FINAL proposals for a new residents’ parking scheme on and around a busy Leicester road have been published by the city council.
Leicester City Council plans to introduce a permit-only parking scheme in the Evington Road area to help address local concerns about the number of commuter and business vehicles using residential streets for free all-day parking.
It has now begun the formal legal process to implement the Traffic Regulation Order required to change parking restrictions and introduce the new residents’ parking scheme and extend an existing one.
The proposed new scheme will include mainly terraced streets adjoining Evington Road, with seven additional streets off nearby St Peter’s Road due to be included in the existing Highfields residents’ parking scheme. In total this will affect around 1,680 homes and businesses.
Designs for the new residents’ parking scheme have been drafted up in response to concerns raised by residents and Stoneygate ward councillors over persistent parking problems in the area and follow public consultation.
Most parking in the streets included in the proposal will only be available to vehicle owners who have a valid resident’s, visitor’s or business parking permit.
More than 20 streets, on both sides of Evington Road, will be covered by the proposed scheme. These include Chepstow Road, Conway Road, Cromer Street, Dashwood Road, Devana Road, Draper Street, Evington Parks Road, Evington Road, Glossop Street, Halsbury Street, Hazlewood Road, Kedleston Road, part of Kimberley Road, Kingston Road, Linton Street, St Lyme Road, Osmaston Road, Rowsley Street and Sawley Street. Herschell Street, Mundella Street, and Ripon Street – which already have residents’ parking in place – will be moved in the new scheme area.
Seven streets off St Peter’s Road will be incorporated into the existing Highfields residents’ parking scheme, including Biddulph Avenue, Chandos Street, Laurel Street, Lonsdale St, part of Mere Road, Roslyn Street and Sutherland Street.
As part of the proposals, short-term parking bays are also proposed to support for businesses in the area. These will allow visitors to park for up to one-hour. There will also be 10-minute limited waiting bays created on parts of Evington Road to cater for vehicles stopping to collect takeaway food. Loading bays will also be provided for local businesses.
Double yellow lines will also be introduced at junctions within both areas to help tackle congestions and other issues caused by dangerous and inconsiderate parking.
Cllr Geoff Whittle, assistant city mayor for environment and transport, said: “We’ve seen in other parts of the city how the introduction of residents’ parking schemes can be an effective way of tackling parking problems in local neighbourhoods and freeing up spaces for the people who live there.
“In this case, the ward councillors have committed to address residents’ concerns over problems caused by commuter parking and takeaway traffic.
“Officers have carried out detailed consultation work to gauge the level of support for the proposed scheme, which streets to include and what provisions to make for short-term visitor parking, to address those problems and help ensure local businesses don’t suffer. We are now planning to implement those changes as soon as we can.”
Under the city council’s current parking permit scheme, charges will be £35 per year for a residents’ permit; £100 per year for a business permit tied to a particular vehicle, and £150 for a business permit that can be transferred between vehicles. Visitor permits are available for residents, at either £40 for a year, or £2 for 24-hours. Permits for landlords and carers are also available. Vehicles displaying a blue badge will be exempt from the permit holders only restriction.
Leicester City Council has now made a formal application for the traffic regulation order (TRO) needed to introduce the two new residents parking schemes. People can can view the TRO in full on the city council's website here
People have until Wednesday 2 April to register their support or object to the proposals.