CAR PARKING IN CENTRAL BATH: A STUDY OF FREE PARKING IN TIME LIMITED AREAS

Bath is an historic city with a population of 80000. In 1981/1982 a survey of all parking onstreet and in the public and private offstreet car parks was carried out within the "controlled parking zone" and its peripheral areas. Part of the data collected shows the characteristics of illegal parking both on yellow lines and in time restricted areas (overstay). This paper examines the characteristics of overstay parkers. Data are presented for the number of overstay cars and the proportion of spaces that they occupy. This information is disaggregated by trip purpose, and the length of overstay and time of arrival are analysed for each category. An estimate is made of the number of short stay parkers displaced by overstay parking. The paper examines why cars overstay time limits. Four hypotheses are considered: 1) there is an overall shortage of parking spaces; 2) onstreet spaces are free and enforcement is poor; 3) they require to park outside their premises, eg, residents and operational business users; 4) they have a "disabled" sticker. Policy options are considered, including a pricing structure which would allocate short and long term parkers to "appropriate" parking areas so as to ensure the future viability of the city centre as a shopping and employment area. (a) for the covering abstract of the seminar see IRRD 286745.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Traffic Operation and Management. Proceedings of Seminar M held at the PTRC Summer Annual Meeting, University of Sussex, England, 15-18 July 1985, V P269.
• Corporate Authors:

  PTRC Education and Research Services Limited

  110 Strand
  London WC2,   England 
• Authors:
  • Hoddell, A
  • Jameson, J
• Conference:
  • Planning & Transport Res & Comp, Sum Ann Mtg, Proc
• Publication Date: 1985

Media Info

• Features: Tables;
• Pagination: p. 171-184

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Central business districts; Conferences; Crimes; Curb side parking; Historic preservation; Law enforcement; Parking; Parking facilities; Parking regulations; Persons with disabilities; Policy; Policy making; Pricing; Private enterprise; Shopping; Time; Urban areas
• Uncontrolled Terms: Capacity; Pink zone (Parking); Violations
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• Old TRIS Terms: Parking place
• ITRD Terms: 916: Car park; 8525: Conference; 1726: Disabled person; 1534: Enforcement (law); 977: Kerb side parking (parallel to the kerb); 1516: Offence; 955: Parking; 975: Parking place (one veh only); 952: Pink zone (parking); 173: Policy; 9118: Private; 5414: Time; 311: Town centre; 8119: United Kingdom; 313: Urban area
• Subject Areas: Highways; History; Operations and Traffic Management; Policy; Public Transportation; Security and Emergencies; Society; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00456289
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Report/Paper Numbers: Monograph
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 31 1986 12:00AM