URBAN PARKING POLICY
The Council’s Urban Parking Strategy for Horsham was approved in September 2000 and sets out the objectives in meeting future transport demand with a growing population and numbers of households. It is also linked to the management of the town centre and the ability of the infrastructure of the town to cope with this growth.
The policy is driven by the Local Transport Plan and the Horsham Urban Transport Plan which were produced by West Sussex County Council and endorsed by the District Council. These are influenced by Government policy and regional transport strategies.
The Key Points of the policy are:
- It is accepted that there will still be a high dependency on the private motor car for a wide variety of journeys.
- To cater for the increasing demand allied to population growth there is a need to provide more car parking capacity. An additional 1400 off-street spaces are proposed.
- The urban framework of the town centre cannot accommodate additional large car parks without damaging the character of the town which people find very attractive, and overloading the road system in the peak periods, leading to the risk of reduced air quality.
- The existing town centre parking capacity has been allocated principally for short to medium stay use, (to cater for shopping, recreational and business visits), residents parking and business users who need the use of their vehicle to carry out their business.
- To accommodate the demand for long stay commuter parking, 3 or 4 Park & Ride sites are proposed on the edge of the town which would limit the potential for peak period congestion on routes into the centre. The aim being to place them so that they would intercept the main traffic flows into the town.
- All multi-storey car parks would be converted to Pay-on-Foot operation for ease of use by visitors to the town centre.
- A pricing mechanism would be introduced over a period of time as the Park and Ride sites opened to encourage the reallocation of all day parking away from the centre.
On-Street Parking Strategy
The careful control of on-street parking in town centres is considered to be a prerequisite for effective traffic management and the promotion of alternatives to the car. Over the past two years West Sussex County Council in partnership with the District Council, Neighbourhood Councils and the business community, has developed a new Horsham Town On-Street Parking Strategy.
The aim of this is to: -
- Increase short stay on-street parking opportunities for shoppers and visitors;
- Provide residents with improved on-street parking facilities by precluding all day commuter parking in residential streets close to the town centre;
- Encourage greater use of public transport, cycling and walking for travel to work;
- To provide for those commuters who have no alternative to the car for travel to work with long stay parking facilities at Park and Ride sites.
- The Horsham Town Controlled Parking Zone was introduced in July 2003 with the first of the town's Park and Ride sites having opened in September 2002 at Hop Oast, south of Horsham on the A24.
On 23 January 2006, Horsham District Council took over responsibility for on-street parking controls from the police. This Decriminalisation of Parking Enforcement has been adopted by West Sussex County Council as Local Authority Parking Enforcement (LAPE). Under LAPE, parking enforcement transfers from criminal law to civil law. More information about LAPE is available via the link above. On 31 March 2008 LAPE became Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE). The enforcement powers changed from the Road Traffic Act 1991 to the Traffic Management Act 2004 (part 6).
Off-Street Parking Policies
The majority of off-street parking provided in the District is owned and operated by the District Council. Off-street parking policies, including charging regimes, can complement the aims of reducing car use for travel to work whilst at the same time creating more parking opportunities for shoppers and visitors, who are vital to the economic vitality of the area. In the case of Horsham town, the District Council has set a goal to accommodate the majority of commuter parking, by motorists for whom there is no practical sustainable alternative to the car, outside the built up area by providing three or four Park and Ride sites capable of serving each of the main routes into the town. It is unlikely that there will be any significant increase in off-street parking provision in the future because to do so would have the potential to increase traffic congestion and associated pollution at peak times.
In the villages the District Council will continue to monitor the use of its off-street parking facilities to ensure that they offer the best benefit to the vitality of the areas they serve and in particular to ensure that they serve shoppers and visitors rather that onward commuters.
Off Street Parking Policy
Off Street Parking Policy (98kb)
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