A new residential parking scheme is proposed across a number of Cambridge streets to tackle problem parking as some people are left unable to park near their homes.
New restrictions are planned for several streets in Cambridge to stop ‘workers and shoppers’ from parking there for free. Councillors shared support for the proposed York Street area residential parking scheme, which will introduce restrictions so that only residents with permits can park in the area between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Saturday.
A report published by Cambridgeshire County Council said there have been “longstanding concerns” about parking pressures in the area and some people have been “struggling to find on-street parking close to home”. Councillors had been asked to approve a parking scheme earlier this year, but a decision was delayed to give officers time to address concerns.
Some changes were made to the proposed changes, including reducing hours of operation to match those of the bordering Petersfield scheme, and cutting plans for double yellow lines in Fairsford Place. Councillors from the county council and Cambridge City Council met on Wednesday (December 10) to consider the proposed parking scheme.
Some people living in the area urged councillors to support the changes, telling the meeting that something needed to be done to address problematic parking. Martin Lucas-Smith said the scheme was “long overdue”, claiming that parking in the area had been “intolerably bad for decades”.
He said parking spaces in the streets fill up early each morning by commuters coming into the city. Mr Lucas-Smith said it was also “unacceptable” that fire engines could not get down a street in what is a “dense area of housing”.
Another supporter of the plans said they had always found it “problematic” to park outside their home, as they said “shoppers and workers” used the streets as free parking.
‘You are trying to solve a problem that does not exist’
Others argued that the proposed scheme should not be introduced. Andrea Lang claimed the parking scheme was trying to “solve a problem that does not exist”.
She said she had lived in the area for 25 years and had only twice had to drive around the block to find a parking space in the day, but said she had struggled three times to find somewhere to park at night. She said it was “clear” to her that the parking problem was at night, which she said the scheme would not address.
Harriet Landon, from Fairsford Place, said she welcomed the removal of the plans to paint double yellow lines along the road. While she said she supported the principle of parking controls, she raised concerns that the existing proposals would “exacerbate” specific problems in Fairsford Place.
Ms Landon said people parked in front of their doors and garages blocking them in. She highlighted that the design of the street is very different to the rest of the area and suggested that Fairsford Place should be able to operate as its own “sub-zone” in recognition of its specific issues.
However, officers said this would require a change of the council’s policy, as they said Fairsford Place is not an isolated cul-de-sac. Concerns were also raised that people living in flats in the area could be excluded from the parking scheme.
Dr Dominic Sparks said he was “broadly in favour” of the plans, but said his block of flats seemed to have been excluded. He said this would leave him and others with “absolutely nowhere to park”.
Officers said there are a number of flats not included in the scheme boundary. They said the number of people in the flats could “overwhelm” the parking scheme, and added that a majority of the flats were either advertised or sold with no parking.
‘Responsible thing to do is to support this scheme’
Councillor Richard Howitt (Labour) said the responses councillors had heard reflected the “diversity of views” on the proposed scheme. He said “key mitigations” had been made to address concerns raised, but recognised this was not enough to get full support for the scheme.
Cllr Howitt said he believed that the “responsible thing is to support this scheme” as he said the nearby Beehive Centre redevelopment would add ‘greater pressure’ on the parking in the area. He also highlighted concerns that fire engines may not be able to reach homes in Ainsworth Street.
He said: “If a fire engine cannot get to a fire in six months, 12 months time and someone dies, we have responsibility for that, [because] we have an opportunity to avoid that today. I accept it is not popular with residents in Ainsworth Street, but in my view the fire issue is a crucial issue.” Cllr Howitt added that the scheme would be reviewed and that “further mitigation measures” could be considered.
Councillor Elliot Tong (Green Party) said he also agreed that parking problems in the area would likely get “so much worse” with the redevelopment of the Beehive Centre if nothing is done. However, he recognised there were outstanding concerns and said while he was “broadly positive” about the plans, he questioned the possibility to “tweak” things at the six month review.
He asked if more could be done to address concerns raised by people living in Fairsford Place, saying he did not want to see people living in flats excluded.
Councillor Alex Beckett (Liberal Democrat) said parking decisions are “always challenging” and recognised that in this case no matter what decision they made “there will be some people disappointed”.
He said he was minded to support the scheme, but he acknowledged the concerns from people in Fairsford Place and asked if more could be done to help prevent people parking in front of the garages.
Cllr Beckett also said he was concerned about people living in flats being left out of the scheme if there were not any planning restrictions placed on people living there from being able to park in the area.
Officers said they could look at whether access protection marks could be used in front of garages to help people in Fairsford Place. When a decision was put to a vote the majority of councillors agreed that the parking scheme should be introduced.
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