Work is due to begin this month on the latest schemes to create much-needed additional parking spaces in neighbourhoods across the city.
The rolling programme of local environmental works by Leicester City Council is creating scores of new parking areas in communities where parking is at a premium, by making alterations to existing parking bays or verges, or improving upon existing hard surface areas in some places.
Similar work carried out over the previous two years has seen over £1million invested in creating 150 new spaces and parking areas in 19 neighbourhoods.
The latest programme of work begins on November 23 and will see three parking areas providing 11 spaces being built at a cost of £100,000 in Kirkwall Crescent, in Thurncourt ward.
At New Romney Close, in Humberstone and Hamilton ward, a new 10-space parking area is being created at a cost of £65,000, starting from November 30.
On the same date, work will start on installing a new five-space layby in Braunstone Avenue, costing £27,500 while in Stoughton Street, in the city’s Wycliffe ward, a new 15-space parking area costing £75,000 will get underway, incorporating an existing hardstanding area.
At each site, the works will take between two and six weeks to complete, depending on the amount of work involved, and will total over £267,000.
Further stages of work are planned for early 2021, including creating a five-space parking area a Apollo Court, in Wycliffe ward, at a cost of £45,000.
In the city’s Western ward, work will be carried out to create five new parking spaces at Wood End, costing £32,000, along with three new spaces at Withen Close (£13,000), four new spaces at Thornholme Close, costing £27,000, and three new spaces across two sites in Mossgate, totalling £32,000.
Alterations will also be made to the bay markings at an existing parking area in Butterwick Drive, Beaumont Leys, to create four new parking spaces.
Proposed schemes which are still awaiting formal planning permission include the creation of a 10-space parking area at Gees Lock Close, in Aylestone, costing around £80,000, and in North Evington, where there are plans for 12 new parking spaces, costing £75,000, at a scheme in Farnham Street.
The schemes focus on residential areas and housing developments where there isn’t sufficient parking, and where concerns over parking issues have been raised locally.
In total, the work being carried out this year and the planned schemes for early 2021 will see an investment of over £500,000 in improving neighbourhood parking. Funding for the schemes is coming from a combination of highways budgets and housing budgets.
Leicester assistant city mayor for neighbourhoods, Cllr Kirk Master, said: “This is part of ongoing work in communities across the city, where parking continues to be a major issue for residents. In many cases, streets which were designed decades ago can’t handle the much higher number of vehicles which we see today.
“In some cases the solution involves making improvements to existing car parking bays, or adapting hard standing areas into new parking spaces, while at other locations we have to start from scratch and create something new.
“In each instance we’re working closely with local ward councillors to look at what can be done and trying our best to find answers which meet the needs of local residents.”
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