A six-week public consultation on a new on-street parking scheme for Cardiff has been given the go-ahead and will launch early this year, following Cardiff Council’s latest Cabinet meeting.

The council thinks the proposals – to introduce ‘parking zones’ within Parking Management Areas – could give residents a better chance to park on their street, or on adjoining roads close to their home – while reducing opportunities for commuter parking.

It adds that, as well as increasing the number of parking spaces available to residents, blue badge holders, cycle & car clubs, and local businesses could also benefit from the plan.

Under the new proposed scheme all on-street parking bounded within the areas south of the A48, west of River Rhymney, north of Cardiff Bay and east of the River Ely could be split into four distinct parking management areas, with different restrictions in place for each.

The current proposals describe these as the City Centre, Cardiff Bay, Inner, and Outer Parking Management Areas. Each area will be made up of a number of parking zones.

If agreed following consultation, the plan would bring Cardiff into line with most major cities in the UK. A six-week consultation is expected to begin early this year.

The proposed new Parking Management Areas are as follows:

Cardiff Bay Parking Management Area will cover Butetown, south of Tyndall Street, west of Atlantic Wharf and east of the River Taff. All on-street parking in the Cardiff BayParking Management Areawill be managed from 8am until 8pm and only resident, visitor, community, and carer permits can be applied for. Outside of taxi ranks and deliveries, all on-street parking spaces will be managed via restrictions and pay & display between 8am and 8pm.

City Centre Parking Management Area will cover Cathays north of Callaghan Square, east of the River Taff, south of Cathays Park and west of the railway line (including Colum Road, pictured). All on-street parking will be managed 24 hours a day, seven days per week all yearand no waiting will be allowed at all. Loading will only be permitted during certain hours to ensure businesses can re-stock. No one can apply for a permit in thisParking Management Area. Taxi ranks,loading baysand disabled parking bayswill be unaffected.

The Inner Parking Management Area will cover residential areas adjacent to the City Centre. All on-street parking will be managed from 8am until 10pm and only resident, visitor, community, and carer permits can be applied for. Outside of taxi ranks and deliveries, all on-street parking spaces will be managed via restrictions and pay & display between 8am and 10pm.

The Outer Parking Management Area will cover the outer residential areas surrounding the inner and Cardiff Bay Parking Management Areas. All on-street parking will be managed from 8am until 6pm and only resident, visitor, business, carer, and school permits can be applied for. Outside of taxi ranks and deliveries all on-street parking spaces will be managed via restrictions and pay & display between 8am and 6pm.

Cllr Dan De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport said: “Parking across the city has increasingly become an issue for many residents who are finding it harder and harder to park outside or near their own homes due to high numbers of commuter traffic.

“This ability for commuters to come and park in the city for free is leading to air pollution and congestion which our residents are suffering from.

“We’ve always been clear that if we are to clean up the city’s air and tackle the climate emergency then we need to reduce our reliance on the private car and get people to think more about taking public transport.

“We believe that changing the way we enable people to park across the city, making the system easier to understand so motorists know where they can or cannot park, will help to alleviate these problems, and will encourage more people to think about using public transport which is better for the environment.

“As we continue to improve cycling and walking routes, the competition for space on Cardiff’s road network has increased and, as it is impossible to create more on-street parking space,due to the physical restraints, changes need to be made. So, what we are proposing here is a complete overhaul of the on-street parking policy by creating a ‘zonal approach’ within Parking Management Areas so we can better manage and enforce the car parking spaces available so that the system isn’t abused.

“The council will now develop a programme to consult locally to understand the public’s view on moving areas to a new zonal system through the Traffic Regulation Orders process.”

Although having any parking permit doesn’t guarantee a parking space, proposals are being put forward to amend the terms and conditions of the permits to free up more space to ensure any new system cannot be abused.

The new zonal parking scheme proposes that terms and conditions and types of parking permits currently available will change.

If implemented, the council says it will clearly explain how people can apply for the new permits so that there is a seamless transition between the old system and the new. If given the go-ahead the following permits will be introduced at that time:

Residential permit: All residents that currently have a permit would need to reapply for a new zonal permit which is specific to the road/area where they live. This will give residents a better chance to park on their street, or on a road close by that is part of their residential zone. All those that want to park a motorbike on-street will also have to apply for a permit under the new system.

Visitor permit: For visitor parking, each household will only be allowed to apply for 150 days of visitor parking each year. By putting this restriction in place, the system is less open to abuse, ensuring that the allocation of visitor parking is shared between households in a specific residential area.

Community permit: Community on-street permits can be applied for by certain places of worship or disability access groups that are exempt under specific legislation.

Business permit: Only businesses that have a property in the Outer Parking Management Area can apply for an on-street parking permit, which will only allow a business owner to park vehicles that are needed for the day-to-day running of the business. So, this is not for commuter or staff parking.

Carer permit: There are two types of carer permits being proposed for on-street parking, one for professional health and one for personal care for those that qualify.

School permit:Existing schools that are in the Outer Parking Management Area can apply for an on-street permit to park a vehicle that is needed for the operational running of the school. Again, this is not for commuter or staff parking.

(Picture – Google Streetview)