Plans for city-wide parking strategy supported

Plans to produce a Chichester city-wide parking strategy to address current and future pressures have been supported by councillors.
On-street permits will also go up later this yearOn-street permits will also go up later this year
On-street permits will also go up later this year

West Sussex County Council held a consultation on a road space audit between August and October last year, which included the suggestion of allocating space for commuter parking in some residential streets.

While the majority of respondents supported the need for an audit, a greater proportion said they had ‘major concerns’ about applying the principles proposed for tackling on-street parking issues.

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A city-wide parking management plan would look to address where unmanaged on-street parking is causing congestion, safety and access issues, and is limiting residents’ ability to park near their homes.

Officers were given permission to develop designs by South Chichester’s County Local Committee on Tuesday night.

Louise Goldsmith, leader of the county council, said she was pleased they had undertaken the audit as parking problems ‘are not going to go away’.

She added: “It’s not right to leave it on the shelf because it’s too difficult.”

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Councillors stressed they were only giving permission for detailed designs and any future proposals would have to be consulted on and also come back for approval before going ahead.

Restrictions in the controlled parking zones could be extended to Sundays in the city centre and evenings in other areas.

Officers argued that a city-wide plan rather than an incremental approach would avoid shifting parking problems from one area of Chichester to another, especially in light of the scale of new housing development planned.

The management plan would also look to align the county council’s work with Chichester District Council’s parking strategy.

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Carol Purnell called for a review of the parking spaces calculator used for new developments, while Pieter Montyn asked officers to bear in mind comments made by residents criticising parts of the audit.

Meanwhile Simon Oakley, CLC chair, highlighted the need for carers and health visitors to have close and easy access to their clients’ homes.

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