Digital parking permits to be trialled in Reading
The paperless permits will be tested out in lower Caversham
A DIGITAL parking permit pilot is set to be trialled in Lower Caversham as part of a Council initiative to create a "simpler, more flexible and more responsive service" for local residents.
The council say key to the pilot will be feedback from local residents who live in the trial area and, if successful, it could be rolled out boroughwide.
Digital permits are registered on parking systems, which means wardens on patrol can instantly check on their handheld devices if a vehicle holds a valid permit or not. It means no physical permit needs to be displayed on the windscreen.
Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Councillor for Climate Strategy and Transport, said:
“Digital permits are widely and very successfully used in other parts of the country and if approved following a statutory consultation process, this pilot will provide us with valuable feedback from local residents in the trial area.
“The main advantages of digital permits are that they are instantly issued online, negating the delay and cost of physical permits being posted. The ability to use visitor permits by the hour should also prove popular, as it represents better value for money for local residents.
“If the trial is approved, it is a change for residents who are of course used to seeing physical permits in windscreens. It is important to remind residents that just because a physical permit is not showing, it doesn’t mean a car does not have a permit. Our wardens will be patrolling the residents zone as usual and checking every single vehicle for a valid permit.
“I would stress to residents this would be a pilot, which means we would welcome all feedback, both through the statutory consultation process and during the trial itself if it comes to fruition in the autumn. There are currently 19 residents parking zones in Reading, made up of 16,000 households and 12,000 parking spaces. Any future decision to introduce such a scheme boroughwide would be a major one and would be given careful consideration following evaluation of the pilot.”
The Council is proposing piloting the scheme in Zone 02R in Lower Caversham, covering the following streets: Ardler Road, Brackstone Close, Briants Avenue, Champion Road, Coldicutt Street, George Street, Gosbrook Road, Heron Island, Kings Road, Marsack Street, Mill Green, Mill Road, Montague Street, Nelson Road, Piggots Road, Queens Road, Send Road, Southview Avenue, St Johns Road and Washington Road.