1. This report has been prepared by a working party which was established by Council and the General Board in Michaelmas Term 1998. The working party was asked to review the University's approach to car parking and associated issues. There were a number of factors which led to the establishment of the working party and these are described in para. 5 below. Having conducted its review, the working party is clear that the current car parking arrangements, whereby members of the University are able with ease to obtain a permit to enable them to look for a car parking space in designated areas around the University's Science Area, cannot continue. In the light of consultations with staff representatives, and representatives of external bodies, the working party has drawn up proposals for a new car parking regime within the University; Council and the General Board have agreed that the new car parking arrangements described in paras. 27–52 and the appendix below should become effective from 1 October 1999. The main feature of the new car parking regime is that permits will be issued on the basis of need only; the legitimate operational requirements of departments are also taken into account.
2. After some further introductory paragraphs, this report is organised under the following headings. —The need for change (paras. 5–12) —Alternatives to car use (paras. 13–26) —A new car parking regime (paras. 27–52)
3. The working party comprised Professor C.M. Perrins (Chairman of the Buildings Committee) as chairman, the Principal of Harris Manchester College (Chairman of the Environment Committee), Professor P.C. Newell (Chairman of the Staff Committee), Professor E. Sim, and the Senior Proctor for the time being (Professor R.W. Ainsworth until 19 March 1999, and Mr R.H.A. Jenkyns thereafter). The working party was serviced by Mr C.E. Willis, with the Surveyor to the University and the Security Centre Manager also in attendance.
4. Within the University the working party has consulted staff groups on its outline proposals following endorsement of these in principle by Council and the General Board in Hilary Term 1999. Meetings and discussions have also been held with external bodies, including representatives of Oxford Brookes University, the NHS Trusts, and the two main local bus companies. Feedback has also been gained from City and County Council officers through the University's membership of a new forum established by the City and County Councils for regular meetings of representatives of many bodies to discuss city- and county-led transport-related initiatives and the progress the two universities and the NHS Trusts are making in reducing reliance on cars for commuting; although the geographical area this group has been established to cover is chiefly centred on Headington, many of the principles under discussion apply equally well for Oxford University in the city centre.
5. There were a number of factors which led the central bodies to establish the working party to review car parking arrangements and have led the working party to conclude that a new car parking regime for the university is required. The factors include: the reduction in the number of university car parking spaces while the number of university staff increases; government policy on transport issues; implementation by the Oxford City Council and the Oxfordshire County Council of local transport-related policies, including the extension of residential parking areas and the implementation of the Oxford Transport Strategy (OTS); a perceived unfairness in the operation of the existing car parking arrangements; and increasing awareness of the environmental impact of car-based travel to work.
6. A travel-to-work survey was carried out on 22 May 1997 as part of a study commissioned by the Buildings Committee. The table below gives the results of how staff in the Science Area reported that they travelled to work on that day.
1997 Science Area Staff
| Mode
| Proportion: | per cent Number of | respondents Factored staff: | total Car driver
| 46.2
| 603
| 1,818
| Car passenger
| 2.6
| 34
| 103
| Park and Ride
| 1.5
| 20
| 60
| Bus
| 10.7
| 139
| 419
| Walk
| 7.0
| 92
| 278
| Cycle
| 28.7
| 374
| 1,128
| Train
| 1.5
| 20
| 60
| Other
| 1.8
| 23
| 69
| Total
| 100.0
| 1,305*
| 3,935
| | |||
*Eighteen respondents did not record their mode of travel to work.
7. It is likely that the University car park at 2–4 South Parks Road will have to close within a matter of months because of the expiry of temporary planning consent for use of the land as a car park. The number of car parking spaces there was 158 until March 1999 when 60 of these had to be removed to create a contractors' compound for the construction of the Rothermere American Institute nearby. The loss of the remaining 98 places (when the planning authority prohibits further use of the area as a car park) will reduce the total number of university car parking spaces in the central area to about 1,140 (i.e. the closure will reduce the total capacity by more than 10 per cent). The loss of just 60 spaces appears to have caused a significant increase in breaches of existing car parking regulations, such as double-parking and obstruction of fire lanes with a consequential increase in pressure on the Security Services to fit clamps and tow away offending vehicles.
8. Until March 1999 there were almost 400 permits in issue which allowed holders to seek a space only in the South Parks Road car park (i.e. not elsewhere in the Science Area—a restriction which has now been relaxed). These permits were mostly issued to staff in the following departments: Bodleian Library, History Faculty, History of Science Museum, Social Studies, University Offices. The working party is convinced that it would be invidious simply to deny these permit-holders access to university car parking facilities when the car park closes. Since there are about 2,400 permits in issue, and, in theory therefore, some 1,200 or so members of staff could drive to work and be unsuccessful in finding a parking space, it seems that the only sensible way forward is to pool university car parking spaces (with certain exceptions) and to reduce the total number of permits.
9. In July 1998 the Government published a White Paper A new deal for transport: better for everyone which set out how, as part of a package of measures tackling congestion and pollution, the Government would introduce legislation to enable local authorities to introduce road user charges in their area and to levy a charge on work-place car parking where they felt that charges could help to meet their local transport objectives. The Oxford City Council has confirmed that it will wish to introduce a work-place car parking levy. Although such a levy is unlikely to be introduced immediately, the University must put in place a new car parking régime which will accommodate the need to recover the likely charges from those who benefit directly from their provision.
10. The local highways authority (Oxfordshire County Council) and the local planning authority (Oxford City Council) are working together on schemes which they believe will reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. These include the introduction of residential car parking zones in Norham Manor (with effect from 16 May), Summertown, and west Headington and reductions in the maximum permitted period of parking in free and pay-and-display parking bays around the city centre (as well as changes in the number of such bays), in an attempt to reduce the current high levels of commuter parking in residential and retail areas. The Oxford Transport Strategy (OTS) is an attempt to limit the amount of traffic passing through the city centre when the ring road could be equally well used. Improvements to bus lanes and the extension and addition to Park & Ride facilities are further aspects of the councils' approach. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many university staff make use of the free on-street parking which is due to be removed and this will as a consequence add pressure to the demand for parking in university car parking spaces. With regard to new university developments, the planning authority will not give planning consent to any plans which include more than a very small number of commuter car parking places, these being included to provide for occupants with disabilities; underground and multi-storey car parks will not be granted planning consent. 11. Consultations with staff groups (i.e. with the Joint Consultative Committee with the Oxford AUT, the Clerical and Library Negotiating Committee, the Joint Committee with the MSF, and the Ancillary, Gardens, and Parks Employees' Joint Committee) have revealed that there is an existing perceived unfairness in the allocation within departments of car parking spaces to certain members of the department. (The survey mentioned above revealed that it is the staff on the lowest pay-scales that are most car dependent.) Between departments it seems it is entirely due to historical accident that certain departments within the Science Area have had the control of a certain number of car parking places: when spaces were allocated to departments a number of years ago, the basis for allocation was the then number of permit holders, not the number of staff within the department. The criteria for assessing the allocation of a car parking permit under the new system, to overcome the perceived unfairness in current departmental allocations, are ranked in the appendix. The number of permits which each department is authorised to issue will be notified separately. 12. Finally, many members of the University support the principle of reducing reliance on cars for travel to work by moving to greener forms of transport.
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16. The working party is aware that some departments have bicycles available for use by staff during the working day and would wish to encourage departments which do not make such provision at present to consider doing so.
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19. In theory, the University could buy land outside central Oxford and seek to run its own Park & Ride service. Costs would not compare favourably, however, with the rates charged by the City Council for security at existing Park & Ride sites, nor the travel fares. Seeking spaces reserved for University members only at the existing Park & Ride sites, or coming to an agreement with the Botley Road superstores for use of their customer car parking as a university Park & Ride facility has been considered by the working party but it has been advised that the necessary planning consent would be unlikely to be forthcoming. A private bus shuttle would not be allowed to use bus lanes and in terms of speed, therefore, little improvement over use of private cars would be made.
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22. Improvements can be expected in the future. Thames Trains plans new stations at Kidlington and Kennington. A consortium of local authorities is working with Railtrack to develop proposals to establish a new east--west rail link from Oxford/Bicester to Milton Keynes and the east, reusing freight-only and mothballed lines and track bed. The University has also joined a co-ordinating group to consider the introduction of a Guided Transit Express (GTE) which is a feature of the City Council's current Local Plan; a southern arm would link Cowley and the city centre and a northern arm would link the city centre with Kidlington and/or Gosford; it would also serve a Park & Ride function.
23. The working party recognises that some would-be train users are deterred from travelling to work this way by the poor transport links from Oxford railway station to their workplace. It has discussed this with the bus operators and the working party also understands that Stagecoach Oxford has under consideration a new bus service between Oxford Railway Station and the Science Area as a successor to the electric bus service which ceased operation in April 1998. This would be an experimental `Thermic hybrid' bus project and is dependent upon funds being secured from the European Commission.
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27 . The working party has proposed and Council and the General Board have agreed that new car parking arrangements described here should become effective from 1 October 1999. The main feature of the new car parking regime is that permits will in future be issued on the basis of need only; however, the legitimate operational requirements of departments are also taken into account. The principles guiding the working party in proposing changes to the arrangements are first set out (paras. 28–32) followed by the main changes which have been agreed (paras. 33–41). There then follows a detailed description of the new arrangements (paras. 42–52). The criteria against which applications for car parking permits will in future be assessed at departmental level are listed in the appendix.
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28 . Something which has been clear to the working party from the outset is that, regardless of the current arrangements for the issue of car parking permits, any expectation on the part of staff to entitlement to park their car at or very near their place of work must be removed in all but very exceptional cases (an example of such an exceptional case being one in which a member of staff is disabled and travelling to work by public transport is not an option). Thereafter, given the limited number of car parking spaces available, priority must be given to those who can demonstrate the greatest of needs for a car parking space. The criteria set out in the appendix have been drawn up to reflect this principle. In particular it will be seen that seniority or rank within a department does not in itself confer any particular priority for a car parking permit to be issued.
29 . Since anecdotal evidence suggests that very many current permit holders use their permits fairly rarely and furthermore that they are mostly able to predict at least some days in advance when they expect to need them, new temporary permits should satisfy many current permit holders.
30 . The legitimate operational requirements of departments were also a significant concern of the working party; a number of representations were received on this aspect. Many departments need to provide temporary parking for a series of vehicles each day, be they those of academic visitors to the department, delivery vehicles, or contractors' vehicles. Some temporary spaces must be available for such vehicles at all times even if only briefly for loading and unloading. Very small departments with very few staff may have legitimate needs for a number of spaces which may be used by visitors.
31 . Under current car parking arrangements, certain departments benefit from historically large allocation of spaces for use by members of the department alone. The working party has taken the view that such an anomaly should be removed. Henceforth all car parking spaces should in principle be pooled and made available either to any member of the University subject to demonstration of need on a first-come, first-served basis, or to named departments for use by their members alone, the number of such spaces allocated to each departments being calculated with reference to the department's size. In some exceptional cases for safety and security reasons it will not be practical to pool certain spaces in this way. The working party had considered dividing the main university area into zones to reduce the likelihood of permit-holders circulating over a wide area, looking for a vacant space, but it has decided not to pursue this, thinking instead that arrangements will settle after a short period.
32 . Some universities and other bodies charge staff for the right to park at the place of work, in some cases different charges giving permit holders different rights: high charges guarantee a car parking place every day; slightly lower charges allow holders to hunt for a space; other spaces are made available for short-term parking and are charged at an hourly rate using pay-and-display tickets. In general such schemes generate sizeable revenue streams which may or may not fund commuter or other transport-related schemes. The working party's remit did not extend to considering whether car parking charges should be introduced to provide a general revenue for the University; the working party considers that any charges for car parking should be applied only to offset the costs directly associated with the regime, and perhaps thereafter to fund commuter or transport-related matters. Although a small administrative charge of £10 would raise sufficient revenue to fund an additional car parking attendant to enforce arrangements, and staff groups did not object in principle to such a charge, the working party has decided not to pursue this, preferring instead to await the need to charge for car parking to pay the local authority levy which is expected to be introduced for each commuter car parking space provided by employers within the next few years. Council and the General Board have agreed in principle that any such levy on the University should be recovered in full from those who benefit from the places and furthermore that, rather than all car users being charged a flat rate, there should be a scale of charges according to pay scale or ability to pay.
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33 . At present, in practice, applications for car parking permits which allow holders to hunt for a space are not assessed using any clearly defined and publicised criteria; the most significant change is that each application will be assessed using criteria drawn up to ascertain need for a permit (the appendix), and now an absolute limit will be placed on the number of peak-time permits which each department may authorise to be issued.
34 . Hitherto motorcyclists have not been required to have a permit to park iin designated spaces. It seems sensible that the needs of motorcyclists should be recognised and formal permission be given to them. Motorcyclists must also apply for a parking permit, and these too will be issued on the basis of need. For the purpose of calculating the number of permits which may be issued, two motorcycle permits shall be deemed to be the equivalent of one car parking permit.
35 . The current arrangements do not take into account the fact that there is fierce competition for university car parking spaces early on term-time weekday mornings but not at other times. Since, as a general rule, there is no shortage of spaces in the afternoons, evenings, and weekends, and competition is far less fierce in the depths of the Long Vacation, off-peak permits will be available; these will be issued on departmental authority, and will be valid in all non-departmental spaces during off-peak periods (as defined).
36 . At present there is no requirement for a department to justify to its members why certain individuals have been granted the right to park in spaces allocated to the department. Departments will now be required to publish any variation they make in the application of the criteria for assessment in the appendix and to indicate, anonymously, the circumstances which justify the issue of each permit.
37. Hitherto some departments have enjoyed historic rights to a greater number of departmental car parking spaces than one would expect on the basis of staff numbers. Henceforth virtually all spaces other than those allocated for use by particular departments strictly according to their size will be pooled; exceptions will arise from safety and security reasons making such pooling impractical.
38. Staff in departments which are not based in the central area (e.g. those based at the Headington hospitals) will not be able to apply for peak-time permits for the central area: their needs will be met by the use of temporary permits issued by departments which are being visited.
39. Whereas at present there are about 2,400 car parking permits in issue allolwing holders to hunt for one of up to about 1,000 non- departmental spaces (a permit to space ratio of about 2.4:1), the number of peak-time permits is expected to fall to about 800–1,000 and the number of pooled spaces in which the reduced number of permit holders may park is expected to fall to about 750–850 (a ratio of about 1.2:1). The number of spaces allocated to departments to ensure that they can operate effectively is likely to increase from the current levels to about 400.
40. The precise figures will be determined periodically in the light of consultations with departments. The number of peak-time permits and spaces available to departments will be based on payroll headcount (hence a need periodically to review figures) but with, in most cases, a minimum level to ensure operational viability.
41. Aspects of the current arrangements which are not changing are as follows: the Security Services will continue actually to issue the permits (peak- and off-peak) on the receipt of a departmentally authorised application form; permits will need to be reviewed annually; departments will be able to issue temporary permits; for most staff there will continue to be no guarantee of a car parking space, but normal staff absences due to leave or illness can be expected to ensure that spaces for permit-holders are generally available.
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43. Vehicles parked in university car parking spaces which do not display an appropriate permit will be treated as trespassing and will be liable to be clamped. Vehicles which are parked in prohibited areas or obstruct emergency exits are liable to be towed away.
44. Three types of permit will be available: `peak-time permits' issued by the University Security Services will allow holders to park in designated non-departmental spaces, if available, at all hours of the day; `off-peak permits' also issued by the University Security Services will allow holders to park in designated non-departmental spaces, if available, during off-peak hours (as defined below); `temporary permits' issued by departments on a daily basis will be for use only in spaces allocated to the department.
45. Peak-time permits will be issued to members of a department on the basis of need, as assessed on a departmental level against the agreed criteria in the appendix. Applications should be made on a standard form and submitted according to arrangements devised within each department; heads of department are responsible for assessing applications and for authorising the Security Services to issue peak-time permits up to the maximum number allowable for the department. The allocation to departments is based on a headcount of staff on the department's payroll.
46. Heads of department are required to publish details of any variation they make in the application of the criteria for assessment in the appendix and to indicate, anonymously, the circumstances which justify the issue of each permit (for example by posting a list along the following lines: two peak-time permits have been issued on the basis of the applicant's disabilities; two peak-time permits have been issued on the basis of the requirement on the applicants to use a car for work purposes on a regular and frequent basis; six peak-time permits have been issued to staff living in Witney, Woodstock, and Wootton; six peak-time permits have been issued to staff living within the Oxford Ring Road (or in Botley, Cumnor, Wolvercote, Kidlington, Barton, Sandhills, Risinghurst, Blackbird Leys, Littlemore, and Kennington), who have children at nurseries or schools who must be delivered and collected at the start and end of each working day).
47. Off-peak permits will be issued by the Security Services to members of a department on departmental authority: a standard application form must be completed.
48. Off-peak permits will be valid for use in designated non-departmental areas at the following times: up to 7 a.m. each weekday; after 4 p.m. each weekday; all day at weekends; and at other times as may be announced from time to time (for example during the quieter weeks of the Long Vacation).
49. All peak-time and off-peak permits must be renewed annually. Renewal must be on the basis of repeat application.
50. The number of temporary permits that may be issued is for each department to control; since the temporary permits are valid only in departmental spaces, it is important for departments to exercise their control. The temporary spaces are intended to allow departments to operate effectively. They are for use by contractors (including staff of the Surveyor's Office working within the department), delivery vehicles, visiting academic staff, service workers, and, as necessary, members of the department who do not hold peak-time permits. A member of the department who does not qualify for a peak-time permit may be allowed to use the temporary spaces intensively for short periods but it would be expected that such a situation would be rare. As well as specifying the date on which each temporary permit is valid, a permit may also be further restricted as to the times between which it may be used.
51. The number of car parking spaces around the central university area is about 1,140. The number of spaces allocated to each department for use only by holders of temporary permits issued by the relevant department will be notified separately and will take account of the number of vehicles operated by the department.
52. A map will be prepared to indicate the location of all departmental and non-departmental spaces, and prohibited areas.
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Disability. Staff who have a registered disability or hold an `Orange Badge' should have automatic entitlement to a permit. This is on the basis that, regardless of the availability of alternative public transport services, they are unlikely to be able to use them. Staff who suffer temporary mobility problems should be eligible for a permit for the duration of the impairment. Staff with other medical or physical conditions which necessitate that they should park in close proximity to their place of work should be accorded the highest priority.
Operational requirements. Staff having a requirement to use a car for work purposes (i.e. purposes other than commuting between home and the normal place of work as specified in an employee's contract of employment) on a regular and frequent basis during the working day as an essential part of their duties should be accorded high priority.
Inadequate public transport. Staff who live beyond a distance where they could reasonably be expected to walk or cycle to work, or who live in areas beyond reasonable reach of work by public transport, should be accorded high priority. Reasonable public transport accessibility is defined as follows: a total journey time of not more than about 45 minutes each way between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. including a walk of up to about 10 minutes between home and bus stop/railway station, and up to about 15 minutes between city bus stop/railway station and workplace (i.e. the balance of about 25 minutes being available for the journey itself). Within this definition very few, if any, staff living within the Oxford Ring Road or in outlying areas such as Botley, Cumnor, Wolvercote, Kidlington, Barton, Sandhills, Risinghurst, Blackbird Leys, Littlemore, and Kennington should normally expect to receive a permit.
Unsocial hours of work. Persons whose work requires them to work unsocial hours and for whom the availability of reasonable public transport is much less good should be accorded high priority.
Family commitments. Staff needing to attend to dependent family members during the day (i.e. taking to or collecting nursery- or school-age children from nursery or school or visiting other family members elsewhere not immediately accessible by public transport during the day) should be accorded high priority.
It will be the responsibility of the heads of department to authorise the issue of peak-time car parking permits up to the number allocated to the department, normally by applying these criteria. Heads of department will use their own judgement in applying the criteria as appropriate, perhaps applying a cumulative weighting system. (For example, an applicant who has inadequate public transport links and has family commitments is likely to have greater priority for a permit than an applicant whose links to public transport are very poor but who does not have any family commitments.) In principle a department could normally allocate a car parking permit to a member of staff for the period that he or she holds a particular post or category of post which necessitates car use.
In assessing need for a peak-time parking permit, heads of department should have regard to the availability to the applicant (or perhaps the applicant's spouse) of alternative parking facilities in Oxford: those with ready access to non-university parking space in Oxford are unlikely to need a peak-time university parking permit.
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