On street car parking consultation launched by Liverpool City Council

A month long public consultation has launched on proposed changes to on-street parking in Liverpool City Centre.

Liverpool City Council is asking members of the public, businesses, residents, and commuters for their views on proposals that will affect the operation of on-street parking, including public pay and display and other parking bays in its Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ). 

The Liverpool CPZ is a regulated area where on-street parking is restricted by law between the hours of 8am to 6pm. Under the new proposals, this would be expanded to 7am to 11pm.

An online survey has been created to inform the consultation (liverpool.gov.uk/cpzconsultation) and takes approximately five minutes to complete. 

People can also email their views to: parkingconsult@liverpool.gov.uk or write to: Parking Services (CPZ Parking Survey), Liverpool City Council, Cunard Building, Water Street, Liverpool, L3 1AH.

The closing date for responses is 5pm on Monday, 12 December. 

The CPZ proposals also include:

• creating one single CPZ by combining the existing Inner and Outer Zones
• creating 14 smaller sub zones within the CPZ to improve operation
• standardising the parking times for pay and display bays to a maximum stay of 2 hours, with no return within 1 hour
• introducing a tariff increase of 10p per half hour for on-street pay and display bays.

These proposals are aimed at modernising on-street car parking and future-proofing the environmental resilience of the city centre, by reducing congestion and improving air quality, as well as improving safety and journey times.

Liverpool City Council, which officially declared a Climate Change emergency in 2019, has already undertaken a multi-million highways improvement programme to rebalance how the city centre is used by pedestrians, cyclists and public transport which has led to radical changes to major roads such as Lime Street and The Strand.

Benefits of the proposed changes:

•           The proposed extension to 7am and 11pm is aimed at creating more spaces available for those who have residents and business permits.

•           A standard 2-hour parking time to encourage a better turnover of the existing on-street parking spaces and encourage long-term parking in off-street car parks. 

•           A shorter stay-period will prioritise spaces nearest to shops and amenities for those users who require direct access and will help motorists make more informed choices before accessing the city centre.

•           An increase by 10p per half hour will help to cover the cost of the changes required and contribute to the ongoing operation and enforcement of the CPZ. The proposed new charge will still be significantly lower than other Core Cities across the UK.

•           A number of sub zones will help to manage residents and business parking permits. No changes are proposed to existing permit schemes at this stage.

How to comment: If people are unable to respond online, paper copies of the questionnaire are also available at Central Library, William Brown Street, for the duration of the consultation:
Copies of the questionnaire in different languages, or in braille, can be provided upon request. 
For any question about this consultation, people can email parkingconsult@liverpool.gov.uk

Next steps: Once the city council has analysed the consultation feedback, it will then make an assessment on proceeding to a formal Road Traffic Regulation order consultation. A follow up consultation would be formally advertised, and affected parties would be given another opportunity to support or object to the proposals before any changes are implemented. 
Current on-street parking charges in the CPZ:

• Up to 30 minutes – £1.20
• Up to 1 hour – £2.40
• Up to 1 hour 30 minutes  – £3.60
• Up to 2 hours – £4.80
• Up to 4 hours (max stay) – £6.00