Parking Services Improvements 2012/13 PDF 75 KB - Gravesham ...

Classification: Part 1 - Public
Key Decision: No
Gravesham Borough Council
Report to:
Cabinet
Date: 10 September 2012
Reporting officer:
Service Manager (Parking & Amenities)
Subject: Parking Services Improvements 2012/13
Purpose and summary of report:
To provide Members with an update report summarising developments made within Parking
Services this year and to outline further initiatives planned to improve the quality of service for
the customer.
Recommendations:
None
1. Introduction
1.1 The report details recent developments made to improve the quality of service to
the customer in response to requests from Cabinet Members and feedback
received from the public. In addition changes have been made in the ‘back office’
arrangements to improve the effectiveness of support to the front-line service.
2. Parking Services Improvements
2.1 Park Mark Award
2.1.1 Members will be aware that ‘Park Mark’ is a car park ‘quality’ award. Park
Mark is awarded based on criteria covering such qualities as car park
security, CCTV coverage, car park lighting, signage and car park layout.
Three of our car parks, Parrock Street, Rathmore Road and Milton Place,
were recently inspected and re-awarded Park Mark status.
2.1.2 In addition to working with Park Mark to ensure that these three car parks
continue to retain the Park Mark award we are now also working even
more closely with the Police to help ensure security and crime prevention
considerations are maximised within all of our car parks.

2.2 Pay and Display Machines
2.2.1 The existing pay and display parking machines are eight years old and are
clearly in need of replacement.
2.2.2 A review of the frequency of parking machine breakdowns in addition to a
significant increase in break-ins and thefts from the machines over recent
months reinforced the need for the machines to be replaced. The number
of break-ins being experienced was also having an adverse impact on the
service provided to the customer as some parking machines remained out
of action for a period of time whilst waiting for spare parts to repair the
machines to be delivered and fitted. It was also considered that the
introduction of new more secure car parking machines would reduce the
current high levels of machine repair costs.
2.2.3 To maximise the advantage gained through the procurement process for
acquiring the new car parking machines, a mini-competition exercise was
held between five of the main providers of pay and display machines pretendered
under the Eastern Shires Procurement Organisation (ESPO)
framework. The tender process took into account key factors including the
lifetime cost to install and maintain the machines, the quality of the security
aspects of the machines, the quality of the management reports produced
and the timescale within which the contract could be delivered.
2.2.4 The tender exercise was completed on 17 August 2012 and following an
evaluation process the council awarded the contract to Parkeon. The
application of a mini-competition process to the suppliers on the pretendered
procurement framework added a further competitive edge to this
contract to help ensure that the council has achieved value for money in
terms of both the cost and quality of the new machines.
2.2.5 Through the procurement process we have worked with the Police to
ensure that security and crime prevention issues associated with the
replacement of the parking machines are properly and effectively taken
into account.
2.2.6 Following the award of the contract it is anticipated that all 42 machines
will be installed in the car parks and the on-street locations by the end of
October 2012.
2.2.7 The cost of the new machines, at around £110,000, can be
accommodated from within existing budgets, due to the new contract being
significantly cheaper than previous procurement exercises for such
equipment. As half of the pay and display machines will be provided for
the on-street parking function, the costs associated with these machines
(£55,000 of the total) will be charged against the Council’s
Decriminalisation Account, utilising accumulated surpluses and in-year
budget savings as a mechanism for financing the expense. The remaining
£55,000 for the pay and display machines to be located in the Council’s
vehicle parks will be funded primarily by savings made on the annual
provision for maintenance of the existing pay and display machines, which
currently totals around £60,000 per annum and other savings made within
the car parks budget.
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2.2.8 Looking forwards, the current exercise to replace the pay and display
machines has demonstrated the need for an annual replacement provision
to be put in place (with contributions being made from both the Council’s
General Fund and Decriminalisation Account) – thereby ensuring that the
Council maintains up-to-date and secure pay and display machines at all
times, which are replaced on a periodic basis as they reach the end of
their economically viable life. Initial estimates suggest that this annual
provision should be in the region of £20,000 per annum, and after taking
into account a further provision for annual maintenance of the parking
machines, it is anticipated than an annual reduction to the Council’s base
budget will be possible. Further details with regard to this annual provision
for replacement equipment and the resulting budget savings will be
contained within the Council’s 2013-14 Budget Setting report.
2.3 Pay-by-Phone
2.3.1 Following the award of the pay and display machines contract work is now
underway to introduce a ‘pay-by-phone’ option to enable customers to pay
for their parking time by debit or credit card using their smartphone. This
is a system of payment which offers benefits to the customer and to the
parking provider and is a method of payment that is increasing in
popularity.
2.3.2 There are a number of benefits to the customer and these include the
ability to pay for parking without needing any coins; the ability to receive a
text to remind you that your parking time is about to expire and the ability
to extend your parking time without having to return to your car. Benefits
to the council would include a reduction in cash being held in the parking
machines reducing the risk of theft; a reduction in machine downtime and
maintenance costs as the physical machines do not get so much usage
and a reduction in pay and display ticket costs.
2.3.3 There are a number of different suppliers who currently provide pay-byphone
systems. The various systems are currently being reviewed to
assess which system will most closely meet the council’s requirements
whilst providing best value for money.
2.4 Parking Enforcement Software
2.4.1 The current software system used to manage Penalty Charge Notices
(PCN’s) and the administration of parking permits has been in operation
for the last 12 years. It is understood from the system supplier Civica that
due to new systems releases made by the company this older system will
no longer be supported by the company. It will therefore be necessary for
the council to replace this system and accordingly work is underway to
evaluate the various PCN systems on the market.
2.4.2 The evaluation process will ensure that any new PCN and permit
administration software is compatible with the pay-by-phone system that
will be acquired. Whilst the council has no control over the current PCN
system becoming unsupported by Civica it is considered that the existing
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system is not efficient and the acquisition of the new system will bring
other benefits by enabling the Parking Services team to streamline some
of their current manual procedures.
2.5 Parking Services Team
2.5.1 Following a number of posts becoming vacant within Parking Services the
opportunity was taken to review the structure of the team with a view to
increasing the efficiency and productivity of the service and to provide
clearer dedicated functions, whilst still operating within existing budgets.
2.5.2 After completing the top down re-structure starting with creating the post of
Parking Operations Manager to run the day-to-day Parking services
operation further consideration was given to creating the best structures to
deliver the civil enforcement duties and the back office administration
functions.
2.5.3 The new structure introduced provides a better separation of duties
between the Civil Enforcement Officers and the back-office processing and
management team. A Senior Parking Officer post has also been created to
head-up the running of the office administration and processing team and
this ensures that there is a clear division of duties which was lacking
before. Under the Traffic Management Act 2004 there should be a clear
separation of duties and roles between those issuing the fines and those
processing them, the re-structure has therefore brought the service more
into line with the Act.
2.5.4 The final part of the structure was to create a team leader post to lead and
supervise the enforcement officers and to act as a single point of contact
for management. This post supervises the enforcement team and ensures
that patrols are carried out efficiently to maximise the effectiveness of the
enforcement team.
2.5.5 To further assist with these changes the Office team were moved onto the
first floor within the Civic Centre and this has enabled more effective
engagement with key teams such as Community Safety and Finance.
2.5.6 The Parking Services team is now fully staffed and is operating well with
the many tasks they are required to perform.
3. BACKGROUND PAPERS
3.1 Background papers are held by the Operations Manager (Parking and Amenities)
at the Civic Centre.
Anyone wishing to inspect background papers should, in the first place, be
directed to Committee & Electoral Services who will make the necessary
arrangements.
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IMPLICATIONS APPENDIX 1
Legal
Finance and
Value for
Money
Risk
Assessment
Equality
Impact
Assessment
Under the Traffic Management Act 2004 and the SLA with Kent County Council as
its agent for on street enforcement the council has a duty to provide an effective
Parking Service. These proposals support the Council’s compliance with the Traffic
Management Act 2004.
All the projects mentioned within the report have been considered for their financial
implications and value for money and specific details are contained within the body
of the report.
Failure to introduce good parking systems and procedures could potentially
damage the council’s reputation with its customers.
Screening for Equality Impacts
Question Answer Explanation
a. Does the decision
being made or
recommended through
this paper have
potential to cause
adverse impact or
discriminate against
different groups in the
community?
b. Does the decision
being made or
recommended through
this paper make a
positive contribution to
promoting equality?
No
No
c. What steps are you
taking to mitigate,
reduce, avoid or
minimise the impacts
identified above?
In submitting this report, the Chief Officer doing so is confirming that they have
given due regard to the equality impacts of the decision being considered, as noted
in the table above
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Corporate
Business
Plan
Crime and
Disorder
The report has links to;
Corporate priority 16 – delivering quality front line services
Corporate priority 15 – working with partners to develop high quality transport
infrastructure.
Parking Services work closely with the Community Safety Unit in helping to prevent
crime and disorder.