Portsmouth council wants to know how the city can fix its parking woes

Ahead of a traffic scrutiny meeting on Tuesday, January 22, residents will have the chance to offer their solutions to problems ranging from parking zones to student and commercial vehicle parking by way of a public deputation.

The call for ideas comes after a city-wide parking survey that was conducted last year, attracting feedback from 2,963 people. A total of 2,500 residents responded saying they were fed up with the daily struggle to find a parking space outside their homes.

Pam Turton, the council's assistant director of transport, said: 'Last year's parking survey identified three main areas of concern with parking in the city: practicalities of introducing resident parking zones across the entire city, how parking should be considered in planning policy and parking by commercial vehicles.

'In a densely populated city such as Portsmouth parking is always going to be a challenge.  As a city council we have introduced a number of schemes, such as resident parking zones and the park and ride alongside investment in walking and cycling initiatives.

'These initiatives help alleviate demand for parking by promoting alternative travel options.'

During the last scrutiny panel, held in June, councillors heard responses from the survey.

Both permitted and non-permitted residential areas were named as the worst in Portsmouth with roads surrounding Chichester Road in North End and Fratton Road among them.

It also found 85 per cent of respondents living outside a permit area found parking to be problematic, compared to 72 per cent of those who lived inside parking zones.

Ms Turton explained why more feedback from members of the public was needed.

'It is important that we continue to speak with residents so we understand more about the issues that they are facing,' she said.

'Last year's parking survey allowed members of the public to put forward suggestions and through the parking scrutiny we are able to explore these ideas further.

'It was very important to ensure that this review was as inclusive as possible therefore deputations were welcomed.'

All new evidence from the meeting will be considered with a future meeting planned to take it into account.

Other issues raised at the last traffic scrutiny meeting included cuts to bus services, dropped kerbs and the potential to park in school and supermarket car parks after hours.

Requests to make a public deputation should be made in writing to democratic services at the council by midday on January 21.