Parking Standards SPD

(1) APPENDIX A

Residential parking survey methodology

The following guidelines should be followed when undertaking a survey, as required by the Parking Standards SPD and the Local Validation List. The guidelines are based upon the Lambeth Methodology, which is a widely accepted methodology for such surveys. If these guidelines are not followed, the Council and the Local Highway Authority may not be able to makea full and proper assessment of the planning proposal. This in turn could result in further survey work being required and delays in the determination of a planning application.

It could also result in refusal of planning permission.

Extent of the survey

The parking survey should cover the area in which residents of a proposed development may want to park. The criteria set out below should demonstrably inform the extent of the survey area. However, common sense should be applied in all cases and the extent of the survey area and justification for any amendments should be included with the survey information submitted. If inadequate justification is provided for a survey area, then amendments may be required or a recommendation made accordingly.

• Any area of a street which lies within 200m walking distance (approximately a 2 minute walk) of the site. Note that this distance should be measured along the street(s) up to a point of 200m from the site, and NOT illustrated as a 200m isochrone (circle) radiating from the site.
• In addition to the above, where a distance of 200m would be part way along a street, the survey should be extended to the nearest junction, or other appropriate location along the street. This is in recognition of the fact that people are unlikely to stop part way along a street at an imaginary 200m line.
• Any off street or public car parks as appropriate within 200m walking distance of the site.

Exclusions from the survey

• If the site is in a Residential Parking Zone (RPZ), any parking bays in adjoining RPZs should be excluded as future residents would not be eligible to park/apply to park in these.
• If the site lies adjacent to, but not in, a RPZ, then all streets within that RPZ must be excluded, as residents would not be eligible to park in them.
• Locations where residents are unlikely to be able to/want to park. For example where access may be restricted, or where actual or perceived safety concerns exist.

Survey times

Residential parking surveys should be undertaken when the highest numbers of residents are at home; generally late night during the week. Therefore as a minimum, the following is required:

• Two snapshot surveys on two separate weekday nights (i.e. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday)
• The snapshot surveys should be undertaken between the hours 00:30 – 05:30

Leamington Spa

• In addition to the other criteria set out, any survey undertaken within the six wards of Leamington Spa must be undertaken in the Higher Education term-time (University of Warwick principally though University of Coventry, and Mid Warwickshire College may also be relevant)

Surveys should not be undertaken:

• In weeks that include one or more public holiday – it is also recommended that the weeks immediately following or preceding public holidays should be avoided.
• In school holidays - it is also recommended that the weeks immediately following or preceding school holidays should be avoided
• On or close to a date when a local event is taking place, as this may impact the results of the survey.

Additional surveys

Additional surveys may be required where a proposed development would be located close to land uses which may increase parking demand at certain times. For example:

• Town centre locations
• Regular specific uses close to the site (e.g. Place of Worship, community hall, sports club): additional surveys should be undertaken when these are in operation.
• Commercial uses close to the site: morning and early evening surveys may also be required due to conflict with residential parking. In these cases, surveys between the hours of 07:00 – 08:30 and 18:00 – 19:00 may be required, noting the amount of parking on a 15 minute basis over this time.
• Railway stations/other areas of commuter parking: additional morning and evening peak hour surveys will be required to assess the impact of commuter parking. These should be done between 07:00 – 08:00 and 17:30 – 18:30.

Applicants should contact Local Highway Authority prior to undertaking a survey if there is any doubt about the requirements.

It should be noted that some factors may not become apparent until the survey has been submitted to the Council for consideration. For example, the survey itself might reveal anomalies that require further investigation, or a subsequent officer site visit may reveal circumstances that require amendments.

Required information

The following information should be included with the survey results, to be submitted with a planning application:

• The date and time of the survey
• A description of the area noting any significant land uses in the vicinity which may affect parking within the survey area (e.g. Places of Worship, restaurants, pubs, bars, hospitals, large offices, town centres)
• Any unusual observations (e.g. suspended parking bays, spaces out of use because of road works or presence of skips etc)
• A drawing (preferably 1:1250) showing the site location and the extent of the survey area. All other parking and waiting restrictions such as Double Yellow Lines, bus lay-bys, kerb build outs, and crossovers (vehicular accesses etc should also be shown on the plan.
• The number of cars parked on each road within the survey area on each night should be counted and recorded in a table as shown below. It would be helpful to note the approximate location of each car on the plan (marked with an X).
• Photographs of the parking conditions in the survey area can be provided to back-up the results. If submitted, the location of each photograph should be clearly marked.

Areas within a Residents Parking Zone (RPZ)

Details of RPZs can be found here. As noted above, only streets within the RPZ in which the development site is located should be counted in the parking survey.

Only Permit Holder Bays (PHB) and shared bays which allow resident parking (these may be shared with Pay and Display parking and/or Business Permit Holders) should be counted.

To calculate parking capacity each length of parking bay must be measured and then converted into parking spaces by dividing the length by 6 (each vehicle is assumed to measure 6m), and rounding down to the nearest whole number.

For example: A parking bay measures 47m in length.

47/6 = 7.83

7.83 spaces should be rounded down to the nearest whole number. Therefore the number of parking spaces is calculated to be 7.

The capacity of each separate parking bay must be calculated separately and then added together to give the total number of parking spaces on each street in the survey area.

The results should generally be presented in the following format (figures given as an example):

A separate note should be made of any areas where cars can legally park overnight. These are generally Single Yellow Lines or Single Red Lines (SYL/SRL) or short term parking or Pay-and-Display bays. The number of cars parked in these areas should be counted and presented separately.

Areas not in a RPZ

All areas of unrestricted parking should be counted. To calculate the parking capacity, each length of road between obstructions (such as crossovers, kerb build-outs, yellow lines etc) must be measured.

Each length between obstructions must then be converted into parking spaces by dividing by 5m (each vehicle is assumed to be 5m in length), and rounding down to the nearest whole number – see the worked example above. The capacity of each section of road must be calculated separately and then added together to give the total number of parking spaces for each street in the survey area.

The distance between crossovers should be measured in units of 5m. For example, if the distance between two crossovers or a crossover and another obstruction is 12m, then only 10m should be counted in the survey, and any space between crossovers measuring less than 5m should be

discounted from the calculation. For reasons of highway safety, the first 10m from a junction should also be omitted from the calculation.

A map or plan showing the measurements used in calculating parking capacity should be supplied so that this can be verified by the Council. The parking survey may not be accepted if this is not supplied.

The results should generally be presented in the following format (figures given as an example):

Understanding the results

The results of the survey will be analysed by the Local Planning Authority and the Local Highway Authority in accordance with the Local Development Plan, and any supplementary policy adopted by the above authorities.

The Council will also take into consideration the impact of any recently permitted schemes in determining the acceptability or otherwise of each proposed development. Applicants can review pending and approved planning proposals in the vicinity of their scheme using WDC's interactive mapping.

Note that stress levels of over 100% stress (or 100% occupancy level) are possible. This is because small cars may need less space than 5m to park, meaning that additional cars can be accommodated.