titlepage/contents pg 1-16 - British Parking Association

126 Chapter 7Coach and lorry parking – Chichester.Securing motorcycles.Photo courtesy: DfT.parking. Coach parking bays canbe designated on-street, with orwithout charges. TheRegulations (4) allow for signsthat can be used to designatespaces that coaches and otherbuses can use. Major changes toa town centre’s parking, forexample by the introduction of aControlled Parking Zone or thedevelopment of surface carparks, are likely to impact uponthese arrangements.The parking duration can belimited to picking up and settingdown passengers, with the driverhaving to take the coach toanother location for parking. Inhotel districts overnight parkingcan be a problem, particularly ifthe area is also residential, andTROs can be introduced toprohibit overnight coach parkingon-street.Accommodating coach parkingat or near the point of attractionhas the advantage of reducingthe amount of empty running bycoaches, and being convenientfor both passengers and drivers.In many locations, however,such parking causesunacceptable loss of amenity orsafety hazards. Where nosuitable coach parking can bemade available near theattraction, sites should be foundwith the following attributes:● A route between theattraction and the parkingspaces that is notenvironmentally sensitive;●●If parking is to use on-streetbays, these should bealongside “dead” frontageand away from places wellused by pedestrians;A parking area that is sharedwith other large vehicles withdifferent parking hours, suchas a bus garage during thedaytime, or an office car parkat night time;● Facilities for coach driverssuch as toilets andrefreshment facilities; and● Supervision of coacheswhilst parked for securityreasons.Such set-down and pick-upareas might need to be allocatedclose to the town centre or touristattraction, together with an outlyingarea provided for the layingover of coaches.Motorcycle parkingThere is a particular problem ofsecurity for motorcycles giventheir value as, even if a lock isapplied, the vehicle can bestolen by being lifted onto a lorry.Best practice is to provide secureanchor points, either at groundlevel or by means of a raisedhorizontal bar integral topedestrian railings. There isadvice on the provision ofsecurity points for motorcyclesand about methods of chargingfor motorcycle parking (10.)Motorcycles have an inherentdifficulty in displaying parkingpermits and Pay and Displayvouchers so parking hastraditionally been provided freeof charge. Schemes have beendeveloped to enable parkingcharges to be applied tomotorcycles, for example,Birmingham City Council providesecure boxes beside parkingbays into which motorcyclistspost their Pay and Display ticket,having written their registrationnumber on it. An overallapproach to these problems hasyet to be adopted amongst localauthorities. Small motorcyclesmight also have a valuable rolein maximising the use of parkingat stations popular withcommuters.Advice on motorcycle parking inoff-street car parks is providedearlier in this chapter.Cycle parkingCycle parking should beprovided for major attractions,such as stations and shoppingcentres, and in small groups indispersed locations around townand city centres. The “SheffieldStaple” or similar cycle standsenable cycles to be chainedsecurely. Most areas have alocal cycling organisation andconsultation with cyclists shouldensure that cycle stands are well