titlepage/contents pg 1-16 - British Parking Association

72 Chapter 6●●●A secure car park clearlysigned from approachroutes;High frequency services; andHigh quality service attributesincluding information,vehicles, drivers, and tariffs.Park-and-ride at rail stationsusually provide for commuterstravelling to a city centre. Mostare provided by and managed bythe train or tram operatingcompany. “Parkway” stations canprovide easy access to the railnetwork from areas poorlyserved by rail, and reduce trafficaccessing stations in centralareas, but the potentialconsequence of encouragingmore commuting from ruralareas needs to be addressed.Park-and-ride facilities need tobe planned carefully so as not torun counter to local planning ortransport policy and should beprimarily assessed on thebenefits they bring in helping toreduce congestion in town andcity centres. In Denmark and theNetherlands, they provide “cycleand-ride”facilities rather thanjust car parking.Station Car ParksStation car parks are also a formof park-and-ride facility, if notwidely recognised as such.Fares and charges are oftenseparate. They are usuallymanaged by train operatingcompanies, and are charged atrates that are perceived tobenefit the companies involved.Where there is a high level ofcommuter demand, charge ratesare usually higher than for publiccar parking in the vicinity, andfrequently comprise onestandard daily rate. Other, moreshort-stay users can beconsequently deterred. Localauthorities should establishliaison with the train companiesin order to effect decisions thatwill influence transportobjectives.Problems can arise on streetssurrounding stations from driverswho are parking and continuingtheir journey by rail. Known as“railheading”, this occurs wherethere is no station car park, orthe car park is insufficient tomeet demand, or where driverswant to avoid the parking charge.Although it may be desirable toencourage the use of rail forcommuting, this must bebalanced against the problemsthat railheading creates forresidents and others aroundstations. Controlled parkingzones can be created for suchareas, with a tariff structuredesigned to achieve anappropriate balance. Space canalso be considered for those whoare railheading but who do notwish to park all day. Thisgenerally is not supplied instation car parks because itreduces revenue, but it can morereadily be provided on-streetwith graduated charges.New non-residentialdevelopmentDecisions on the amount ofparking to be provided in newnon-residential developmentsare crucial in influencing themodal split and traffic volumetrends in an area. If the quantityof parking allows for a higherproportion of trips by car than theaverage for the town or area,then that development will raisethe average. Conversely, a policyto reduce the proportion of tripsmade by car in a town or arearequires that a new developmentprovide for less than theprevailing average car modeshare. The alternative to this is toreduce the car mode share atexisting developments, leadingto what may be termed “trendcompensation”.In determining these matters thelocal authority should establishmaximum levels of parkingprovision for such developmentsand, within these, negotiate thelowest levels possible forindividual schemes.A policy can be consideredwhereby there is a presumptionagainst the provision of privatenon-residential off-street parking.If all parking is available to allusers there will be greaterefficiency in the use of land, and