campus. The ‘off-vehicle’ syste

Parklets are a concept that developed as a protest by architects in San Francisco against the dominance of the car in urban areas. Their guerilla action spawned the annual PARK(ing) Day event, which sees parklets set up in cities across the world every September. The parklets created in kerbside parking bays by campaigners, designers and communities become social hubs decked out with greenery, games and activities. While PARK(ing) Day lasts one day a year, the parklet does not have to be a tran

As ride-share becomes more popular, councils should replace on-street parking charges with a “transaction fee” for stopping at the kerbside, believes Alastair Evanson, solution director at traffic and transportation software specialists PTV Group. Local authorities should consider the impact on revenues as kerb use shifts from parking to passenger pick-up and drop-off, Evanson told delegates at Future Streets, hosted by Arup Group and organised by Landor LINKS. “Pricing kerb u

Very little science is applied to allocating kerbside space even though it is one of the most contested places in a city, according to John Dales, director of street design firm Urban Movement. The current state of the kerbside is often a “shambles”, Dales commented at Future Streets, hosted by Arup Group and organised by Landor LINKS. “Yes, some thought does go into how long a bus cage should be, there is street work to do with loading bays and we know we need to provide some

Vehicles, highways, urban centres and public transport systems are evolving – fast. In fact, the pace of change is accelerating, and UK councils have the challenge to keep up. Councils face pressure from multiple fronts. On one side, they need to manage their everyday kerbside management challenges: ensuring fair and consistent enforcement that promotes the safe and expedient movement of traffic whilst also promoting and encouraging easy cashless payments for parking. And at the other end

Once a car park was simply somewhere to leave vehicles, but now digital solutions from apps to sensors are transforming the humble parking bay into a high-tech haven. Parking is changing at a rapid rate as technology becomes more sophisticated and cheaper to implement at scale. Already, coins are out and cards are in when it comes to car park payment machines. JLL research shows that in 2017, 44% of car parks took contactless payments, up from 10% in 2014. Yet even these machines may soon become

Contemporary and 1960s car parks, school streets schemes, charity fundraisers, cycle hubs and digital payment systems make up the eclectic list winners at the British Parking Awards 2019. The British Parking Awards have been presented annually by Parking Review magazine since 2002, and the awards ceremony organised by Landor LINKS is the social highlight of the parking calendar.The ceremony was compered by the comedian Shappi Khorsandi, who revealed that in being evicted first on I’m a Cel

The Fitzpark project involved the transformation of a loading bay on an urban London street into a temporary seating area, or parklet, for local residents, businesses and visitors to enjoy. The parklet on Windmill Street was jointly funded by the Invest in Arup initiative, The Fitzrovia Partnership and Clean Air Better Business (CABB) as well as from the Mayor of London’s Air Quality Fund. The parklet was in place for six months in 2017-18 and during a six-week period before and after in

The BMW Group and Daimler AG are pooling their mobility services to create a new global player providing sustainable urban mobility for customers. The two car companies are investing more than €1 billion (£850m) to develop and intermesh their offerings for car-sharing, ride-hailing, parking, charging and multimodal transport. The partnership will see the creation of five joint ventures: •    PARK NOW for parking •    CHARGE NOW for charging&bu

Over 160 people gathered in Manchester for the Traffic + Parking conference. Traffic + Parking was devised by Parking Review, Landor LINKS and programme partner PATROL to build on the legacy of the long-running Parking World event. The day opened with PATROL’s chair Cllr Jamie Macrae and director Louise Hutchinson exploring the wide range of rules and regulations for which local authority parking and traffic teams are now responsible. The range of traffic initiatives is increasing, with l

An online consultation platform that enables residents to suggest and vote on topics of discussion has been used by the London Borough of Newham to gauge opinions on future parking policy. During January and February Newham held a borough-wide conversation called Our Streets, Transport and Parking. The east London council asked local people to comment on matters relating to roads and the public realm via an interactive digital survey and events across the borough. The conversations took place

Parking is a theme that frequently generates column inches in both local and national newspapers. Press coverage of parking is invariably negative, often focussing on violent disputes over bays and the millions paid by drivers in penalties. But on 19 January it was a good parking story that dominated the front page of The Times, which had decided to lead on the growing number of local authorities looking at introducing workplace parking levies (WPLs). At least 10 councils in England and Scotlan

The new NCP car park on Stanley Street in Salford has installed dual electric charging and disabled bays that can only be used by Blue Badge holders who are charging their electric vehicles (EVs). The idea was proposed by Helen Dolphin MBE and Libbie Bilyard, founders of the People’s Parking accreditation scheme. They came up with the idea for the dual bay when making improvements to the People’s Parking accreditation. “Within the accreditation we look at provision for electri

Volkswagen has unveiled a mobile quick charging station that can be set up independent of the power supply in public car parks, on company premises or as a temporary charging point at events. The mobile charging station works according to the principle of a power bank, akin to those for mobile phones. The charging capacity of up to 360kWh enables up to 15 e-vehicles, including members of Volkswagen’s new ID. vehicle family, to be charged in the stand-alone operation. The vehicle charging

Traffic and parking management professionals will be gathering in Manchester during January to discuss issues such as the effective management of the kerbside, preparing Clean Air Zones, creating safer school streets, regulating pavement parking and the case for workplace parking levies. The Traffic + Parking conference on 22 January 2019 will be a forum in which parking and traffic management professionals from both the public and private sectors can gather to discuss the operational issues th

The British Parking Awards 2019 recognises excellence in management, design and innovation in both the on-street and off-street parking sector. To give entrants some extra time refine submissions, the deadline for sending in entry packs has been extended to Thursday 10 January. The diverse nature of the parking sector means that the competition has categories that cover the design and upkeep of buildings, as well as ground-breaking policies, excellent services and innovative technology.&nb

Tesco and Volkswagen plans to install around 2,400 charging bays at up to 600 stores by 2020. The charging bays will be based in Tesco Extra and Superstore car parks throughout the UK, and will be installed by independent public charging network operator Pod Point.  Customers will be able to charge their electric cars using a standard 7kW fast charger for free, or benefit from the use of a rapid 50kW charger for a fee in line with the market rate. Volkswagen has two electric vehicles on t

Parking portal YourParkingSpace.co.uk has teamed up with Zap-Map to offer electric vehicle (EV) owners the opportunity to pre-booking charging sessions. Zap-Map users will be able to book YourParkingSpace.co.uk spaces where EV charging is available directly through Zap-Map’s platform for finding charge points. The partnership will see Zap-Map assist YourParkingSpace.co.uk in increasing the number of parking spaces it offers with EV charging facilities, which currently stands at 1,400 loc

SWARCO eVolt, a supplier of electric vehicle (EV) charging points, has launched an EV recharging network for is own and third party-manufactured charging stations across the UK and Europe. The SWARCO E.Connect service allows the location and live status of all charging points can be viewed online or via a dedicated app on the automated live-map. A journey planner feature enables drivers to plan their route and identify the available charging points should they need to stop and recharge. EV dri

British Gas has launched of a new smart time-of-use tariff for electric vehicle (EV) users offering cheaper electricity at night. The Green Drive Nov 2020 tariff offers customers a cheaper rate for seven hours at night (12.30am and 7.30am) to charge their car.    Green Drive Nov 2020 is being offered as a green tariff with all the electricity matched with renewable energy and the gas carbon footprint offset with Certified Emissions Reduction Certificates. British Gas said EVs driver

Parcel delivery company DPD has opened an all-electric parcel depot in central London and announced plans for a further seven all-electric sites in the capital. The facility on Vandon Street will be known as DPD Westminster and have capacity to deliver 2,000 parcels a day utilising an all-electric fleet.   DPD said it has invested over £500,000 refurbishing the site, including the introduction of an electric charging system. By using all-electric vehicles for both the inward feed o

Taxi drivers in Cambridge are being encouraged to consider switching electric vehicles (EVs) following the launch of rapid charging points.  This is the first phase of a £600,000 project by Cambridge City Council and Greater Cambridge Partnership to install more than 20 rapid chargers for taxis in Cambridge by 2020. Two rapid chargers have been installed at the Adam and Eve car park off East Road, and two at Arbury Court car park.  Two further charging points are being install

Google Maps enables users to search for restaurants, shops and now electric vehicle (EV) charging points. The locations of EV charging points around the globe have been added to Google Maps on iOS and Android. Users need to search for ‘EV charging’ and the app will display nearby stations. Maps also include reviews and ratings of the stations. Businesses that include charging stations will also feature details about EV ports on their Google company listings.  “We’l

CitiPark is to install a DC rapid charger at its flagship Merrion Centre car park. The charger, classified as a 480-volt electric vehicle (EV) charging station, will be capable of providing a full charge to compatible electric cars in less than 30 minutes.  “The DC rapid charger is perfect for charging electric vehicles in high-traffic commercial locations, petrol stations and at locations along major transportation routes, such as motorways,” said Ben Ziff, CitiPark’s ma

Dublin City Council and Belfast City Council are seeking smart, low-cost solutions to optimise freight and cargo deliveries in urban centres in order to reduce the number of goods vehicles and improve air quality and noise pollution.  Six companies have been awarded Phase One innovation contracts to develop their solutions. One is a real-time booking system developed by Grid Smarter Cities that allows local authorities to designate stretches of kerbspace as temporary stopping areas to enab

Landowners, developers, car park operators and constructors have to make investment decisions and we have to make practical decisions. They are asking what is happening right now and what does the future hold? There is currently a lot of uncertainty in the sector, but there are three main trends that I see having a profound effect on car park design. Firstly, how we use cars is changing. We’re seeing far more car-pooling going on and car ownership falling. Secondly, the car industry itself

CitiPark is letting customers pay for parking with plastic bottles as part of a recycling initiative at its flagship Merrion Centre site in Leeds. To claim the money off parking, customers must personally hand all bottles to the CitiPark office attendant in the CitiPark customer service suite at the entrance to the Merrion Centre car park.  The bottles must be 500ml and over to qualify for the free parking, but CitiPark will take any size plastic bottle to recycle. Each 500ml bottle donate

Bristol City Council has suggested introducing a workplace parking levy or a congestion charge to fund significant investments in public transport infrastructure. The prospect of new levies on motorists is raised in the Bristol Transport Strategy, which sets out how the city’s council plans to tackle challenges affecting journeys such as traffic congestion, growth in housing and jobs, inequality and health problems caused by inactivity and air pollution. A Congestion Task Group has helped

New research from YouGov released to mark the start of International Walk to School Monhas found the Top 10 things British parents of 4 to 11-year-olds find most annoying about the school run. Traffic congestion and pavement parking top the list of things that annoy parents about the school run, according to research conducted for Living Streets, the charity behind the Walk to School campaign,  The YouGov survey of parents of 4 to 11 year olds was released on 1 October to mark the start of

Car parks are a vital element of shopping centres, but how does parking fit into the business of retail? Insights into the running costs, tariffs, profitability and impact of technology on retail parking is provided by property services company JLL, which has just published its latest shopping centre car park survey. The UK Shopping Centre Car Parks report was compiled jointly by JLL’s retail management and automotive teams, which collated and analysed the performance of 62 shopping centre

While environmental issues do not rank high in the overall list of motorists’ major concerns, a large number are increasingly worried about the impact of vehicles on local air quality, according to the RAC Report on Motoring 2018. Only 12% of the 1,800 drivers interviewed said the environmental impact of motoring is a top-four concern this year, although this is up from 9% in 2017. However, 44% said they are more concerned about the impact of vehicles on local air quality than they were 12

An art competition backed by two parking companies saw students from Manchester create paintings in a city centre multi-storey. Online parking reservation provider ParkCloud and car park operator Q-Park teamed up to promote the international PARK(ing) Day event on 21 September. Students from Oldham College, Parrs Wood Sixth Form, All Hallows’ High School and Cheadle and Marple College devised artworks around the theme of ‘Manchester and Urban Mobility’. Students used a mix of

Parking in the United States has always lagged many, many years behind Europe for many reasons. One is that Americans do not like a lot of change. That is all about to change because we are living in an era of disruption. What does disruption look like from the United States’ perspective? Disruption with regard to parking and mobility has come from the outside. Indeed, it is rare that an industry gets disrupted from the inside out.  Uber and Lyft have completely disrupted the taxi in

Something strange happened on kerbsides and in car parks across the globe on 21 September. Spaces normally used by cars were filled up with chairs, rugs, potted plants and pets. The simultaneous transformation of parking bays into, well, people places in towns and cities around the globe on Friday 21 September was a sign that it was PARK(ing) Day. PARK(ing) Day was launched in 2005 in San Francisco by a design collective called Rebar, which took over a parking bay for a couple of hours to show

Ford, Uber and Lyft will work together to develop a universal data standard for real-time kerb demand and availability. The car-maker and ride-share companies will work with SharedStreets, Bloomberg’s ‘open transport partnership’, to develop a data platform that will make it easier for the private sector to work with cities around the world and leverage data to improve urban mobility.  The agreement seeks to provide a common standard for sharing data across all cities, wh

Volkswagen has unveiled the electric drive system underpinning a new family of vehicles that will go into production next year. The ID. range will use the modular electric drive matrix (MEB), a technology platform developed by VW for electric vehicles. Production of the Volkswagen ID. will begin at its Zwickau plant at the end of 2019.  Volkswagen demonstrated the centrepiece of the MEB, the rolling chassis without the bodywork and interior, at the Dresden in the Gläserne Manufaktur

Vestel has entered the UK market with the launch of a new electric vehicle (EV) charger that was a winner of the Red Dot Award for Product Design 2017.  The Vestel EV Charger is compatible with all European electric and hybrid vehicles. It is designed for use in workpaces, homes and by residential communities with no access to off-street parking.  Vestel says that local authorities and businesses can create a more customised electrical car charging services using RFID and WiFi as wel

The 2019 edition of the British Parking Awards is up and running. Now in its 18th year, the competition encourages both public and private sector organisations to nominate people and projects that represent the best in parking management, design and innovation. The awards encompass both the on-street and off-street sides of the parking sector. The diverse nature of the parking sector means that the competition has categories that cover the design and upkeep of buildings, as well as ground-break

UK clothing brand Superdry has invested in nine electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints for its Cheltenham headquarters after seeing a rise in the number of employees switching to plug-in cars. Currently, seven of the 700 staff based at the company’s Cheltenham headquarters drive plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) or EVs, up from just one driver in 2016.  Following the new chargepoint installations – which include seven 7kW and two 22kW Pod Point Solos – drivers will be able to leave th

Electric vehicle drivers visiting the North Lincolnshire Shopping Park in Scunthorpe can now charge while they shop, after managing agent MK2 Real Estate installed a Pod Point twin charger. To use the 7kW chargepoints, drivers need to plug in their EV and confirm their charge using the Pod Point Open Charge smartphone app. Marcello Della Croce, director at MK2 Real Estate, said: “North Lincolnshire is clearly getting on board with the electric vehicle revolution and demand for public char

Bristol City Council has launched new electric vehicle (EV) charging points and converted part of its vehicle fleet to electric. Using £2m of grant money provided by the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) through the Go Ultra Low West project, the council will be adding 120 new public chargepoints across the West of England. The council’s parking services team is taking delivery of six Nissan LEAF cars to use in and around central Bristol. Seven new electric Peugeot Partner van

On-street parking charges based on a vehicle’s emissions levels have been introduced in the City of London. On 20 August charges will increase for polluting vehicles low and and dropped for zero emission capable vehicles.  The initiative is designed to improve air quality and reduce nitrogen oxides and particulates by encouraging motorists to consider using cleaner vehicles. The on-street parking tariff in the Square Mile was previously £1.20 for every 15 minutes. Drivers of e

Canterbury City Council has launched a ‘park & pedal’ scheme at one of its park & ride sites. The council is offering free parking at its Wincheap site for people who then cycle into the city rather than take the bus. A new 28-space cycle compound, which can only be accessed via a key card and is available 24/7, has been built to provide secure storage for bikes. Maintenance equipment is also available. There are two signposted routes into the city: the Chartham to Canterbu

The overall number of pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles registered in the UK has risen every month so far this year. Figures released by Go Ultra Low reveal that the first half of 2018 saw 28,054 registered to drivers, a 25% increase on the same period in 2017, which was the most successful year-to-date for the plug-in car market. The figures were released the same week as the government launched its Road to Zero strategy, which includes proposals to enable the deployment of thousands o

Up to £40m in grant funding is being made available to UK businesses to develop and demonstrate new ways of charging electric vehicles.  The funding comes from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles and Innovate UK, which is part of UK Research and Innovation. UK government’s new Road to Zero strategy sets out a vision of nearly all cars and vans being zero emission by 2050. A major challenge will be to grow the UK’s charging infrastructure quickly enough to make electric v

Most drivers see many barriers to their early adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), despite the government’s commitment to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2040, according to the AA. The poll of 10,293 drivers in June 2018 was specially commissioned for the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) annual conference on 12 July.  The vast majority of respondents (85%) say that there are not enough public charging points for EVs. Three-quarters (76%) agree that EVs ca

Source London is offering the capital’s residents the chance to share their preferred charge point locations via an online tool. The EV chargepoint network operator believes the Powermystreet engagement campaign will boost the development of London’s EV infrastructure across the city. Powermystreet is an online tool that will enable residents and businesses to demonstrate demand by mapping where they want EV chargepoints. The tool will now have the ability to select their preferred

Slough Borough Council has awarded Indigo a new five-year parking enforcement contract. Indigo has worked for the council since 2010. The contractor has made a commitment to employee development, sustainability and technical innovation. The company will upgrade the Berkshire town’s entire pay & display machine portfolio. It has also pledged to use only electric vehicles and bikes and launch an apprenticeship scheme. The company will replace the current fleet of vans with an electric

Eight ultra-low emission Hybrid Electric buses are now serving Leeds’ Elland Road and Temple Green park & ride sites. It is anticipated the hybrid vehicles will deliver significant fuel and C02 improvements and help reduce air pollution in the city.  The new vehicles form part of a First Leeds’ commitment to invest £71m in 284 new ultra-low emission buses for Leeds by the end of 2020. The Wrightbus HEV bus uses a parallel hybrid system that captures braking energy th

The kerbside is a transition zone between the road and pavement. There is a great deal of competition for this space, with pedestrians, drivers, freight companies, public utilities and many other organisations competing for access and use. Cities are now also having to manage growing competition for kerb access due to the rise of ride-sharing services and the growth in urban goods delivery, both of which are challenging traditional ways of managing kerb space. It is becoming increasingly clear

The Swedish city of Gothenburg is undergoing an intense development phase. In the coming 20 years, the city’s population will grow by almost a third. The construction period will entail major challenges, including congested roads and heavy queues in rush hour.  Public transit agency Västtrafik wants to tell people about the problems and show that public transport is part of the solution. Lars Backström, CEO of Västtrafik, says: “The traffic situation will be heav

The streets of Glasgow are set become smarter and more attractive spaces. The Avenues programme will see key Glasgow city centre streets redesigned to protect and prioritise space for cyclists and pedestrians, improve connectivity, introduce sustainable green infrastructure through attractive streetscapes and enhancing biodiversity and improve the way public transport is accommodated. The £115m project is being funded through the Glasgow City Region City Deal. Councillor Susan Aitken, le

Every day millions of journeys end in a parking space. We all want to live in a cleaner, safer, less congested world, yet without effective parking management there would be chaos, and access to places and people would be significantly harder. The British Parking Association (BPA) is the recognised and leading authority within the parking sector. We have 50 years’ worth of experience. We work closely with government, stakeholders and members on driving excellence in parking for all. We do

Publically-provided electric vehicle (EV) rapid chargepoints experience a triple peak during the day as they tend to be used either in the morning, at lunch time or early evening, with the middle of the day being the most popular, the Department for Transport has revealed. The DfT’s new statistical bulletin, Electric Chargepoint Analysis 2017: Local Authority Rapids,presents an analysis on chargepoint data from 26 local authorities that have received central government funding for rapid ch

Nottingham City Council has launched an initiative designed to increase the uptake of ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) by local employers. The ULEV Experience is a programme dedicated to supporting businesses to understand, trial and implement ULEVs, and is funded by Nottingham City Council’s Go Ultra Low City project.  The ULEV Experience programme offers businesses and the public sector: Fully-funded fleet reviews delivered by Cenex and the Energy Saving Trust worth up to &po

IONITY, a Europe-wide electric vehicle (EV) charging network being established by a consortium of carmakers, has opened its first service station. The fast charging facility is now operational at Neuenkirch on the A2 motorway in Switzerland.  IONITY is a joint venture formed by BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company and the Volkswagen Group with Audi and Porsche. By 2020, IONITY plans to operate a network of approximately 400 fast charging stations across 24 European countries. 

Oil company BP is buying Chargemaster, the UK’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging network, for £130m. Founded in 2008, Chargemaster runs POLAR, the largest public charging network in the UK. The POLAR network now includes over 6,500 public charging points. The company has over 40,000 customers of its POLAR network, of which an increasing number choose to pay a monthly subscription, with the remainder on a pay-as-you-go basis.  Chargemaster is also a supplier of home charg

Dundee City Council has installed a set of rapid charging units to promote electric taxi use. The council appointed eVolt to supply four Raption 50kW Rapid Chargers and three 22kW eVolve chargers at the new electric vehicle hub at Aimer Square. The Rapid Chargers are capable of charging two vehicles simultaneously at full power in approximately 30 minutes. Aimer Square is the first of three rapid charging hubs to be introduced in Dundee in 2018 through the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLE

Southampton City Council has installed 30 new electric vehicle (EV) charging points across five city centre multi-storey car parks. Southampton selected NewMotion’s charging points, which were installed by JoJu over a six-week period. JoJu was able to connect the charging points using the car parks’ existing electrical grids.  The EV charging scheme is part of a broader initiative to tackle air pollution in the city. Last year, Southampton was one of 40 UK cities named in the

Operator CitiPark, which has been a vocal advocate of providing facilities for electric vehicles, is supporting the second UK National Clean Air Day UK on 21 June.  National Clean Air Day (NCAD) sees local schools, hospitals, workplaces and communities across the UK hold events designed to improve public understanding of air pollution and build awareness of how it affects health. As part of its support for NCAD, CitiPark brought the New Nissan LEAF electric car to the main mall at the Mer

Glasgow City Council has secured £940,000 from the European Commission to realise its plan to transform a city car park into a solar power centre. The award from the EU Horizon 2020 fund will go towards building a canopy of solar panels above the council-owned car park on Duke Street. The panels will be primarily used to power the car park, which has ten electric vehicle charging points. Money from the award will also be used to install a 500kW battery and a controller that will allow for

There was a flurry of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions in the parking sector in 2017, with interest from infrastructure and private equity investors. Empark was put up for sale. Indigo-Infra Park was put up for sale. We saw the successful acquisition of Q-Park by KKR. We also saw the sale of NCP by Macquarie, which then bought Empark. This spate of M&A activity was unique. In turn, S&P Global Ratings received a huge number of calls from investors and financial advisors kee

Parking is one of the cornerstones of enabling ‘smart cities’ across the UK. It offers the opportunity to reduce pollution and congestion and enable new mobility solutions such as car sharing, electric vehicle and ride sharing infrastructure. But to achieve that, the UK parking sector has to modernise and enable, rather than hinder as it does today, these much-needed developments. Achieving connected transport systems are a critical part of the plans for UK smart cities and parking i

If Hercules had faced a thirteenth labour, it surely would have been parking in a crowded town centre on a Saturday afternoon. For many, parking conjures up visions of endless searching, pricey car parks and frantic dashes to feed the pay & display machine to avoid a penalty. Those days are coming to an end. A new wave of technology is ripping through the parking industry, changing the status quo and profoundly altering the parking journey and changing consumer behaviours. What does this mea

Rapid urbanisation combined with increasing demand for goods and people to be moved in large numbers and at speed means mobility matters more than ever. Logistics companies, mobility platforms and vehicle original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are competing to lead the way, and have invested some $80bn (£60bn) globally in connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs). However, the fast pace of change and wide range of trends driving investment in AV technology means identifying some short term pri

Very powerful forces are pushing the parking sector towards a level of standardisation that would have been unimaginable when I came into the parking business, well over 30 years ago. Back then, the parking operations in each of country were very much self-contained, shaped by very different sets of laws and very different ways of doing things. But today we are starting to see that local differentiation break down across Europe and further afield. The programme for Parking & Property had a

Donald Shoup, the US academic widely regarded as the world’s leading thinker on parking issues, is the editor of a new book looking at the relationship between cars and cities. Parking and the City is a follow-up to Shoup’s 1996 book The High Cost of Free Parking, which showed how city parking policies often prohibit walkability, damage the economy, raise housing costs, and penalise people who cannot afford or choose not to own a car. Using a combination of analysis and creative th

Carlisle City Council has seen a 70% reduction in energy consumption at car parks where it has switched to LED (light emitting diode) systems. The council decided to upgrade lighting in its public car parks after seeing the energy savings that were being delivered by converting its street lighting to LED. The council decided to retain existing lighting columns in the car parks to minimise costs. The DW Windsor Kirium Pro luminaire was selected because of its wide choice of optics.  Esther

The London Assembly Environment Committee has called for a pan-London approach to electric charging points to be spearheaded by the capital’s mayor. There are now 12,000 electric vehicles in London, ten times as many as in 2012, the committee notes in a new report. In is report, Do Londoners Dream of Electric Cars?, the committee expressed a concern that the growth in the number of electric vehicles in London is outstripping the number of charge points, which could limit the number of pe

Emerging technologies provide the key for improving mobility and delivering smarter, better and safer experiences for urban communities. But the real driver for change is coming from society itself. Technology is already helping to improve urban mobility but, today, we’re only scratching the surface. The potential of technology to truly transform the way we move in and around our towns and cities is absolutely huge. Two-thirds of adults now own a smartphone with mobile internet access and,

Renault MOBILITY and IKEA France have signed a partnership to offer consumers an around the clock car and van rental solution.  Initially, the vehicles for hire will be both electric and conventional internal combustion engine depending on the charging infrastructure available on-site. This will make way for an all-electric fleet by 2020. The Renault MOBILITY self-service car rental service, which is debuting at the IKEA Paris-Villiers store, will gradually be rolled out to all IKEA store

A project designed to demonstrate the benefits of zero emission fuel cell cars for large urban fleets will deploy 180 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles as taxis, private-hire vehicles and police cars in London, Paris and Brussels.  ZEFER (Zero Emission Fleet vehicles for European Roll-out) will deploy fleets of 60 hydrogen-fuelled vehicles in each city. These vehicles will be used in the applications where vehicles drive long distances every day, need rapid refuelling, and have polluted

Self-driving vehicles are being tested as potential mode of transport for the Lake District National Park. An autonomous electric ‘pod’ was brought to Brockhole on Windermere for a week to gain public feedback as part of an Innovate UK-funded collaborative feasibility study between Westfield Technology Group and the Lake District National Park. The study will explore new technologies that could allow people to access the UNESCO World Heritage site in an environmentally sustainable

Parking & Property 2018 will look at how social and technological changes will shape the design and operation of car parks The annual Parking & Property event is the one day in the year when property, parking, transport, technology and construction experts get together to explore the interaction between cars, people and places. Parking & Property 2018, which takes place in London on 10 May, will focus on how property developers and parking operators are developing new business mode

Rapid electrical vehicle (EV) charging points have been installed at two Euro Garages filling stations in Scotland. The Euro Garages at Lomondgate Services in West Dunbartonshire and Caird Park service station in Dundee will join the growing ChargePlace Scotland network. They feature eVolt Raption 50kW Rapid Chargers that are capable of charging two vehicles simultaneously at full power in approximately 30 minutes.  eVolt worked with delivery partner Tokheim Solutions to deliver

Electric vehicle chargers have installed at a business park located near the M8 motorway to support drivers travelling between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The two rapid chargers are being hosted at Maxim Office Park, which was selected by the Energy Saving Trust because of its location between Scotland’s largest two cities. Maxim has restaurants and on-site catering services for drivers whilst they stop and charge their vehicles. Maxim also wants to encourage on-site staff and visit

Heathrow Airport is now providing electric charging points at its taxi feeder park for electric black cabs. Heathrow’s taxi feeder park is a large facility that manages taxi services at the airport, dispatching taxis to the taxi ranks at each terminal to ensure that demand is met.  The airport has installed seven eVolt Raption 50 rapid chargers that can complete an 80% charge in 30 minutes. These charging points will support the new electric taxis and address the Mayor of London&rsqu

A network of 100 rapid charge points for electric vehicles across London has been launched by the city’s mayor Sadiq Khan. The network includes 51 points for use by taxis. As of this year no more diesel taxis are being licensed and all taxis that are licensed for the first time need to be zero-emission capable. Over the past six months Transport for London (TfL) has worked with suppliers on the installation of 100 rapid charge points across the capital where a vehicle can be charged in 20

Q-Park has created a new offer that enables drivers of hybrid vehicles to save 25% on the standard annual season ticket price. The new Hybrid Vehicle Season Ticket is a discounted version of the company’s Unlimited Season Ticket, which gives drivers entry and exit without any restrictions seven  days a week (Monday to Sunday) and 24 hours a day at their regular Q-Park. “Q-Park is always consciously looking into innovative and future-proofing ways to improve its parking faciliti

German automobile giants BMW and Daimler will be pooling their urban mobility services, which means work on developing parking, car-sharing and electric vehicle charging will be shared. The companies have signed an agreement to merge their mobility services business units. The BMW Group and Daimler AG plan to combine and expand their existing on-demand mobility offering in areas such as parking, car-sharing, ride-hailing, electric vehicle charging and multi-modality. Each company will hold a 50

Nottingham is an Office for Low Emission Vehicles’ funded Go Ultra Low City. The city successfully bid for £6.12m to increase the uptake of ultra low emission vehicles and become an exemplar city in this field. Some £2m from the OLEV award is being used to establish a network of around of 230 chargepoints for electric vehicles (EVs) across Nottingham, Derby and Nottinghamshire. At the moment, across the UK there is a still a legacy of the provision of chargepoints that are free

Youth and experience were both honoured at the British Parking Awards 2018, which were held in London on Friday 9 March. The awards ceremony saw a group of six people recognised as the Young Parking Professionals of the Year. The recipients carry out a wide variety of roles, including traffic consultancy, structural engineering, project management within local government, financial control, customer and client relationships. One of the group, structural engineer Andrea Piniella from Stripe Con

The Mayor of London, Transport for London (TfL) and London Councils have announced £766,000 of new funding for three local boroughs to help accelerate the switch to zero emission vehicles to tackle London’s toxic air pollution. The 'Neighbourhoods of the Future' projects include a new school low emission zone in Camden to protect pupils from filthy air, electric charging points in streets in Hackney's markets, and a zero emission street and wider Low Emission Zone near Hammersmith t

Parking apps, sensors, empty space mapping and bay reservation systems are among the technologies competing for recognition in a European transport innovation awards. A jury of international transportation experts has selected the shortlist of nominees of the biennial Intertraffic Amsterdam Innovation Awards. A field of 60 entries has been narrowed down to the final 15, leaving three nominees in each of the five categories: Infrastructure, Parking, Safety, Smart Mobility and Traffic M

The majority of electric vehicles (EVs) drivers tend to charge a home rather than at their workplaces or in public parking area, a survey reveals. Charging network provider NewMotion questioned around 7,000 EV drivers about their vehicle usage and their motivations for going electric.  Only 10% charge their EV at work compared to 65% at home and 27% in public places, which NewMotion suggests an opportunity for companies to provide more charging points, so users can drive their EV to w

The British Parking Awards 2018 attracted around 100 entries from across the country, from which a short list of finalists has been selected. The entries have been assessed by a panel of experts made up of parking managers, transport and parking consultants, representatives from the major parking associations and bodies representing the motoring and freight sectors. The winners will be revealed at a gala lunch to be held in London on 9 March. To see the list of finalists click here The diverse

BP plans to roll out mobile electric vehicle (EV) rapid charging systems at selected filling station sites in the UK and Europe during 2018. This follows BP Ventures investing $5m (£3.5m) in FreeWire Technologies, a US-based manufacturer. BP Ventures supports each of these areas by identifying emerging trends and businesses, making strategic investments and testing technologies and solutions for their scalability. Tufan Erginbilgic, chief executive of BP Downstream, which looks after the

The British Parking Awards 2018 have attracted around 100 entries from across the country. The annual awards encourage both public and private sector organisations to nominate people and projects that represent the best in parking management, design and innovation. The diverse nature of the parking sector means that the competition encompasses buildings, technology and people. The British Parking Awards spans both the on-street and off-street sides of the parking sector. This year’s entr

Nobody can avoid the absolute deluge of articles that are coming out now and media stories relating to autonomous vehicles (AVs). Typically, these are fairly polarised. Some can be characterised as predicting a real reduction in the demand for parking. There are images from various urban designers and architects showing romanticised 2050 visions of what the future might look like, of how our streetscape might start to evolve. But the debate about AVs starts to become a lot more nuanced when we&

The company that installs chargepoints under the Source London scheme says it has around £75m to invest in the capital. An agreement signed with Tower Hamlets at the end of 2017 means that BluepointLondon is now working with 20 local authorities in the capital. However, the company has so far spent only £25m of the £100m budget it has allocated to transform London’s EV infrastructure and that are currently close to 1,000 charge points stored in a warehouse in Ealing

Sales of 100% electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles achieved record-breaking levels of popularity in 2017, according to tigures released by Go Ultra Low. Registrations increases by more than 27% on the previous year with an expanding range of plug-in vehicles available to motorists. The total number of plug-in cars on UK roads passed 130,000. From January to December, motorists flocked to buy ultra low emission vehicles, with 46,522 registered in 2017. Every quarter of 2017 out-performed 201

Allego, a provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions and cloud services, has appointed traffic technology supplier Siemens to support the deployment and operation of fast-chargers in the UK, beginning in London.  Siemens will supply, commission and service the project for the first 12 months under contract to Allego. The service agreement is supported by Siemens’ UK service operation centre and 350 field service engineers who have been trained and qualified to work on petro

As electric cars grow in popularity demand for charging points is also increasing, but a survey of local authorities reveals that the provision of public charging infrastructure is uneven across the UK. The survey was conducted by property consultant JLL and the British Parking Association (BPA). Eighty councils replied, representing over a quarter of the UK’s local authorities. A third (33%) of councils that replied had no electric vehicle charge points within their car park portfolios.

Transport for London (TfL) is to increase the Congestion Charge penalty charge notice (PCN) from 2 January 2018. A rise in the cost of PCNs issued on the capital’s ‘red routes’ is also being planned. In the past five years there has been a 12% increase in the number of motorists issued with Congestion Charge PCNs. TfL said the rise from around 1.3m in 2011/12 to around 1.5 million in 2016/17 is a clear indicator that the effectiveness of the current PCN fine has reduced over t

The winners of the British Parking Awards 2018 will be revealed at a gala ceremony held in London during March by the comedian Lucy Porter. The competition is free to enter and, as is now traditional, the deadline for submissions has been extended to Monday 8 January. According to Time Out, Lucy Porter “is one of the most talented comics on the circuit”. Having had 11 Edinburgh Fringe shows and international tours, Lucy is a well-established and loved comedian. On TV, she has

We are passionate about parking annual reports at Brighton & Hove City Council. We have been producing them since 2008 and were fortunate enough to win the very first PATROL PARC Award, and have been shortlisted for the past eight years, winning the last two awards. Annual reports are an excellent way to communicate key facts about your parking team’s performance and priorities to stakeholders. Annual reports also let you explain how parking services fit into wider traffic management,

Chargemaster is to install 150 new electric vehicle charging points across Lancashire following a successful bid by Lancashire County Council to the Department for Transport’s Highway Maintenance Challenge Fund. Chargemaster will provide 18 of its Ultracharge rapid chargers and 66 dual-socket fast chargers, for use with a standard Type 2 public charging cable. The first charging points will be installed in early 2018 and will be operated on POLAR, which Chargemaster says is now the UK&rs

Chargemaster has been awarded a £2m contract by Nottingham City Council to install about 230 electric vehicle charging points across Nottinghamshire and in Derby over the next three years. As part of its Go Ultra Low City status, Nottingham City Council, together with Derby and Nottinghamshire councils, was awarded £6.1m in 2016 from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) to help support the uptake of electric vehicles, reducing pollution and improving air quality.  The t

A car park payment system that gives drivers of less polluting vehicles cheaper parking is among the finalists in the 2017 National Air Quality Awards Parking operator CitiPark and technology provider APT Skidata have been shortlisted for the Commercial Sector Air Quality Initiative of the Year for their work to incentivise city drivers towards low or zero emissions vehicles through the use of emissions-based parking tariffs. CitiPark has installed APT Skidata’s emissions-based parking t

The winners of the British Parking Awards 2018 will be revealed on Friday 8 March by the comedian Lucy Porter. Parking Review launched the British Parking Awards in 2002. Now in their 17th year, the annual competition encourages both public and private sector organisations to nominate people and projects that represent the best in parking management, design and innovation. The competition is 

A property services company says it has identified around 10,500 car parks in the UK’s towns and cities that could be developed to accommodate over 350,000 homes, enough to house around one million people. “Over the past 15 years several crucial demographic changes have begun to take hold which are having a dramatic impact on the adequate provision of housing in the UK,” said Nick Whitten, JLL’s director of UK research. “A trend towards urban living has disproport

Cambridge City Council is planning to end a discounted parking trial in its car parks and instead trial a ‘peak time congestion’ fee. The proposals are outlined in a public consultation on parking charges for 2018-19. The council is planning to end a trial that saw prices on Mondays and Tuesdays at all multi-storey car parks reduced in line with 2012 prices and on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays where they were frozen at 2015 levels. This will see the return of a single

Donald Shoup, the renowned parking guru, has been recognised by one the USA’s leading planning academies. The California-based academic has been named Distinguished Educator by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. The award is conferred every two years to honour significant contributions to the field of planning. It recognises scholarly contributions, teaching excellence, public service and contributions that have made a significant difference to planning scholarship, educati

A network of electric vehicle charging stations to be created with backing from major car-makers will be branded Ionity. The founding partners, BMW Group, Daimler, Ford Motor Company and the Volkswagen Group, have equal shares in the joint venture. Other automotive manufacturers have been invited to help expand the network. Ionity will develop and implement a network of 400 high-power charging (HPC) network of across Europe by 2020. Based in Munich, Germany, the Ionity joint venture is led by

Royal Dutch Shell is to buy Dutch-based the NewMotion electric vehicle charging networks, marking the oil company’s first deal in electric mobility as demand for cleaner vehicles is expected to soar. Shell said NewMotion, which manages over 30,000 charging points for electric vehicles in Western Europe, will operate in parallel to Shell’s programme of rolling out fast charging points at its forecourts. “They’re complementary offers. One is fast charging on the go on the

Residents in Bristol converted street parking bays into public spaces that enabled them to socialise with neighbours. The Street Pockets project was run by sustainable transport charity Sustrans. The project seeks to encourage residents to take the lead in creating better community spaces in what are often congested residential streets where space is at a premium. The street pockets are also designed to encourage passing traffic that the roads are a place where people live and to slow down. S

Electric vehicle charging points will be installed on petrol station forecourts in London next year. Ecotricity will install 30 charging points at various Motor Fuel Group (MFG) Shell, BP and Texaco branded service stations in the first half of 2018. Jeremy Clarke, MFG’s chief operating officer, said: “We are delighted to be extending our fuel offer to customers.  The growth of the electric and hybrid vehicle market is an important part of the fuel mix going forward. MFG is det

Peer-to-peer electric vehicle (EV) charging service Chargie has re-launched under the new name Bookmycharge. The start-up decided to change its name after it became aware of a similarly named company called Chargy (www.char.gy), which supplies councils with EV chargepoints for installation onto lampposts. The Bookmycharge service’s core offer is giving EV drivers the ability to book a charge rather than risking heading to an out-of-service or occupied public charging points. Bookmych

A potential barrier to take-up growing use of electric vehicles (EVs) is the capacity of the local electricity network capacity at peak times. One potential solution is to open up data from local substations. Currently, electricity network operators do not have enough information about how much spare capacity there is on local electricity networks. This makes it difficult to know whether a cluster of EVs charging at peak times will push the demand over the limit. Access to electricity subs

Civil enforcement officers patrolling the streets of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea are now riding electric bikes as an alternative to petrol-powered mopeds. An electric bike, or e-bike, is a bicycle with an integrated electric motor that can be used for propulsion. E-bikes retain the ability to be pedalled by the rider and are therefore not electric motorcycles. NSL, the council’s parking service provider, says switching to e-bikes makes both economic and environmental se

Electric vehicle charging network operator NewMotion is piloting a two-way vehicle-to-grid (V2G) service with Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi. With V2G-technology, peak demand on the electricity grid can be better balanced by allowing electric vehicles to not just take power from the grid, but also return it to the network. NewMotion has joind forces with Dutch power grid operator TenneT to use V2G chargers produced by Enel and grid services and technology from Californian company Nuvve. The

Owners of electric vehicles (EVs) will be able to sell energy to a UK energy company from January next year. The Japanese carmaker has formed the partnership with UK energy technology company Ovo, who are promoting the concept of home battery storage. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology allows electric vehicles to be integrated into the electricity grid. OVO’s V2G service will enable private owners of the Nissan LEAF who invest in a special domestic battery to charge from the grid at low-dem

ABB has launched a 150-350 kW high power electric vehicle (EV) charger. The new Terra HP High Power Charge system was unveiled at the EVS30 event in Stuttgart, Germany. The company said the new unit is designed for use at highway rest stops and petrol stations as it has the capacity to charge both 400 Volt and 800 Volt cars at full power. Normal

Motorway services and large petrol retailers will be required to install chargepoints for electric cars, under the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill, which has had its first reading in the House of Commons.  The Bill will increase the access and availability of chargepoints for electric cars, while also giving the government powers to make it compulsory for chargepoints to be installed across the country and enabling drivers of automated cars to be insured on UK roads.  “We

Q: How will self-driving cars change the way in which towns and cities manage parking? Q: How can local authorities create electric vehicle charging facilities that are both environmentally and financially sustainable? Q: Will local authority parking teams be key players in tackling poor air quality caused by vehicle pollution in town and city centres? Q: What are the data protection rules that apply when rolling out cashless payment, virtual permits and other digital parking services? Q: Ho

The need to recognise how quickly technology is evolving, and the way this is changing driver behaviour, emerged as a key theme at 18th European Parking Association (EPA) Congress. The benefits of harmonising standards and protocols across borders was also a recurring motif of the biennial event, which took place in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam from 20-22 September.  The three-day event saw a number of initiatives developed and showcased in the main conference and at a number of break-

A survey of UK local authorities into existing and planned infrastructure for electric vehicles (EV) has highlighted a lack of electric vehicle charging provision, limited capital in budgets to increase or install new charging points and uncertainty around government grant eligibility. The survey follows the recent UK government announcement that the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars will be banned from 2040 and for investment into the development of electric and driverless vehicles. It re

Dundee has received £600,000 worth of government new electric vehicle (EV) chargers and other infrastructure via grants from the UK and Scottish governments. The Scottish city has established itself as a pioneer in providing facilities for EVs, having already received in the region of £1.8m in grants in recent year. The new round of funding comes from Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), Transport Scotland and Air Quality Funding. Lynne Short, convener of Dundee City Council&rsqu

DriveElectric, a provider of leased ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs), has launched a Vehicle to Grid (V2G) service for electric vehicle drivers in the UK. V2G charging equipment allows EV owners to help balance the electricity grid by providing energy from their vehicle batteries to the grid at times of peak demand. In return, EV owners will benefit from rewards based on the provision of grid services and energy trading revenue. Mike Potter, managing director at DriveElectric, said: “

The International Parking Community (IPC) has formalised its partnership with the People’s Parking accreditation scheme for car parks. The accreditation scheme is now being adopted as an IPC standard, and the scheme’s founder, Helen Dolphin will be representing the evolving interests of consumers for the IPC’s steering committee. The scheme highlights car parks that provide spaces for visitors with a disability and parents with children. It also promotes charging points for e

The new version of Nissan’s LEAF mass-market electric vehicle (EV) will offer extended range and advanced driver assistance features such as an automated parking function. The new LEAF drives Nissan Intelligent Mobility, which is the core brand strategy for Nissan’s future, said Hiroto Saikawa, president and chief executive officer of Nissan. “The new Nissan LEAF, with its improved autonomy range, combined with the evolution of autonomous drive technology, such as ProPILOT Par

The City of London is planning to create taxi ranks reserved for electric vehicles. The Corporation is keen to encourage the use of electric taxis as cabs are regarded as being the primary source of NO2 pollution from road-based transport in the City. The Corporation of the City of London has offered electric vehicle (EV) charging points in its five car parks for 15 years, but the taxi rank points will be the first EV charging points to be provided on-street in the Square Mile. The ranks, to b

The first parking bays started changing on the streets of Germany as dawn broke on Friday 15 September. Spaces normally used by cars were being filled up with chairs, rugs, potted plants and pets and being labelled ‘parklets’. Twitter was reporting that bays were being taken over across France, Ireland, Spain, Canada, the USA and beyond. Then came reports of parklets appearing in Britain. The simultaneous explosion of parklets in towns and cities around the globe was a sign that PARK

Parking Review magazine has launched the 2018 edition of the British Parking Awards. Now in their 17th year, the competition encourages both public and private sector organisations to nominate people and projects that represent the best in parking management, design and innovation. The awards encompass both the on-street and off-street sides of the parking sector. The diverse nature of the parking sector means that the competition has categories that cover buildings, technology and people. Bri

E-STOR and Renault create quick-charge stops for locations with poor grid connectivity A system that uses ‘second life’ electric car batteries as stationary power sources which can provide rapid roadside charging for electric vehicles has made its debut in Europe. With the E-STOR system, the second life batteries are recharged at low power, and the stored energy is then released at high power. UK-based company Connected Energy and Groupe Renault have installed two quick-charge stat

Gatwick Airport, OVO Energy, Oxford City Council, Santander UK and Swansea University are among the latest organisations to become ‘Go Ultra Low Companies’, signing-up to a clean, green motoring future by embracing electric vehicles (EVs). More than 100 other organisations across the country that have already signed up to the UK government-backed initiative, such as Britvic, London Fire Brigade and Microsoft UK. Each has pledged that EVs will make up at least 5% of their vehicle f

A rapid on-street charger that can top up an electric vehicle in around 30 minutes, rather than several hours, has been installed by Islington Council. The borough hopes the fast charging time will appeal to motorists, particularly couriers, cabbies and other commercial drivers. Over the course of the next year, 100 roadside charging points are being installed across the north London borough. Cllr Claudia Webbe, Islington Council’s executive member for environment and transport, said: &l

Royal Mail is piloting a fleet of electric vans in London. The vehicles, supplied by Oxfordshire-based Arrival, come in sizes of three-and-a-half, six and seven-and-a-half tonnes. They will be based at Royal Mail’s main Mount Pleasant depot in London. Paul Gatti, Royal Mail Fleet’s managing director, said: “We will be putting them through their paces over the next several months to see how they cope with the mail collection demands from our larger sites.” The vehicles f

Young drivers are the least likely to worry about charging or other perceived barriers to ownership of electric cars. New research shows that drivers aged between 18 and 24 are more likely to own an electric vehicle (EV) than any other age group. The AA-Populus study reveals that those aged 24-34 are the next most likely to own an EV. Drivers aged 55 and above are least likely to do so. Currently 5% of respondents aged 18-24 said they own an EV compared with 4% of 25-34 and 1% of those aged 55 a

The average British motorist wastes £968 and spends nearly five days stuck in traffic each year because of congestion, analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) reveals Traffic congestion has a serious impact on economic development, quality of life and public health, the Local Government Association (LGA) warns in a new report. The average British motorist wastes £968 and spends nearly five days stuck in traffic each year because of congestion, analysis by the LGA suggests

Ford has launched a car and van scrappage scheme that enables UK motorists to make savings of up to £7,000 on some new models. Unlike scrappage schemes launched by BMW and Mercedes, which are only for diesels, the Ford scheme will accept petrol cars. Under Ford's scheme old cars from any manufacturer can be exchanged for a new car until the end of December. Andy Barratt, chairman and managing director of Ford of

The next phase of the GATEway project in Greenwich will be an open public trial of driverless pods that will start this autumn. The autonomous pods will provide first and last mile transportation around the Greenwich peninsula by connecting transport hubs with business, leisure and residential locations. The GATEway team has announced that for the next phase Fusion Processing will provide sensing and control equipment on brand new pods being built by Westfield Sportscars. The new pods are base

The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) has appointed Cenex to update and manage the official UK database of information about public chargepoints for electric vehicles (EVs). Established in 2011 to provide a freely available database of publicly-accessible chargepoints across the UK via a user-friendly web interface, the National Chargepoint Registry (NCR) currently holds data provided by chargepoint operators on their facilities’ location, compatibility and hours of operati

The AA Trust has launched what it claims is the first ever Drive Electric course, free of charge and specifically geared to those who want to get the best out of driving electric vehicles (EVs).  The announcement was made by Edmund King, chairman of the AA Trust at the launch of the Electric Vehicle Experience Centre (EVEC) in Milton Keynes on 20 July. One third of drivers

Chargemaster says its electric vehicle charging work is now offering 100% renewable electricity. The POLAR and Charge Your Car networks have been certified and matched to energy generated from renewable sources since 1 August. Chargemaster provides over 40,000 EV drivers with access to more than 5,600 public charging points in the UK across the POLAR and Charge Your Car networks. The company claims this represents more than 40% of all the charging points in the UK and, in the first half of 2017

The UK’s first multi-brand electric vehicle (EV) showroom opens its doors to the public on 22 July at the Centre:mk shopping centre in Milton Keynes. Managed by Chargemaster and funded by Milton Keynes’ Go Ultra Low City scheme, the Electric Vehicle Experience Centre (EVEC) has been established to increase the number of EVs sold in the area.  Milton Keynes Council has set a target of 23% of all new cars registered locally to be electric by 2021. The council hopes that the 1,200

By 2050 almost all cars in theBy 2050 almost all cars in the UK will be electric vehicles (EVs), but with over half of households not having access to off-street parking providing rapid and reliable charging will be a challenge. National Grid, which operates the UK’s electricity infrastructures, suggests a potential solution could be to establish a network of EV recharging stations.  The idea of a network of EV charging stations is raised in Forecourt Thoughts: Mass fast chargin

The UK’s power networks will have to cope with 90% of the country’s cars being pure electric vehicles by 2050, predicts the National Grid. The company, which runs the UK’s national transmission networks for electricity and gas, makes the prediction in its latest annual Future Energy Scenarios report. Marcus Stewart, head of energy insights at National Grid, says: “Electric vehicles are one of many new technologies that are rapidly transforming the energy sector; technica

Stored energy from electric vehicles (EVs) can be used to power large buildings while leaving enough power for the vehicles to complete their daily journeys, suggests research undertaken by the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at the University of Warwick.  WMG’s Energy and Electrical Systems group and Jaguar Land Rover have demonstrated that vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology can be intelligently utilised to take enough energy from idle EV batteries to be pumped into the grid and pow

Electric cars have been making headlines in recent weeks. This month has seen France announce that it s banning petrol and diesel cars by 2040, Volvo planning to sell only electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2019, and Tesla announcing that its Model 3 mass-market electric car has started rolling off production lines. There have been many subsequent articles in the media about whether the UK’s electricity grid can cope with increasing numbers of EVs. The UK government has set ambitiou

The UK government is to invest £20m exploring how batteries in electric vehicles (EVs) could feed the national power grid. The investment, announced by the Department for Transport, will support vehicle-to-grid (V2G) projects as part of the government’s ‘Industrial Strategy’. It is part of moves to create a smarter energy system and increase the numbers of EVs on UK roads. The projects supported will investigate technology that allows plug-in electric vehicles to not onl

Ensuring that would-be carpoolers are riding with people they like could potentially decrease car use by nearly 60%, research from a professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada has found. The research, published in Transportation Research Part C, used social media analytics, algorithms and computer simulation to match would-be carpoolers with people driving to work.

Over three-quarters of people in the UK do not know that ‘EV’ stands for electric vehicle, according to study conducted for a charging network. The study was commissioned by NewMotion, a European charge point provider that is now operating in the UK. Over 3,000 consumers were surveyed nationwide to gain insight into their understanding of EVs and the issues surrounding them. The research shows that, although 69% of people would consider switching to an EV in the future, there i

UK car buyers registered more electric and plug-in hybrid cars during the first half of 2017 than in any previous six-monthly period. More than 22,400 plug-in models were registered between January and June 2017, a rise of 14.3% on 2016 and 53.8% up on the same period in 2015. June exceeded all previous non-plate change months, with 4,405 new plug-in models sold during the month (33% up on June 2016). Demand from private buyers has driven growth with 44.9% more consumers opting for plug-in hyb

DriveNow won the sustainable transport category at the Sustainable City Awards in London. The car-sharing service was awarded the trophy for its contribution to the reduction of air pollution and easing congestion in the capital. The awards are run by the London Sustainability Exchange and funded by the City of London Corporation. They recognise organisations in London that demonstrate excellence in sustainable development and best practice in environmental management. DriveNow is a joint

Volvo Cars has announced that every car it launches from 2019 will have an electric motor. The Swedish car-maker will introduce a portfolio of electrified cars across its model range, embracing fully electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars and mild-hybrid cars. “This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars. “Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of one milli

The new Nissan LEAF will be the first vehicle in the Japanese automaker’s global product line-up equipped with ProPILOT Park when it is launched in September. The technology helps drivers park by automatically guiding the car into a parking spot. Sonar systems and cameras on the new Nissan LEAF guide the car into a parallel, angled, front or straight back-in parking spot. The driver activates the technology in three steps, monitors the area around the vehicle and applies the brakes if nec

Technological and sociological trends will transform the design and operation of parking services. The car park of the future will be a place where, besides parking, you re-charge your electric car and/or pick up online purchases. Within the next few years, car parks will become places where semi-autonomous cars drop-off their driver and passengers, park themselves and then pick them up again after their shopping trip or leisure experience. The fact that the car of the future will most probably

A ‘green screen’ designed to combat poor air quality has been installed at a primary school in Brixton, south London. The ivy hedge, created by Lambeth council alongside the playground St Helen’s Catholic Primary School, is designed to block harmful toxins from the heavily polluted Brixton Road.  Research shows that green screens lower both particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide exposure. Lambeth has some of the highest levels of air pollution in the UK. Poor air quali

Essex has emerged as a model of partnership working when it comes to parking management and enforcement. The boroughs and districts have entered into two formal alliances – the North Essex Parking Partnership and South Essex Parking Partnership – in order to pool their knowledge, management and buying power. The partnerships are also committed to the use of in-house frontline staff, coordinating on-street and off-street parking and working across boundaries. However, there was a peri

Spelthorne Borough Council in Surrey has introduced electric vehicle (EV) charging points at two of its car parks in Staines-upon-Thames.  The charging points have been supplied by EV network operator POD Point.  Six individual 7kW charging bays have been installed at the Elmsleigh multi-storey car park along with a dual 3.6kW charger, which can charge two cars simultaneously, at the Tothill multi-storey.  Customers need to pay the appropriate parking fee, but the charging sess

Milton Keynes Council hopes its new electric vehicle (EV) showroom will enable visitors to discuss all elements of owning and running an electric vehicle, as well as test a range of cars on local roads. Funded by Milton Keynes’ Go Ultra Low City scheme, the Electric Vehicle Experience Centre (EVEC) will be located at centre:mk. EVEC will present EVs made by founding partners BMWi, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault and Volkswagen as well as showcase a range of current electric vehicles. Th

Real estate services company JLL has launched a new team that will focus on providing advice on car parks, car dealerships, petrol filling stations and motorway service areas to investors, property owners, operators and funders.  The new JLL Automotive team sits within the company’s wider Alternatives team and will work alongside JLL’s Upstream Sustainability services team. The team is made up of people who have a mix of agency, consultancy, construction, data, research and ope

Around two-thirds of UK road users would support a scrappage scheme for older diesel cars, vans and lorries in an effort to get the worst polluting vehicles off our roads, according to a survey by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart. The survey asked respondents to rate the various options put forward in the government’s recent nitrogen dioxide consultation, but found that only 3% of respondents are confident that the proposed measures solve the problem quickly. More than 1,400 pe

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) says new proposals announced by the Mayor of London for road charging based on elements such as distance travelled and vehicle emissions could be a positive step for freight operators, provided they don’t simply add cost. The organisation, which represents half the UK’s road fleet, says it is interested in distance-based charging as an alternative to broad schemes such as congestion charging and low emission zones. However, the FTA says the pr

Do you ever get that unpleasant blast from someone’s exhaust when you’re on the pavement or crossing the road? Air quality, and the effect of pollution on public health, seem to be dominating the headlines. The state of the environment literally affects every one of us and, of course, the generations who are coming behind us.  Vehicular traffic and the management of its flow and parking is a big factor in the level of noxious and poisonous emissions. Just a quick glance at the

Some 20 years from now the way in which we travel may have been transformed by the widespread introduction of autonomous and connected electric-powered vehicles. Much of the research and discussion being undertaken at the moment is, necessarily, focussed on understanding the way in which the next generation of vehicles function. However, it is also important to understand the impact autonomous, connected and electric vehicles will have on the infrastructure of towns and cities.  For exampl

Nottingham City Council’s pioneering scheme to transform the city by funding greener transport through a workplace parking levy and Birmingham Big Bikes scheme have shared the 2017 Ashden Award for Clean Air in Towns and Cities. The Ashden Awards are presented to pioneers in sustainable energy and are a globally recognised measure of excellence. Along with 12 other organisations, Nottingham City Council will receive its award on Thursday 15 June at a prestigious ceremony at the Royal

The British Parking Association (BPA) has published a ‘Manifesto for Parking’ to ensure parking has a central place in government policy-making after the General Election. The BPA’s chief executive Andrew Pester said: “As the recognised authority in the parking sector, the BPA is driving change and we want commitment from the next government to act to ensure a smarter and more sustainable future for everyone.” The BPA said it wants to see more consistency in the wa

The orthodoxy of Post-War planning was that for towns and cities to thrive they needed to be accessible by car. This led to an urban scene dominated by flyovers, ring roads, car parks and kerbsides lined with parked vehicles. However, in the early 1970s the historic city of Oxford was among the first British cities to put the brakes on the car. Over the past 45 years Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council have implemented a series of transport policies that seek to manage traffic an

A website that allows homeowners to rent out electric vehicle (EV) charging points has been launched in the UK. Chargie offers dedicated bookable peer-to-peer EV charging service.  The Chargie website enables EV drivers to book the domestic, wall-mounted chargepoints of other electric vehicle owners signed-up to the service.  The company opened its UK charge point booking service in May with more than 60 chargepoints across the country. The company says it is offering a relatively ev

Charging-based Clean Air Zones should only be implemented if absolutely necessary to bring nitrogen dioxide concentrations down to legal levels, the government has told English local authorities. The plan has been published following a long legal battle with environmental groups. The plan, titled Improving air qua

Parking and property professionals have long lived by the mantra ‘location, location, location’. But while location remains important, the era of data analytics and connected cars means information and communication will soon be the most important factors for developers, retailers and parking operators. Parking and places in the era of connected cars will be central themes at Parking & Property 2017. The line-up of speakers includes experts in retail trends, property development

Parking operator CitiPark has introduced a new parking tariff based on the emissions of the vehicles parking at its Clipstone Street site within London’s Congestion Charge zone. The tariff is designed to attract drivers of hybrid, electric and low-emission vehicles. CitiPark will assess the vehicle emissions of a vehicle upon entry to the car park and charge accordingly. The vehicle emission checks will be performed using advanced software developed by APT Skidata. Vehicles emitting less

The travails of President Trump, the nuclear ambitions of North Korea, carnage in Syria and the politics of Brexit have all been dominating the headlines for months, so it was a surprise to see one of the world’s most influential business publications, The Economist, devoted a leader article (‘Aparkalypse now’) and a feature piece (‘Sacred spaces’) to parking’s impact on the health and vitality of cities. “Parking can seem like the most humdrum concern

From automated electric cars to supersonic trains and fare paying rocket ships, Elon Musk has bold visions when it comes to how we will travel. But The Wall Street Journal recently explored how the American technologist is having to get to grips with a far more mundane issue: how to accommodate all the growing number of employees who want to use the staff car parks at his offices and factories in California. “Parking is, like, one of my biggest nightmares. Like, where do we park everyone?

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on how to deliver a more consistent approach to managing parking in Scotland. Transport Scotland’s Improving Parking in Scotland consultation seeks views on how to address the issue of pavement parking, as well as views on how best to manage disabled parking provision, and determining what parking incentives local authorities can provide for the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles.  In May 2015, Sandra White MSP, introduced the Fo

The size, use and distribution of parking facilities may need to change considerably as connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) become more commonplace, according to a new report by the RAC Foundation. The report has been produced by Charles Johnson, group technical director of consultant CAS (Competence Assurance Solutions). He uses the Society of Automotive Engineers’ definition of the five levels of automation: Level 1 (driver assistance); 2 (partial automation); 3 (conditional automat

As few as six closely located electric cars charging together at peak time could lead to local brownouts as the National Grid struggles to cope. This is a warning made by environmental think-tank Green Alliance in a report looking how the UK energy market could evolve as more householders and businesses develop the ability to generate their own power. As take-up of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and fully electric vehicles increases, the Green Alliance believes energy supply needs to be controlled to co

POD Point, a UK based provider of charge points for electric vehicles (EVs), has used a crowdfunding campaign to raise more then £1.8m. POD Point charge points can be used in the home or for public use.  The charge points are connected to the company’s cloud-based management system, which enables recurring revenue from the network.  Erik Fairbairn, founder and chief excutive of POD Point, said: “At POD Point, we believe travel shouldn’t damage the earth so we&

A range of smart electric vehicle chargepoints made by Finnish company Ensto Chago has been approved for grant support by the UK’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).  Chago chargepoints have been approved under the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS), providing companies with up to £6,000 towards costs, and the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS), which provides private individuals with up to £500. The schemes were introduced by the government to encourage adoptio

Electric vehicle owners are starting to have free smart chargers installed as a result of their participation in the Electric Nation research project, which is exploring how the UK’s local electricity networks can cope with the ever-growing numbers of electric cars. The UK electricity grid has sufficient capacity to deliver power to electric vehicles, but if clusters of EVs develop in local areas and they are all charged at peak times, then some local electricity networks may need reinfor

BluepointLondon and SSE Energy have signed a renewable energy agreement for the Source London EV network. All the energy powering Source London charge points will now be sourced exclusively from either wind or hydro.   BluepointLondon will work with SSE to expand Source London across the city, focusing on building a dense network of on-street fast and rapid charge points. Normal 0

The Metropolitan Police will be among the first fleets participating in the Ford Transit plug-in hybrid van (PHEV) London trial, starting this autumn. Ford is working with Transport for London (TfL) and the UK Government-funded Advanced Propulsion Centre on the project, which designed to explore how lower-emission plug-in hybrid electric vans could support cleaner air targets, whilst boosting productivity for operators in urban conditions. The project features a 12-month trial of 20 new Ford

BMW’s electric i3 was named the inaugural winner of the 2017 World Urban Car award at the New York International Auto Show. The design brief for the BMW i3, which was launched in 2014, was to create a “Mega City Vehicle” for the cities of the future. World Car vice-chairman Mike Rutherford said: “Everyday cars in many, perhaps most, parts of the world will have to become smaller if road and parking space is to be found for them in increasingly packed towns and cities who

‘Smarter choices’ have been in the news again recently. The Behavioural Insight Team reported that several ‘low-cost behaviour change interventions’ designed to reduce commuting to Heathrow Airport made no measurable difference. Their comments on evaluation methods (“don’t trust self-reported surveys”) have re-opened a long-running controversy: how do we know any of these measures actually work? ‘Smarter choices’ is a catch-all phrase, encom

The first UK-built domestic vehicle-to-grid unit has been installed in Loughborough, Leicestershire. The vehicle-to-grid (V2G) system will enables the homeowners to use a electric vehicle (EV) to power their home.  The V2G system was developed through the Ebbs and Flows of Energy Systems (EFES) collaborative project. The Loughborough installation will allow the project partners to understand the management and interaction of EVs as battery storage within a domestic property and how this c

Business owners can have a significant impact on the number of drivers converting to electric vehicles (EVs) by giving employees access to charge points at work, says the National Grid. The energy infrastructure operator points to experience at its own headquarters in Warwick. Data from National Grid House shows a three-fold rise in the use of its six EV charge points since they were installed as a viability project in April 2016.  Three stakeholder groups use the charge points: company

Parking in the City will be the theme of the 18th European Parking Congress. The congress is the biennial gathering of the European Parking Association (EPA),  which will take place in Rotterdam, Netherlands from 20-22 September 2017.  The EPA Congress brings together participants from more than 30 countries worldwide to discuss future developments and best practices of the European parking industry.  The congress also hosts the presentation of the winners of the European Parki

A Scottish taxi company has installed a set of electric vehicle chargers to support its fleet of five new Nissan Leaf cars. Three chargers have been installed at the premises of Kirkcaldy-based Taxi Central. Taxi Central opted for eVolt’s Rapid Chargers as they can charge the 30kWh Nissan Leafs to 80% battery life in 30 minutes, provide on-shift EVs with essential charging capability. It has also installed two eVolt AC 7kW wall-mounted chargers that fully charge the EVs in around five ho

Parkex, the British Parking Association’s annual conference, celebrates its silver jubilee this year. The three-day parking event runs parallel to Traffex at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre (NEC). Over 70 companies will be showcasing the latest products and services available to the parking sector in Hall 5 at the NEC between 4-6 April. Companies on show will include payment equipment manufacturers, digital parking solution developers, enforcement IT specialists and traffic

Parking & Property 2017 8 June: 15 Hatfields, London Parking & Property is the only annual event dedicated to off-street parking. Over the past 7 years the conference has provided a forum for debate and sharing best practice among public and private sector car park owners and operators, developers, planners and companies supplying design and equipment services. The conference content is developed by Nigel Williams, managing director of Parking Matters, and Mark Moran, editor of

Parking projects that seek to make the lives of children safer and easier where among the winners at the British Parking Awards 2017, which took place on Friday 10 March. Kent County Council won the Front Line Award for its Responsible Parking Squad initiative. The council has devised a toolkit of materials and techniques that can be used by pupils at secondary schools to tackle the problem of dangerous parking and driving, especially during the school run. The London Borough of Wandsworth rec

The winners of the British Parking Awards 2017 will be revealed at an awards ceremony in London on 10 March. The British Parking Awards were launched by Parking Review magazine in 2002 to recognise achievement and best practice in the design and management of parking. With winners selected by a jury of their peers, the British Parking Parking Awards logo and trophy have become a respected and coveted mark of excellence among parking professionals. Below we provide a guide to the finalists. Par

Parking revenues at Heathrow rose last year, generating around £114m for the UK’s biggest airport. However, Heathrow has made a commitment to maintain car traffic at current levels even as it plans for a dramatic expansion. The airport has 23,000 public parking spaces that are used by business travellers, holidaymakers and people with business at the airport. Parking is treated a retail activity in the airport’s accounts, which showed its range of car park pro

APCOA Parking has entered into a partnership with POD Point, a manufacturer of electric vehicle (EV) charging points. The partnership will see EV charging units rolled out in town centres and at train stations, airports, shopping centres and hotels around the country. The first batch of 15 POD Point units have been installed for APCOA at London Heathrow Airport and the Broadway Plaza retail car park in Birmingham. The units are available to all EV drivers that are looking to park their car at

A 50% surcharge for parking diesel vehicles in central London is unlikely to lead to a significant improvement in air quality, says the RAC. The motoring organisation was reacting to the announcement by Westminster City Council that it is to begin a trial of charging diesel drivers 50% more to park.

Westminster City Council is to start issuing penalty charge notices (PCNs) to drivers of cars, vans, coaches and taxis if they leave engines idling for more than a minute while parked. Over the past year the council has been running a campaign designed to raise awareness about the environmental and health dangers of vehicle idling, which contribute to high levels of air pollution in central London.  The council also says that engine idling creates a noisy environment, particularly affecti

Owning and driving an electric vehicle (EV) in the UK isn’t as simple as it should be. Unlike some other European countries where EV driving is more widely adopted and better facilitated, the UK has been late to the EV party, until now. The Department for Transport (DfT) recently released a consultation for the upcoming Modern Transport Bill, which has promised to pump serious investment into the UK’s infrastructure, supporting EV charging in the future – £35m to be prec

The number of electric cars on the road rose to 1% of the total car market in several European countries, including United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Denmark and Norway. There were 2 million electric vehicles on the road globally, one hundred times more than 2010. NewMotion, an electric vehicle (EV) solutions provider has surveyed early adopters in Europe to gain insight into their behaviour. The company asked over 5,000 of its users across Europe questions about their EV usage,

Six schemes that will act as testbeds for future technology to tackle air pollution are being backed by the Mayor of London and Transport for London. The Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) have announced £1.4m funding for six ‘Neighbourhoods of the Future’ that will combine green technology and other initiatives to tackle London’s air quality emergency at a local level.

The long list of entries to the British Parking Awards 2017 has been unveiled. This year the competition has attracted over 90 submissions that are now being assessed by the jury.The British Parking Awards encompass the worlds of traffic management, architecture, enforcement, technology and property.This year there are entries from local authorities, commercial operators, rail companies, universities, retailers, consruction companies, equipment suppliers and many others. To see the 2017 entry li

The Sustainable Transport & Health Summit is the key event and showcase of 2017 for transport, parking, public health and urban professionals involved in delivering active lifestyles that help make healthier places. The UK government recognises the important role of transport in building healthy places where people want to work and live and has committed to supporting sustainable travel initiatives. The government has made significant funding available for sustainable travel – some &po

A high-rise apartment building being built in the Hertfordshire town of Hemel Hempstead will feature an automated car park and a range of mobility services designed to reduce its carbon footprint. The 16-floor Beacon tower is being developed on Symbio Place by Lumiere Developments (which trades as Corona Properties). It will provide 208 apartments as well as office space. Corona says it aims to create a “vertical village” that uses renewable energy generation and energy conservation

Nick Lester-Davis has retired from his role as corporate director of services at London Councils, the cross-party organisation that represents the capital’s 32 borough councils and the Corporation of London. For almost a decade he has been responsible for the London-wide service delivery in the fields of traffic and transport, grant to voluntary organisations, databases in adult and childrens services and improvement of local services.  Lester-Davis has also been the face of public p

The efficient management of the kerbside and roadspace is essential to the health, wealth and vitality of urban centres. These were central themes of Parking World 2016, which took place in London on 24 November.  Over 250 people attended Parking World to listen to a programme featuring over 50 speakers from across UK and Europe. There were presentations by local authorities, academics, consultants, architects, technologists, campaigners and contractors. The programme was devised by Mark

The British Parking Awards 2017 are open for entries. The annual competition recognises excellence in parking policy, design and management. The awards span the on-street and off-street parking sectors, encompassing the planning, design and management of both structures and operations. There are also categories that recognise the achievements of individuals and teams working in the parking sector. The awards also categories that recognise innovative systems and business approaches. The categor

The efficient management of the kerbside and roadspace is essential to the health, wealth and vitality of urban centres. This will be a central theme of Parking World 2016, which takes place at the Kia Oval in London on 24 November.  There will be sessions on: the provision and regulation of parking in town and city centres; the workplace parking levy concept; fighting Blue Badge fraud; and the development of online parking payment and booking services. To book your place click here (Quot

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Western Isles Council, in creating a north-south electric vehicle (EV) charging network throughout the islands of the Outer Hebrides. Eleven charge points have been positioned on the Isles of Lewis and Harris, North Uist, South Uist and Barra, which make up the majority of the council’s remit. The chargepoints have been supplied by Evolt, which has already installed units the ferry ports throughout the Western Isles.

Fitzroy Place, a mixed-used development in London’s Fitzrovia, is providing residents with electric vehicle (EV) charge points. The recently completed development provides 235 private apartments, 54 affordable homes, 20,000 sq ft of retail and restaurant space, 220,000 sq ft of commercial office space in addition to health and education facilities, and public open space. Fitzroy Place’s car park features 38 EV chargepoints.

Civil enforcement officers in Sevenoaks are now using electric bikes to patrol the Kent town’s streets. Sevenoaks District Council has bought two electric bicycles in order to help the CEOs cover greater distances and negotiate hills. The council said the e-bikes will be more efficient and help reduce its carbon footprint by reducing the need to use diesel-engined vans. Normal 0

PARK(ing) Day is an annual event that sees cities around the world convert parking bays into ‘Parklets’, temporary spaces where people can sit, talk, read books, listen to music and play games. This year’s event took place on 16 September, with an estimated 1,000 parklets being created in around 35 countries. PARK(ing) Day was launched in 2005 in San Francisco by an art and design collective called Rebar. Their original intention was to take over a parking bay for a couple of

Parking pay stations are set to have a whole new lease of life, transformed from single function machines into smart terminals that offer a range of public services. Alongside taking payment for parking, the next generation of terminals will enable people to rent bikes, charge their electric cars and even monitor the quality of the air they breathe. This is the vision of Bertrand Barthélemy, chief executive of parking and transport solution provider Parkeon. He envisages the company&rsqu

Motorists are more concerned about parking availability and cost than 12 months ago, according to the RAC. The motoring organisation’s annual report is based on the views of a representative sample of 1,700 drivers from across the UK. The research reveals that the availability of parking has become a greater concern in 2016: 14% of motorists say this is one of their top four concerns this year, compared with 8% in 2015. Around 18% of motorists also say the cost of parking is now

The New Motion, a European electric vehicle (EV) charging network, has been launched in the UK. Headquartered in Amsterdam, over the past seven years company has built a network of 30,000 charge points in the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland. The network is used by 75,000 charge card holders. The company has now set up charging stations at various locations in London, Birmingham and Manchester, and is planning to expand across the UK over the next 12 m

Airports are like small cities, providing thousands of jobs and opportunities for business to thrive. With over 400 organisations working out of Heathrow and a combined total of 76,000 airport colleagues who work across three shift patterns over a 24-hour period, a substantial amount of transport is needed to service them. To dissuade airport colleagues from travelling to the airport by single occupancy car, and to engage with carbon reduction issues more generally, Heathrow has a sustainable tr

Stephen Rennie, a specialist in low carbon and sustainable transport, has joined electric vehicle (EV) charge point supplier Evolt as business development manager for Scotland. Rennie has spent his career working in the low carbon industry, including eight years with the Energy Saving Trust (EST), where he managed the delivery of grant-funded schemes for the installation of EV charge points. As EST programme manager, during 2014-15 he oversaw the delivery of 16 low carbon transport programmes,

There are myriad reasons why it is a bad idea to turn front gardens into drives, believes Rob Cowan Front gardens help to make towns and cities worth living in. They can make walking a pleasure, promote sociability, contribute to biodiversity, reduce the danger of flooding and make streets safer. But too many are neglected, contributing nothing to the quality of the place. Every year thousands of front gardens are paved over.  Front gardens have more impact on the face of residential area

Chargemaster has taken over responsibility for operating and maintaining all 124 electric vehicle (EV) charging points at Q-Park’s London facilities. The charging points became part of Chargemaster’s POLAR public charging network on 1 August. The POLAR network is comprised of more than 4,000 charging points across the UK. Chargemaster plans to install additional charging points at the Q-Park sites over the coming months.

Parking operations consume a lot of energy. Car parks need to be lit to make customers feel safe. Enforcement patrol vehicles need fuel. Back office computer systems consume power and their processes generate a lot of paper. In the parking sector many organisations are seeking to mitigate or reduce their environmental impact and carbon footprint.  Car park decks now feature solar panels and wind turbines, while energy saving systems manage lighting on their internal decks. Pay stations wil

APCOA Parking Group is set to offer 200 new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across Germany before extending the network across other European markets. The parking company is working in partnership The New Motion, a leading provider of intelligent charging solutions. Some 100 EV charge points are already in operation at 35 APCOA sites across Germany and by the end of the year there will be around 200 EV charge points at 100 sites. “APCOA has set itself the task of

Electric vehicle charging company Ecotricity has introduced a £6 fee for a 30-minute recharge at its stations across the country. The company’s Electric Highway network was launched five years ago and now features 296 charging points – almost all of which are at motorway service areas. Ecotricity says the Electric Highway’s 40,000 members will need to download a new mobile phone app to make payments. The app will also provide of a ‘live feed’ of the entire ne

Electric vehicle (EV) charge points have been installed on the Western Scotland mainland and the Isle of Mull by Argyll & Bute Council. The network of nine chargers form the council’s first publicly available EV charging infrastructure. The Evolt chargers have been funded by Transport Scotland through a government-led initiative that helps to promote the use of EVs in Scotland. Evolt has established a footprint in Scotland, providing more than 1,100 charge points for 24 local authorit

Milton Keynes is making 15,000 free parking spaces available for electric vehicles. Electric vehicle drivers can now park for free in commuter and charging spaces with a new ‘green parking permit’. The scheme is the first in a series of nationwide initiatives designed to increase the uptake of electric vehicles. Transport minister Andrew Jones visited the Buckinghamshire town today to see how £9m of government funding for electric cars is has been used. In January, Milton Key

The success of the Leave campaign in the referendum on European Union (EU) membership will have an impact on almost every aspect of life in Britain. The constitutional, political, economic, social, cultural and personal consequences of Brexit will be far-reaching. Central government and national assemblies, local authorities, businesses, academic institutions and individuals are all currently trying to digest what exiting the EU will mean for them. The parking sector will be affected across the

Plans by Somerset County Council to charge staff for parking permits could be a way of driving some workers out of their jobs, argues the union Unite. From September there will be a £250 annual charge for staff parking at the County Hall campus in Taunton. In a report on its workplace parking plans, the council states: “Due to the additional financial cost some employees may consider looking for employment outside of Somerset County Council. Additional financial cost may have a slig

Workplace parking levies and other innovative financial mechanisms could raise millions for public transport, suggests the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT). The campaign is urging the government to consider broadening the ways in which public transport is financed in the UK, and believes it could learn from innovative schemes like Nottingham’s workplace parking levy (WPL). Research commissioned as part of Campaign for Better Transport’s new thought leadership programme, called Tr

Economists see the world rather differently from other people. So, while the majority probably believe free parking is a good thing, as an economist I know it is not – except of course when I’m driving, in which case free parking is an excellent idea! Few, if any, of us like to pay for parking. The writers of the sitcom Seinfeld made this point in a very male orientated way. George Costanza to Elaine Benes: “My father didn’t pay for parking, my mother, my brother, nobod

Cumbria County Council has launched a series of charging points for electric vehicles across the county. Nine sites were made available to residents, visitors and businesses in April. The charge points are located in Carlisle, Kendal, Workington, Whitehaven, Keswick, Ulverston, Kirkby Stephen, Kirkby Lonsdale and Ambleside. The county council, South Lakeland District, Copeland Borough and Allerdale Borough council have provided sites for charge points within car parks and parking areas, while t

Big data, mobile communications and social media will change both the automobile and the way in which we use them in the 21st Century, says a new report published by the British Parking Association (BPA). 20:20: Our vision for the future of parking summaries research commissioned by the BPA to explore the future of parking and intelligent mobility. The BPA intends the document to

Parking and property experts from across Europe will meet in London on 12 May to discuss the changing relationship between motorists, their vehicles, and how they park. The annual Parking & Property event will also explore how retailers and shopping centre owners are making parking facilities a positive part of the shopping experience by creating more attractive facilities and using parking as part of their marketing and loyalty programmes. Over the past six years Parking & Property ha

National Car Parks is embarking on a second phase of upgrading lighting across its estate, replacing existing fittings with energy efficient light-emitting diode (LED) fittings at around 110 sites. The project sees around 7,500 light-emitting diode (LED) fittings at multi-storey car parks, roof decks and surface car parks. Phase one of the project involved retro-fitting 149 multi-storey car parks with LED fittings during 2014. Both phases were undertaken at no capital cost to NCP via a deal ar

The University of York has adopted a virtual permit solution for all departmental visitor parking on its 500-acre parkland campus. This is the latest example of the higher education establishment seeking to manage its parking in a greener and more efficient manner. The virtual permits replace a paper-based system that was not only costly to run and difficult to administer but also caused delays and frustration for visitors. The university has over 30 academic and research departments, more than

A pair of parking marshals have been tasked with focussing on engine idling across Westminster as part of an air quality initiative. The initiative is designed to deter drivers parking with their engines running, which are a source of emissions in London.  In May 2015 Westminster City Council introduced new rules to combat engine idling, giving parking marshals the power to speak to drivers and issue £20 fixed penalty notices. Over the last year over 1,500 drivers have been approache

A report on the role of car clubs in low-car and car-free developments has been launched by Carplus, the national body that promotes accessible shared transport including car clubs, shared bikes and car sharing.  The report, written by Carplus in collaboration with the University of the West of England (Centre for Transport and Society), draws on ten years’ experience of car clubs in new developments. It sets out how car clubs in new developments can work to reduce parking requiremen

Parking and property experts from across Europe will meet in London on 12 May to discuss the changing relationship between drivers and their vehicles in the era of online commerce, connected cars and Intelligent Mobility. The annual Parking & Property event will also explore how retailers are making parking a positive part of the shopping experience. The day’s content has been developed by Nigel Williams, managing director of Parking Matters, and Mark Moran, editor of Parkin

Kelvin Reynolds, director of policy & public affairs at the British Parking Association (BPA) is a true ‘parking guru’. He has had a 40-year career as a traffic engineer and planner, with 25 years in the public sector, which started in 1970 in urban traffic control in central London before becoming parking services manager at the City of London in the 1980s and ’90s. This was followed by a post as Transport and Infrastructure Manager at Bluewater, Europe’s largest ret

The Building Research Establishment (BRE) has published a good practice guide for solar car parks. The guidance shows how car park owners can maximize the economic and environmental performance of their assets by deploying PV technologies. Jonny Williams, director of the BRE National Solar Centre Jonny Williams said: “Solar carports are an excellent way of improving the car-parking experience, whilst also generating clean electricity. With over 17,000 car parks in th

The best of British parking was celebrated today when comedian Hal Cruttenden revealed the winners of the 15th British Parking Awards at the Lancaster London Hotel. Over 500 people from across the worlds of car park design, construction, management and technology attended the event. The awards showcased excellence in the design of parking facilities, exceptional customer service and innovative thinking. This year projects that deliver real benefit to local communities made a particular impa

Calls to improve efficiencies, reduce costs and minimise risks continue to resonate through town halls across the country. This has speeded up the inexorable move towards the digitisation of public services. Increased automation and new self-serve capabilities are developments that are saving money on the one hand and improving service accessibility and performance on the other. However, besides changing the way the public interacts with local government services, digitisation generates data &n

Two companies working in the field of architectural textiles have merged with the aim of producing lightweight fabric structures and carports to generate clean solar energy. Solar Cloth Company (SCC) has merged with Base Structures (BASE). The two companies will continue to trade under their respective names. SCC designs lightweight copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar technology to non-load bearing roofs. BASE designs, manufactures and installs fabric structures including the ‘Up

There are times, when stuck in a queue at a car park or circling the streets of a town centre on a busy shopping day, that most drivers probably feel there are more cars than parking spaces. In China, that equation seems to be reality. In 2014, over 154 million private cars were registered in China, but the number of available official parking spaces was less than 100 million. According to international standards, approximately 1.4 parking spaces should be allocated to every one car.  In

Liverpool City Region (LCR) has completed the installation of 28 of electric vehicle (EV) charge points. They constitute the first phase of Recharge, the combined authority’s scheme to encourage the public and the local authorities to simultaneously decrease their carbon footprints. Merseytravel, the executive body that provides professional, strategic and operational transport advice to the LCR is responsible for coordinating Recharge bids and projects. 

The finalists of the British Parking Awards 2016 have been revealed by Parking Review magazine, which has organised the competition since 2002.  To see the list click here The winners will be revealed by the actor and comedian Hal Cruttenden at a gala lunch to be held at the Lancaster London London on Friday 4 March. The finalists come from across the public and private parking sectors, and encompass on-street and off-street parking operations. Besides the competitive categories, there

Over 80 entries are competing in the British Parking Awards 2016, the annual competition organised by Parking Review magazine.  The entries come from across the public and private parking sectors, and encompasses on-street and off-street parking operations. The competition has categories devoted to the built environment and parking technology, but also recognises achievements by individuals and teams working in parking. Besides the competitive categories, there will be special awards suc

A new type of ‘micro park’ called ParkedBench has replaced two parking bays on Tooley Street in the London Bridge area. ParkedBench was created by designers WMB Studio, after it won the Fresh Air Squares competition to deliver parklets in the London Bridge and Vauxhall areas. The competition was run by Team London Bridge, a not-for-profit company that manages the London Bridge Business Improvement District (BID), and was supported by Transport for London's Future Streets Incubator Fu

Elm Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions is using a new test technology for fault finding on charging points. Elm EV is an independent electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) company that has been responsible for over 2,000 charging point installations for private and public sector clients throughout the UK. Its clients include many large employers and healthcare organisations. As well as installing and commissioning new EV charging equipment, Elm EV operates a team of engineers that provi

Myles Barker has joined Evolt, a supplier of electric vehicle (EV) charge point manufacturer, as business development manager. Evolt is part of APT Controls and distributes EV systems produced by Circontrol. Barker will be working with government funding schemes to help councils and private sector businesses to buy, install and maintain new EV charging equipment. He was previously Cenex, the centre of excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technologies, where he was the techni

The British Parking Awards shine a spotlight on the most imaginative, inspiring and innovative projects, people and ideas in the parking sector. The awards were launched by Parking Review magazine in 2002 with the aim of recognising the best examples of car park management, enforcement, design and teamwork. Since then they have gone on to become the most sought after accolades in the sector, with over 100 enrries being received on average every year. The deadline for entries to the 2016 awards

The conversion of front gardens into parking is a major contributor to the increasing risk of flooding, warns a draft drainage plan for London. The capital may be at risk from major flooding by 2050 without a radical changes to its sustainable drainage system to support over-capacity sewers, says the first ever London Sustainable Drainage Action Plan, which is now open for consultation. Around 17% of permeable ground surface in London has been lost over the last 40 years, largely due to the tre

Courtyards and car parks at Aberdeen’s new International Business Park are designed to help protect the water quality of the River Dee, a well-known salmon river. The business park, which is being built next to Aberdeen International Airport, features a Sustainable Drainage (SuDS) scheme that employs filtration and bioretention technologies to meet planning and pollutant removal criteria required by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). Project consultants Mott MacDon

Two multi-storey car parks belonging to Exeter City Council now feature solar panels mounted on ‘carports’ on their roofs. The solar carports on the Mary Arches and John Lewis car parks became operational at the end of October. The initiative was delivered by Devon firm Sungift Energy (PR September). Rachel Sutton, Exeter’s lead councillor for city development, said: “It’s great that Exeter is leading the way in green technology. The solar panels will provide a gr

In towns and cities all around the world on Friday 18 September people gathered to talk, read, eat, drink and play music. They did this in thousands of parking bays that were converted into mini urban green spaces as part of PARK(ing) Day. PARK(ing) Day is an annual event which sees cities around the world convert parking bays into ‘Parklets’, small urban parks that become places where people can sit, talk, read books, listen to music and play games. This year’s event marked

At a time when the government is cutting spending on the Welfare State, it is hard to argue for free car parking at NHS hospitals as this would inevitably have a knock-on impact on revenue streams and, in turn, the subsequent investment they can make in healthcare provision. This is not, however, a licence to charge patients, visitors, staff and contractors unreasonable sums for parking in hospital car parks. The government has made this clear by issuing guidance notes for parking at NHS hospita

A car park has opened in Nottingham that uses a new flexible form of solar panel technology developed by the Solar Cloth Company. The 67kWp system consists of 448 panels on a carport covering 40 bays.  Nottingham City Council is using the Power Parking system at the Harvey Hadden Sports Village, which has undergone a £16m redevelopment.  The solar energy system at the leisure and sports complex will produce 50MWh/year, saving 493 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year – equival

The relationship between the car and the city very much at the heart of this year’s Parking World event, which takes place at the KIA Oval. Over the past 11 years the annual conference and exhibition, programmed by the Parking Review team, has taken a wide-ranging and thought-provoking approach that recognises parking is variously a key transport policy and traffic management tool, a public service and a business activity. Parking World is the backbone of a major ‘Intelligent City M

A multi-storey car park featuring a green wall has been built at National Grid’s Warwick headquarters. The 330-space staff parking facility at Warwick Technology Park features a wall covered with greenery.  The green wall is intended to help the National Grid achieve its sustainability goals by improving the surrounding atmosphere by absorbing carbon dioxide, filtering out pollutants from water run-off and providing a habitat for wildlife. The car park was designed by architects One

The UK’s first San Francisco-style ‘parklet’ has been installed in the London Borough of Hackney. The parklet has been installed on a former loading bay in Pitfield Street to create a space where people can park their bikes and sit and relax. Measuring 8m by 2.6m, the space offers three Sheffield bike stands and a decking area with benches and planters of grasses and herbs. Solar-powered lighting is installed in the floor for safety. The idea borrows from successful experiment

Taxi drivers in the historic Hertfordshire city of St Albans now have dedicated use a rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging point. The EV charger has been funded by local taxi firm Electric Blue in conjunction with St Albans District Council. Electric Blue is also giving its 300-plus taxi drivers the ability to trial an EV before making the full-time switch Alex Calnan, managing dire

The London Borough of Hackney has installed rapid charging posts for electric vehicles on-street in Shoreditch, Dalston and Hackney Central. The power points has a claimed charging time of under 15 minutes. Feryal Demirci, Hackney Council’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods and sustainability, said: “The council is committed to improving air quality in the borough, including supporting the development of electric vehicles both locally and across London. “We hope this network

NCP is sponsoring a project that turns the centre of Manchester into a garden during the summer. The parking operator has partnered with CityCo and Manchester Business Improvement District to back the annual Dig the City festival, which starts on 31 July. Dig the City will see the centre of Manchester burst into bloom for seven days as 30 show gardens and installations spring up across the retail centre.  This year’s theme is “Interact and Innovate”. In previous years

Comedies filmed in cars are an interesting sub-genre on British TV. A classic episode of One Foot in the Grave, ‘Beast in the Cage’, saw the famously grumpy old man stuck in his Honda with his ever suffering wife and Mrs Warboys. The series Marion and Geoff was filmed entirely within a car, focussed on the musings of taxi driver Keith Barret, played by Rob Brydon. This series was produced by Steve Coogan, who teamed up with Brydon for The Trip, in which the comedians play versions o

Transport for London has announced plans to encourage one million people to sign up for car clubs across the capital by 2025. The strategy aims to grow car clubs into a mainstream alternative to the private car for essential car journeys in London, helping address challenges such as population growth, congestion and environmental issues. The Car Club Strategy for London was drawn up by TfL, London Councils, the Greater London Authority (GLA), Carplus the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Assoc

An amateur gardener has seen his idea for a front garden design that combines plantings with a parking space created at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. Nurse Sean Murray took top prize in BBC2’s The Great Chelsea Garden Challenge. His idea ties in with a campaign by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to showcase ways to incorporate plants, flowers and grass alongside cars in front gardens.  RHS estimates that more than seven million front gardens in the UK contain concrete

The enforcement of parking on private land, the ‘Sharing Economy’, ‘Connected Cars’ the benchmarking of accessible parking bays and Life Care Plans are just some of the many themes being discussed at Parking & Property 2015.  The annual conference is the only UK event focussed purely on the off-street parking sector. The event is programmed by Mark Moran, editor of Parking Review, and Nigel Williams, managing director of the Parking Matters consultancy. A centr

‘Door-to-door’ transport schemes that promote walking to school, car clubs and electric bike hire have been awarded £3.9m by the Department for Transport (DfT).  Charity Living Streets will get £1m to continue its campaign to increase the number of 5 to 10-year-olds who walk to school. For the past three years the campaign has been supported by the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), but this ends in April. Living Streets said it has so far worked with 854 prim

The enforcement of parking on private land, the ‘Sharing Economy’, ‘Connected Cars’ the benchmarking of accessible parking bays and Life Care Plans are just some of the many themes being discussed at Parking & Property 2015.  The annual conference is the only UK event focussed purely on the off-street parking sector. The event is programmed by Mark Moran, editor of Parking Review, and Nigel Williams, managing director of the Parking Matters consultancy. A centr

Portsmouth Park & Ride acts as a gateway to the city, and as means of reducing congestion. The 663-space surface facility opened on 5 April 2014 and operates seven days a week. The P&R has exceeded usage estimates and saw 77,000 cars park there in the first eight months. The site is situated directly off Junction 1 of the M275 to the north of the western corridor into Portsmouth, one of only three roads into the city. The P&R serves The Hard Interchange, which is the stop for Gunwha

Two projects that seek to educate parents on how to park in a considerate manner around schools were among the winners of the British Parking Awards 2015. The South East Parking Group and Kent County Council received a Special Jury Prize for its Safer Parking Project, while Cambridgeshire County Council Road Safety won the Parking in the Community Award. Both initiatives have engaged directly with school children, teachers and parents in a bid to reduce the risk posed by dangerous parking. Oth

Siemens has won contracts to supply rapid charging systems to two electric vehicle (EV) charging networks run by Charge Your Car (CYC), one in the south and one in the north of England. Launched in 2010 in the North East of England, CYC is now being expanded in to a national network. The network has over 2,000 free-to-use or pay-to-use charge points. The latest deal will see almost 40 Siemens multi-standard EV chargers will be installed in South Tyneside and Dorset over the coming months. They

Innovative thinking and a commitment to best practice are very much in evidence in the 100-plus entries we have received for this year’s British Parking Awards. The challenge facing the jury over the next two months will be whittling down this impressive list of entries into a short list which will be debated at length. The winners, to be revealed by Paralympian and TV presenter Ade Adepitan in London on 6 March, will represent the best of the best in British parking today. Now

Harry Clarke has for many years been a familiar face within the parking sector spreading the word about the myriad benefits of phone parking payment technology. Since setting up Cobalt Telephone Technologies nearly 20 years ago, he has ensured that the firm’s RingGo phone payment service has kept pace with the evolving smartphone market. In 2012 the firm was acquired by Netherlands-based Parkmobile Group, with the two phone parking brands being operated in parallel in the UK, under a data

When it appeared 25 years ago, the first edition of Parking Review stated the new title would be a quarterly, but I must admit that back in late 1989 it was not certain that the theme of parking cars would sustain a regular publication. But the reaction to issue 1 was so positive that issue 2 appeared in January 1990 and the magazine was soon established as a bi-monthly, then ten times year, and, before long it was a monthly. Things did not stop there. As early as 1990 we produced a supplement

Parking World 2014 covered a great deal of territory. The tenth Parking Review autumn conference presented delegates with a programme that encompassed themes affecting both on-street and off-street operations and the private and public sectors, including sessions on customer service, the economics of parking and rethinking parking as urban space.  The day commenced with an impassioned talk on the importance of putting people at the heart of parking operations by Jill Fraser, chief executiv

Robot cars, smartphone apps and trend analysis software will all be discussed at Parking World this month. However, the human side of parking will also be very evident at Parking Review’s annual conference, with discussions of how to make hospital parking less stressful and how to influence parents in order to make the school run safer. This is the tenth annual autumn event run by Parking Review, whose editor Mark Moran has programmed the conference. The event offers plenty of scope to ne

A collection of studies and essays on parking policy from around the world has been published. Parking: Issues and Policies is part of the Transport and Sustainability series published by Emerald. The hardback is co-edited by Prof. Stephen Ison, of the UK’s Transport Studies Group at Loughborough University, and Corinne Mulley, of Australia’s Institute of Transport and Logistics at the University of Sydney Business School. The book includes US academic Donald Shoup (University of C

Ways in which parking is becoming smarter and better connected will be key themes at Parking World, with self-driving cars and the shared economy among the topics to be discussed. This is the tenth annual autumn event run by Parking Review, whose editor Mark Moran has programmed the conference. The event offers plenty of scope to network over coffee and lunch in the exhibition. The day will conclude with a drinks reception to mark the 25th anniversary of Parking Review, which was launched in Nov

Inspirational and inventive people working in parking will be recognised in the British Parking Awards 2015, which are launched this month. The annual competition, which has been run by Parking Review magazine since 2002, sees a set of new categories covering parking in the community and sustainability added to classic ones for car park structures, teams and customer service. To enter the British Parking Awards click here The awards recognise excellence in the design, management and deliv

Ways in which parking is becoming smarter and better connected will be key themes at Parking World, with themes such as a self-driving cars and shared economy being discussed. This is the tenth annual autumn conference run by Parking Review, which is also celebrating its silver jubilee year. The event offers plenty of scope to network over coffee and lunch in the exhibition. The day will conclude with a drinks reception to mark the 25th anniversary of Parking Review, which was launche

The Spanish capital Madrid has started making drivers of cars that pollute pay more to park. The city hopes to reduce air pollution and congested levels by encouraging drivers of the worst offending vehicles to switch to public transport.  Since 1 July, the price a motorist pays to park has been based on a scale related to the car’s engine type and the year of its manufacture. Electric cars park for free, hybrids pay 20% less to park, while diesel-engined cars built before 2001 face

Think of Texas and what do you get? Big cities, big cars, big freeways, big skies. And the same is true of parking events, as was shown at the annual conference and exhibition of the International Parking Institute, which took place this year in Dallas last month. Texas is a big state in the USA, which is a big country. The event was not totally insular, though to a certain extent ‘international’ is used in the USA as soon as you get Canada involved. More than 2,500 visitors and 255

The Queensgate shopping centre in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, has launched six new electric vehicle (EV) charging points in its Green car park. The city centre mall has over 90 leading retail stores and parking for 2,300 vehicles. It has adopted Evolt Multipoint charging points, supplied and installed by APT Technologies. These fast charging units will enable shoppers with EVs to recharge the vehicles while they shop. Carol Wakelin, environmental coordinator at Queensgate, said: “We hop

The British Parking Awards 2014 are now live. Entries are being accepted for the annual competition, which has been organised by Parking Review magazine since 2002. The competition includes new categories that recognise the achievements of the British parking sector on the international stage and also the world of cycling. The deadine for entries is 18 December. “The awards recognise and celebrate both innovation and best practice across the on-street and off-street parking worlds,&rdquo

The increasing levels of connectivity between the car and urban parking spaces will be a key theme of the Parking World 2013 conference, which takes place in London on Wednesday 13 November. The annual Parking Review event, which is sponsored by Zenco Systems, will also explore issues such as how local authorities are balancing the public service and commercial aspects of running a parking operation. The event will be supported by a major exhibition and is co-located with two seminars – C

The increasing levels of connectivity between the car and urban parking spaces will be a key theme of the 9th Parking World conference, which takes place in London on Wednesday 13 November. The annual Parking Review event, which is sponsored by Zenco Systems, will also explore issues such as how local authorities are balancing the public service and commercial aspects of running a parking operation. There will also be expert discussions of the latest developments in parking and moving traffic e

London is the city which parking professionals from around the world regard as a trendsetter in the management of parking. This was one of the findings of a survey conducted by a network of regional and national parking associations and revealed at the European Parking Congress last month. The Global Parking Association Leaders (GPALs) is a network for parking association leaders from around the world, which was established by the USA’s International Parking Institute in 2012. The GPALs S

Most electric vehicle charging points in Bristol are unused, the city council has revealed in response. During the last six months of 2012, the charge points were used just 14 times, the council said in response to a BBC Freedom of Information  enquiry. Bristol City Council has installed 36 charge points in 12 car parks at a cost of £100,000. The figures show the total number of hours used was equivalent to 39 hours per person. Drivers using the charge points pay the normal parki

Ample cycle parking must be provided in residential areas and key destinations such as schools, workplaces, town centres and public transport interchanges to encourage more people to ride bikes. This was one of the  findings of a cross-party inquiry into cycling, which heard evidence from a range of witnesses from the private and public sectors. The inquiry, held by the All-Party Parliamentary Cycling Group, found that cycle parking should take account of the differing needs of short and

The Olympic Games and a match-day car park used by fans of both Liverpool and Everton were among the winners at the British Parking Awards, which were announced in London on Friday 8 March. The competition, which is now in its 12th year, is organised by Parking Review and Landor LINKS to recognise and celebrate the best in parking management, design and innovation. The Olympic legacy was in evidence during the ceremony, as LOCOG Transport won the Partnership Award for its work to ensure that p

A project to improve cycle parking facilities at Britain’s busiest rail station, London Waterloo, resulted in the capacity of cycle parking more than doubling from 212 to 532 spaces without increasing the footprint of the facility. This was achieved by using Streetsure’s Double Decker bike parking system. Streetsure was appointed by Osborne Rail to carry out the upgrade of London Waterloo’s cycle parking facilities. Ken Minta, quantity surveyor at Osborne Rail, said: “We

The government has pledged to pay 75% of the cost of installing electric vehicle (EV) charging points’ on-street, in rail station car parks and at home. People installing charge points where they live, or local authorities installing rapid higher charge points for longer journeys can also claim from the £37m funding package. The funding also covers the provision of on-street charging on request from residents who have EVs, and train operators installing new charge points at railway

The replacement of (HPS) lighting with a new system at a Glasgow car park has halved the energy bill, according to Bradstone Lighting. The firm installed Venture Lighting’s Rio range of units at Glasgow Airport Business Park. The Cirrus Building, owned by Capita Symons, originally had HPS lighting units at its car park, which had to be upgraded and maintained regularly by the building management company ECG Facilities. With running costs constantly increasing the firm sought more economic

Work has started on a new car park and welcome centre at Westonbirt Arboretum, near Tetbury, in Gloucestershire. The first phase of the development also involves restoration of the Grade I listed landscape, which is currently used for visitor parking. The new car park was designed by architect Roger Worthington, senior landscape architect for the Forestry Commission (FC) England, and FC engineers. The new car park will triple the number of parking bays at Westonbirt to over 400, with an additio

Funding of £11m to encourage people to change to electric vehicles (EVs) from fossil fuels has benefitted only a “handful of motorists”, according to a House of Commons report. The Transport Select Committee report questioned whether this represented a good use of public money, saying that the scheme was “in danger of being used to subsidise second cars from more affluent households instead”. The committee also voices concern about the Government’s nation

Car parks can be good for the environment. This is not a joke. This issue showcases some of the latest green thinking being applied to the planning, building and operation of car parking facilities. The car is a major source of pollution, but it is possible to mitigate their impact on urban areas through the creation of park & rides, the provision of cycle stands and, increasingly, re-charging points for the new generation of electric vehicles. We are already seeing ideas such as ‘low-emis

Parking policy is the driving force in tackling traffic and pollution problems in Brighton & Hove, making the city a better place to visit and live in, according to Ian Davey. As chair of the city’s transport committee on the city’s Green-led council, Davey feels that parking policy can help change driver behaviour. “The high numbers of vehicles on our roads, being driven around in the search for somewhere to park or on their way to a parking place, affects the quality of

Brighton & Hove is the UK’s only Green local government administration, so it should come as no surprise that its parking policy is firmly geared towards cutting car traffic levels and encouraging use of other modes of transport. The city’s parking operation sits within the transport department, which takes a coordinated approach to all traffic-related matters. Austen Hunter, head of transport operations, explains: “It would be quite easy for us to operate within our own c

The privately-owned DC charging point in Retford, Nottinghamshire, will be able to charge an EV in half-an-hour. The privately-owned DC charging point in Retford will be able to charge an EV in half an hour The UK’s first privately-owned direct current (DC) rapid-charging station for electric vehicles was opened by transport minister Norman Baker. The publicly-available station has been installed at the headquarters of family-run printing company RCS in Retford, five miles from the A1.

Blackpool Council is replacing its stock of off-street pay & display machines with solar-powered terminals that accept Chip & PIN credit/debit cards as well as coin payments. The new Parkeon Strada machines are also equipped with contactless card readers, anticipating the introduction of contactless payment-enabled mobile phones and the continuing roll-out of ‘wave & pay’ bank cards. “We chose Parkeon’s Stradas because they are sturdy, very reliable and easy

APT Technologies, which supplies the Evolt range of electric vehicle (EV) charging systems, is launching a ‘pay-as-you-go’ network designed to simplify the on-the-move charging experience for drivers of electrical vehicles. To meet the need for publicly available charging points away from home or work, Evolt has joined forces with electronic money provider sQuid enabling drivers to access charging facilities and pay for charging in much the same way as one would refuel at a petrol s

Electric vehicles at Gatwick Airport APCOA Parking (UK) APCOA Gatwick uses a number of different operational vehicles. These range in size and type from a Citroen Nemo van to a Mercedes Vito minibus. Chris Pullen, managing director of APCOA Parking (UK) says: “It was identified that with the cost of fuel increasing, and the impact these vehicles were having on the environment, there needed to be an investigation into viable alternatives that would decrease our fuel costs and lower our em

Solar panel arrays that provide power and generate an income via feed-in tariffs have been installed on the roof of a multi-storey car park in Leeds. What is claimed to be the UK’s largest solar panel system has been created on top of the Clarence Dock car park, adjacent to the Royal Armouries, operated by Town Centre Car Parks (TCCP). The solar photovoltaic (PV) system supplies around 15% of the car park’s electricity and helps recoup investment costs via Feed-in Tariffs for power

The striking image of a man in black suit racing between solar panels is not a scene from the next James Bond movie. It shows Ben Ziff, managing director of Town Centre Car Parks, running through a field of solar panels harvesting energy on the roof of the Clarence Dock car park in Leeds. This impressive installation is one of the biggest urban solar energy projects in the UK. The idea of using often under-utilised roof-top decks of multi-storey car parks to generate power is an intriguing one w

APT Technologies has launched a fast-acting charging system for electric vehicles (EVs). The compact Evolt Ultra station resembles a traditional petrol pump. It is designed to be easy to install and use, featuring a touch-screen interface for drivers. The Evolt Ultra is a 50kW DC charging system that, APT claims, can fuel an electric vehicle in just 15 minutes, overcoming one of the principal barriers to the wider up-take of EVs. Justin Meyer of APT Technologies said: “Research shows tha

Electric vehicle charging point supplier Chargemaster has announced that it is planning to float up to 33% of the company on the London stock market early next year, raising £25m to fund expansion in the UK and in Europe. Speaking at the formal launch of its POLAR network of 4,000 privately-funded charging points, company founder and chief executive David Martell said: “We believe it could be a £1bn business.” Chargemaster is investing £10m in establishing the PO

A pilot electric car hire scheme has launched in Paris. The Autolib scheme initially sees 66 of the four seat electric hatchbacks for hire on a pick up and drop off at 33 charging stations in central Paris. The two-month pilot will operates like the self-service Velib scheme, and becomes fully operational in December. The electric car hire scheme is the brainchild of French entrepreneur Vincent Bollore, whose company is behind the development, which has cost more than 1bn Euros to develop a mor

The British Parking Awards 2012 are now open to entries. The annual competition is organised by Parking Review. Sponsored by debt recovery specialist Equita, this is the eleventh year that the awards have taken place. They are once again supported by the British Parking Association (BPA). This year’s categories seek to recognise the best in parking management, design and enforcement, spanning both the public and private sectors. Alongside the regular categories for new and refurbished c

There are about 150,000 rail parking spaces across Britain. These generate annual revenues of about £130m. A significant sum, but small within the context of total rail “farebox” revenue of around £7bn.  It is worth noting that about 50% of rail parking spaces are currently free. Most UK rail stations do not depend on parking. In fact, only 2% have more than 500 spaces. As might be expected, most people walk to the station (41%). Only 12% of rail users park at stati

Parking is an essential service in towns, cities, at airports, shopping centres, rail stations, business parks, hospitals, universities and schools. The car dependent nature of our society means that, without parking, these destinations and many others would cease to function. And without well-run parking, most destinations would not function very well. Parking is the service that enables visitors, staff, delivery vehicles and the emergency services to gain access to their destinations, be it s

The winner of the Best New Car Park category at the European Parking Awards was the Stockmann Q-Park in Helsinki, Finland. The structure was lauded for its innovative and sustainable solution as well as its unusual architectural structure. Stockmann is the oldest department store in Helsinki and is therefore a true landmark in Finland’s capital city. The Stockmann Q-Park, built 40 metres under the department store, was created as part of Helsinki’s underground master plan which inc

A £7.9m multi-storey car park has been opened at Lister Hospital in Stevenage, part of the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust. The new 667-space multi-storey gets 10% of its energy from renewable sources. The car park features a silent wind turbine and photo voltaic solar panels that together generate renewable electricity for the car park. It also features recharging points for electric vehicles and a secure area for parking bicycles. The exterior of the car park is a ‘green&r

Parking Review’s annual parking management conference and exhibition will take place at Chelsea FC on Tuesday 29 November under the banner Parking World 2011. Parking World 2011 will again provide a forum for public and private sector parking specialists working in both the on-street and off-street arenas. The event comprises a conference, parallel seminar streams, exhibition and a networking reception. The launch of Parking World marks the next step in the convention’s aim to br

What is claimed by its developer to be the world’s first national charging network at motorway service stations has been launched in the UK by renewable energy provider Ecotricity. The first ‘top-up zone’ will be installed at Welcome Break’s South Mimms services at the junction of the M1 and the M25. It is the first phase of a network that will initially cover 12 motorway service stations, which will be completed by September, Ecotricity says. The plan envisages all 27

Blackpool’s famous Pleasure Beach now has charging points for electric vehicles (EVs). The E-Volt charging points were installed by APT Technologies in the Pleasure Beach’s main car park and the Big Blue Hotel. A wall-mounted charging point with a dual outlet has been located in the Pleasure Beach car park while a post-style charging point has been installed in the hotel’s car park. EV drivers activate the charging points with radio frequency (RFID) swipe cards loaned from th

Westminster City Council is seeking a private sector partner to fund the cost of electric vehicle charging in its area. The authority currently has 27 on-street charging points – more than any other borough in London. Access to the points is restricted to members of the council’s scheme, which currently has 255 members. Membership costs £75 a year and gives unlimited use of the charging points without any further fee. London mayor Boris Johnson wants to bring all the capital&r

Working in an energy efficient manner is now a common element of the business plans for many public and private sector organisations. It also appears that a growing number organisations, often generating tens of thousands of trips per day, are also treating the consumption of travel resources with the same diligence now commonplace for managing energy and related resource consumption. A decade or so ago I produced a paper for Sustrans called Access to Public Transport and gave presentations hi

Jeremy Evans, head of CCTV and telecommunications at Transport for London, has been elected chairman of intelligent transport systems association ITS United Kingdom. He takes over from Mike Schofield of transport consultant Atkins. Sharon Kindleysides of Kapsch has been elected vice-chair. ITS UK has just launched a series of free “ITS on Your Doorstep” events which enable systems practitioners to learn, share knowledge and network – without going far from their workplace. T

The best in North American car park design has been recognised by the International Parking Institute (IPI) at its annual awards, announced last month. The car parks which topped the two architectural categories both had strong environmental credentials. Chicago’s Greenway Self-Park, a fully automated multi-storey parking structure, won the Award of Excellence for car parks with fewer than 800 spaces. Designed by HOK International, working with architect Cubellis and engineer, Walker Pa

For all their apparent simplicity, multi-storey car parks are challenging structures to design and build well. Exposed to the elements, undergoing dramatic changes in static loads as they fill and then empty of cars and under attack from corrosive road salts, car parks have much in common with road bridges. There is no single manual for how to design a car park, but the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) Design recommendations for multi-storey and underground car parks acts as an ex

Gatwick Airport is working with car-maker Nissan to encourage the use of low emission cars across the airport. The tie-up coincides with the launch of eight public charging points located in the short stay car parks in both North and South Terminals. The facility will be available for motorists to use free-of-charge for the next 12 months. Electric vehicle drivers using the charging points will be able to park free for up to four hours. Four of the charge points are part of Transport for Londo

BAA Heathrow has completed the installation of electric charge points at its car parks as part of its collaboration with Transport for London (TfL) through the ‘Source London’ programme. Passengers owning electric cars can charge their vehicles at short-stay car parks serving Terminals 1,3,4 and 5. Each of the terminals is equipped with two charging points supplied by POD Point, enabling it to serve four spaces in each car park. The pods use a 13amp trickle-type connector with the p

APT Technologies is now marketing an electric vehicle (EV) charging station called the E-Volt in the UK following an agreement with Spanish company Circontrol. The E-Volt range spans charging stations for domestic, on-street and workplace uses. There is a rapid charge version. Chris Rowlands, marketing director of APT Technologies, says: “The UK government has put a lot of money behind the electric car market and we are beginning to see electric cars move into the mainstream in terms of

Parkeon has launched the integrated parking electric vehicle (EV) charging point developed in partnership with?energy management system specialist Schneider Electric. “There is an obvious synergy between parking and EV recharging,” says Danny?Hassett, Parkeon’s parking director UK. “Electric vehicles have to be recharged at regular intervals and, when away from home or the workplace, on and off-street parking facilities are the ideal locations.” The Parkeon-Schnei

Metric Parking unveiled its new electric vehicle (EV)?charging system at Parkex. The company has devised a way of linking its Aura payment terminal to the Chargingcentre unit developed by Welsh company Charging Solutions. The Chargingcentre can be pole-mounted, wall-mounted and used either indoors or outside. It can be deployed in either single and double (back-to-back) configurations. The charging module, which is enclosed in a polycarbonate housing, features a modular construction that enabl

Winchester opened its third park & ride site on 19 April 2010, located at Junction 11 of the M3. The site, known as South Winchester, was built to relieve the pressures on the two other park & ride sites, St Catherine’s and Barfield, located at East Winchester, off junction 10 of the M3. The park & ride concept itself is promoting a more environmental way of life, and a step forward for many people who would like to reduce their carbon footprint. Richard Hein, Winchester&rsquo

The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) has won a £3.6m government grant to help fund a network of electric vehicle charging points. Dave Goddard, leader of Stockport Council and chair of AGMA, said 300 EV points will have been installed by April 2013 by a new company established with partners. He said: “Early demand is likely to come from businesses which operate fleets. “Greater Manchester’s plans are for the ‘next generation’ technology.

A World Wildlife Fund United Kingdom (WWF-UK) report urges massive government and business investment in battery and electric charging infrastructure to enable Britain to cut oil demand by 80% and deliver a similar reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. David Norman, director of campaigns at WWF-UK, said: “Road transport accounts for 40% of petroleum products consumed in the UK so a switch from conventional cars powered by petrol or diesel to electric vehicles (EVs) would have a much nee

Car use and car ownership could be separated, suggests a report published by the RAC Foundation. Accessing Cars: Different ownership and use choices explores ideas such as car-sharing, car clubs and even shared parking bays. “Across the world, there is increasing interest in reducing car use and car dependency, in order to achieve a range of social and environmental objectives,” says report author Dr Sally Cairns. “At the same time, the widespread adoption of car ownership, li

Could British drivers be falling out of love with their cars? Or, to be more precise, could they be less than enamoured with the increasing cost of filling up their fuel tank? The only groan at the tenth British Parking Awards came when I compared the price of a litre of petrol today (£1.40 and rising) with that in 2002 (a modest 69.9p). The increasing cost of petrol and VAT may prove to be something of a fillip for car-sharing and car clubs. For example, car share scheme operator Liftsh

The British Parking Awards 2011 will mark a decade of celebrating excellence in the parking sector.  The short list for the British Parking Awards 2011 has been unveiled. The winners of the annual competition, organised by Parking Review and sponsored by Equita, will be revealed by Hugh Dennis, star of Outnumbered and Mock the Week, at the InterContinental, Park Lane, on Friday 11 March. The shortlisting process has involved all 80 entrants being assessed and discussed by a panel of judge

Upmarket TV presenter and adventurer Ben Fogle reports that he was almost issued a parking ticket when he was waiting at a junction. The problem seems to have been that the energy-saving car he was driving has a stop-start eco-engine which shuts down instead of idling. Fogle (below) wrote on Twitter: “It turned itself off at traffic lights and a warden threatened to ticket me as I was ‘parked’.” Hybrid, electric and similarly clever green cars are a growing presence on

More than 80 entries are vying for the top prizes in the British Parking Awards 2011, organised by Parking Review and sponsored by Equita. Over the past decade the annual awards have recognised the best in parking management, design and innovation. The field this year is one of the most competitive ever, reports Parking Review managing editor Mark Moran, who coordinates the competition. “When one considers the facilities being entered in New Car Park and Best Refurbishment categories, th

APT Technologies has won its first contract to provide electric vehicle (EV) charging point products at a multi-storey car park in the UK. The as yet undisclosed site in Glasgow features installations of the company’s E-Volt range on five levels of the multi-storey. The first four levels, which are all enclosed, will have wall-mounted charging points across four parking bays, one to each bay. On the fifth level, which is open to the elements, four single-outlet charging posts have been ch

Ministers have outlined plans to encourage motorists to switch to electric and hybrid-powered vehicles. The government launched car grants on the 3 January. Called the Plug-In Car Grant, as part of the Plugged-In Places Scheme, the subsidy reduces the cost of eligible vehicles by around a quarter, up to a maximum of £5,000. The government is also urging councils to promote electric vehicle charging points in new developments. Ministers have announced that charging points will be built

Car park operator NCP is to work with Transport for London (TfL) in an initiative called “Source London” to provide an electric vehicle-charging network for the capital. The initiative will commence in Spring 2011 it is designed to deliver 1,300 public charging points across London by 2013. NCP is to provide charge point locations for the network at NCP car parks. The aim is to install 120 NCP sourced charging points across the capital. Currently electric vehicle drivers have to re

Electric vehicle infrastructure provider POD Point is introducing a domestic fast-charging unit. The Pod Point Home is two-and-a-half times faster than the standard 13-amp trickle type home charging unit. The POD Point Home is designed for electrical vehicles (EVs) using 32-amp “Mode 3” fast charge technology. This makes it compatible with next generation electric vehicles, using either a captive cable with a J1772 gun or a Mennekes socket. The unit also has a “Mode 1” o

To celebrate ten years of the British Parking Awards, Parking Review and Equita will be naming the previous Equita Overall Award winner which is felt to best represent the aims and ideals of the competition. The tenth anniversary gala lunch will be held in London on Friday 11 March 2011. One of the highlights will be the presentation of a special award to the “best of the best” from the past ten years. The Equita Overall Winner Award is the most coveted trophy, presented as it is t

Hackney Council has launched its first publicly accessible electric vehicle charging points in Dalston. The north London borough has begun a programme of installing vehicle-charging points across the borough with support from Transport for London and the Department of Transport. The charging point at the Bentley Road car park was officially was made live by Feryal Demirci, Hackney’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods, who was joined by Polly Rayne from electric vehicle charging firm POD P

London-based APT Controls Group has signed an agreement with Circontrol of Spain to market a new range of recharging equipment for electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK. Circontrol’s systems are already used across Spain and Northern Europe. It produces a range of systems including EV  charging points for use in homes and workplaces and fast charging points, with a charging time of 60 minutes for use in car parks and on-street. APT Controls Group will form a new company as a result of

A fluorescent light tower that formed the centrepiece of Manchester’s Northern Quarter public art scheme has been switched on after nearly five years in the dark. City centre management company, Cityco, has struck a deal with NCP to enable the light tower to be powered through NCP’s electricity supply to its Church Street multi-storey car park (MSCP) on which the light sculpture forms the apex. The sculpture is made of animated neon light tubes, consisting of 76 fluorescent multi-

There seems to be little to smile about when one looks at the prospects for investing in national transport infrastructure. The Department for Transport (DfT) has taken a heavy hit in the first round of spending cuts outlined by the Coalition Government. And with a national deficit running at almost £160bn even the £6bn in savings announced by chief Treasury secretary David Laws (amazingly already an ex-minister) is taste of things to come. Recent political events have also spelt the

The need to cut public spending will take priority over all the new Coalition Government’s transport spending ambitions. “The deficit reduction programme takes precedence over any of the other measures in this agreement, and the speed of implementation of any measures that have a cost to the public finances will depend on decisions to be made in the Comprehensive Spending Review,” says the 36-page Our Programme for Government. The Department for Transport’s overall budge

Portsmouth City Council has undertaken an energy-efficient lighting installation at its Isambard Brunel car park in Axel Rose Lane, using an innovative retrofit device called Save It Easy. As a result, the car park is set to reduce its annual electricity costs by over £17,500. In all 61% of Portsmouth City Council’s carbon footprint comes as a result of running buildings. Thus when the council set about slashing its energy use, Isambard Brunel car park, with its high energy demand,

The roll-out of electric vehicles and the charging points required to power them is rapidly increasing throughout the UK. London mayor Boris Johnson has laid out plans for 25,000 charging bays to be in place across London by 2015. In March the government announced financing for three regions — London, Milton Keynes and the North East — to install over 10,000 charging locations as part of its “Plugged in Places” initiative (PR March). A new generation of electric car c

Liberty Services has been awarded Carbon Smart Certification in recognition of the company taking a proactive stance to address its contribution to climate change. The firm achieved ISO14001 registration some years ago, but company chairman Gavin Reddin felt that the Carbon Smart approach would engage with staff on a personal basis. “ISO 14001 is very much a system based approach which whilst achieving its desired result is not ideal at motivating and energising staff to embrace change

Sutton’s civil enforcement officers (CEOs) have become more environmentally friendly after the introduction of cycle parking patrols in the south-west London borough. The initiative will help NSL Services’ CEOs to travel around their patrol areas more rapidly and also allow them to cover more ground than on foot. This will contribute to enhancing their parking patrols and help to keep the roads safe for both drivers and pedestrians through the council’s green agenda. Colin Ha

London, Milton Keynes and the North East of England are to receive millions of pounds of government cash to install electric vehicle charging points. The three areas are the first recipients of funding from the government’s £30m ‘Plugged-in places’ scheme to fund charging points. Funding has been committed for year one (2010/11) and each consortia has been notified of an allocation for the next two years. The consortia are expected to match-fund the government’s con

WPS-UK launched several new products at Parkex 2010, including an  Integrated Ticket Management System (ITMS) and the WPS Park & Recharge system for electric cars  The WPS ITMS Barrier-less Entry Park & Ride Solution allows site operators to ensure car park occupation is solely and exclusively by those using the bus service. It is being used at the Enderby Park &?Ride site in Leicestershire, which won two trophies at the British Parking Awards 2010. There are no barriers

Zeag unveiled its new integrated solution for electric car charging and parking at Parkex. The eZEcharge system does away with the need for two separate payments for parking and charging.  Zeag has developed a software solution and an integrated charge and payment point for use in car parks. The system accepts all payment methods.  The company believes that the eZEcharge should appeal to local authorities who are looking to generate revenue but also reduce carbon emissions.  D

A Norwich school that turns its playground into parking on Saturdays to raise valuable funds won an award at the annual British Parking Awards. The Parking in the Community Award was presented to Bignold School, which uses the parking fees it collects to improve its facilities and has also helped a school in Africa. On Sundays the school allows local churchgoers to use the facility for free. The parking expertise is provided by RCP Parking, a national operator whose head offices are in Norwich.

Streetcar car club has announced plans to almost double its hire fleet over the next six months, and add several new vehicle types to the scheme. The new vehicles added to the fleet include the premium brand BMW with its 1 and 3 Series. These will join the car club’s existing fleet of VW vehicles, which includes its Polo and Golf hatchbacks, the 4X4 Touran and its Transporter vans. The addition of these new vehicle types will increase Streetcar’s inventory from 1,100 to around 2,000

Car park operator NCP has become a partner in the Transport for London (TfL) ‘Plugged in Places’ consortium, which has been awarded funding of £9.3m to provide 7,500 charging points for electric vehicles in the capital. Plugged in Places is a £30m government fund that aims to promote electric vehicle technology in the UK by providing grants to cities who wish to increase the level of their electric vehicle infrastructure. The Department for Transport (DfT) has given the

Providing well-lit car park is an essential element of making the public feel safe and secure. But providing high levels of lighting could be deemed unsustainable due to the carbon emissions produced. Increasingly sustainability is becoming as important an issue as security measures in car park operations through climate change directives issued by the government-funded Carbon Trust to accelerate the move to a lower carbon economy.  The trust sets out to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to

The short list for the British Parking Awards 2010 has been released. The field of entries is one of the strongest in the nine year history of the competition, which is organised by Parking Review, sponsored by civil enforcement specialist Equita and supported by the British Parking Association. The winners will be revealed on Friday 12 March at a lunch hosted by top impressionist Jon Culshaw. The awards ceremony will take place at the InterContinental on Park Lane, London. To book places call

The London Borough of Richmond has claimed its emissions-based parking policies are helping to change car purchase decisions in the borough, with a reduction in the number of residents seeking parking permits for the most highly emitting vehicles. Richmond said that in 2007, when the council began charging for residents’ parking permits based on a vehicle’s carbon dioxide emissions, 24.5% of drivers applying for permits owned cars in the six lowest emission bands. But it said that t

Terry Wogan, Tom Baker and Ozzy Osbourne will all be presenting the British Parking Awards 2010, yet only one person will be in the spotlight. Leading impressionist Jon Culshaw will host the gala lunch which takes place on 12 March at the InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane in London’s Mayfair. The awards, organised by Parking Review, have showcased and recognised excellence in the UK parking sector for the past nine years. The awards are sponsored by civil enforcement agent Equita and su

The new London mass cycle scheme is to offer bike hire prices lower than that of bus and tube fares. The first 30 minutes will be free while up to an hour of bike hire will cost £1. This compares with the equivalent journey by bus, which would cost £2. The single cash fare for the same journey by underground is £4. Hire fees are based on 30-minute increments with the price increasing the longer you keep the bike. A hire fee for two hours will cost £6 while a 24-hour hir

As we tentatively usher in the new year there is no doubting that we are living in hard times. There is growing evidence that recovery from this downturn will be fragile and protracted. The recession is hitting every business in the country, and parking authorities are no exception. Ever since I started in parking in 1994 I have always considered that parking within a local authority should be run like a business. This is difficult given the constraints councils now face as a public service. Th

After 20 years of service to Newcastle City Council Neil Cuthbert left the authority at the end of 2009, having taken voluntary retirement. Cuthbert leaves behind a highly regarded parking department, which has come a long way since his appointment. Cuthbert has managed the service since 2001 and has overseen projects that are developing the service in a number of different ways.  New ethos One of Cuthbert’s first tasks on joining the parking team was to implement a thorough proces

The British Parking Awards 2010 gala lunch will take place at the InterContinental Hotel on London’s Park Lane on Friday 12 March 2010. The new date has been agreed to avoid a clash with the annual Parkex exhibition, which is taking place in an earlier than usual slot in 2010. The decision on the new date was taken by the Parking Review team, which organises the British Parking Awards, in partnership with the British Parking Association (BPA), which organises Parkex. The new date is endor

www.britishparkingawards.co.uk The official deadline for entries to the British Parking Awards has been extended to Wednesday 23 December. The awards, launched by Parking Review magazine in 2002, are supported by the British Parking Association (BPA). Entry to the competition is free and the deadline is 23 December. The winning entries will be revealed at a gala lunch to beheld at the Intercontinental Hotel on Park Lane, London, on Friday 12 March. This year’s categories are:

Southampton City Council has reduced energy consumption at its six-deck West Park multi-storey by 35%. The 510-space car park has been fitted with a new lighting system to eliminate the unnecessary use of lighting within the building. High efficiency fluorescent units replaced outdated metal halide lights. Before the work was carried out lights were on 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In a typical month the electricity usage was 39,761kW, which cost £2,600. A month on from the instal

Entries are now being sought for the British Parking Awards three main infrastructure and design categories — Best New Car Park, Best Refurbishment and the APCOA Living Streets Awards. The Best New Car Park category is open to multi-storey, underground and surface sites, which became operational since July 2008. The current holder of the Best New Car Park title is the Bicester Shopping?Village car park, designed by Lyons+Sleeman+Hoare Architects. A specific Best Surface Car?Park trophy w

Parking Review is celebrating its 20 birthday next month. The parking sector’s leading news magazine was launched in 1989 and has established itself as a source of independent and expert news, intelligence, comment and analysis. The December edition of Parking Review will mark two decades of being at the heart of debate in the sector. Where were you 20 years ago? The Parking Review team would be delighted to find out what its readers were doing in 1989. Please send us your experiences, t

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson  has urged local authorities in the capital to adopt differential parking tariffs based on vehicle emissions. He said all councils should follow the example of Richmond, which last month introduced variable parking charges both on and off-street, based on CO2 emission levels on the DVLA’s car tax bands. Richmond was also the first local authority in the UK to introduce a green parking permit scheme for residents in 2007. Several other authorities ha

America’s best car parks have been named at the International Parking Institute's 27th annual awards. The category for car parks with fewer than 800 spaces was won by a car park built as part of a new supermarket in South Tampa, Florida. The precast concrete structure for Publix Supermarkets has retail on the ground floor and two levels of parking with 200 spaces. As the car park is a historic part of the town, the external design by architect LEAP?Associates mixes iron canopies, brick,

Two million transactions have been carried out over the last 18 months through Cardiff’s solar-powered pay & display parking machines. More than a quarter of a million of these transactions have been by debit and credit card — an average of 464 a day. The Metric Aura parking machines have been monitored and audited via Metric’s powerful WEBASLAN back office system. Credit and debit card payments are made via Thales PIN-pads and processed by CreditCall.

Car parks need not simply be places where drivers leave cars; they can be an environment in which people make informed transport decisions. This is the thinking that lies behind Mobiway, a new service developed by VINCI Park at a high profile car park in Paris. VINCI Park has launched the Mobiway concept at the Centre car park in the heart of the La Défense business district in Ile-de-France, Paris. La Défense attracts around 150,000 workers a day and is home to 20,000 residents.

RingGo is a phone parking system developed by Cobalt Telephone Technologies which is now used by local authorities, private operators and a number of rail companies to provide an alterative to cash-based parking. “The secret of phone parking is it has to be quick and flawless,” says Harry Clarke, RingGo’s commercial director. “People want to park and not have a PCN when they come back to their car. That is the sort of system you need to design.” The first ever Ring

NSL Services Group has introduced new pay & display machines in two cities in Northern Ireland. The company has brought in 108 solar-powered Parkeon Strada NEOPS terminals as part of the new controlled parking zones (CPZs) in Lisburn and Newry. The Stradas have been installed for the Roads Service, an executive agency within NI’s Department for Regional Development, which assumed responsibility for civil parking enforcement following decriminalisation in October 2006. Jason McFadden,

Metric Parking can point to a long and successful track record in Scotland. If not quite stretching back to the era of William Wallace or Robert the Bruce, the Swindon-based company can lay claim to having helped pioneer on-street payment north of the border. The company has installations throughout Scotland, with machines to be found in places such as Aberdeen, Dundee, Stirling, Fife, Perth, Western Isles and the only manufacturer with machines supplied to the Orkney & Shetland Isles. The

Chesterfield lays claim to being the first local authority in the country to introduce a pay-by-space system developed by Metric. The North Derbyshire Authority has installed ten Metric pay & display machines for a space system which is currently better known in the United States. The software was originally developed for the US market and has been adopted by Chesterfield for use in two popular areas of the town centre — St Mary’s Gate and Queen’s Park. Richard Boultbee, M

Variable parking charges based on CO2 emission levels are being introduced both on and off-street in Richmond. The South West London authority has approved plans for a ‘carbon-metered’ parking scheme to start in September. There will be three emissions bands. Those driving the most polluting vehicles — such as 4X4s and SUVs, which produce more than 180g of CO2 per km — will have to pay 25% extra. Tariffs in the middle band — for cars emitting 120 to 180g of CO2 pe

Almost as soon as the automobile was invented it became clear that there were many places where demand for parking spaces outstripped supply — by the kerbside outside popular stores and banks, at airports, train stations and other key destinations. Parking is a commodity and, like all commodities, can be priced. The value of a space, whether by the kerbside or in a car park, is often calculated in terms of the time it is occupied, which has led to the development of many meters. On-street

Car clubs offer a new way to retain the flexibility of driving a private vehicle without the problems and costs associated with car ownership such as repair bills, insurance and finding a parking space. Having joined a car club, members can book a vehicle and pay for the time used. Cars are collected from and returned to designated bays both on and off-street, with access gained by using an electronic key. There are a growing number of car club schemes operating across the country, many in part

There has been plenty of debate in the parking sector surrounding the reasons for the across-the-board drop in revenues and how this has been exacerbated by a severe economic downturn. What is beyond dispute is that our industry is far from recession-proof. John Siraut, an economics advisor with consultant Colin Buchanan, debunked the ‘cash cow’ myth in his excellent research piece in March’s Parking Review. So, what are the causes of haemorrhaging parking revenues and what

Local authorities ‘unaware and under-prepared’ for outsourcing risks, claims Zurich Municipal Despite local authorities undertaking unprecedented levels of increased outsourcing and partnership activity, senior managers and risk officers feel unclear and ill-equipped to manage the resulting risks, says insurance company Zurich Municipal. A new report released by Zurich on the issue of supply chain risk in the public sector warns of the “potentially catastrophic” impli

The car park at London’s Smithfield Market looks set to undergo improvements including a new layout and better lighting. Alpha Parking is conducting a feasibility study for the Corporation of?London to identify potential enhancements for existing users and measures to increase patronage at the site. The current 580-space car park is on two levels, basement and basement mezzanine —which is open to the public 24 hours day, seven days a week. The car park is subject to a number of co

A pair of wind turbines have been erected on the roof of Preston station multi-storey car park. The are being installed by Galliford Try for Network Rail. Standing 12 metres high, the QR5 vertical axis turbines are designed for use in urban environments with low wind speeds and changeable wind directions. Energy output will be between 6,000 and 10,000 kWhrs (kilowatt hours) per turbine. The steel-framed car park has 765 spaces and consists of pre-cast and in situ concrete composite decks with a

Four councils with coastal resorts introduced the RingGo mobile phone parking system last month ahead of the summer season. Dover District Council became the first local authority in Kent to implement phone parking on 11 June. Diane Hopper, parking services manager for Dover, said: “Parking is the first thing visitors encounter when they drive somewhere new. Motorists, whether from the continent or elsewhere in Britain, may not have thought to gather change for their parking, so offering

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council’s multi-storey car park is now undergoing its second phase of refurbishment. The car park at Mark & Spencer in Poplar Road is being renovated by contractor CRG, part of the Prestec Group. The works were delivered under the scrutiny of engineer WSP and involved breaking out existing concrete on decks two and three, applying a migratory corrosion inhibitor and applying rapid cure repair mortars to affected parts of the structure. CRG worked with Ra

A solar canopy that can both shelter electric vehicles and recharge them has been developed for use in car parks, airports, shopping centres, offices and public buildings. The ‘PowerPark’ canopy, developed by Romag Holdings, consists of PowerGlaz PV solar panels that generate electricity, which can be sold to the national grid as well as for charging electric vehicles. The initiative follows on from government encouragement to develop infrastructure to support the manufacture of el

A 60-space car park is due to open at the newly opened bus and taxi interchange at Wellington train station in Shropshire. The first phase of the scheme, was the £650,000 interchange built on the Parade car park in Victoria Road. Phase two is the new car park opposite the interchange, which opens this month.

Virgin Trains is working with Network Rail to upgrade parking facilities at 17 stations along the West Coast mainline route. This £90m initiative has already seen the building of a multi-storey alongside Runcorn station. The 198 three- deck car park, which opened in May, brings the station’s capacity up to 558. The clear span, ramp decked car park was constructed by design & build contractor Composite, working in partnership with principal contractor Kier Construction. Frame co

Over 14 long disused railway lines could be economically re-opened and up to 40 stations — including new parkways — created across England, says a report from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network suggests that over one million people could be given improved access to train services at a time when demand for rail travel is on the rise.“Many past studies have looked at re-opening old railways, but this

Park from £3.50 a day, and you’ve nothing Toulouse. This is just one of the many puns from a major advertising campaign for airport parking at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick. The ads, which appeared in newspapers and on websites and the radio, were the culmination of a marketing strategy trialled in 2007 and implemented in 2008. The campaign was designed not only to inform drivers of the price and availability of parking products, but to drive behavioural change. It represented a

Special ramps that generate ‘green energy’ have been installed in the car park of a new Sainsbury’s store in Gloucester. Whenever a vehicle passes over the ‘kinetic road plates’ in the car park, captured energy powers generators. This will produce 30kW of green energy an hour, enough to power the check-outs, believes Sainsbury’s. The system was developed and supplied by Highway Energy Systems. Managing director Peter Hughes said the weight of a vehicle on the

A cross-capital network of 25,000 charge points for electric cars features in a new strategy published by London mayor Boris Johnson. The charge points would be available by 2015, with 500 provided on-street, 2,000 in public car parks and 22,500 in employers’ car parks around the capital. Unveiling his Electric Vehicle Delivery Plan, the mayor said he was aiming to introduce 1,000 new electric vehicles. The Greater London Authority’s fleet by 2015. He would also take steps to encour

A South Wales NHS Trust is building two multi-storey car parks as part of wider redevelopments. The sites are the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend and the Morriston Hospital, Swansea, both of which are run by the ABM University NHS Trust, the largest in Wales. The projects are being undertaken for main contractor BAM Construction by precast concrete specialist Composite. The car park being built for staff working at the Princess of Wales Hospital is a two-storey structure. Work on car pa

NSL Services Group has introduced new pay & display machines in two cities in Northern Ireland. The company has brought in 108 solar-powered Parkeon Strada NEOPS terminals as part of the new controlled parking zones (CPZs) in Lisburn and Newry.    The Stradas have been installed for the Roads Service, an executive agency within NI’s Department for Regional Development, which assumed responsibility for civil parking enforcement following decriminalisation in October 200

Fife Council will be installing 16 Metric Accent units to replace Metric Autoslots which were installed when off-street pay & display was introduced by the Scottish council in 1992. The coin-operated Autoslot was the first P&D machine bought by Fife. The new Accents are being installed in two multi-storey car parks in?Kirkcaldy — 12 in the Esplanade and four in the Thistle. Fife Council will have a total of 102 Metric P&D machines. Jom Beveridge, lead officer, parking manage

The recession provides many opportunities as well as challenges, says RCP Parking’s Shapoor Naghshineh As the credit crunch continues to squeeze the UK economy, RCP Parking is finding that more and more property companies are turning to parking as a means of extracting value from dormant sites. Managing director Shapoor Naghshineh says: “With thousands of sites nationally now standing empty — and costing landowners a fortune, year in, year out — car parking is a simple s

Re-structured NSL Services Group emphasises skills development NSL Services Group has retained its Investors in People (IIP) status following a series of visits and investigations by IIP assessors. Mark Underwood, NSL Services’ chief executive, said: “For a company like ours — which relies on our people to deliver services — it is vitally important to be able to say you are Investor in?People.” The lengthy IIP re-assessment follows a period of restructuring that o

Mark Jefford explains how he has managed to boost parking surplus at Leeds City Council despite the recession Local authority budgets are being squeezed across the board. In Leeds, planning applications alone reported a shortfall of £900,000 last year with no immediate prospect of recovery. But in parking, we’re managing to buck the trend so far with an increased surplus. At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious I thought I’d share a few ideas: Like property

Councils must show “boldness and outrageous ambition” if they are to influence driver behaviour and boost parking revenues, argues Richard Walker Parking policy may be widely misunderstood by the public, perhaps because of the ‘rip-off’ or ‘jobs-worth’ labels often attached to it. But, like it or not, one of the ways to influence driver behaviour is through setting appropriate parking charges. Designing effective parking charges is unquestionably a compromis

The expanded park & ride site at Sutton Coldfield rail station in the West Midlands has opened six months ahead of schedule. The facility now has 186 spaces after the purchase of a parcel of land to create an extra 37 spaces at the Chester Road rail station by transport authority Centro. A Centro spokeswoman said: “We identified a gap in the building programme, which meant we could bring forward the work. There is a very high demand for parking spaces in the park & ride at Chest

Transport for London (TfL) is seeking planning consent to install around 400 cycle docking stations for a cycle hire scheme. Under the scheme, due to be launched in May 2010, people will be able to pick up and drop off hire bikes in central London. TfL has been working with the central London councils and The Royal Parks to identify the most suitable locations for cycle hire docking stations, comprising 10,500 parking bays in total. Some 6,000 bikes will be available for hire. The first four p

Happy butcher David Lidgate is one of the beneficiaries of Kensington & Chelsea free parking scheme every Saturday in April. Visitors to the borough will be allowed to park for a maximum of two hours, which will potentially save shoppers £6. The scheme, which will cost the council £300,000 in lost parking revenues, will apply to the borough’s 5,600 pay & display parking bays. Leader of Kensington & Chelsea Council, Merrick Cockell, said: “We have a fantastic

Having scooped the Enforcement Team of the Year Award, Tewkesbury Borough Council went on to be named the Equita Overall Winner at the British Parking Awards 2009. The winners were revealed by Strictly Come Dancing star John Sergeant during a gala lunch held at The Dorchester on 6 March. The Tewkesbury team's submission was one of the most dramatic. "Prior to taking over responsibility for decriminalised enforcement, the council's new Parking Services team found itself helping with the h

Andrew Potter, chief executive of National Car Parks, gets a feel for the day-to-day realities of the car park business whenever he goes to work. Not only is his office at Croydon retail mall The Whitgift Centre adjacent to one of the 731 car parks his company operates, it sits below its high-tech National Operations Centre (NOC), a room decked out with TV monitors relaying views from the majority of those locations. Potter has been in charge of the UK’s largest off-street parking operato

Resourcing the back office element of a parking enforcement regime can pose a challenge for smaller local authorities, especially those without major centres of population. This was the case in Rutland, with its two market towns, Oakham and Uppingham. When Rutland County Council took over civil parking enforcement last June it turned to an IT firm to process all penalty charge notices (PCNs). With a small support team and limited capital, the authority felt that outsourcing was the only realis

For Northamptonshire’s parking team the switch to a new IT system has led not only to a more efficient regime, but has seen a rise in penalty charge notices (PCNs) and a drop in the cancellation rate. The day of transition was 5 August 2007 when the team rolled out civil parking enforcement across the county, moved to new offices and changed IT supplier. This involved transferring more than six years’ data for Northampton’s civil enforcement regime. The transfer went withou

Salisbury District Council is to start a one-year trial of the RingGo phone parking payment system at 10 car parks. This follows a two-year trial in the same car parks of a rival system provided by Verrus. Cindy Demain-Griffiths, the council’s parking enforcement, said: “Whilst we like offering our customers the ability to pay with credit and debit cards by phone, we also need to make sure we are providing the most effective service possible. We have carefully assessed the two years

NCP operates one of the largest centrally controlled parking operations in the world from its headquarters in Croydon. NCP’s National Operations Centre (NOC) oversees security, payment, and customer services for 200,000 NCP car parking spaces in 25 cities across the UK from a single room. The starting point for the project was an NCP review of parking operations. Working with Siemens as its technology partner, NCP addressed commercial objectives, business processes and how new technology

Top political correspondent and, following Strictly Come Dancing, national treasure John Sergeant will be the host of this year’s British Parking Awards ceremony. The presentation of the winners’ trophies will take place at The Dorchester on London’s Park Lane at lunchtime on Friday 6 March. Launched by Parking Review in 2002, the awards recognise and reward excellence in the design and management of parking operations, as well as highlight the special contributions of individ

An extra 3,800 spaces feature in plans for the expansion of Bristol International Airport. The proposals would see the extending of the terminal building, with new aircraft stands and of two multi-storey car parks, one with four decks and one with five decks. The car parks would be located north of the existing terminal building, providing a mix of short, medium and long stay parking. The uppermost deck of the eastern block is designed to provide a public transport interchange, with a covered p

The Nottingham ParkSmart Project aims to establish a comprehensive car park guidance signing strategy by linking traffic management and destination management for five  zones in the city centre.  Nottingham City Council has placed an order with Siemens for the supply, installation, commission and servicing of 44 modular, single-pole variable message signs (VMS) and 40 non-VMS advanced directional signs in and around the centre of Nottingham. All of the signs have been designed and t

NCP Manchester says its introduction of mobile customer support teams using bicycles to patrol car parks and check on daily systems maintenance is yielding results in customer satisfaction and is reducing the city’s carbon footprint. NCP’s head of marketing, Peter Mawson, told Parking Review: “The 'two wheels' concept forms a key part of our plans for the future. It allows mobile customer support (MCS) staff to reach all car parks in the city quickly and serve our customers wel

Fan Systems Group (FSG), part of the Witt Group, has invested more than £500,000 in laser cutting machinery. Fan Systems says it has cut production times of its industrial fans by two-thirds, increased production three-fold and is now able to design, manufacture and supply a wider range of bespoke fans and associated equipment. FSG is the manufacturing arm of the Witt UK group based on two sites near Halifax, West Yorkshire. Fan System products are used by some of the world’s most

Legion Group has moved its administrative headquarters to a new development at Nateby, 12 miles north of Preston, Lancs. The firm said it had “outgrown” its offices in Markham House, in central Preston. This was due to  the setting up of Legion Technologies and the firm’s business strategy of expanding its service to include integrated technology-based solutions. The firm said it has also experienced “significant growth in both the parking and security sectors of our

Europe-wide parking operator Q-Park is looking for a new UK managing director following the departure of Alan Ashbee from the company last month. The Leeds-based UK operation is being run on an acting basis by Theo Thewis on behalf of Q-Park’s Dutch parent. Day-to-day operations are currently the responsibility of UK finance director Adam Bidder. Parking Review understands Q-Park wants Ashbee to remain involved as a consultant working on strategic projects and business development. Ashb

A new seven-storey car park will provide 1,000 spaces for a refurbished shopping centre in South  Wales. The Kingsway shopping centre is being refitted at a cost of £20m. HGB Construction started building the car park last month, with its completion expected for the summer of next year. The new car park replaces an ageing multi-storey which was demolished in April. The refurbishment of the internal mall will provide a lighter and brighter environment in which to shop. The Bridge Squ

Derby’s former Eagle Centre is undergoing a £340m redevelopment and extension. The redevelopment includes the refurbishment of existing car parks and the building of a new multi-storey car park. The Eagle Centre is owned by Westfield Group, which along with a new look is giving the  the centre a new name — the Westfield Derby. The first phase of the redevelopment is opened at the start of October 2007. The new centre will have a diverse range of new retailers, a new food

The new St Stephen’s shopping centre in Hull features parking for over 1,450 cars. The car park is operated by Q-Park. St Stephen’s has been built at a cost of £200m on a 40-acre site adjacent to Hull’s railway station. The scheme consists of 50 shops, restaurants, a Reel multi-screen cinema and Gala bingo. It also comprises a transport interchange and new homes for Hull Truck Theatre, due for completion in 2008, and Albemarle Music Centre. Parking is divided into a low

Plans for a £1.2m railway station in Corby, Northamptonshire, include proposals for a 140-space car park, a taxi rank and bus interchange. The scheme proposal was submitted to Corby Borough Council by North Northants Development Company (NDDC) and English Partnerships (EP). The application follows the Department for Transport announcement that Corby will be included in the new East Midlands rail franchise. A rail line runs through Corby but there is no station at the town, and it is a min

Organisers of the 2012 Olympics have warned that no parking will be available around the main venues with the exception of some spaces for Blue Badge holders.This underpins the Olympic Delivery Authority’s (ODA) aim to encourage all spectators to travel to the Games by public transport, walking and cycling. The Olympic transport plan, published last month, outlines a host of projects including new trains, rail lines, enhanced stations, river works and new walking and cyc