Building a platform for change

RingGo’s Peter O’Driscoll backs the open market

Promoting parking strategy

The Local Government Information Unit’s Parking Strategies and Innovation report was launched at the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) at Local Government’s summer reception in the House of Commons on 18 July. The APPG’s chair, Chris Clarkson MP, introduced guest speakers local government minister Lee Rowley, LGIU chair Cllr Michael Payne and Peter Driscoll, managing director of RingGo, which supported both the report and reception. lgiu.org

The Department for Transport (DfT) is expected to move the National Parking Platform (NPP) from its trial phase to fullscale national roll out during 2024. The NPP will enable approved phone parking providers to integrate their services and access all available parking inventory in a specific geographical area, without needing to go through the current tender process.

Although 64% of councils have a parking strategy in place that outlines their development plans, the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) report Parking Strategies and Innovations has identified significant gaps in understanding about the new model, which will impact the future-proofing of these strategies. The survey found that:

• Over a third (36%) of respondents had never heard of the NPP

• 44% of respondents said they had not heard of the open market model which will introduce competition

• almost 80% said they would welcome efforts by the government to explain more about how the NPP will work in practice.

The platform is publicly owned, which aligns with the survey findings: 44% of local authorities prefer this model, while only 3.5% favour a private-sector hub.

The LGIU survey was part-funded by cashless payment provider RingGo, which is an advocate of the NPP and an open market approach to phone parking provision. Speaking at the House of Commons launch of the LGIU report, Peter O’Driscoll, managing director of RingGo, said: “The NPP provides the foundation for the open market in parking, which allows multiple phone parking providers to operate alongside each other. This will encourage competition between parking providers and enable motorists to choose their preferred parking app.”

Currently, 86% of councils working with phone parking providers contract them through a tender process. This limits motorists to one service provider per area. According to the LGIU survey, only 30% of councils said the current procurement model is either cost or time efficient. O’Driscoll said: “An open market model significantly reduces or removes these challenges, while improving service resilience and incentivising innovation. It is already a standard model used across much of Europe and solves the problem of drivers having to download multiple parking apps to pay for parking. This approach is strongly supported by local authorities: 83% of survey respondents favour downloading only one app.

“The NPP has the potential to benefit every council. They would be able to move away from a time-consuming and costly procurement process, while offering motorists more choice. The preliminary trial in Manchester, and Cheshire West and Chester indicates it creates a competitive market, with parking sessions spread across multiple phone parking providers. With towns and cities under pressure to improve and integrate services and reduce emissions ahead of net zero targets, now is the time for the NPP and the open market. We look forward to the government moving decisively to scale the platform as we work together with local authorities to make our cities more liveable.”

Car park design needs to evolve to cope with bigger, heavier electric cars and better reflect 21st century social and environmental issues. These are among the key messages in new guidance published by the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE).

Car Park Design covers the design, construction and asset management of all car park structures, including standalone multi-storey car parks, underground car parks and those within buildings with other uses such as office, residential and retail. It is designed to serve as a resource for car park architects, engineers, developers, funders and those who service and maintain these facilities.

IStructE first published Design Recommendations for Multi-Storey and Underground Car Parks in 1976, and over four editions it became an essential reference book for designers. While building on this legacy, Car Park Design is a completely new book that addresses a range of issues such as vehicle sizes and weights, fire safety, accessibility, electric vehicle charging and what to do with a structure when its life as a car park comes to an end.

Mark Pundsack, chair of the contributor group and Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers (FIStructE), explains: “As we move to using more electric or hybrid cars, we are now exposed to risks from vehicle compositions and propulsion systems which current design guidance does not acknowledge. We have moral and legal duties to make buildings accessible for all — and car parks are no exception.

“The car parks built today, or those being renovated and re-used, need to be designed with all this in mind if these structures are to remain viable and useful in a rapidly changing world.”

A panel of ten experts contributed to the guidance including overseeing consultant Chris Whapples, a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers (FIStructE).

The other authors were: Peter Guest, Dan Gullock, Alan McBryan, Fiona Petch, Peter Robery, Russell Simmons, Jeff Stewart and Chris Watkins.

Ensuring car parks are structurally sound is essential, says Chris Whapples: “There are myriad considerations the design of a modern car park needs to address, particularly as selling petrol and diesel cars and vans will be banned in the UK by 2030, and hybrid cars and vans by 2035. Car park safety is paramount, especially given the learnings from structural failures, including the Pipers Row floor collapse in Wolverhampton, UK in 1997. And this guidance is made increasingly relevant with the recent, tragic collapse of a car park in Manhattan, New York, which is currently being investigated.”

The book is spilt in two parts: • Part one is aimed at those involved in procuring a car park, including clients, architects, and project managers among others.