Green parking scheme in Richmond: lower emission cars pay less
From 1 October, Richmond Council is extending its innovative and controversial CO2 related parking scheme to all Council on- and off-street parking in the borough. Under this new approach all cars that park in Richmond upon Thames will be charged according to how much CO2 their cars produce, with lower rates for the least polluting vehicles.
The scheme also provides for ‘on street’ parking at just 20p for 20 minutes and for drivers of low/medium CO2 emitting cars it will be 10p for 20 minutes. On Thursday afternoons motorists will be able to park from 3.00pm for a flat charge of £1.50 or £1.00 for low/medium cars. It is hoped that both of these initiatives will help shops and the local economy in general.
Richmond upon Thames is the first borough in the UK to introduce such a charging policy. The system works for drivers who use the RingGo system to pay for their parking. Motorists register and pay by phone, and RingGo accesses the DVLA database for each customer's registration to determine emissions data on the car.
Those who drive gas-guzzlers will pay 25 per cent above the standard rate while those who drive eco-friendly cars will pay 25 per cent less than the standard rate. Motoring association the AA has claimed that the move is more about raising revenue than being green.
The aim, the LibDem-controlled council says, is to encourage motorists to use greener vehicles and therefore help local and national government to meet their targets for emissions.
Commenting on the new charging regime Cllr David Trigg Cabinet Member of Traffic Transport and Parking on Richmond Council said: 'It has taken us a while to get to where we can offer differential parking charges to all motorists parking in our bays and ground level car parks in the borough but I am delighted that we can now do this. And we hope to extend the scheme to our multi story car parks by the end of the year.
'The important thing under the new pricing structure is that over 60% of motorists stand to either gain or be no worse off. And the most expensive parking in our borough at around £3 per hour will still be modest when compared to charges at other world class destinations in our capital which can frequently be as much as £4 per hour. This simply is not going to stop visitors coming to Richmond upon Thames as some critics have suggested.
'We hope this scheme will encourage more motorists to drive less polluting cars and combined with the Richmond Card this is going to make parking in our borough easier and more convenient than ever before.'
For further information contact Joe Coggins on 020 8891 7840
Related stories
- 'Get town centres running like businesses': 12 'Portas Pilots' will share £1million to turn around their high streets
- Times newspaper launches campaign and manifesto calling for cities to be made fit for cyclists
- Sharing takes off: private cars, parking spaces and even garden space for tents can now be rented out using smart technologies
- LED lighting scheme improves environment and reduces energy costs
- Town teams and better management will boost high streets: review supports suggestions from the Better Streets high street debate
- DfT’s new guidance on shared space is based on flawed research and makes exaggerated claims for success, says report
- DfT traffic signs policy review encourages removal of signs that 'clutter the highway'
- Public space and street activities in UK to be 'deregulated' as part of the Red Tape Challenege
- Transport for London has begun consulting on a proposed lane rental scheme for works needing to close lanes at peak times
- Has removal of guardraiing led to an increase in level of road accidents and casualties in London?
- Centrally imposed limits on town centre parking spaces to be scrapped
- Labour launches campaign to boost the UK's high streets as NPPF claims to support town centres over out of town retail
- Pavement parking ban mooted
- Emptying high streets: shop vacancies continue to rise, with one in seven stores empty across UK
- New shared space street opens in Suffolk port town of Felixstowe
- Smart travel, or 'low-cost behaviour change policies to reduce car use', are 'as dead as a dodo', say practitioners
- National planning restrictions requiring councils to limit the number of parking spaces in new residential development scrapped
- Electric car charging points charging: no planning permission needed for installations in streets and outdoor car parks
- Streetscape improvements will help to encourage walking: 'rewards' promised for Londoners who make journeys on foot
- Better street design can help blind and partially sighted people to become more confident and mobile, says study
