Note from the district council

St Albans City and District Council is making it easier for residents and visitors to the District to pay for parking by introducing a cashless parking option.

You no longer need to search for the right change to pay for on-street parking in the Council’s Controlled Parking Zones in the District. Instead, you now have the option of paying by mobile phone. The PayByPhone service will charge the parking fee to a credit or debit card.

You can also pay for parking at the Council-operated Civic Centre and Westminster Lodge car parks in St Albans by mobile phone.

You will still be able to use cash to pay for parking in these locations if you prefer.

Signs are already in place in the affected areas which explain how to use the PayByPhone service. It costs 20p to pay the parking charge by mobile phone. This fee covers the administration cost of the Council’s contractor in running the service.

Through the service, you can also extend your parking session, receive a text reminder that parking is due to expire and obtain a text receipt. Each of these additional options costs 10p.

To use the mobile phone payment service, you need to open a PayByPhone account for your vehicle by calling01727 575 100 or going online at https://paybyphone.co.uk. Every time you want to use the service simply call the number, text 65565 or go online and provide details of your location. More information about paying for parking by mobile phone is available at: http://www.stalbans.gov.uk/transport-and-streets/parking/paybyphone/

We have also recently introduced a range of other parking services online for residents and businesses, including paying for a resident’s parking permit.

The parking services now available online enable you to:

·        Buy an on-street resident’s parking permit

·        Renew a resident’s parking permit

·        Purchase parking bay suspensions

·        Purchase work permits

·        View parking Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) evidence

·        Challenge a PCN

·        Pay a PCN.

A summary of the proposals is set out below. Please let us have your comments. Click on map thumbnail for a larger version.

Vernon Close

A new permit zone is to be created covering period Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 8.00pm.

There was mixed support from residents whether this should be a separate zone.

As Vernon Close is small and is unlikely to have adequate capacity as a standalone zone it is proposed to create a new O2 zone, but allow holders of Zone O2 permits to park in the nex O3 Zone (see comments below).

Old London Road

The controls in Old London Road are to be extended along its entire length. The hours are to be increased to Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 8.00pm.

An opportunity has been taken to convert some existing single yellow lines to permit areas, thereby increasing the number of spaces.

Short lengths of single yellow lines are to be converted to double yellow lines. These are mainly at infill junctions where no sign post currently exists. This avoids the need to place a sign and are locations where parking should not be occurring.

Old London Road is currently designated Zone O which includes Approach Road etc.

There has been no request to change the hours in Approach Road etc. It is therefore proposed to change the designation to Zone O3. Vernon Close residents will be able to park in the new Zone O3.

Alma Cut and Black Cut

These will also be changed to the new Zone O3

London Road

The east side of London Road is to be included within the newly designated Zone O3.

In support of businesses in the London Road area it is proposed to create shared use bays.

These will allow any one to park for up to 2 hours without charge. But residents with permits will be able to park without time limit.

Paxton Road and Lower Paxton Road

The current Zone S is a very compact zone with regular issues over lack of capacity.

Consideration can therefore be given to include Paxton Road and Lower Paxton Road as eligible addresses within the new Zone O3.

Once commuter related parking has been removed from London Road and Old London Road there is likely to be adequate capacity.

The extended hours are in line with the adjacent Zone M, Sopwell Lane, Keyfield Terrace etc.

Following the repainting, residents have been in touch with us about the fact that the parking bays have not been properly replaced – bluntly there are fewer than there were before.

We raised this with the district council yesterday and got this response:

Further to your e-mail regarding the above and the resurfacing/repainting of residents parking bays.

Under the circumstances I have suspended parking enforcement in these roads which will allow residents to park without hindrance until we can get to the bottom of the problem.

The parking team will be looking into the matter and once we are fully appraised we will take whatever action is appropriate to rectify any mistakes. In the meantime, I believe that the suspension of enforcement will go some way to ensuring that residents are not penalised unnecessarily.

I will be able to update you next week after we have had the opportunity to investigate further.

Councillors have again blasted the district council over its failure to make progress on yellow lines on Britton Avenue.

Lib Dem County Councillor for St Peter’s Ward, Chris White, and District Council colleague Michael Green, have both made strong representations to the district council about excessive delays in getting action.

County Councillor Chris White said: ‘It’s two years now that we and local residents pointed out that allowing parking on Britton Avenue on a Sunday was a serious traffic hazard.

‘I had a near miss here only last week.

‘The council really does need to act faster when these problems are pointed out.’

After complaining formally Cllr White and Cllr Green have now received renewed assurances that the problem is being taken seriously.

No objections were received to the formal consultation by the council and we are told that the council will now proceed to install the long-awaited yellow lines.

Thanks to all who signed the school’s petition and who spoke to the papers.

How long does it take to improve safety outside a St Albans school? Five weeks? Five months?

No: five years.

Fleetville Infant School, working with local councillor Chris White, requested some yellow lines in Royal Road outside the school five years ago, to make it safer for children arriving on foot. The consultation was done last year.

Since then nothing. Understandably the school wants to know what has happened and the explanation appears to be that the files have been lost by the district council which should have been processing the traffic orders of behalf of the county council.

Chris said: ‘Fortunately I never delete an email and so have been able to track down the relevant paperwork for the officers of both councils who will now hopefully talk to each other. They now need to treat this as top priority.

They promised me action. They promised the school action. A bureaucratic bungle should not be allowed to get in the way of kids’ safety.’

After extensive door to door consultation by Liberal Democrat councillors in St Peter’s, the following roads will have the separate bay markings restored:

Worley Avenue, Etna Road, Gombards and Church Crescent.

Note from district council:

Following the consultation the “result” for Glenferrie was inconclusive.

Whilst the response rate was an encouraging 65%. There were 30 responses for Glenferrie, 15 in favour and 15 against.

I am in the process of preparing an update to residents of the consultation area (including Glenferrie Road) advising that it is not proposed to introduce parking controls for the time being.

This could change in the future depending upon developments at Verulam School. Whilst the planning application makes no reference to Sixth Form numbers further pressures could develop if the number attending the Sixth Form expand following the granting of Academy Status.