Nine out of 10 oppose ending free parking at night

Liverpool Council wants to end free parking after 18:00

Plans to charge for on-street parking until 23:00 were opposed by nearly 90% of the people asked about them.

The results of the statutory consultation done by Liverpool Council have only just been published, two years after it was held.

And they reveal that almost nine out of 10 of the 1,226 people who took part were against ending free parking after 18:00.

A council report said the city's parking schemes needed to change because many businesses were now open later, and Everton's stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock had created more "pressure".

If approved, the plans would be introduced this summer – but the council's highways committee could reject them, based on the strength of public opinion.

Many who took part in the 2023 consultation said they believed the change would have a negative impact on the night-time economy and increase costs for low-paid workers.

'Detrimental'

The results almost exactly mirror those of an informal public consultation which was launched in November 2022, and in which 89% of just under 1,500 people who responded opposed the plan.

A highways committee report said the current parking regime had a "detrimental" impact on people living in the city centre because they struggled to find places to park.

It added: "As the (parking) restrictions end at 6pm, this also means that additional traffic often circulates the area looking for available parking spaces with a resultant impact on congestion, air quality and road safety.

"When no suitable spaces are available, this results in vehicles parking on single yellow lines which can cause obstruction issues for both traffic and pedestrians as parking also takes place on footways."

'Negative impact'

The report claimed additional parking restrictions "would help to ensure a turnover of available parking spaces as drivers make informed choices about their mode of travel into the city centre".

It added the return of the city's night bus service at weekends was evidence that there were alternatives to cars, and added "advanced discussions have been taking place to enable the night bus service to operate seven days a week, rather than at weekends".

The report also said if people going to Everton games at Bramley-Moore dock were able to park in the city centre for free after 18:00 and then walk to the stadium, the bays and single yellow lines would become "monopolised" by football fans.

This would result "in a lack of available spaces to support the night-time economy," the report added.

Objections to the plans were lodged by the Liverpool Business Improvement District (BID), and the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, which said ending free parking would have a negative impact on it and other venues in the Hope Street area.

But the highways report recommended that the planned extension of charges until 23:00 should be brought in later this year.

"Having carefully considered the advantages and disadvantages of the representations received, the view remains that the measures support the objectives to better manage parking in the city centre and thereby reduce congestion and improve road safety and air quality for all road users," it said.

The highways committee is due to meet on 1 May.