Shepway consult on Controlled Parking Zone near Folkestone West: £25 resident parking permits proposed
Shepway District Council is consulting local businesses and local residents on the proposed introduction of a Controlled Parking Zone in Folkestone West. The proposals would introduce paid parking permits costing £25 per car for households in affected areas near Folkestone West train station.
Shepway Council say:
"with high speed rail services due to start in December 2009, the scheme aims to reduce congestion caused by commuter parking in the streets within a 350 metre radius of Folkestone West railway station.
"The introduction of the scheme means changes will need to be made to the current on-street parking arrangements in this area and it is vital that these controls best meet local community needs. A Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) is an area where all on-street parking is controlled during certain times of the day. The introduction of a CPZ is a way of managing on-street parking more selectively to:
- Create more parking opportunities for local people and businesses.
- Make streets safer by prohibiting parking at junctions and on bends.
- Allow residents and their visitors to park near to their homes
- Protect access for emergency vehicles and make it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to use the road and footways"
A leaflet which will be sent out to households within the area can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/cvnsmh
A map showing the proposals can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/ck7nta
Public consultation meetings will be held at St George's Hall in Audley Road, Folkestone on 14 May from 13:00 to 16:00, and on 16 May from 11:00 to 15:00.
Folkestone Lib Dem Councillor Tim Prater is unhappy about the proposal to charge £25 per permit for every vehicle in every household in the area. He said:
"The area around Folkestone West desperately needs a parking scheme as local residents are suffering with commuter parking. However, back in May 2008, when Shepway were consulting on their now 'parked' CPZ scheme in Central Folkestone, I argued that at the least, the first permit for each household should be free. I see no reason why that could not be the case in this scheme.
"Shepway Council needs to publish its expected income figures for this scheme as soon as possible: local residents need to know their parking problems are not being used to earn Shepway Council money. I would like to see the scheme costed on the basis of at least the first permit per household being free, as other Council's have done, and being open and honest with local residents on the real costs and income from the scheme."
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