Managing parking policy and finance is balancing act

摘要

POWELL ARGUES that the modern parking manager has to balance finance against parking as a policy tool by having a foot in both camps, rather than playing one off against the other. This includes being involved in major decisions with implications for the highway network, such as the design of new commercial developments, and those for residents' parking schemes. He believes that the demand for parking is unlikely to diminish. "With the best will in the world, you are not going to get people out of their personal metal box, and. put them all on to a bus," he maintains. "It's a beautiful dream, but people want to jump into their car and drive to work or to shop, and they must find somewhere to park. Parking is often seen only as an enforcement tool, but in fact it affects everything, such as whether a business or shopping centre survives. We need to be there right from the start, then the enforcement problems might not be so great."