PARKING IN CROYDON – Questions on Council Plans

PJ MORGAN made this Freedom of Information request to Croydon Borough Council Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.

The request was partially successful.

Dear Croydon Borough Council,

The Mayor says “Council set to make parking easier to support local businesses” in a recent press release about a public consultation.

This would be a welcome change from the previous administration, whose policy was to use parking controls for political objectives, notably unlawfully to raise revenue, and improperly to discourage the public from using motor vehicles – regardless of the consequences for the local economy and wider public.

However, it is unclear who it will be easier for, and nothing about the consultation offers any reason to believe that this is on offer.

-
X1 - How does the council evaluate “easiness” in terms of cost?

-
X2 - Does the council agree the easiest parking is where there is no payment required?

-
X3 - Does the council agree there is no point in making parking easy for those who choose to park if it is so expensive or so awkward to use that people simply stay away, leaving lots of vacant spaces?

-
Some key questions that need an answer.

A - THE EXPERIMENT

The council conducted an “experiment” to test the result if the public were unable to park unless they registered their parking and vehicle by phone.

A1 – Which roads were involved in the Pay-by-Phone only experiment?

-
A2 – What were the start and end dates?

-
A3 – How long was the control period used for comparison - dates?

-
A4 – What level of enforcement was applied during each of the control and experiment periods?

-
A5 – What assessment was made of parking in the wider area moderately close to the experiment area, during each of the control and experiment periods?

-
A6 – During the control period, what was the proportion of each of free time and paid-for time that was acquired by phone and then by ticket?

-
A7 - During the control period, what was the proportion of parking periods that were free time and what paid time, treating by phone and by machine separately?

-
A8 – Clearly during the experiment, there was no time by machine ticket.
What was the proportion of parking periods that were free time and what paid time?

-
A9 – The council stated that there was a marked reduction in bay occupancy during the experiment.
The council stated that bays were intensively used during the control period, with very few vacant, while during the experiment, there were many vacant spaces.

We may infer we are talking about a drop from around 95% to around 40%.

Please quantify the data on bay occupancy.

-
A10 - Was the experiment conducted in a MS 9-5 CPZ?

How did bay occupancy vary during the day, and from day to day?

How about Sundays?

-
A11 – The council stated that income increased during the experiment, compared with during the control.

Please quantify this increase.
Was there any difference as for time of day and day of week?

-
A12 – The council stated that the volume of free tickets fell by 60% to 40% during the experiment, compared with the control.

The experiment limited free tickets to one period of 30 mins in a single day.

Does the council have any idea how many people during the control parked more than once in 24 hours – as they were entitled to do if they left 2 hours between parking?

-
A13 – Was there any feedback on the experiment from general public or from businesses or residents in the immediate area?
If so, how much?

Was there any balance as between supporting or opposing the experiment, as it proceeded?
Please quantify, and list the type of comments.

-
B - COUNCIL PLANS

FREE TIME PERMITTED

B1 – Is the council actively considering reducing the one-hour free parking widespread across district centre high streets - for example to half hour?

If it is, why is that?

Is this a council-led idea, or one from the public – and if so from which areas?

-
B2 – What data has the council on how many people park for between 30 and 60 mins, and what the proportion is of the total that park for up to one hour?

How about the value per time parked for longer and shorter periods – to the person parking and to businesses visited – and then to the wider local economy?

How does the council assess and take account of the value of time to the public when seeking to park?

-
B3 – If the free time were reduced to half an hour, what would happen to these people?

-
B4 – Is the idea to have a second half-hour at a charge of say £1.50?

If so, is this intended to raise revenue?

If not, what would the objective be?

It is well established that high taxes discourage innovation and enterprise.
What assessment has the council of the economic impact on the local community of taking money out of the local economy by council parking charges?

-
NUMBER OF P+D MACHINES – PAY-BY-PHONE ONLY

B5 – The council has stated a desire to reduce the number of P+D machines, and to encourage more use of Pay-by-Phone parking.

Is the council considering removing all P+D machines in any area, so that those without phones or are unable to pay or register that way can’t park?

-
B6 – Would such a system apply to any free bays, such as one hour free with a ticket?

-
B7 – Does the council accept that any such change would impact seriously on some sectors of the community?

Does the council agree that an EIA would be required for any such change – so that people who may need to park, but can’t manage Pay-by-Phone would not be excluded?

-
B8 – The experiment showed a dramatic reduction in free time being obtained.

Does the council agree that suggests that Pay-by-Phone only may deter a large number of those who wish to park – especially for short periods?

-
PERIOD OF CONTROLLED PARKING

B9 – Currently, district centres have controls applying to the high street - and many of the side roads - on Mon-Sat, 9-5.
There are areas with one-hour limits, eg MF 11-12.
There are also areas with uncontrolled parking quite close to most district centres.

Is the council considering extension of the hours of control in any district centre?

If so, which and why?

How would this impact on other parking in the locality, for example local shops with onsite parking?

-
B10 – Have there been requests from businesses for an earlier start or a later finish to controls?

If so, how many and for what times, and what reason is given?

-
B11 – On Sundays, which are generally uncontrolled outside central Croydon, parking is generally easy – and so much easier than on Mon-Fri and on Sat.

Being able to park on yellow lines is a notable benefit - as is little enforcement - the public acting responsibly without the council interfering.

Traffic flows in a perfectly acceptable way on Sundays, and certainly not appreciably worse than on other days.

Does the council agree that it would be a big mistake to harm Sunday parking by introducing any new controls on that day?

-
B12 – On public holidays, public transport normally operates as on Sundays.
The public expect the same on the road.

Will the council now look to make parking easier by treating public holidays as Sundays for the purpose of parking controls?

If not, why not – especially when so many members of the public have asked for this benefit?

-
B13 – How much profit has Croydon Council made from onstreet parking enforcement and then from onstreet parking charges in each of the past 12 years – for example years ending April 2023 back to ending April 2012?

That would cover 3 years of CON in control, 8 years of LAB in control, and then one year under Mayor Perry.

-
It is disappointing that answers to almost any of the above questions were NOT available at the council consultation events.

-
Please note that specific answers are required to each and every question.

-
Yours faithfully,

PJ MORGAN

croydon@infreemation.co.uk, Croydon Borough Council

Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[Croydon Borough Council request email]

 

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Dear PJ Morgan

 

Freedom of information request - FOI/8595

 

Subject: FOI - Parking

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Croydon Digital Services

Assistant Chief Executive Directorate

 

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Bernard Weatherill House

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Croydon CR0 1EA

croydon@infreemation.co.uk, Croydon Borough Council

Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[Croydon Borough Council request email]

 

Dear PJ Morgan

Request FOI/8595

We are writing further to your request received on 03/11/2023, under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Unfortunately, the team working on your request have advised that due to
unforeseen sickness of the officer with the relevant knowledge working on
this request, the response has been delayed and we will not be able to
issue a repsonse to you today.

Please accept our apologies for this inconvenience and we aim to have this
with you early next week.

Kind regards,
 

Information Team

Croydon Digital Services

Assistant Chief Executive Directorate

Bernard Wetherill House,

Mint Walk,

Croydon,

CR0 1EA

 

 

[1][Croydon Borough Council request email]

[2][email address]

 

References

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croydon@infreemation.co.uk, Croydon Borough Council

1 Attachment

Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[Croydon Borough Council request email]

 

Dear PJ Morgan

Request FOI/8595

Further to your request received on 03/11/2023, I confirm that the Council
has now considered your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your
request. For ease of reference, I will now address each of your questions
in turn.

 

Dear Croydon Borough Council,

The Mayor says “Council set to make parking easier to support local
businesses” in a recent press release about a public consultation.

This would be a welcome change from the previous administration, whose
policy was to use parking controls for political objectives, notably
unlawfully to raise revenue, and improperly to discourage the public from
using motor vehicles – regardless of the consequences for the local
economy and wider public.

However, it is unclear who it will be easier for, and nothing about the
consultation offers any reason to believe that this is on offer.

- X1 - How does the council evaluate “easiness” in terms of cost?

Easiness is not related directly to cost of parking.  It is related to how
easy it is to purchase time to park, if there is a charge to park and
related to how easy it is to find a parking space and to manoeuvre into
the parking space.

- X2 - Does the council agree the easiest parking is where there is no
payment required?

This is seeking our opinion and not appropriate to be answered under FOI,
however the service have advised that generally, this depends on whether
the time is needed to be booked or if free parking is available (as in a
number of areas at present) and how far away the nearest ticket machine is
located.

- X3 - Does the council agree there is no point in making parking easy for
those who choose to park if it is so expensive or so awkward to use that
people simply stay away, leaving lots of vacant spaces?

This is seeking our opinion and not appropriate to be answered under FOI,
however the service have advised that generally, the Council is committed
in making parking straightforward to use and at a reasonable cost so as
not to deter potential customers.

- Some key questions that need an answer.
A - THE EXPERIMENT

The council conducted an “experiment” to test the result if the public
were unable to park unless they registered their parking and vehicle by
phone.

A1 – Which roads were involved in the Pay-by-Phone only experiment?

South End and Selsdon Road

- A2 – What were the start and end dates?

Monday 19 June to Sunday 16 July

- A3 – How long was the control period used for comparison - dates?

One week before (week commencing 12 June) and 2 separate weeks after; week
commencing 14 August and week commencing 18 September.

- A4 – What level of enforcement was applied during each of the control
and experiment periods?

The same level of enforcement was applied to trial as before and after
this trial.

- A5 – What assessment was made of parking in the wider area moderately
close to the experiment area, during each of the control and experiment
periods?

No.

- A6 – During the control period, what was the proportion of each of free
time and paid-for time that was acquired by phone and then by ticket?
Please see the attached spreadsheet showing figures for a week before the
trial, a week during the trial and 2 separate weeks after the trial.

- A7 - During the control period, what was the proportion of parking
periods that were free time and what paid time, treating by phone and by
machine separately?

Please see the attached spreadsheet showing figures for a week before the
trial, a week during the trial and 2 separate weeks after the trial.

- A8 – Clearly during the experiment, there was no time by machine ticket.
What was the proportion of parking periods that were free time and what
paid time?

Please see the attached spreadsheet showing figures for a week before the
trial, a week during the trial and 2 separate weeks after the trial.

- A9 – The council stated that there was a marked reduction in bay
occupancy during the experiment.
The council stated that bays were intensively used during the control
period, with very few vacant, while during the experiment, there were many
vacant spaces.

We may infer we are talking about a drop from around 95% to around 40%.

Please quantify the data on bay occupancy.

Please see the attached spreadsheet showing figures for a week before the
trial, a week during the trial and 2 separate weeks after the trial.

- A10 - Was the experiment conducted in a MS 9-5 CPZ?

Yes

How did bay occupancy vary during the day, and from day to day?

Onsite observations by the Civil Enforcement Officers suggested that there
was more turnover of parking.

How about Sundays?

The parking bays allow free unlimited parking on Sundays and therefore no
figures on transactions or spaces.

- A11 – The council stated that income increased during the experiment,
compared with during the control.
Please quantify this increase.
Was there any difference as for time of day and day of week?

Please see the attached spreadsheet showing figures for a week before the
trial, a week during the trial and 2 separate weeks after the trial.

- A12 – The council stated that the volume of free tickets fell by 60% to
40% during the experiment, compared with the control.

The experiment limited free tickets to one period of 30 mins in a single
day.

Does the council have any idea how many people during the control parked
more than once in 24 hours – as they were entitled to do if they left 2
hours between parking?

As free time is mostly obtained via the free tickets during the controls
this information would not be available.

- A13 – Was there any feedback on the experiment from general public or
from businesses or residents in the immediate area?
If so, how much?

97 responses were received to the ‘get involved’ on-line survey.

Was there any balance as between supporting or opposing the experiment, as
it proceeded?
Please quantify, and list the type of comments.
 

Comment theme Number
discriminatory against elderly 14
no mobile phone 1
smart phone 17
(blank) 65
Grand Total 97

There was a range of responses a summary of which is as above many of
which were not aligned to a particular theme.

- B - COUNCIL PLANS

FREE TIME PERMITTED

B1 – Is the council actively considering reducing the one-hour free
parking widespread across district centre high streets - for example to
half hour?

Potentially depending on the outcome of the Parking Policy consultation

If it is, why is that?

Please see above

Is this a council-led idea, or one from the public – and if so from which
areas?

Please see above

- B2 – What data has the council on how many people park for between 30
and 60 mins, and what the proportion is of the total that park for up to
one hour?

We only have duration of stay data from the RingGo transactions so we do
not have this information for all transactions.

How about the value per time parked for longer and shorter periods – to
the person parking and to businesses visited – and then to the wider local
economy?

This is a subjective value that we cannot put a value to.

How does the council assess and take account of the value of time to the
public when seeking to park?

As above

- B3 – If the free time were reduced to half an hour, what would happen to
these people?

To be determined

- B4 – Is the idea to have a second half-hour at a charge of say £1.50?

Parking charges may be altered depending on the results of the
consultation.

If so, is this intended to raise revenue?

To be determined.

If not, what would the objective be?

As above.

It is well established that high taxes discourage innovation and
enterprise.
What assessment has the council of the economic impact on the local
community of taking money out of the local economy by council parking
charges?

Parking charges are not a personal tax.

- NUMBER OF P+D MACHINES – PAY-BY-PHONE ONLY

B5 – The council has stated a desire to reduce the number of P+D machines,
and to encourage more use of Pay-by-Phone parking.

Is the council considering removing all P+D machines in any area, so that
those without phones or are unable to pay or register that way can’t park?

Yes, it is intended to remove all P&D machines. An alternative being
considered is to use PayPoint (for free or paid for parking sessions).

- B6 – Would such a system apply to any free bays, such as one hour free
with a ticket?

As above

- B7 – Does the council accept that any such change would impact seriously
on some sectors of the community?

No, the offer of PayPoint will mitigate the impact.  Evidence from other
local authorities that have provided PayPoint for those minority of
drivers that do not have a mobile phone show that the number of these
transactions are very low.

Does the council agree that an EIA would be required for any such change –
so that people who may need to park, but can’t manage Pay-by-Phone would
not be excluded?

Yes.

- B8 – The experiment showed a dramatic reduction in free time being
obtained.

Does the council agree that suggests that Pay-by-Phone only may deter a
large number of those who wish to park –
especially for short periods?

No.

- PERIOD OF CONTROLLED PARKING

B9 – Currently, district centres have controls applying to the high street
- and many of the side roads - on Mon-Sat, 9-5.
There are areas with one-hour limits, eg MF 11-12.
There are also areas with uncontrolled parking quite close to most
district centres.

Is the council considering extension of the hours of control in any
district centre?

A decision has yet to be made on altering the times of CPZs

If so, which and why?

N/A

How would this impact on other parking in the locality, for example local
shops with onsite parking?

Extending hours of operation of zones (if this happens) may benefit
businesses by ensuring the turn-over of spaces continues, especially for
businesses that operate longer hours than the current 9am to 5pm period.

- B10 – Have there been requests from businesses for an earlier start or a
later finish to controls?

Not that we are aware of.

If so, how many and for what times, and what reason is given?

N/A

- B11 – On Sundays, which are generally uncontrolled outside central
Croydon, parking is generally easy – and so much easier than on Mon-Fri
and on Sat.

Being able to park on yellow lines is a notable benefit - as is little
enforcement - the public acting responsibly without the council
interfering.

Traffic flows in a perfectly acceptable way on Sundays, and certainly not
appreciably worse than on other days.

Does the council agree that it would be a big mistake to harm Sunday
parking by introducing any new controls on that day?

This is seeking our opinion and not appropriate to be answered under FOI,
however the service have advised that generally, there are no current
proposals to introduce controls on Sunday's outside the Croydon CPZ.

- B12 – On public holidays, public transport normally operates as on
Sundays.
The public expect the same on the road.

Will the council now look to make parking easier by treating public
holidays as Sundays for the purpose of parking controls?

There are no proposals to amend the current arrangements for Bank
Holidays.

If not, why not – especially when so many members of the public have asked
for this benefit?

Most businesses are open on bank holidays and parking controls benefit
customers by providing a turnover of spaces.

- B13 – How much profit has Croydon Council made from onstreet parking
enforcement and then from onstreet parking charges in each of the past 12
years – for example years ending April 2023 back to ending April 2012?

Parking income figures can be found on the Council Website.
Some of the information can be seen as below:
All currently available Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) data is available on
the council’s website at [1]Traffic Management Act (TMA) accounts |
Croydon Council.
Please note that RingGo forms part of the PD income, it’s not separated by
source it’s total PD income be it by machine or App.
With all of the available TMA reports, and while they vary slightly, the
content is similar and all include all service income and PCN figures.
 

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This should be submitted to us within 40 working days of this response.
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Email:        [3][Croydon Borough Council request email]

 

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London Borough of Croydon

Bernard Weatherill House

Floor 7 - Zone B

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Croydon, CR0 1EA

 

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Yours sincerely,

 

Information Team

Croydon Digital Services

Assistant Chief Executive Directorate

Bernard Wetherill House,

Mint Walk,

Croydon,

CR0 1EA

 

 

[4][Croydon Borough Council request email]

[5][email address]

 

References

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3. mailto:[Croydon Borough Council request email]
4. mailto:[Croydon Borough Council request email]
5. mailto:[email address]

Dear [email address],

Thank you for your reply.

Some further questions arise.

-
Q1 It seems clear that having for example two cars parking for 20 minutes instead of one for 40 minutes means twice as many cars driving to and from the parking bays, and twice as much interruption to passing traffic.

Q1.1 How has the council assessed this impact when evaluating the case for greater turnover of spaces?

Q1.2 Does the council consider more traffic driving into and around the town and to and from parking spaces to be a benefit to the town centre and wider community?

-
Q1.3 How long does the council estimate it typically and on average takes to park in a Pay + Display parking bay, and then later to exit that bay?

That means the time from arriving at the bay in traffic to parking in that bay, to obtaining a P+D ticket and placing it on the car and leaving the car – or paying by phone - and then later from opening the door to take the car away to rejoining the traffic flow.

Then how long on average does the council estimate it takes to walk from the parking bay to the desired destination, and same for return?

This estimate is crucial in terms of “a turnover of parking spaces”, for it gives a measure of dead time for each parking event.

Thus one car parking for 40 minutes may have 2 minutes of dead time and 3 minutes of walking to and from the destination, and so there might be 32 minutes useful parking time (32 = 40 – 2 – 2x3).

With two cars parked for 20 minutes, there would be two periods of dead time, and two double periods of walking time, and so only 24 minutes of useful parking time: 24 = 2x (20 – 2 – 2x3).

Thus having two cars parked for 20 mins instead of one for 40 mins may mean a 25% loss of useful parking time (24 is 75% of 32) – rather less for longer periods, eg 1x60 v 2x30, more for shorter periods, eg 1x 30 v 2x 15 mins.

-
This illustrates how important it is to minimise walking time by having parking bays as close as possible to the destination.

Q1.4 How does the council take this into account when locating parking bays?

-
Then there is likely to be some dead time with the bay vacant between the two shorter parking events.
Sometime a second car arrives and takes the bay as soon as the first leaves, but even then there is an additional say one minute wasted.

Q1.5 How long on average does the council estimate bays are typically left vacant at busy times in town centre locations?

Say this is 5 minutes.

Clearly having more cars parked for shorter periods means more time with bays vacant.
For example one car parking for 40 minutes might have 32 minutes useful parking time.
Two cars parking in that bay over the same 40 minutes with 5 minutes vacant time between them might mean 35 minutes with bay occupied, then 16 mins wasted time, so only 19 minutes useful parking time.

-
Q1.6 Given the above, what is the council’s estimate of the loss of useful parking time from trying to get more cars parked for shorter periods, such as by reducing the parking time from one hour to 30 minutes?

-
Q2.1 It is believed that the Experiment was conducted in an area with a two hour time limit, with 30 minutes free time, and the other time paid for 30, 60 or 90 minutes.
Restrictions applied Mom-Sat 9am – 5pm.

Is this correct?

-
Q2.2 How is this useful in assessing the simple one hour free parking which is so popular in Purley, Coulsdon, Thornton Heath and elsewhere?

-
Q2.3 What are the actual parking charges in the Experiment roads during charging hours?

-
Q3 Why did the council use just one week of Before Control data?

Surely it was easy enough to take 4 weeks – to give a more balanced picture not potentially biased with some exceptional event?

-
Q4 Thank you for the data provided.

Please provide the data for each of the full 4 weeks of the Experiment.

-
Q5 There is extensive P+D parking with meters in side roads near the Experiment area, for example, in Ledbury Road and St Peters Road.

Surely it was necessary to assess whether there was any diversion to or from these roads?

-
Q6.1 Spices Yard car park has 134 spaces – from LBC website.

How did occupancy and usage vary during Control and Experiment periods – please provide data?

Q6.2 How does this impact analysis of the Experiment?

Q6.3 Why are the standard charges so high as £2.30 an hour – with no half-hour options?

-
Q7 How many parking fines were issued during the survey periods – data by day please?

-
Q8 LBC: “Onsite observations by the Civil Enforcement Officers suggested that there was more turnover of parking.”

Q8.1 Is this an opinion, or based on some hard data?

Q8.2 Please provide copies of notes made by council parking police relating to turnover of parking and bay occupancy.

-
Q9 Does the council have any actual data on bay occupancy, and how long bays remained vacant during each of the weeks assessed?

-
Q10 What steps did the council take to publicise the online survey – and when was it available?

-
Q11 The online survey is no longer available online.

Please provide a copy of the survey questions.

-
Q12 Of the 97 responses, how many were broadly supportive, how many generally, opposed, and how many neutral?

-
Q13 At the consultation events, there was nothing to suggest the council was actively considering reducing the one hour free time widely available onstreet across Croydon to half an hour.

Given this, how can the Parking Policy consultation show whether the public would support or oppose that change?

-
Q14 Why does this council webpage not mention the 45 or so one hour free bays on Brighton Road, Coulsdon, between Lion Green Road and the Bypass?

https://www.croydon.gov.uk/parking-stree...

-
Q15 > B2 – What data has the council on how many people park for between 30 and 60 mins, and what the proportion is of the total that park for up to one hour?

LBC: “We only have duration of stay data from the RingGo transactions so we do not have this information for all transactions.”

So what is the answer for RingGo transactions?

-
Q16 > How about the value per time parked for longer and shorter periods – to the person parking and to businesses visited – and then to the wider local economy?

LBC: “This is a subjective value that we cannot put a value to.”

So why does the council argue that more cars parked for shorter periods is beneficial, in the context of for example one car parked for an hour versus 2 cars parked for say 27 minutes each, taking account of the additional dead time?

This is particularly pertinent, given the calculation that more cars parking for shorter periods in Q1 leads to around a 25% increase in non-useful parking time.

-
Q17 The Experiment was stated to be “part of Mayor Jason Perry’s plans to support Croydon’s district centres and high streets,”

Questions on the economics and economic impact of parking controls and parking taxes have received answers that suggest the council simply does not know and has made no assessment of such issues.

How then can the public have faith that any council parking policy is evidence-based, rather than on rumour and hunches, and so likely to achieve stated objectives?

-
Q18 The council did not give a clear answer when asked about using parking charges to raise revenue.

Is the council aware of the Primrose Hill and LB Barnet cases, where the High Court ruled clearly that the 1984 RTRA did not permit councils to use onstreet parking charges as a source of revenue?

https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5a...

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013...
> At the high court Mrs Justice Lang declared that the legislation under which Barnet had increased the charges, the 1984 Road Traffic Regulation Act "is not a fiscal measure and does not authorise the authority to use its powers to charge local residents for parking in order to raise surplus revenue for other transport purposes".

Can the public be sure that the council will ensure that it complies with the terms of these legal rulings?

-
Q19 > It is well established that high taxes discourage innovation and enterprise.
> What assessment has the council of the economic impact on the local community of taking money out of the local economy by council parking charges?

LBC: “Parking charges are not a personal tax.”

Parking charges are an additional expense levied by the council on the public when parking to conduct business or leisure activity.

They are paid by individuals – paid personally - and by companies – paid by business.

Regardless, the council has not answered the question – which is worrying, as it implies the council does not see a relationship between the level of parking charges and the success of local town centres.

Q19.1 Does the council really have no assessment nor data on this?

Q19.2 How then can it sensibly advise on what system and level of parking charges to impose?

-
Q20 > B8 – The experiment showed a dramatic reduction in free time being obtained.

> Does the council agree that suggests that Pay-by-Phone only may deter a large number of those who wish to park – especially for short periods?

LBC: “No.”

The survey data provided showed the following:

Free tickets issued fell by 60% from Before to Experiment (765/2018 = 37.9%).
They then reverted to almost the original numbers in September when the P+D machines were restored.
This shows a strong preference among the public to use the P+D machines.

Paid tickets fell by over half from Before to Experiment (1022/2221 = 46.0%).
They then reverted to almost the original numbers in September when the P+D machines were restored.
This again shows a strong preference among the public to use the P+D machines.

The average price paid Before was 34.9p (775.3/2221).
During the Experiment, it was £1.29, which is nearly 4x as much (1314/1022).
In September, it was 40.7p (896.40/2204).

Q20.1 How does this data square with the parking charges?
Q20.2 (Q2.3) What are the charges in these roads for each time period?

-
A reasonable interpretation is that the user-unfriendly park for free only with phone registration meant many more vacant spaces, so some people who previously could not park or parked elsewhere now paid to park for longer periods – ie less turnover of spaces?

Then the user-unfriendly pay to park only with phone also meant many more vacant spaces, so some people who previously could not park or parked elsewhere now paid to park for longer periods – ie less turnover of spaces?

In any event the data shows clearly that the council one-word NO answer is incorrect?

Q20.3 What are the implications of this analysis for the council plan for no onstreet P+D machines?

-
Q21 > Is the council considering extension of the hours of control in any district centre?

LBC: “A decision has yet to be made on altering the times of CPZs”

That is not an answer to the question – though it implies the answer is YES?
Is that correct?

-
Q22.1 Is the council considering – has it been considering – any changes to the standard Mon-Sat 9-5 CPZ charge times?

Q22.2 If it has, what changes have been considered?

-
Q23 When the council was asked about possible changes to Sunday controls and charges, it referred to opinions and FOI.

If the council holds an opinion, that should be revealed if asked for.
If it does not hold an opinion, then it should says so.

What data does the council have in terms of parking on Sundays, and how this relates to parking on other days, for example that being able to park for free in bays and on single yellow lines is encouraging a flourishing economy, and offers successful easy trading not available on other days?

-
Q24 LBC: “Most businesses are open on bank holidays and parking controls benefit customers by providing a turnover of spaces.”

Q24.1 Is the council claiming that more businesses are open on bank holidays than on Sundays, and if so, on what basis?
This also applies if considering only shops – second answer please.

Q24.2 On Sundays, there are no parking controls, but there is a high turnover of spaces during the daytime.
Why would this not hold for bank holidays?

The first part of the council statement is an assertion of fact, which this FOI asks the basis for.

Q24.3 The second part is an opinion – please explain how this is believed to be true, given the analysis above.

-
Q25 In Coulsdon, Aldi and Waitrose currently operate free parking with a 1½h and 1h time limit, but do not require proof of being a customer. They have nearly 100 spaces in total, compared with around 70 free one-hour bays in the town centre.

If the free time onstreet were reduced to half an hour, more people are likely to park in these car parks.
These shops might require customer only parking, with some registration process – an extra time burden – there have been such proposals already.

The council surely must recognise the value of time, and that time spent unproductively is a burden and drag on the local economy as well as for the public themselves?

Requiring phone pay – or PayPoint is an extra burden, compared with a free ticket from a machine.

How will the council ensure that any change to parking controls does not create other adverse impacts on business and the public?

-
Q26.1 What evidence has the council that “Most businesses are open on bank holidays”, in the district centres of Coulsdon, Purley, Thornton Heath and South Norwood?

Q26.2 Has the council any evidence that businesses in these centres are open on bank holidays, but shut on Sundays – and not vice-versa?

One-hour Mon-Fri restrictions were introduced to prevent rail commuters parking all day.
They do not apply on Sat or Sun.

Q26.3 Why should they apply on Bank Holidays?

-
Q27 > B13 – How much profit has Croydon Council made from onstreet parking enforcement and then from onstreet parking charges in each of the past 12 years – for example years ending April 2023 back to ending April 2012?

LBC: “Parking income figures can be found on the Council Website.”

The council website only has TMA accounts for 2016-2019 inclusive.

Please provide the Financial Information for the Parking account as required by S.55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (as amended), for the years 2011-2012 to 2014-2015 inclusive, and for 2019-2020 to 2021-2022 inclusive.

-
Q28 There have been allegations of some “meter feeding”, where a driver obtains successive free tickets, so as to park for longer than the maximum free period.

At the council consultation, council officers stated they had no data on whether there was any “meter feeding”, let alone how much there might be.
They said the number of parking fines issued for “meter feeding” was extremely low.

Q28.1 Please state how many were issued in each month of 2022 and 2023 in each of the general areas Coulsdon, Purley, South Norwood, Thornton Heath.

-
It was said that these allegations were based on claimed instances seen by the public.

The Experiment did not assist with analysis of this issue, because there was a huge reduction of parking events, both paid and unpaid.

The council has no data on bay occupancy, how many bays are vacant, and for how long, either Before, During or After.

Q28.2 Presumably the council would not wish to make policy on a basis of speculation and rumour?

With no meaningful data on any “meter-feeding”, how can this notion justify any change in the system of parking control?

-
Croydon is an outlier with the use of ticket parking for free time-limited parking.

Councils including TFL generally enforce by checking vehicle registration numbers, and issuing fines where they are found over-staying.

Q28.3 Why does the council not switch to this system, which is so much easier for the public?

It allows the council to ensure few if any park for much more than the allowed free time, while avoiding all the issues of asking the public to prove when they arrived.

It also avoids the dead time in getting free tickets or registering by phone for free parking.

-
Q29 It is suggested that many more parking bays can be provided in various shopping centres.

This would seem to be a good way to increase parking capacity, and reduce the need for parking restrictions?

For example, the council has been provided with a list of options in Coulsdon that would increase standard parking bays from 73 to 108 by marking new bays, and reallocating under-used loading and m/c bays.

What analysis has the council undertaken into these suggestions, and how might that type of change generate more parking spaces in other centres?

-
Thank you for answering the above questions, which are critical in assessing the need and suitability of any proposed changes to parking controls in Croydon.
-
Yours sincerely,

PJ MORGAN

Dear [email address],

Q30 Please also provide the following data.

Q30.1 How many standard parking bays are there in each of Selsdon Road and South End?

Q30.2 Are there any loading bays or disabled bays – if so how many?

Q30.3 Please provide the numbers of free one-hour tickets issued in Coulsdon for each of the weeks Before, During and After the Experiment.
This is best with data for Brighton Road between LGR and the Bypass, and then for each of the roads listed below.

Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon (Lion Green Road to Brighton Road)
Doble Close by Brighton Rd, Coulsdon
The Avenue, Coulsdon (Brighton Road end)
Station Approach Road, Coulsdon (Brighton Road end)
Malcolm Road, Coulsdon (Brighton Road end outside Waitrose Car Park)

-+
Yours sincerely,

PJ MORGAN

croydon@infreemation.co.uk, Croydon Borough Council

Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[Croydon Borough Council request email]

 

NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email. If
you have a processing request, please ensure you quote that reference in
your emails to us.

Dear PJ Morgan

 

Freedom of information request - FOI/8912

 

Subject: FOI - Parking/ parking tickets

Your request is being considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days, subject to the application of
any exemptions. Where consideration is being given to exemptions the 20
working day timescale may be extended to a period considered reasonable
depending on the nature and circumstances of your request. In such cases
you will be notified and, where possible, a revised time-scale will be
indicated. In all cases we shall attempt to deal with your request at the
earliest opportunity.

If we are unable to provide you with the information requested we will
notify you of this together with the reason(s) why, and details of how you
may appeal.

Please note that the directorate team may contact you for further
information where we believe that the request is not significantly clear
for us to respond fully. 

Kind Regard

Information Management Team

 

Croydon Digital Services

Assistant Chief Executive Directorate

 

7th Floor, Zone B

Bernard Weatherill House

8 Mint Walk

Croydon CR0 1EA

croydon@infreemation.co.uk, Croydon Borough Council

Dear PJ Morgan, 

Thank you for your email below. As your previous request has been closed,
we have logged your following questions below as a new request. The
reference for the new request is:

FOI/00008912

Kind regards, 
Information Management Team. 

 

Dear [email address],

Q30 Please also provide the following data.

Q30.1 How many standard parking bays are there in each of Selsdon Road
and South End?

Q30.2 Are there any loading bays or disabled bays - if so how many?

Q30.3 Please provide the numbers of free one-hour tickets issued in
Coulsdon for each of the weeks Before, During and After the Experiment.
This is best with data for Brighton Road between LGR and the Bypass, and
then for each of the roads listed below.

Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon (Lion Green Road to Brighton Road)
Doble Close by Brighton Rd, Coulsdon
The Avenue, Coulsdon (Brighton Road end)
Station Approach Road, Coulsdon (Brighton Road end)
Malcolm Road, Coulsdon (Brighton Road end outside Waitrose Car Park)

-+
Yours sincerely,

PJ MORGAN

show quoted sections

Dear [email address],

Thank you for your emails.

Please confirm that you are now considering ALL the questions submitted since your reply to my previous FOI.

That means the questions on 24 Dec 2023 numbered Q1 to Q29, as well as those you mention in your latest email, which quotes my questions labelled Q30, and sent on 25 Dec 2023.

-
Yours sincerely,

PJ MORGAN

croydon@infreemation.co.uk, Croydon Borough Council

Dear PJ Morgan,

Thank you for your email below. 
I can confirm all your question are being reviewed. 
A response for Questions 1-29 have already been disclosed and Question 30
has been logged as a new FOI with a reference number of 8912. 

Q30 is now being reviewed and is with the relevant department. Once we
receive a response we will get this sent out to you. 

Kind regards, 
Information Management Team 

 

Dear [email address],

Thank you for your emails.

Please confirm that you are now considering ALL the questions submitted
since your reply to my previous FOI.

That means the questions on 24 Dec 2023 numbered Q1 to Q29, as well as
those you mention in your latest email, which quotes my questions
labelled Q30, and sent on 25 Dec 2023.

-
Yours sincerely,

PJ MORGAN

show quoted sections

Dear [email address],

Thank you for the reply.

To be clear, the original FOI was sent on 4-11-23, and contained 29 questions, numbered X1-X3, A1-A13 and B1-B13.

That FOI was answered on 8-12-23.

That response prompted a further 29 questions, numbered Q1-Q29, sent on 24-12-23.

There has been no response to any of those further questions.

There was then a further question sent on 25-12-23, numbered Q30.

Your reply below suggests some confusion over this.

There are currently 30 questions awaiting reply, numbered Q1-Q30 – sent on 24+25-12-23 - which presumably would all be covered by the new FOI numbered 8912?

-
Yours sincerely,

PJ MORGAN

croydon@infreemation.co.uk, Croydon Borough Council

Dear PJ Morgan, 

Please accept our sincerest apologies, there seemed to have been some
confusion with your follow up questions. 
I can confirm this has now been rectified, and all questions 1-30 which
were sent on 24/25th December 2023, will be addressed in FOI 8912. 

Please allow the standard 20 day working day time period for a response. 

Kind regards, 
Information Management Team 

 

Dear [email address],

Thank you for the reply.

To be clear, the original FOI was sent on 4-11-23, and contained 29
questions, numbered X1-X3, A1-A13 and B1-B13.

That FOI was answered on 8-12-23.

That response prompted a further 29 questions, numbered Q1-Q29, sent on
24-12-23.

There has been no response to any of those further questions.

There was then a further question sent on 25-12-23, numbered Q30.

Your reply below suggests some confusion over this.

There are currently 30 questions awaiting reply, numbered Q1-Q30 - sent
on 24+25-12-23 - which presumably would all be covered by the new FOI
numbered 8912?

-
Yours sincerely,

PJ MORGAN

show quoted sections

Dear [email address],

Thank you for the reply.

-
As 21 working days have now passed, could you kindly confirm where we are with the response to my FOI?

When chasing the reply, please pass on the fact that last weekend I want to Purley High Street, which has a “pilot experiment” with phone only parking free for 20 mins, or via PayPoint.

The advertised PayPoint at “Shell petrol in Foxley” was not working, and had not been.

That invalidates the experiment, and raises issues over the workability of the council plans.

-
Yours sincerely,

PJ MORGAN

croydon@infreemation.co.uk, Croydon Borough Council

Dear PJ  Morgan, 

Thank you for your email below.

Please accept our sincerest apology with the delay in receiving a response
for your FOI request. Your request is still with the service and it has
been escalated and highlighted as overdue. We have requested that a
response is provided as quickly as possible . 

Once any further progress has been made on your FOI request we will
provide you with an update. 

Once again we apologies for this delay and thank you for your kind
patience.
We aim to get a response disclosed as soon as possible. 

Kind regards, 
Information Management Team 

 

Dear [email address],

Thank you for the reply.

-
As 21 working days have now passed, could you kindly confirm where we
are with the response to my FOI?

When chasing the reply, please pass on the fact that last weekend I want
to Purley High Street, which has a "pilot experiment” with phone only
parking free for 20 mins, or via PayPoint.

The advertised PayPoint at "Shell petrol in Foxley” was not working, and
had not been.

That invalidates the experiment, and raises issues over the workability
of the council plans.

-
Yours sincerely,

PJ MORGAN

show quoted sections

Dear [email address],

Further to your holding email of 29-1-24, I note that another four weeks have now passed.

As we are now more than 2 months without effective reply after the original FOI Request was made, please advise when I may expect to receive the information.

Yours sincerely,

PJ MORGAN

croydon@infreemation.co.uk, Croydon Borough Council

Dear PJ Morgan, 

We send our sincerest apologies with the delay and our lack of
communication. 

I have had a look into your case and can confirm our highways department
is currently dealing with your request. Unfortunately due to the number of
questions in your request, it is taking longer than expected for us to
complete this FOI. 

Once we have all the information we will get this sent out to you. 

Kind regards, 
Information Management Team.

 

Dear [email address],

Further to your holding email of 29-1-24, I note that another four weeks
have now passed.

As we are now more than 2 months without effective reply after the
original FOI Request was made, please advise when I may expect to
receive the information.

Yours sincerely,

PJ MORGAN

show quoted sections

Dear Croydon Borough Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

`
There has been grossly excessive delay in responding to the questions asked on 24-12-23 and 25-12-23.

Croydon has sent holding replies on 5-1-24, 29-1-24 and 29-2-24.

We are now 80 days since the original request, yet no information at all has been provided – not even a sensible estimate of when it will be provided.

The council was obliged to respond within 20 days, and if necessary extend the time for reply to 40 days.

While there are a number of questions, they are each ones that the council should be able to answer in a few minutes, and the information should be readily to hand, given the subject matter and the council plans to make changes.

`
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...

Yours faithfully,

PJ MORGAN

Dear PJ Morgan,

Please accept our sincerest apologies with the delay in responding to your FOI request referenced 8912.
Unfortunately, we are unable to carry out an internal review at this current moment. Please be advised that internal reviews can only be conducted once an FOI has been responded to. However, I can confirm I have sent out an urgent email to the service requesting for the information as soon as possible. I will also escalate your request to our line manager.

We hope to get the requested information disclosed to you as quickly as possible.

We apologies for the inconvenience this has caused and would like to thank you for your kind patience.

Kind regards,
Information Management Team

Croydon Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Floor 3 Zone E, Bernard Wetherill House, Mint Walk, Croydon, CR0 1EA

[email address]
[email address]

show quoted sections

Dear Croydon Borough Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Croydon Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'PARKING IN CROYDON – Questions on Council Plans'.

`
I note what you say in your email of 15-3-24, however you mis-state the law in terms of the FOIA.

The council is obliged to respond “promptly and within 20 working days” to a FOI / EIR Request.

If exceptionally, the council cannot respond in the stated 20 working days, then it may extend this period by a further 20 working days.

Here we are over 80 days.

If the council does not provide an effective response within the total of 40 working days, then the council is in default, in breach of the FOIA.

In that circumstance, the requester has a right to require the council to conduct an Internal Review of its handling of the FOI Request.

The council may not evade the requirements of the FOIA by simply falling to respond, and then claim the process cannot proceed until it does.

`
I would add that while there are 30 numbered questions to answer, and some have sub-questions, there are fewer than 60 answers required.

Then each one should take no more than 6 minutes for someone with managerial responsibility for parking to answer, and most should take 1-3 minutes – many should be at-the-finger facts.

Thus answering this FOI would take well within the time allowed for an FOI Request.

`
I would also point out that these questions bear directly on council parking policy, and its proposals to change parking in the borough.

I note that the government has issued recent guidance to councils on parking that they must ensure their plans are properly responsive to the views of the public, and the matters raised here are directly relevant to that.

The implication here is not that the council is unable to respond, but that it is choosing not to do so, lest its answers prove embarrassing to the council.

`
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...

Yours faithfully,

PJ MORGAN

Dear PJ Morgan,

Please accept our sincerest apologies, please could you provide the reference number of your FOI request so we can get this sorted for you.

Kind regards,
Information Management Team

Croydon Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Floor 3 Zone E, Bernard Wetherill House, Mint Walk, Croydon, CR0 1EA

[email address]
[email address]

show quoted sections

croydon@infreemation.co.uk, Croydon Borough Council

4 Attachments

Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[Croydon Borough Council request email]

 

Dear PJ Morgan

Request FOI/8912

Further to your request received on 27/12/2023, I confirm that the Council
has now considered your request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000. Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your
request. For ease of reference, I will now address each of your questions
in turn.

Q1 It seems clear that having for example two cars parking for 20 minutes
instead of one for 40 minutes means twice as many cars driving to and from
the parking bays, and twice as much interruption to passing traffic.
More turnover of spaces results in a higher number of potential customers
for local businesses and an increased number of spaces available.

Q1.1 How has the council assessed this impact when evaluating the case for
greater turnover of spaces?

An increase in the turnover of parking spaces is unlikely to have a
significant effect on traffic flows.

Q1.2 Does the council consider more traffic driving into and around the
town and to and from parking spaces to be a benefit to the town centre and
wider community?

Please see the answer to Q1

Q1.3 How long does the council estimate it typically and on average takes
to park in a Pay + Display parking bay, and then later to exit that bay?

We do not hold this information.

That means the time from arriving at the bay in traffic to parking in that
bay, to obtaining a P+D ticket and placing it on the car and leaving the
car - or paying by phone - and then later from opening the door to take
the car away to rejoining the traffic flow.

Then how long on average does the council estimate it takes to walk from
the parking bay to the desired destination, and same for return?

We have not estimated this as it does depend on the position of the bay
and location of the P&D machine.

This estimate is crucial in terms of "a turnover of parking spaces”, for
it gives a measure of dead time for each parking event.

Thus one car parking for 40 minutes may have 2 minutes of dead time and 3
minutes of walking to and from the destination, and so there might be 32
minutes useful parking time (32 = 40 - 2 - 2x3).

With two cars parked for 20 minutes, there would be two periods of dead
time, and two double periods of walking time, and so only 24 minutes of
useful parking time: 24 = 2x (20 - 2 - 2x3).

Thus having two cars parked for 20 mins instead of one for 40 mins may
mean a 25% loss of useful parking time (24 is 75% of 32) - rather less for
longer periods, eg 1x60 v 2x30, more for shorter periods, eg 1x 30 v 2x 15
mins.

This illustrates how important it is to minimise walking time by having
parking bays as close as possible to the destination.

Pay by phone parking reduces the time needed to book / pay for parking
events as it would not be necessary to find and walk to a ticket machines
and this can be carried out in the comfort of a vehicle.

Q1.4 How does the council take this into account when locating parking
bays?

Parking bays are normally located where there is demand for parking and
where it is safe and does not obstruct traffic.

Then there is likely to be some dead time with the bay vacant between the
two shorter parking events.
Sometime a second car arrives and takes the bay as soon as the first
leaves, but even then there is an additional say one minute wasted.

Q1.5 How long on average does the council estimate bays are typically left
vacant at busy times in town centre locations?

Say this is 5 minutes.

Clearly having more cars parked for shorter periods means more time with
bays vacant.
For example one car parking for 40 minutes might have 32 minutes useful
parking time.
Two cars parking in that bay over the same 40 minutes with 5 minutes
vacant time between them might mean 35 minutes with bay occupied, then 16
mins wasted time, so only 19 minutes useful parking time.

Please see answer to no.1

Q1.6 Given the above, what is the council"s estimate of the loss of useful
parking time from trying to get more cars parked for shorter periods, such
as by reducing the parking time from one hour to 30 minutes?

Not relevant – please see answer to no.1

Q2.1 It is believed that the Experiment was conducted in an area with a
two hour time limit, with 30 minutes free time, and the other time paid
for 30, 60 or 90 minutes.
Restrictions applied Mom-Sat 9am - 5pm.

Is this correct?

Yes

Q2.2 How is this useful in assessing the simple one hour free parking
which is so popular in Purley, Coulsdon, Thornton Heath and elsewhere?

A further trial was carried out in these areas to access the effects of
cashless parking as these are different to the arrangements in South End
and Selsdon Road.

Q2.3 What are the actual parking charges in the Experiment roads during
charging hours?

There were no changes to the parking charges during the South End /
Selsdon Road trial.

Q3 Why did the council use just one week of Before Control data?

Surely it was easy enough to take 4 weeks - to give a more balanced
picture not potentially biased with some exceptional event?

Two separate weeks after the trial were also used.

Q4 Thank you for the data provided.

Please provide the data for each of the full 4 weeks of the Experiment.

 

WC Free Free Trans- Trans- Income - Trans- Income Total Total Before
12/06/23 Transactions actions PD actions - Ringo actions PD PD Trans-actions Income
- Ringo Ringo
Selsdon 68 612 117 £195.80 639 £78.00 756.00 273.80  
Road
Southend 138 1200 237 £426.50 1228 £75.00 1465.00 501.50  
Sub 206 1812 354 £622.30 1867 £153.00 2221.00 775.30  
Total
                   
WC Free Free Trans-actions Income - Trans-actions Income Total Trans- Total Trial
10/07/23 Transactions Trans-actions - Ringo Ringo PD PD actions Income
- Ringo PD
Selsdon 313 0 415 £409.80 0 0 415.00 409.80  
Road
Southend 452 0 607 £904.20 0 0 607.00 904.20  
Sub 765 0 1022 £1,314.00 0 0 1022.00 1314.00  
Total
                   
WC Free Free Transactions Income - Transactions Income Total Total Aug
14/08/23 Transactions Transactions - Ringo Ringo PD PD Transactions Income
- Ringo PD
Selsdon 171 436 239 £274.20 459 £70.00 698.00 344.20  
Road
Southend 166 866 315 £632.20 904 £135.20 1219.00 767.40  
Sub 337 1302 554 £906.40 1363 £205.20 1917.00 1111.60  
Total
                   
                   
WC Free Free Transactions Income - Transactions Income Total Total Sep
18/09/23 Transactions Transactions - Ringo Ringo PD PD Transactions Income
- Ringo PD
Selsdon 137 568 198 243.1 587 £50.00 785.00 293.10  
Road
Southend 195 1058 326 £519.30 1093 £84.00 1419.00 603.30  
Sub 332 1626 524 £762.40 £1,680.00 £134.00 2204.00 896.40  
Total
                   
                   

-
Q5 There is extensive P+D parking with meters in side roads near the
Experiment area, for example, in Ledbury Road and St Peters Road.

Surely it was necessary to assess whether there was any diversion to or
from these roads?

This information has not been assessed

Q6.1 Spices Yard car park has 134 spaces - from LBC website.

How did occupancy and usage vary during Control and Experiment periods -
please provide data?

This information has not been assessed

Q6.2 How does this impact analysis of the Experiment?

This information has not been assessed

Q6.3 Why are the standard charges so high as £2.30 an hour - with no
half-hour options?

Historically car parks have 1 hour intervals for parking rather than 30
minutes as car parks are generally for long term parking and this provides
easier interpretation of the charges.

Q7 How many parking fines were issued during the survey periods - data by
day please?

This information has not been analysed.

Q8 LBC: "Onsite observations by the Civil Enforcement Officers suggested
that there was more turnover of parking.”

Q8.1 Is this an opinion, or based on some hard data?

CEOs are experienced at observing parking availability.

Q8.2 Please provide copies of notes made by council parking police
relating to turnover of parking and bay occupancy.
This information is not available.

Q9 Does the council have any actual data on bay occupancy, and how long
bays remained vacant during each of the weeks assessed?

This information is not available.

Q10 What steps did the council take to publicise the online survey - and
when was it available?

Letters were delivered to all affected businesses.  This was also
advertised on Croydon’s website and in social media.

Q11 The online survey is no longer available online.

Please provide a copy of the survey questions.

Only comments were asked for on the South End and Selsdon Road trial.  The
only questions that were on the website were related to the public
engagement on the new parking policy and these are attached for
information.

Q12 Of the 97 responses, how many were broadly supportive, how many
generally, opposed, and how many neutral?

There was general concern about losing the P&D machines and the effect
this would have on those that don’t have or wish not to use the mobile
phones.

Q13 At the consultation events, there was nothing to suggest the council
was actively considering reducing the one hour free time widely available
onstreet across Croydon to half an hour.

Given this, how can the Parking Policy consultation show whether the
public would support or oppose that change?

One of the action points from the Proposed New Parking Policy was that the
free parking provision would be reviewed.  The an option of reducing the
current one hour free parking period to 30 minutes was discussed with some
visitors to the consultation events.

Q14 Why does this council webpage not mention the 45 or so one hour free
bays on Brighton Road, Coulsdon, between Lion Green Road and the Bypass?

[1]https://www.croydon.gov.uk/parking-stree...
Brighton Road, Coulsdon should have been included in this list of roads –
the other roads in Coulsdon with free one our parking were included. 

Q15 > B2 - What data has the council on how many people park for between
30 and 60 mins, and what the proportion is of the total that park for up
to one hour?

LBC: "We only have duration of stay data from the RingGo transactions so
we do not have this information for all transactions.”

So what is the answer for RingGo transactions?

RingGo transactions for free parking would just show how many 1 hour free
parking events there are and would not be able to show whether some
drivers left the parking area after a shorter duration.

Q16 > How about the value per time parked for longer and shorter periods -
to the person parking and to businesses visited - and then to the wider
local economy?

LBC: "This is a subjective value that we cannot put a value to.”

So why does the council argue that more cars parked for shorter periods is
beneficial, in the context of for example one car parked for an hour
versus 2 cars parked for say 27 minutes each, taking account of the
additional dead time?

This is particularly pertinent, given the calculation that more cars
parking for shorter periods in Q1 leads to around a 25% increase in
non-useful parking time.

The current short term 1 hour free parking bays are aimed at customers who
require short term parking for their shopping or business events and rely
on a quick turn-over of spaces to ensure new customers have the
opportunity to park.  Those wishing to park for a longer period have the
option of on-street charged for bays in the side roads and the nearby car
parks – Lion Green Road Car Park and Central Coulsdon Car Park.

Q17 The Experiment was stated to be "part of Mayor Jason Perry"s plans to
support Croydon"s district centres and high streets,”

Questions on the economics and economic impact of parking controls and
parking taxes have received answers that suggest the council simply does
not know and has made no assessment of such issues.

How then can the public have faith that any council parking policy is
evidence-based, rather than on rumour and hunches, and so likely to
achieve stated objectives?

We will soon be consulting on a change in the parking charges which
includes retaining the 1 hour free parking arrangement and increasing the
maximum stay to 2 hours with charges.

Q18 The council did not give a clear answer when asked about using parking
charges to raise revenue.

Is the council aware of the Primrose Hill and LB Barnet cases, where the
High Court ruled clearly that the 1984 RTRA did not permit councils to use
onstreet parking charges as a source of revenue?

The Council is aware of this and any surplus revenue after the costs of
administration and enforcement can only be used for maintaining the
parking infrastructure and other transport related expenditure such as the
Freedom pass.

https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5a...

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013...

> At the high court Mrs Justice Lang declared that the legislation under
which Barnet had increased the charges, the 1984 Road Traffic Regulation
Act "is not a fiscal measure and does not authorise the authority to use
its powers to charge local residents for parking in order to raise surplus
revenue for other transport purposes".

Can the public be sure that the council will ensure that it complies with
the terms of these legal rulings?

Please see above.

Q19 > It is well established that high taxes discourage innovation and
enterprise.
> What assessment has the council of the economic impact on the local
community of taking money out of the local economy by council parking
charges?

LBC: "Parking charges are not a personal tax.”

Please see answer to Q17 above – parking charges are needed to ensure
there is a turn-over of spaces. Generally the higher parking demand the
higher the charge.

Parking charges are an additional expense levied by the council on the
public when parking to conduct business or leisure activity.

They are paid by individuals - paid personally - and by companies - paid
by business.

Regardless, the council has not answered the question - which is worrying,
as it implies the council does not see a relationship between the level of
parking charges and the success of local town centres.

Q19.1 Does the council really have no assessment nor data on this?

We do have figures on P&D machine and RingGo transactions. 

Q19.2 How then can it sensibly advise on what system and level of parking
charges to impose?

Please see response to no.19 above.

Q20 > B8 - The experiment showed a dramatic reduction in free time being
obtained.

> Does the council agree that suggests that Pay-by-Phone only may deter a
large number of those who wish to park - especially for short periods?

LBC: "No.”

The survey data provided showed the following:

Free tickets issued fell by 60% from Before to Experiment (765/2018 =
37.9%).
They then reverted to almost the original numbers in September when the
P+D machines were restored.
This shows a strong preference among the public to use the P+D machines.

Paid tickets fell by over half from Before to Experiment (1022/2221 =
46.0%).
They then reverted to almost the original numbers in September when the
P+D machines were restored.
This again shows a strong preference among the public to use the P+D
machines.

The average price paid Before was 34.9p (775.3/2221).
During the Experiment, it was £1.29, which is nearly 4x as much
(1314/1022).
In September, it was 40.7p (896.40/2204).

Q20.1 How does this data square with the parking charges?

Please see answer to Q17 above

Q20.2 (Q2.3) What are the charges in these roads for each time period?

It is proposed to standardise the charges for the 2^nd hour for the
current free 1 hour bays in the Borough with a charge of £1.20 for 1.5
hours and £2.40 for 2 hours – highest band 3 emission rates.

A reasonable interpretation is that the user-unfriendly park for free only
with phone registration meant many more vacant spaces, so some people who
previously could not park or parked elsewhere now paid to park for longer
periods - ie less turnover of spaces?

Or there could have been more ‘meter feeding’ outside the trial period
resulting in more spaces.

Then the user-unfriendly pay to park only with phone also meant many more
vacant spaces, so some people who previously could not park or parked
elsewhere now paid to park for longer periods - ie less turnover of
spaces?

In any event the data shows clearly that the council one-word NO answer is
incorrect?

Please see response above

Q20.3 What are the implications of this analysis for the council plan for
no onstreet P+D machines?

Data shows that over 80% of parking transactions are now pay by phone.

Q21 > Is the council considering extension of the hours of control in any
district centre?

LBC: "A decision has yet to be made on altering the times of CPZs”

That is not an answer to the question - though it implies the answer is
YES?
Is that correct?

No decision has been made on whether the hours of operation of the CPZs
should be amended

Q22.1 Is the council considering - has it been considering - any changes
to the standard Mon-Sat 9-5 CPZ charge times?

This subject has not been considered yet.

Q22.2 If it has, what changes have been considered?

Please see above.

Q23 When the council was asked about possible changes to Sunday controls
and charges, it referred to opinions and FOI.

If the council holds an opinion, that should be revealed if asked for.
If it does not hold an opinion, then it should says so.

What data does the council have in terms of parking on Sundays, and how
this relates to parking on other days, for example that being able to park
for free in bays and on single yellow lines is encouraging a flourishing
economy, and offers successful easy trading not available on other days?

No decision has been made on parking on Sundays outside existing zones
that operate on Sundays – Central CPZ, N2 and West Thornton Permit Zones.

Q24 LBC: "Most businesses are open on bank holidays and parking controls
benefit customers by providing a turnover of spaces.”

Q24.1 Is the council claiming that more businesses are open on bank
holidays than on Sundays, and if so, on what basis?
This also applies if considering only shops - second answer please.

There is no specific information on the number of businesses open on Bank
Holidays in comparison to Sundays – this very much depends on the location
of the businesses.

Q24.2 On Sundays, there are no parking controls, but there is a high
turnover of spaces during the daytime.
Why would this not hold for bank holidays?

Please see answer to Q23 – there is no information on the turnover of
spaces in shopping areas where there are no Sunday controls.  However,
parking controls do ensure spaces are used efficiently and vehicles do not
parking in spaces all day denying others from parking.

The first part of the council statement is an assertion of fact, which
this FOI asks the basis for.

Q24.3 The second part is an opinion - please explain how this is believed
to be true, given the analysis above.

Please see answer above.

Q25 In Coulsdon, Aldi and Waitrose currently operate free parking with a
1½h and 1h time limit, but do not require proof of being a customer. They
have nearly 100 spaces in total, compared with around 70 free one-hour
bays in the town centre.

If the free time onstreet were reduced to half an hour, more people are
likely to park in these car parks.
These shops might require customer only parking, with some registration
process - an extra time burden - there have been such proposals already.

The council surely must recognise the value of time, and that time spent
unproductively is a burden and drag on the local
economy as well as for the public themselves?

Please see answer to Q20.2

Requiring phone pay - or PayPoint is an extra burden, compared with a free
ticket from a machine.

How will the council ensure that any change to parking controls does not
create other adverse impacts on business and the public?

Please see answer to Q20.3 – the impact on using Pay by Phone (RingGo)
method of payment should therefore be minimal and the majority of drivers
will find booking time by phone is less time consuming than obtaining a
ticket from a machine

Q26.1 What evidence has the council that "Most businesses are open on bank
holidays”, in the district centres of Coulsdon, Purley, Thornton Heath and
South Norwood?

Most businesses in Croydon Town Centre are open on Bank Holidays.

Q26.2 Has the council any evidence that businesses in these centres are
open on bank holidays, but shut on Sundays - and not vice-versa?

Please see answer to Q26.1

One-hour Mon-Fri restrictions were introduced to prevent rail commuters
parking all day.
They do not apply on Sat or Sun.

Q26.3 Why should they apply on Bank Holidays?

It is important to have consistent enforcement of all parking controls
across the Borough to avoid driver confusion – having different
enforcement regimes depending on the area in the Borough is likely to
cause confusion.

Q27 > B13 - How much profit has Croydon Council made from onstreet parking
enforcement and then from onstreet parking charges in each of the past 12
years - for example years ending April 2023 back to ending April 2012?

LBC: "Parking income figures can be found on the Council Website.”

The council website only has TMA accounts for 2016-2019 inclusive.

Please provide the Financial Information for the Parking account as
required by S.55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (as amended), for
the years 2011-2012 to 2014-2015 inclusive, and for 2019-2020 to 2021-2022
inclusive.
This information is in the public domain and is therefore exempt from
Croydon Council under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000,
‘Information reasonably accessible to the applicant by other means’.

Section 21 is an absolute exemption and therefore does not require the
public interests balancing test to be applied. Please use the following
link [2]Traffic Management Act (TMA) accounts | Croydon Council .  We do
not hold other data.

Q28 There have been allegations of some "meter feeding”, where a driver
obtains successive free tickets, so as to park for longer than the maximum
free period.

At the council consultation, council officers stated they had no data on
whether there was any "meter feeding”, let alone how much there might be.
They said the number of parking fines issued for "meter feeding” was
extremely low.

Q28.1 Please state how many were issued in each month of 2022 and 2023 in
each of the general areas Coulsdon, Purley, South Norwood, Thornton Heath.

None – The meter feeding contravention is not applicable for free parking
sessions as the wording refers to payment.  Information from Civil
Enforcement Officers who patrol these areas on a regular basis is that
meter feeding does occur as they recognise the same vehicles parked on a
daily basis and it is possible that some of these vehicles are associated
with local businesses.

It was said that these allegations were based on claimed instances seen by
the public.

The Experiment did not assist with analysis of this issue, because there
was a huge reduction of parking events, both paid and unpaid.

The council has no data on bay occupancy, how many bays are vacant, and
for how long, either Before, During or After.

Q28.2 Presumably the council would not wish to make policy on a basis of
speculation and rumour?

With no meaningful data on any "meter-feeding”, how can this notion
justify any change in the system of parking control?

The use of Pay by Phone method of obtaining time will ensure that multiple
sessions cannot be obtained.  This should increase the turnover of spaces
and benefit customers and businesses alike.

Croydon is an outlier with the use of ticket parking for free time-limited
parking.

Councils including TFL generally enforce by checking vehicle registration
numbers, and issuing fines where they are found over-staying.

Q28.3 Why does the council not switch to this system, which is so much
easier for the public?

It is virtually impossible to enforce limited time free parking as this
relies on CEOs patrolling the roads on a regular basis and noting every
vehicle parked.  They are required to cover large areas and are not able
to be stationed in an area over many hours to enforce this type of
contravention.  Booking time by phone is easy for the customer and easy to
enforce.

It allows the council to ensure few if any park for much more than the
allowed free time, while avoiding all the issues of asking the public to
prove when they arrived.

It also avoids the dead time in getting free tickets or registering by
phone for free parking.

Q29 It is suggested that many more parking bays can be provided in various
shopping centres.

This would seem to be a good way to increase parking capacity, and reduce
the need for parking restrictions?

For example, the council has been provided with a list of options in
Coulsdon that would increase standard parking bays from 73 to 108 by
marking new bays, and reallocating under-used loading and m/c bays.

What analysis has the council undertaken into these suggestions, and how
might that type of change generate more parking spaces in other centres?

The scope for additional bays is very limited in high street locations
without adversely affecting pedestrians and other users and although some
loading bays / disabled bays / motorcycle bays may appear to be
underutilised they are still necessary to enable the users of these bays
to be used.

Q30 Please also provide the following data.

Q30.1 How many standard parking bays are there in each of Selsdon Road and
South End?

12 and 31

Q30.2 Are there any loading bays or disabled bays - if so how many?

One new disabled bay is proposed for Selsdon Road which also has a loading
bay.

Q30.3 Please provide the numbers of free one-hour tickets issued in
Coulsdon for each of the weeks Before, During and After the Experiment.
This is best with data for Brighton Road between LGR and the Bypass, and
then for each of the roads listed below.

Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon (Lion Green Road to Brighton Road)
Doble Close by Brighton Rd, Coulsdon
The Avenue, Coulsdon (Brighton Road end)
Station Approach Road, Coulsdon (Brighton Road end)
Malcolm Road, Coulsdon (Brighton Road end outside Waitrose Car Park)

Please see table below for before, during and after the trial period:

Transaction of Free Tickets issued P&D
11/12/23 - 01/01/24 - 22/01/24 -
  Machine No 31/12/23 21/01/24 11/02/24
556 750 861 903
557 1,147 896 1,010
560 1,308 1,604 1,831
Brighton Rd 561 781 707 803
562 863 1,005 947
564 384 375 343
565 483 533 529
Dobles Close 567 428 469 426
The Avenue 568 276 316 327
Malcolm Rd 569 1,327 1,367 1,493
Chipstead Valley 1,496
Rd 570 1,512 1,612

 

  Transaction of Free Tickets issued RingGo
11/12/23 - 01/01/24 - 22/01/24 -
  31/12/23 21/01/24 11/02/24
Brighton Rd (19875) 10 10 10
Dobles Close (19877) 0 0 0
The Avenue (19821) 4 1 0
Malcolm Rd (19719) 26 14 8
Chipstead Valley Rd
(19589) 10 15 13

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[3]The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act | Croydon Council
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This should be submitted to us within 40 working days of this response.
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London Borough of Croydon

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Information Team

Croydon Digital Services

Assistant Chief Executive Directorate

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References

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