PLANS to take Reading’s parking permit scheme into the digital age have been broadly welcomed.
At the moment, the system for residents involves scratchcards and an element of luck in avoiding traffic wardens, but it is hoped that a trial will be approved at a meeting on Wednesday and, if a success, offer parking by the hour, rather than bands.
An area of Lower Caversham is to be used for the scheme, and feedback will help determine whether the project will be rolled out across the borough.
Similar to Ringo parking systems for car parks, where motorists pay using their mobile phones, the digital permits are registered on parking systems. Wardens can check if a vehicle holds a valid permit or not – and no physical permit needs to be displayed on the windscreen
This will help avoid claims of permits falling off the dashboard.
Reading Borough Council says paperless permits have been successfully used in London Boroughs for a number of years now. Other advantages include an instant issue, rather than having to wait up to 14 days, and offering permits by the hour rather than half days.
The proposed zone is 02R, covering: Ardler Road, Brackstone Close, Briants Avenue, Champion Road, Coldicutt Street, George Street, Gosbrook Road, Heron Island, Kings Road, Marsack Street, Mill Green, Mill Road, Montague Street, Nelson Road, Piggots Road, Queens Road, Send Road, Southview Avenue, St Johns Road and Washington Road.
The council said this zone was well defined and of a reasonable size of 584 permit holders.
The pilot will be discussed at a meeting of the Council’s Traffic Management Sub Committee on Wednesday, June 15.
Cllr Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s lead councillor for climate strategy and transport, said: “If approved following a statutory consultation process, this pilot will provide us with valuable feedback from local residents in the trial area.
“The main advantages of digital permits are that they are instantly issued online, negating the delay and cost of physical permits being posted. The ability to use visitor permits by the hour should also prove popular, as it represents better value for money for local residents.”
He added: “I would stress to residents this would be a pilot, which means we would welcome all feedback, both through the statutory consultation process and during the trial itself if it comes to fruition in the autumn.
“There are currently 19 residents parking zones in Reading, made up of 16,000 households and 12,000 parking spaces.
“Any future decision to introduce such a scheme boroughwide would be a major one and would be given careful consideration following evaluation of the pilot.”
Opposition parties welcomed the trial, but had some concerns over the outcomes.
Green councillor and leader of the main opposition party, Cllr Rob White, said: “Greens have been asking about improving permit parking for some time, so we are glad to see that finally electronic visitor permits are going to be trialled.
“We would also like to see more enforcement of the existing zones so residents can more easily get parked.”
Cllr James Moore, deputy leader of Reading Liberal Democrats, said: “We broadly welcome the digital parking pilot and hope it will assist residents in accessing this service in a more timely manner.
“We have some concerns about the potential increase in complaints from residents not knowing if a car in their area is parked legally or not.
“Hopefully, the pilot will reveal how much of an issue this is and what mitigation steps may be required.”
And Cllr Clarence Mitchell, leader of the Reading Conservative Group, said: “Anything that makes life easier for Reading’s drivers is to be welcomed and we will be supporting the idea of a formal consultation over digital parking permits in the Lower Caversham area.
“Digital technology has worked well with the provision of digital road tax discs to replace paper ones nationally and, as long as the local digital infrastructure is sufficiently robust we can see no reason why this should not bring benefits to everyone who needs a permit to park in Reading, whether they are a local resident or a visitor.”
