New parking regulations and pricing are on the cards for Cape Town, as the City has released a revised Parking Policy, currently available for comment.
Cape Town’s new Parking Policy will be available for comment until September 18, 2020.
The policy addresses a wide range of aspects from enforcement, regulations and management to provision and parking prices across the city. Areas covered in the policy include on-street parking, off-street parking, loading bays, park-and-ride facilities, bus bays, reserved parking, bicycle parking, provision for e-hailing services and more.
Cape Town current Parking Policy was first approved in 2014 and the City sees the need to update the policy to keep up with advancing technology and new services.
“There is a need to improve enforcement of parking transgressions; to cater for new transport modes such as e-hailing and electric vehicles; and to promote parking that is friendly to the environment in terms of design and management. We also want to, in future, implement cashless payments for parking. The revised policy addresses these needs,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Alderman Felicity Purchase.
In terms of on-street parking, the draft revised policy is pursuing the following:
– Easier access to on-street parking within central business districts for those who want to park for a short period
– Easier access to designated on-street parking for people with special needs, such as those in wheelchairs
– Possible discount for those who park for less than 10 or 15 minutes
– Easier access to designated on-street parking bays for delivery vehicles
– Encouragement of economic activity in central business areas by providing easy access to on-street parking bays for customers and delivery vehicles
– Encourage short-stay parking within the core of the CBD and longer stay parking on the periphery of the CBD during business hours
– Payment through a cashless system by using smart cards or mobile phones to improve convenience and accounting
– For minor parking transgressions to be administered by the contractor who will be contracted to manage on-street parking bays on behalf of the City; and
– To develop a rationale for the expansion or removal of managed on-street parking as and when needed.
“The draft policy requires the City to investigate the use of technology to record violations and issue penalties. This is very important as we find that private vehicle owners often park in bays designated for loading vehicles and people with special needs, or that they do not adhere to time limits, or refuse to pay for parking,” said Alderman Purchase.
The policy also proposes new guidelines for parking tariffs:
– Different parking zones to be demarcated, and for parking tariffs to differ accordingly
– Different tariffs to apply for different times of day (morning, afternoon, evening), and over weekends and on public holidays; and
– Motorbikes tariffs for using a formal motorcycle bay should be lower.
“We currently do not have convenient drop-and-go bays in business areas or at private developments for lift clubs, e-hailing cars, or e-hailing delivery motorbikes. Also, there must be parking incentives for more sustainable modes of transport such as bicycles, and motorbikes. New generation mobility such as electric vehicles must also be accommodated in future,” said Alderman Purchase.
“It is very costly for developers to provide parking as parking surfaces take up precious land that could have been developed. The increased cost in providing parking is ultimately passed on to the buyer or tenant which reduces the affordability of the units. Parking areas should also support the protection of precious resources such as water, and our environment. The revised policy addresses these issues by proposing the City implements flexible and targeted requirements for the provision of parking bays in future,” said Alderman Purchase.
The new Parking Policy aims to support and encourage economic growth and activity. Furthermore it aims to ensure customers visiting businesses have places to park their vehicles as well as delivery vehicles.
Hopes are that the new policy will help change residents’ commute behaviour and encourage other forms of transport in future.
The revised policy is available on the City’s website. Please go to: www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay
Comments, input and recommendations can be submitted as follows:
– By email: [email protected]
– Online, by visiting: www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay
Picture: Pixabay
