{"id":5386,"date":"2018-10-16T09:02:42","date_gmt":"2018-10-16T09:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transform.scot\/?p=5386"},"modified":"2019-10-15T14:44:48","modified_gmt":"2019-10-15T14:44:48","slug":"sue-flack-talk-workplace-parking-levy-in-practice-experience-in-nottingham-and-elsewhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transform.scot\/blog\/2018\/10\/16\/sue-flack-talk-workplace-parking-levy-in-practice-experience-in-nottingham-and-elsewhere\/","title":{"rendered":"Sue Flack Talk: Workplace Parking Levy in Practice: Experience in Nottingham and Elsewhere."},"content":{"rendered":"

Transform Scotland welcomed Sue Flack to the Edinburgh City Chambers on Thursday 11 October to deliver a talk on: \u2018Workplace Parking Levy in Practice: Experience in Nottingham and Elsewhere.\u2019 Sue\u2019s talk reflected on her experiences on setting up the Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) in Nottingham and was followed by a Q&A which also included Professor Tom Rye from Edinburgh Napier University.<\/p>\n

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WPL in Nottingham<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sue broke down the reasons for setting up a WPL in Nottingham. Transport officers found that congestion was only a significant problem in the city during peak commuter times and so they agreed to target private car demand management only at these times, thus selecting a WPL over a congestion charge or other alternatives. The key features of the Nottingham\u2019s WPL were:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Operates within City Council administrative boundary (25,000 liable spaces)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Charge applies to employers with more than 10 commuter parking places. Only commuters, not customers (\u00a3402pa 2018\/19)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Up to employers to decide whether to charge car commuters (8 out of 10 biggest employers pass on, 50% spaces)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Some discounts and exemptions (emergency services, NHS frontline, Blue Badge holders)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Extensive business support package.<\/p>\n

For this to work Sue noted there had to be substantial complimentary measures to offer commuters an alternative to driving to work, including: car clubs and bike hire, travel planning support, and integrated ticketing for public transport.<\/p>\n

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Has it worked and how was it done:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Nottingham the WPL scheme led to a significant modal shift to public transport (total journeys up 15% since 2004) and in walking and cycling; a 33% reduction in carbon emissions since 2005; and has raised over \u00a353 million of revenue which has been reinvested in the city\u2019s transport infrastructure. Sue argued this process is replicable within shorter timescales and noted that accurately defining the vision of the policy and strong political leadership were key to implementing Nottingham\u2019s WPL and would be fundamental to other areas trying to follow suit.<\/p>\n

Finally, Sue reflected on what, with hindsight, would be the ideal version of a WPL. Sue argued that we should license all private parking spaces and create exemptions based on the needs of each Local Authority, and that the coordination and approval of schemes should be devolved to a local level.<\/p>\n

Q&A:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The topics of the questions included the need for strong political leadership, the opportunity for expanding the WPL to include all non-residential parking and evidence of public support for the policy. Some examples are in the tweets below:<\/p>\n

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Dave du Feu of @SpokesLothian<\/a> argues that we should have Private Non-Residential Parking Levies rather than just Workplace Parking Levies. We agree! We did this in our 'Getting the Bill Right' paper earlier this year. https:\/\/t.co\/I2S1Hq0MRE<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Tcv2baEBzt<\/a><\/p>\n

— Transform Scotland (@TransformScot) October 11, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n