17 October 2006

Dear Mr Tasker

Resident Parking Permits - Motorcycles

Thank you for your communications. I am sorry that you appear to have been given the run-around. OBC Car Parks section deal with the day-to-day operation of the scheme. However a metter such as yours on scheme Policy is dealt with by [Principal Parking Officer]. Mr XXXXXX os currently on leave so in order not to delay your reply even further I will try and answer your concerns.

I apologise for the delay in getting back to you but I needed to consult with a number of colleagues first of all. I am advised that despite operating resident parking schemes for over 20 years the issue of motorcycle parking within them has not been raised before. One view is that this may be because most motorcyclists normally prefer to remove their machines from the public highway (where they are able to) for reasons of security. It is therefore true that motorcycles have not been previously considered as part of the council's arrangements.

The Council has recently completed a fundamental review of its residents parking arrangements based on a pilot study in Zone 3, which involved extensive consultations during 2005 with residents and a public exhibition. Again, the matter of motorcycle parking was not raised as part of this study. The study recommended the implementation of a 'New Residents Parking Scheme' starting with Zone 3 this financial year/ The scheme once implemented will enable the purchase of a second permit per household. Full details for the new scheme will be delivered to all properties in Zone 3 when the new traffic Regulation Orders are advertised early in 2007.

For your further information, I have spoken with our Parking Manager who has confirmed that there are very few (if any) resident parking permits issued to motorcycles. However, it is the case that the legal orders that cover our Residents Parking schemes do require the permit to be displayed on the vehicle itself which I do accept is a potential problem with theft. In view of this, Parking Services suggest the alternative option of posting the permit in the window of your house.

In conclusion, I do accept that current arrangements are less than ideal for motorcycles and it would be helpful if something could be done to improve matters. Our Parking Manager has advised me that there may be a technological solution on the near horizon. He is currently investigating the possibility of a 'virtual permit', which on face value could be applied to a motorcycle owning permit holder. It would work as follows. Upon purchasing a Res Park permit for a motorcycle, the registration details of the bike could be served on a server which would be linked in real time to the hand held ticket machines used by the Parking Attendants. The Parking Attendant would be automatically alerted should he/she try to issue a penalty charge notice to a bike parked in a zone without a permit that this particular vehicle was covered by a valid permit after all. A ticket would not be issued in these circumstances. Clearly we would need to amend our Legal Orders exempting a motorcycle from the obligation to display the permit on the vehicle under these particular circumstances. There is much further work to be done in developing this concept but I hope you will agree that if it can be put into practice it does perhaps offer the best solution to the problems for motorcycles.

Kind Regards

[Signature]

Engineer