School parking Park and stride Managing school traffic is becoming ever more complex and the situation is no different in Cardiff. Tom Walker, transport and parking policy officer at Cardiff Council, explains how it has been working with a school to alleviate congestion around the school gate, while recognising that the car is the only way some families can get everyone to school hen Ysgol Hamadryad (Hamadryad School) opened in January, it noticed that a nearby council car park was often underused during school drop-off and pick-up times. So the school approached us with a novel idea: a park and stride walking-bus scheme. This would allow parents who are genuinely reliant on their car to drop their children at the car park, where staff members would be waiting to accompany them to school by foot. Cardiff Council was already working hard to support schools to improve walking and cycling facilities, and to develop active travel plans. In doing so, we have learned to appreciate that for a multitude of reasons not everyone can adapt to sustainable travel methods as quickly as others. Allowances have to be made for the continued use of the car by some at least for now. The proposal by Hamadryad seemed to tick that box, although it was agreed by all that some form of regulation was required, otherwise traffic concerns would simply be shifted from the school gates to the car park. W Digital developments Working with our cashless parking provider, MiPermit, we had already been investigating digital ways to offer highly customisable, bespoke parking solutions. Continuing this work, we developed a dedicated online portal to allow eligible parents to apply for an electronic permit for just 2.50 a term. Crucially, these permits would only allow registered vehicles to park for up to 20 minutes during predetermined time slots. This meant car volumes could be kept at a manageable level. Applications are processed by the school, using MiPermits back-office software, and the details of registered vehicles are automatically uploaded to enforcement officers handheld units in real time. This allows the school to administer the scheme as required, without jeopardising the issuing of penalty charge notices to those motorists who are not abiding by the rules. Bringing on the benefits The results have been fantastic. Traffic congestion around the school gate is a thing of the past, and the children use their walk to school to make friends and learn about road safety as well as the benefits of walking for the environment. To build on these successes, Cardiff Council is now looking to expand the scheme to other schools, to continue to deliver on our commitment to provide a truly positive parking experience. Historically, it has been tempting to see parking controls and enforcement measures as the solution, but experience has shown us that they rarely solve issues on their own. We are the first to admit that there is still a long way to go on the issues around school parking but, when the safety of schoolchildren is at stake, it is a journey worth making, however daunting the challenges may appear. 36 britishparking.co.uk PN Sep19 pp36-37 School Parking.indd 36 22/08/2019 12:14