portsmouth tt20100311r5

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www.portsmouth.gov.uk

Agenda item: 5Decision maker: Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation

Subject: Parking Section Annual Report 2008/09

Date of decision: 11th March 2010

Report by: Head of Transport and Street Management

Wards affected: All

Key decision: NoBudget & policy framework decision: No

1. Summary

1.1 This report covers the activities of the Parking Section during the last financialyear

2. Purpose of report

2.1 To comply with legislation from the Department of Transport an annual report needs tobe submitted to them. It also contains useful information for Members and residents.

3. Background

3.1 The Parking Section has submitted an annual report for several years as good practice.Part 4 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 came into operation on the 31st March2008.This required every authority in England and Wales which has adopteddecriminalised enforcement powers to submit an annual report.

4. Recommendations

4.1 That the report be noted;

4.2 That a copy of the report be submitted to the Department of Transport andElected Members.

5. Reasons for recommendations

5.1 To comply with national legislation.

5.2 To keep Members and Residents informed.

6. Options considered and rejected

6.1 As this is a statutory duty, we are duty bound to produce this report.


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7. Duty to involve

7.1 This not a decision making document there is therefore no need to involve residents.

8. Implications

8.1 The content of the report at appendix A is likely to attract the attention of the media.9. Corporate priorities

9.1 This report and the project it refers to contribute to the following Corporate Priorities:

Reduce crime and the fear of crime

Cleaner and greener city

Improve public transport

10. Equality impact assessment (EIA)

10.1 This is a report on the operation of the service in the last financial year. An EIA is nottherefore relevant.

11. Legal implications

11.1 The City Solicitor is satisfied that it is within the powers of the City Council to approveThe recommendations set out above.

12. Head of finances comments

12.1 The financial aspects of the Parking Section are described in Section 10 of the annualreport and in Appendix F.

.Head of Transport and Street Management

Appendices: Appendix A Parking Section Annual Report 2008 - 2009


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Background list of documents: Section 100D of the Local Government Act 1972

The following documents disclose facts or matters, which have been relied upon to a materialextent by the author in preparing this report:

Title of document Location1 None2

The recommendation(s) set out above were approved/ approved as amended/ deferred/rejected by Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation on the 11th March 2010.

Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation


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Table of Contents

Introduction

1 Overview

2 We dont just issue tickets

3 Policies and strategies

4 Climate change and air quality

5 Listening to community views on parking

6 Enactment of Traffic Management Act 2004 Part 6

Whats happening?

7 Customer service

8 Staffing Issues

9 Training

10 Car parking on and off street

11 Technological Innovation/Maintenance

12 Vehicle crime

13 Residents parking

14 Disabled badges and bays

15 Review of parking restrictions

16 Special events

17 Removal and disposal of vehicles

18 Vehicles for sale on the highway

Whats coming up?

19 Blue badge fraud prevention and detection

20 Blue badge physical assessment

21 Replacement pay on foot system

22 Camera enforcement


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23 Parking restriction review continuation

24 Concessions for low emission vehicles

25 Enforcement by cycle patrols

26 Visitor permits by phone

27 Enforcement of new restrictions

Statistics, financial information and performance

28 Enforcement of parking restrictions

29 Appeals

30 Financial performance

31 Parking Managers comments

More information

Appendix A Staff chartB -- Staff sickness graphC Car parks

D Residents parking schemesE Penalty notice statisticsF Financial appraisal


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Introduction

1.0 Overview

1.1 The Portsmouth City Council Parking Section came into being on the 5th April 1999 whenenforcement commenced under the powers of the Road Traffic Act 1991. We were then thefifth authority outside of London to do so. There are now in excess of 200 with more joiningeach year. This statute transferred enforcement powers from the Police to local authoritiesand introduced a civil hearing conducted by the National Parking Adjudication Service, ratherthan cases being heard by the Magistrates Court.

1.2 On the 31st

March 2008 the Road Traffic Act 1991 was replaced by Part 6 of the TrafficManagement Act 2004. This has introduced a number of changes including the introductionof differential penalties dependant upon the severity of the contravention. The impact ofthese changes is contained in this years report.

1.3 The introduction of bus lane enforcement by some authorities and the fact that NPAS did not

include London or Scotland, where separate adjudication took place, prompted a change intitle of the adjudication service to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

1.4 We therefore not only celebrate our first year operating under the TMA 2004, but also our10th year of operation in total.

1.5 One of the changes of this new legislation is that every authority in England and Walesoperating parking under the legislation has to submit an annual report to the Department forTransport.

2.0 We dont just issue tickets!

2.1 The work of the Parking Section has expanded over the years and now includes a number ofareas:-

Parking Policy and strategy

Off-street car parks

On-street pay & display places

Enforcement of parking restrictions

Processing of challenges and appeals

Dealing with abandoned and untaxed motor vehicles

Residents parking surveys

Implementation and administration of residents parking schemes

Drafting and implementation of traffic regulation orders

Reporting vehicles illegally traded on the highway


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Issuing of disabled badges and administration of disabled bays

Vehicle crime reduction in co-operation with the Police

Cash collection and banking

Car park & parking meter maintenance, both internal and external

Signage

Partnership working with other parking providers

Participation in Special Event Planning & Operation

Car Clubs

Park and Ride

3.0 Policies and Strategies

3.1 The Parking Section is part of the Transport and Street Management Service and plays a fullpart in contributing to its Business Plan which in turn contributes to the Corporate Priorities.

3.2 The Parking Service objectives are reproduced from the business plan and are as follows:-

A) Prevent traffic congestion from illegal parking ensuring free flow of traffic andimproved road safety.

Assessment of Target:

Link to bus punctuality times

Link to average journey times from traffic monitoring sites

Link to reduction in road traffic casualties

Strategies for achieving objective:

Ensure Traffic Management Control Room staff monitor main routes by CCTV and directenforcement to areas where there are problems.

Main roads identified as Priority beats and covered first in the duty enforcement roster.

Contribute to organisation and management of planned corporate events

Introduce staff tracker system for efficient deployment

Contribute to Emergency Traffic Plan.

B) Use enforcement powers to improve road safety.



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Monitor percentage reduction in casualties Link to bus journey times


Introduce and amend traffic regulation orders to protect junctions and other locations

where safety is an issue. Introduce camera enforcement of other traffic offences as powers become available

Visit five schools per day from a rota, at the beginning and end of the school day toimprove road safety for children.

Control the number of on-street spaces and wherever possible reduce the amount ofparking restrictions, freeing up space.

C) Use on and off-street parking controls to support economic and transportpolicy objectives

Assessment of target:

Monitor percentage increase in use of PCC car parks


Where economically possible increase the available number of public off-street car parkspaces.

Provide for the parking needs of people with disabilities.

Review staff parking arrangements and introduce a staff parking plan

Introduce residents parking schemes where these are requested Use parking tariffs to influence take up of parking (demand management)

Control number of on-street spaces, reducing restrictions where possible

D) Tackle parking related crime.


Police vehicle crime statistics.

Number of abandoned vehicles removed.

Number of untaxed vehicles removed


Reduce car crime especially in car parks working with the Vehicle Crime ReductionGroup.

Identify and remove abandoned vehicles

Identify and remove untaxed vehicles.

Identify and reduce the number of cars being offered for sale on the highway. Reduce abuse and fraudulent use of disabled blue badges.


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4.0 Climate change and air quality.

4.1 The city council is committed to reducing its carbon emissions and the Parking Service isbeginning to play its part, despite our core business being about motor vehicles.

4.2 Whilst it is early in the process and there will no doubt be more details in next years report,we havestarted to introduce some measures to contribute to the objectives.

We have commenced a programme to convert all of our mains operated parking metersto solar power.

We have installed energy saving lights and a lightmizer unit in our multi storey car park.

Reduced our fleet of vehicles by two in the financial year

Financially supported the introduction of Common wheels car club

Supported the temporary park & ride scheme

5.0 Listening to community views on parking.

5.1 We endeavour to take into account the views of our customers whenever possible. There area number of ways that these can be communicated:-

Parking Forum this is an interactive web based site where customers can postquestions, read other customers questions and the responses to them.

Parking email this enables the customer to post comments to the service that are dealtwith on an individual basis

Neighbourhood Forums and Residents meetings parking is frequently on the agenda ofthese public meetings and a member of the management team will attend to answerquestions or explain policy.

Road Shows - whenever a new resident parking survey is being conducted not only areviews collated by paper returns or online but members of the team will organise a roadshow in a nearby building to explain the issues to personal visitors.

Mori poll we participated in two resident polls conducted by Mori. The Place survey andthe National Highway & Transport survey.

6.0 Enactment of Traffic Management Act 2004 - Part 6

6.1 On the 31st March 2008, the government replaced Decriminalised Parking Enforcementacross the country with Civil Parking Enforcement which is carried out under the TrafficManagement Act 2004.

6.2 The new legislation represents the single biggest change in the way parking is enforcedsince the Road Traffic Act 1991. The aim is to provide consistency by creating a singleframework for parking regulations across the country. It ensures a fair system is in place and


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requires councils to be more transparent and accountable. We have always endeavoured tooperate in this context and have therefore embraced this ideal.

6.3 One of the changes in legislation was to introduce differential parking penalties. Thegovernments aim is to make the system fairer and to encourage enforcement to be targetedtowards the more serious contraventions.

6.4 Higher penalties (70) are issued to motorists who park where it is generally not permittede.g. on yellow lines, bus stops, disabled bays and school keep clear markings.

6.5 The less serious contraventions (50) such as overstaying on a meter or limited waiting bayattract the lower penalty.

6.6 There is still a 50% discount on these charges if paid within 14-days.

Whats happening?

7.0 Customer Service

7.1 The parking office continues to open on a Saturday morning between 8am and 1pm on avoluntary basis which has proved to be extremely popular with the public. An average of 64people per morning took advantage of this facility for a personal visit. In addition anunrecorded number of people also contacted us by telephone.

7.2 The average number of customers making a personal visit to the office last year was 665 perweek. The total of all personal visits was 37,908.

7.3 Parking is also responsible for the staffing and operation of the traffic management centre.They monitor traffic via the CCTV system and are responsible for informing the media of anyissues on the network, notifying engineers regarding any problems with traffic signals andassisting the public with general enquires.

7.4 In the last year they received 9,795 calls regarding parking, 831 about traffic signals, 138about abandoned vehicles and sent out 3957 messages to the media and others regardingroad works, special events and other items of public interest.

7.5 Customers are able to renew permits or pay penalty charge notices 24-hours per day byphone or email in addition to the usual payment methods.

8.0 Staffing Issues

8.1 The total number of staff employed in the Parking Section is 92 and is explained in the staffchart at appendix A.

8.2 Enforcement is carried out by three teams working on a rota basis 7-days per week and apermanent day team working Monday to Friday. The normal hours of operation are 7am -10pm. However on occasion the hours are extended until 2am to ensure the variousregulations are being complied with.

8.3 During the last financial year 30 incidents of violence were reported by enforcement staff.Three have been subjected to physical assault, nine serious verbal abuse, one racial abuse


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and ten were intimidated. Although any assault on staff is serious, fortunately none resultedin serious injury. Verbal abuse is still an issue and frequently comes from passers by ratherthan the vehicle driver. The verbal cases reported are only the most serious. Minor abuse isunfortunately an everyday occurrence.

8.4 A total of six complaints were received from the public about enforcement staff andinvestigated. Two of which were substantiated with subsequent disciplinary action.

8.5 In previous reports I have commented on the levels of sickness in the enforcement teams.Whilst a higher average than in other parts of the organisation should be expected, due tothe nature of the work and exposure to the elements, I am pleased to report that it hasreduced.

8.6 As a result of the strict application of PCCs absence management policies, the managementteam, with HR support, have succeeded in reducing the average sickness in enforcementfrom 29-days per annum to 14.

8.7 A graph on staff sickness is attached at appendix B.

9.0 Training

9.1 Approximately 200 days in total have been spent on staff training in the last year. A precisenumber is difficult to calculate as some courses consist of several hours a week over anumber of weeks.

9.2 The courses attended covered the following:-

Health & Safety

Data Protection

Dealing with Challenging People

Assertiveness

Equalities & Diversity

Race & Racism

Cultural Awareness

Witness Training

Personal Development Review

Motivation & Team Building

Traffic Management Act 2004

Train to Gain Maths and English

Those attending received either NVQ or City & Guild qualification depending on the course.


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10.0 Car parking on and off-street.

10.1 The City Council operates a number of car parks. During the year a number of these wererenamed to better reflect their location and assist tourists. I.e. Victory car park on theseafront. Whilst it is near to the HMS Victory anchor it is some distance from HM Dockyardand the ship itself. It was renamed Esplanade Car Park. A list of car parks and their

capacities is in appendix C.

10.2 Unlike many cities the majority of parking in our main retail and entertainment areas suchas the City Centre, Gunwharf Quays and Port Solent is mainly owned and operatedprivately. This to some extent minimises the impact we can have on influencing motorists toreduce congestion and CO2 emissions through pricing.

10.3 Negotiations commenced during the year with the intention of entering into a partnershipwith private companies in three specific areas to operate their land as public car parks.

10.4The first of those in the old Zurich Insurance car park has been operating successfully sinceNovember 2008 although the site is in the process of being redeveloped.

10.5 The remaining two sites are still being actively pursued but have encountered somedifficulties in the planning and approval processes.

10.6 Our 27 surface and one multi storey car parks contain 3,680 spaces which generated atotal income of just over 2.6 million and a netsurplus of 1,581,828. This net surplus(1,581,828) is compared to the cash limited budget surplus (1,764,025) producing anoverall deficit of 182,197.

10.7On-street there are pay & display areas around the city which contain 2768 spaces. Theincome in the financial year from these amounted to just over 3.4 million which created asurplus over expenditure of (959,145) including untaxed vehicles.

10.8 The surplus of income from On-Street Parking may be used for the purposes ofmeeting all or any part of the cost of providing and maintaining of off-street parkingunder the provisions of Section 55 of the Road Traffic Act 1984 (as amended by theTraffic Management Act 2004).According to the Act the money can be used for the following purposes (as well as forother specified purposes):(a) to make up for any shortfalls in the off-street parking account;

(b) provision or maintenance of parking infrastructure;(c) highway and environmental improvements (including reducing pollution) and(d) in the case of such local authorities as may be prescribed, such otherpurposes for which the local authority may l awfully incur expenditure.

11.0 Technical innovation and maintenance

11.1During the last financial year several initiatives have been undertaken to improve customerchoice and accessibility. Amongst these are:-

a) The introduction of the option to pay for parking by mobile phone at every on and offstreet parking place by use of the Ring Go system.


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b) The procurement of chip & pin parking meters to be installed in June.

c) The introduction of French, Spanish and German options to our talking parking meters,giving crime prevention and other information in tourist areas.

d) The commencement of the programme to make all our residential disabled bays in theCity enforceable rather than just of courtesy status, which will be completed this year.

e) The commencement of our programme to convert all of our parking meters to solar powerwhich will support the councils climate change agenda.

11.2 The section maintains the cities 359 parking meters and fulfils a similar service for thesurrounding boroughs of Havant, Gosport, Fareham and East Hants.

11.3 It also erects signage in support of the various parking restrictions around the city and onoccasions erects signage for other sections of PCC.

11.4 Cash collection from the pay and display meters and pay on foot pay stations is also

undertaken by the team together with contracted cash collections from private operators.

11.5 All cash collected is counted and banked by the finance team within the section.

12.0 Vehicle crime

12.1 The parking department is committed to assisting the Police in reducing car crime in thecity. Together with other partners such as the Fire Service and Portsmouth University, theParking Manager or his Deputy represent PCC on the Vehicle Crime StrategicPartnership.

12.2 Operation Cobra - For several years we have been involved in a car crime initiative jointlywith the Police named as Operation Cobra. This targets car crime based on a system oflocation, victim and offender identification.

12.3 The following extract from the Police reproduced with their permission explains theactivities.

OPERATION COBRA - ACTIVITIESHeadline news: 45% of vehicle crime in 2008/9 occurred in 123 streets.

Focusing on this aspect will enable crime prevention to be focused through the next year as theopportunity arises. This works on the principle that the same profile will occur. Working in thisway will seek to act against the underlying causes of the crimes and is intended to act as acatalyst for closer working relationships between analyst, crime prevention officer and partners.It allows routine activity tackling prevention and detection to take place.

87 streets reached crime levels between 5 and 8 through the year and represented 23% of allthe crime.

36 streets reached between 9 and 26 through the year and represented 22% of all the crime.

In setting objectives the following are SMART1. reduce all vehicle crime


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2. reduce the overall number of streets in which it occurs (increases public satisfaction)3. reduce the crime in streets that host five or more crimes4. reduce the number of streets that host five or more crimes5. reduce the crime in streets with thirteen or more crimes6. reduce the number of streets that host thirteen or more vehicle crimes7. reduce the level of crime in the highest street

The Operation Cobra approach is to manage crime prevention and focus detection in the streetsthat reach 5 or more crimes through the year. At the outset each sector will also be able to befocused on tackling the worst streets in their respective areas over the past year. Action hasalready commenced to address the long term issues.

Location based signs street signs for identifiable areas provided by PCC

Portsmouth City Council Parking meter signs crime prevention messages

PCC Parking permits messages Cobra messages on reverse

Talking PCC Parking meters- crime prevention messages

Operation Cobra postcards

Operation Cobra - Crime prevention packs (awaits further consideration)

Letters to motorists who leave items on view especially in problem streets

Crime prevention trailer

Vehicle crime Operation Cobra Priority streets 2008/2009

STREET SECTORYEAR2008/9

GREETHAM STREET PC01 19

QUEEN STREET PC02 21

GUNWHARF QUAYS PC02 8

ANGLESEA ROAD PC02 8

THE HARD PC02 7

GUNWHARF ROAD PC02 6

ORDNANCE ROW PC02 5

ST. PAULS ROAD PC03 22

BURNABY ROAD PC03 20

PEMBROKE ROAD PC03 9

LONG CURTAIN ROAD PC03 8

BRADFORD ROAD PC03 5

CASTLE ROAD PC03 5

CAMBRIDGE ROAD PC03 5

EDINBURGH ROAD PC04 17CRASSWELL STREET PC04 11

STATION STREET PC04 5

STANHOPE ROAD PC04 5

ESTELLA ROAD PF01 5

LONDON ROAD PF02 26

NORTHERN PARADE PF02 16

NELSON AVENUE PF02 5

ALEXANDRA PARK PF02 5

EASTERN ROAD PF05 17

BURRFIELDS ROAD PF05 15

EASTERN ROAD PN01 5

HIGH STREET PN02 14CLARENCE ESPLANADE PS01 13

CLARENCE PARADE PS01 6


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FRENSHAM ROAD PS02 5

FAWCETT ROAD PS02 5

HENDERSON ROAD PS04 5

LONGSHORE WAY PS04 5

FERRY ROAD PS04 5

Victim care - 5 to 8

Location - 9 to 12

Offender - 13 to 20Partnership Problem 21 plus

12.4Park Mark

12.5 Park Mark is an initiative if the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) designed toreduce crime and the fear of crime within parking facilities. The Safer Parking AwardScheme is managed by the British Parking Association (BPA) through developmentmanagers and supported by the Home Office, the Scottish Executive and all the Police forcesin England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The primary aim of the scheme is toprevent criminal behaviour within the parking environment. Owners/operators of a parking

facility are therefore required to adopt an active management strategy to ensure minimaloccurrence of crime. After assessment, the Police can award Park Mark status to parkingfacilities that are properly managed and maintained. These facilities will also have achievedappropriate standards that contribute to reducing the opportunity for crime as follows:-

Surveillance

Lighting

Signage

Cleanliness

12.6 In the last year 17 of our car parks have held Park Mark status. However in March 2009

in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Traffic & Transportation a decision was takento withdraw from this scheme.

The reasons for this decision were as follows:-

Lack of recognition of the scheme by the public

Choice of parking rarely influenced by Park Mark status

Most car crime in Portsmouth occurs on-street not in car parks and this scheme doesnot operate on-street.

The cost of membership - 2,700 per annum would be better spent in a practical manner

to reduce car crime. We can still ensure our car parks are secure without membership of the scheme.

Since this decision was implemented there has been no increase in off-street car crime.

13.0 Resident parking schemes

13.1The first residents parking scheme was introduced into the City in 1999There are now 28 such schemes with 10,485 permit holders. Eight new areas have beensurveyed to establish residents views on the introduction of permit parking in accordance

with the approved 3-year programme. One is awaiting a decision on whether it will beprogressed. The seven remaining will not proceed due to lack of support. Three existing


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areas were resurveyed to establish residents views on their effectiveness. The surveyscovered a total of 4,850 properties.

13.2 Analysing the responses placing them on a data base and responding to residentsquestions continues to put a considerable strain on our administration staff.

13.3 The total cost of undertaking these surveys was 6,570 in the last financial year.

13.4 The list of existing schemes is at appendix D.

14.0 Disabled badges and bays

14.1 The blue badge scheme is a national arrangement of parking concessions for people withsevere walking difficulties, caused by their medical condition, who travel either as a driveror passenger in a vehicle.

14.2 The intention of the scheme is to allow the badge holder to park as close to their destinationas is possible. This concession only applies to on-street parking and its use is subject tostrict guidelines.

14.3 A small team of two dedicated staff supported when necessary by staff from the noticeprocessing section are responsible for the receipt and processing of all blue badgeapplications and renewals.

14.4 The blue badge once issued is valid for 3-years at which point it has to be renewed. In thelast year the team processed approximately 3,200 applications and renewals.

14.5 Those blue badge holders with severe walking difficulties may be eligible for a disabled bayoutside of their property. These are granted automatically to those in receipt of the higherrate mobility allowance or in other cases through an assessment process as a result of areport from the applicants GP.

14.6 In the last year 288 new bays were installed, 321 were repainted due to wear and tear and185 were removed. Enquires from the public resulted in 556 application forms being sentout.

14.7 The city had approximately 1,500 advisory disabled bays which were often abused by otherresidents. This year saw the completion of a process to make the last 974 bays enforceable

and complete the programme.

14.8 This has been an expensive process as three traffic regulation orders have been requiredto introduce the restrictions at a cost of approximately 6,000.In addition each bay costs our budgets between 70 and 90 to line and sign. However ithas vastly improved life for a number of disabled people.

15.0 Review of parking restrictions

15.1 A dedicated officer within the parking team is responsible for the drafting of traffic regulation

orders, the public consultation over their implementation and the collation of responsesfrom the public into a report to the Cabinet Member for Traffic & Transportation.


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15.2 Every parking restriction whether it is on a street or in a car park requires a legal authorityto enable it to be enforced. This is achieved by the formal advertising of our proposals inthe local evening newspaper and by placing notices on street furniture in the vicinity of theproposed restriction. (These are erected by members of the technical/maintenancesection.)

15.3 In the period covered by this report a total of 27 new orders were made and brought in to

address concerns over road safety and traffic management.

15.4 Orders were also advertised to introduce or extend three residents parking schemes. Inaddition a consolidation order was introduced to amalgamate a number of existing oldorders into one new order.

15.5 As Portsmouth is one of the most densely populated cities in the country every parkingspace becomes extremely important. For this reason a review of all the restrictions in thecity was commenced to ensure that they are still all required. This is being conducted on award by ward basis and will be completed in 2010.

15.6 The last time a comprehensive review of this type took place was prior to the city taking updecriminalised powers under the Road Traffic Act 1991 in April 1999.

16.0 Special Events

16.1 The City of Portsmouth due to its outstanding backdrop of the Solent, its extensive seafrontand Common, together with its historical areas around the Naval Dockyard hosts a numberof events throughout the year.

16.2 Some major events such as the Great South Run attracting 20,000 plus participants returnyear after year. As a result the event is also refined year after year to operate even moreefficiently to provide a spectacle both for the thousands watching and for a national TVaudience.

16.3 Major events such as this have a severe impact on the availability of parking with numerousareas being suspended for the event. Even minor events frequently have a similar impact.

16.4 Special events in the city are controlled and organised by PESAG (Portsmouth EventsSpecial Advisory Group) a senior member of parking management attends these meetingsalong with stakeholders from both internal and external organisations.

16.5 Parking technical staff are responsible for producing the necessary advanced warningnotices and erecting them on street to give the general public advanced notice.

16.6 During the planning process and on the day of the event a member of the managementteam will be allocated to the event to ensure that it runs smoothly.

16.7 Whilst due to current performances Portsmouth Football Club could not be consideredspecial, it is still a Premier League Football team and home matches draw considerablenumbers of supporters to the city.

16.8 Following on from a change of responsibilities instigated by Hampshire Constabulary theParking Section has had to take on the placing of match day parking restrictions.


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16.9 A number of roads around the stadium are now covered by a legal order to prevent parking,which is operated by drop down signs placed on street furniture. This season has been thefirst of this system which has worked well. It is likely to be expanded to other roads in thenext year as part of a park and ride scheme operated by the club.

17.0 Removal and Disposal of Vehicles

17.1There is a correlation between vehicles which are untaxed and those which subsequentlybecome reported as abandoned. We do not usually consider a vehicle to be abandoneduntil such time as the road fund licence has expired unless its condition is such that toleave the vehicle on the street would be a risk to the general public or subject to crime suchas arson.

17.2 Portsmouth City Council have had powers under the Clean Neighbourhoods andEnvironment Act 2005 to remove vehicles they considered to be abandoned for a numberof years, store them for a set period of time and then dispose of them.

17.3 Frequently vehicles reported to us as abandoned were found to be untaxed but still in use.Whilst staff would report these to the local DVLA office in Portsmouth by means of a form,CLE 2/6, the impact on the problem did not appear to be significant.

17.4 If a vehicle is untaxed it can be for several reasons but it is quite probably because there isno insurance or MOT which would prevent the road fund licence being obtained andtherefore a potential danger to other road users.

17.5 We subsequently acquired devolved powers from the DVLA to deal with untaxed vehicles inOctober 2005 and these twin powers enable us to deal effectively with vehicles on ourstreets.

17.6 Abandoned Vehicles

17.7 Vehicles are reported as abandoned from a number of sources, the main one beingmembers of the public. Whilst the numbers reported have remained fairly constant from lastyear to this, the numbers removed continues to drop year on year. In most cases the

vehicle has gone or it is found to be taxed.

17.8 There are various factors which influence an owners decision on disposal. In the past therehas often been a cost to disposing of an old vehicle which has tempted some to riskabandonment.

17.9 At the start of last financial year the value of scrap metal rose sharply to a peek of 110 pertonne due to demand in China. The impact of this was to see a reduction in the level ofabandoned vehicles with scrap traders offering to purchase these vehicles.

17.10 During the year as the recession grew the price of scrap fell back and by the end of the yearhad dropped to 40 per tonne. A potential rise in abandonment may be the result although


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at present the government car scrappage scheme appears to be having some positiveeffect.

17.11The following chart gives a month by month break down of vehicles reported and removedover the last twelve months :-

01.04.08-31.03.09

REPORTS REMOVEDGONE/TAXED NOT

ABANDONEDBURNT

OUTWRECKED

PRIVATEL/OWNER

April200 26 174 4 2 2

May138 19 119 3 0 1

June154 18 136 0 1 0

July161 9 152 0 0 1

August113 12 101 0 1 1

September123 18 105 0 0 1

October 151 15 136 1 0 3

November 176 13 163 1 0 1

December 165 12 153 2 1 0

January 176 8 168 1 1 0

February 151 7 144 1 0 1

March 162 6 156 0 0 5

Totals1870

163 1707 13 6 16

17.12 The year on year comparison below shows the decline in the numbers of vehiclesremoved over the last four years as being abandoned.


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05-06 REMOVED 06-07 REMOVED 07-08 REMOVED 08-09 REMOVED

April 55 April 50 April 30 April 26

May 66 May 35 May 33 May 19

June 76 June 44 June 32 June 18

July 68 July 35 July 16 July 9

August 51 August 42 August 27 August 12

September 88 September 37 September 30 September 18October 46 October 51 October 24 October 15

November 73 November 60 November 25 November 13

December 41 December 26 December 21 December 12

January 44 January 43 January 21 January 8

February 60 February 31 February 16 February 7

March 66 March 39 March 14 March 6

Total 734 Total 493 Total 289 Total 163

17.13 We have managed to make a further improvement in our best value performanceindicators. The number of vehicles visited within 24 hours of being reported has improvedfurther to 97.21% from our target of 87% and the number of vehicles removed within24hours of being entitled to has also risen to 96.31% from the target of 90%.

17.14 Untaxed Vehicles

17.15 Dealing with untaxed vehicles enables us to remove them from the street at an earlierstage of their deterioration than previously when dealt with as abandoned. Using acombination of the two main pieces of legislation enables us to deal with most situations

in a proactive and efficient manner.

17.16 Whilst the number of abandoned vehicles removed from our streets is dropping there is anincrease in the number of vehicles removed under DVLA powers. Before we are entitledto remove a vehicle, its tax must have been expired for at least 28 days. Until then ouronly method of dealing with it is by reporting it to the local taxation office. The dual powershowever enable us to remove in that 28-day period if it can be considered to beabandoned.

17.17 Owners who wish to reclaim their vehicles have to pay a penalty of 100 and produce avalid tax disc. If they are unable to do so because the MOT or insurance has expired asurety of 160 is taken in addition which is returned when a tax disc is subsequentlyproduced.

17.18 Disposal of these vehicles generates income for the city council. Those with a value inexcess of 2,000 are sold at auction whilst others are sold to a car breaker yard as part ofa contract. Second hand car parts are worth more than scrap metal and it is only theresidue which is disposed of via this means.

17.19 Vehicles which are untaxed for less than a month are reported to the local DVLA office forthem to take such action as they consider necessary. There were a further 897 of these in

the year.


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17.20 The total number of vehicles removed and scrapped as abandoned and untaxed in thelast financial year totalled 356, a reduction of over 50% against the levels recorded threeyears ago.

01.04.08-31.03.09 REMOVALS RETURNS SCRAPPED STORAGE

April 25 12 13 0

May 31 22 9 0

June 13 3 10 0

July 23 8 15 0August 16 6 10 0

September 25 14 11 0

October 56 26 30 0

November 26 12 14 0

December 56 27 29 0

January 47 26 21 0

February 34 18 16 0

March 39 12 15 12

TOTALS 391 186 193 12

18.0 Vehicles traded for sale on the highway.

18.1 During the period of this report the number of vehicles traded for sale on the highway hasreduced, mainly as a result of the use of legislation dealing with untaxed and abandonedvehicles. There are still a hard core of traders who use the highway to conduct business

rather than pay the costs involved in running a legitimate business. Vehicles are advertisedfor sale using pay as you go mobile phones which makes it difficult to trace the dealer.

18.2 The legislation requires two vehicles owned by the same person/company to be advertisedfor sale on the highway within 500 metres of each other. This legislation is not as efficient indealing with the problem as we would like. However improving co-operation with colleaguesin Trading Standards and Licensing is proving beneficial.

Whats coming up?

19.0 Blue badge fraud prevention and detectionEvidence from other authorities suggests that abuse of the disabled drivers blue badge schemeis common place and may in fact be linked to other crime issues and benefit fraud.Our intention is to create a fraud investigation post from within existing resources. Initially thiswill be a six month secondment to assess its impact.

20.0 Blue badge physical assessmentRecommendations from the Department of Transport are that in those cases where entitlementto a blue badge are not automatic an independent assessment of eligibility should take placerather than through the applicants GP. Initial discussions have taken place with PCCs

occupational health department regarding this which will be followed up next year.

21.0 Replacement pay on foot system


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The pay on foot system at the Isambard Brunel car park is approaching the end of its working lifeand a new system will need to be procured next year.

22.0 Camera enforcementA report will be brought forward to purchase a camera system to enforce illegal parkinglegislation in bus stops and bus lanes. It could also be used outside of schools and in otherlocations where enforcement by normal means is difficult.

23.0 Parking restriction reviewThe existing review of all parking restrictions throughout the city will continue next year. Theintention is to free up as many spaces as possible whilst retaining restrictions where road safetyor congestion are issues.

24.0 Concessions for low emission vehiclesIn support of the city councils sustainable transport strategy and climate change agenda,incentives for low emission vehicles will be considered.

25.0 Enforcement by cycle patrolsAn experiment will be conducted where volunteer Civil Enforcement Officers will patrol by cyclerather than by vehicle in the more outlying areas. Again this will aid the climate change agenda.It will hopefully improve fitness and be more efficient.

26.0 Visitor permitsCurrently residents in parking permit schemes can only purchase visitor permits from certainlocations and in hard copy. Next year an experiment will be conducted to expand the existingmobile phone payment option for pay & display areas to visitor permits, enabling them to bepurchased by phone.

27.0 EnforcementNew powers contained within the Traffic Management Act 2004 will come into effect next year.These will enable our staff to deal with parking across dropped kerbs, vehicles which drive offbefore a penalty can be issued and with persistent evaders.

Statistics, financial information and performance

28.0 Enforcement of parking restrictions.

28.1 Portsmouth enforces its parking and traffic regulations in a fair but firm manner toimprove compliance with the regulations which in turn has a general beneficial impacton road safety and congestion. Badly parked cars, for example on street corners, onschool zig zags etc can pose safety hazards. Vehicles parking on bus stops and taxiranks hinder public transport efficiency and contribute to congestion.

28.2 In the financial year 2008-09, 43,534 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) were issued, which

was an increase of just over 6,000 from the previous year. One reason for this was due tohaving a full staff complement of Civil Enforcement Officers during this period.


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28.3 With regard to recovery figures, to date 74.62% of the PCNs issued in 2008-09 have beenfully paid. This equates to 1,207,030, which includes some cases part paid on instalmentarrangements. It should be noted that since the introduction of the Traffic Management Act2004 there are differential charges for higher and lower level contraventions which are 70and 50 respectively, with the usual discount of 50% if paid within 14-days of issue.

28.4 Of the PCNs issued, there were 20,282 higher level contraventions with an average

recovery rate per PCN of 33.69, and 23,252 lower level contraventions with an averagerecovery rate per PCN of 22.52. The total income figure shows a deficit of some 7,190,compared to what the income would have been if the charges were still at the Road TrafficAct 1991rate of 60 for each PCN.

28.5 The percentage recovery of 74.62% is comparable with 2007-08, which was 75.8% fullypaid and there is still scope for this figure to increase slightly as 12% of cases are stilloutstanding and payment against a proportion of these is anticipated.

29.0 Appeals

29.1 During the year 6,991 informal challenges and 1,642 formal appeals were received and ofthese 4,013 cases were cancelled, which as a percentage against total PCNs issued is9.22%. A total of 79 PCNs were taken to appeal by the independent adjudication service,Traffic Penalty Tribunal, and to date 41 cases have been allowed by the adjudicators,decisions are still awaited on 6 cases. The average rate of appeal to the adjudicationservice across the country, excluding London authorities, was 0.31% and Portsmouthsfigures of 0.18% show a low rate of appeal, which is very positive.

29.2 The good performance figures for the year are a combination of good quality PCNs along

with prompt consideration of appeals, which results in prompt recovery figures.

29.3 Looking ahead to the next year, the number of cases going to the adjudication serviceappears to have increased, especially those where the appellant has received more thanone PCN and this may be down to the economic climate where people are finding it hard toafford to pay the charges and therefore delaying payment by appealing as far as they can.

29.4 PCCs cancellation policy is available via our website atwww.portsmouth.gov.uk/living/12644.html.

29.5 Comparison of penalty charge notices issued over the last 5 financial years
http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/living/12644.htmlhttp://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/living/12644.html


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PCN ISSUES

2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09

TOTAL NUMBER ISSUED 52,734 43,422 35,983 37,372 43,534

TOTAL PAID 37,367 31,410 27,095 28,439 32,878

TOTAL CANCELLED ON APPEAL 4,965 4,239 3,179 3,313 4,027

TOTAL PAID AS % 70.86% 72.34% 75.30% 76.10% 75.52%

TOTAL CANCELLED ON APPEAL AS % 9.42% 9.76% 8.83% 8.86% 9.25%

30.0 Financial performance

30.1 The TMA 2004 requires authorities to report on the income and expenditure from their on-street parking activities, separated out by source. This is attached at Appendix F

30.2 Income from PCNs received during the financial year amounted to 1,188,386. Some ofthese payments will relate to penalties issued in 2007/08 in the same way that some issued

this year may not be paid until next year.

30.3 Income from on-street pay & display charges was 1,702,421. A surplus of income overexpenditure was achieved of 936,230 that will transfer to the off-street reserve budget tobe spent on maintenance of the service and its infrastructure along with improvingefficiency.

31.0 Parking Managers comments

31.1 This has been yet another busy year for the service. Significant progress has been made inaddressing absence due to sickness but there are still improvements to be made. The

methods used have been monitored corporately and are likely to be adopted by otherdepartments.


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31.2 A Considerable amount of time has been invested in additional or refresher training for staffwhich has been well received by the majority. Some of this training was provided externallybut increasing use has been made of internal sources provided by Learning andDevelopment. Again the Service has been a corporate leader by working with them to setcompetencies for each level of employee. These will be used for assessment andmonitoring at the monthly 1-2-1 meetings and for appraisal.

31.3 As always Im sure there will be external interest in the income generated understandable Iwould draw attention to the reduction in the level of appeals and the percentage of thesewon by the council. These show that our enforcement criteria and cancellation policiesreported last year are working correctly and being correctly applied by staff on the streetenforcing the regulations and in the office dealing with appeals.

31.4 The introduction of the Traffic Management Act 2004 on the 31st March 2008 required aconsiderable amount of work in preparation at very short notice by several members ofstaff, together with training for those using it. The impact of this legislation will be reportedupon in next years report by which time more should be known about the use of otherpowers contained within this act such as bus lane enforcement

More information

Appendix A staff chart

B Staff sickness graph (To follow)

C - Car parks

D Resident parking schemes

E Penalty Charge Notices

F Financial appraisal


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APPENDI X A


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APPENDIX B (To Follow)


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APPENDIX C

Area Cars Disabled CoachMotorcycles Special

All Saints 42 4 privateAshby Place 63 4

Broad Street 40

Camber Quay 122 5

Chaucer House 35 HHSC ONLY

Commercial Rd North 54 10 private

Southsea Common 68 2

Clarence Pier 154 10 2

Clarence Street 154 5

D-Day 125 9 26 6

Guildhall Walk 58 2

Greetham Street 81 2Hanway rd 131 4 No charge

The Harbour 62 4

Isambard Brunel MSCP 480 5Isambard Brunel (OpenArea) 83

London Road 33 2

Seafront Canoe Lake 146 4

Nancy Rd North 30 1 1 private

Nancy Rd South 31 Permits only

Old Commercial Rd 20

Podium 69 Permits/P&D

Pyramids 148 6Rodney Rd 24

Stanhope Rd 100

Stubbington Avenue 61

Seafront The Esplanade 373 7 4

Wellington Street 34 2 HHSC ONLY

Wootton Street 22

Grand Total

Total spaces 2843 56 31 2930

Dated 24/3/09


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APPENDIX D

RESIDENTS PARKING SCHEMES

AREA ZONE PERMITS START DATE

Newbolt Road AA 5 13/09/2004Wymering AB 405 12/03/2007

Park Grove BA 19 19/12/2005

The Heights BB 83 11/12/2006

East Cosham BC 473 11/12/2006

Windsor Road BD 69 26/07/2007

Portsmouth Road BE 6 17/12/2007

Old Commercial Road FA 31 28/02/2000

Whale Island Way FB 14 13/09/2004

Landport North FC 52 03/09/2006

Bevis Road FD 834 22/10/2007Bucklers Court FE 21 24/02/2009

Fratton GA 2042 01/06/2001

Alverstone Road GB 144 22/07/2007

Baffins HA 350 01/06/2009

Portsea JA 350 01/02/2003

Landport JB 178 07/01/2002

Hyde Park Road JC 7 10/01/2005

North Portsea JD 265 04/04/2005

Fratton West JE 35 06/03/2006

Garnier Street JF 60 06/03/2006Old Portsmouth KA 876 28/04/1999

Hambrook Street KB 137 20/09/1999

West Southsea KC 2406 21/06/2004

Castle Road KD 630 06/02/2006

North Southsea LA 889 05/06/2006

Leopold/Beatrice MA 67 10/02/2005

Priorsdean NA 37 01/03/2003


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APPENDIX E (cont/d)

Issued Outstanding % Paid % Cancelled % Written Off

Band Sub Totals 20,905 2,193 8.54 15,361 76.83 2,170 12.20 317

Debt Type Sub Totals 44,747 4,590 10.26 31,499 70.39 6,481 14.48 560

Client Sub Totals 44,747 4,590 10.26 31,499 70.39 6,481 14.48 560

Grand Totals 44,747 4,590 10.26 31,499 70.39 6,481 14.48 560


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APPENDIX F

OFF STREET PARKING

BUDGET HEADING

TOTAL

BUDGET2008/09

ACTUALTO END

OF

MARCH'09

VARIANCETO

MARCH'09

EXPENDITURE

Employees 405,082 429,224 24,142

Premises 297,841 317,124 19,283

Transport 18,510 17,157 (1,353)

Supplies and Services 156,366 159,796 3,430

Transfer Payments 101,877 91,348 (10,529)

Recharges (4,787) 10,588 15,375

INCOME

Reimbursements 0 (1) (1)

Fees and Charges (1,731,928) (1,670,340) 61,588

Season Tickets (468,771) (393,641) 75,130

PCN Income (291,530) (332,688) (41,158)

Miscellaneous Income (34,608) (10,777) 23,831

Recovered Rechargeable Costs (212,077) (199,618) 12,459

Recharged Income 0 0 0

TOTAL (1,764,025) (1,581,828) 182,197

ON STREET PARKING

BUDGET HEADING

TOTALBUDGET2008/09

ACTUALTO END

OFMARCH

'09

VARIANCETO

MARCH'09

EXPENDITURE

Employees 1,746,837 1,742,423 (4,414)

Premises 106,528 107,274 746Transport 55,096 56,333 1,237

Supplies and Services 461,246 491,915 30,669

Transfer Payments 11,558 32,314 20,756

Recharges 739,809 45,098 (694,711)

INCOME

Reimbursements 0 (7) (7)

Fees and Charges (1,631,456) (1,702,421) (70,965)

Season Tickets (387,293) (383,694) 3,599

PCN Income (1,033,774) (1,188,386) (154,612)

Miscellaneous Income (60,574) (112,361) (51,787)

Recovered Rechargeable Costs (30,145) (24,718) 5,427

Recharged Income 0 0 0


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TOTAL (22,168) (936,230) (914,062)

DVLA UNTAXED VEHICLES

BUDGET HEADING

TOTALBUDGET2008/09

ACTUALTO END

OFMARCH

'09

VARIANCE

TOMARCH

'09

EXPENDITURE

Employees 25,336 4,226 (21,110)

Premises 6,000 7,489 1,489

Transport 902 358 (544)

Supplies and Services 500 463 (37)

Transfer Payments 18,000 20,296 2,296

Recharges 0 0 0

INCOME

Reimbursements

Fees and Charges (21,420) (36,282) (14,862)

Season Tickets

PCN Income

Miscellaneous Income (7,150) (19,465) (12,315)

Recovered Rechargeable Costs

Recharged Income

TOTAL 22,168 (22,915) (45,083)

portsmouth tt20100311r5

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