Raising the standards in parking

Parkex is the largest parking exhibition and conference in Europe and will take place at the Manchester Central Convention Complex from 23 - 24 April 2008. This year’s exhibition is set to be the most successful yet, with exhibitor spaces already sold out and visitor numbers expected to be the highest ever.

Exhibitors and workshops
The event will see 120 exhibiting companies from the UK, Europe and around the world showcasing the latest innovations and products. From across the parking industry including parking management, parking equipment, parking enforcement and cashless payments, many companies will be showing products in the UK for the first time. New to this year's event are Transoft Solutions (Europe) BV and Roper Mobile Technology.
    
The focus this year is on engaging the consumer; highlighting the latest developments in parking over the past year, including the British Parking Association’s new Approved Operator Scheme and changes to on-street parking regulations.
    
Free workshops on these topics will be run during the two-day event, helping visitors understand how best to engage with and promote parking to the public, and looking at The Which Consumer Guide to Parking being produced in association with the British Parking Association (BPA). This new guide will form an easy to understand guide to parking in the UK.

Fair and consistent parking
Parking is often perceived in a negative light by the public and media. The real picture is that the parking and traffic management sector in the UK is continually striving, through innovative projects and initiatives, to improve and set standards. The goal is to create real, workable solutions for local authorities, organisations and the public that benefit everyone.
    
On 31 March 2008 new regulations will be introduced that will see the first changes to on-street parking since 1993. The new powers will provide motorists with a fair and consistent service across the country. Under the new proposals, DPE becomes Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) and Parking Attendants will be known as Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs).
    
The new regulations will be more transparent, simple and proportional.  Local authorities will have to make clear that enforcement is based on compliance with local parking regulations and not the number of tickets issued.
    
‘CPE’ Councils, as a whole, will have to be transparent about their parking management policies. Under the regulations they will have to provide training for everyone involved in parking enforcement; undertake regular reviews of parking policies in consultation with stakeholders; and communicate these policies effectively to the public. They will need to provide annual reports and are being encouraged not only to set out parking policy, but also to publish statistics such as the number of PCNs issued, income generated and how any surplus revenue has been used to benefit the local community.
    
The new regulations will also give more power to independent adjudicators. They will have the power to refer cases back to local authorities where a parking contravention has taken place, but in mitigating circumstances, and they can ask the local authority chief executives to consider withdrawal of the PCN. They will also consider cases where the authority has not followed the correct procedures.
    
In the future, enforcement will also be ‘proportional’ to the contravention's seriousness, with new regulations providing for differential charges, giving higher penalties for such matters as parking on a double yellow line and a lesser charge for overstaying on a meter.
    
It is important that the message is communicated clearly to the public that effective parking enforcement is there to help and is necessary to ensure that the roads are safe for motorists, emergency vehicles and pedestrians.
    
The new regulations will help demonstrate that parking control is about improving road safety and traffic management with fairness and consistency. This should have a positive effect on how the service is viewed and help drive the message home to the media and the public that CPE is not about revenue generation, but proper management of our streets.

The changing face of parking
In October 2007, the BPA introduced a new Approved Operator Scheme (AOS), backed by the Code of Practice for Parking Enforcement on Private Land and Unregulated Car Parks. To ensure best practice and to meet the evolving needs of the parking industry, a new comprehensive code covering wheel clamping, vehicle immobilisation and ticketing on private land will be launched in 2008.
    
The AOS provides a level of self-regulation to parking enforcement on private land and unregulated public car parks. Over 40 company operators are fully signed up and another 23 applications are currently being processed. Landowners wishing to protect their property should only contract with ‘approved operators’ and those that act fairly and in accordance with a recognised code of practice.
    
Continued BPA membership is dependent on operators in this sector signing up to the Code of Practice and joining the AOS.
    
At Parkex you can also find out about the new model contract being launched this spring by the BPA and why it will help your organisation create greater transparency and increase confidence in the on-street parking industry. The BPA, with the support of the Department for Transport, developed the model contract as a means to standardise on-street parking enforcement throughout the UK. Since its introduction in 2005, work has been undertaken to update and modify the model contract to embrace the new Civil Parking Enforcement regulations.

Setting the skills agenda
Making sure that everyone involved in parking management has the right skills, training to improve their knowledge and skills base, and a structured career path is very much part of raising the standards. Initiatives are ongoing, but a number of new developments have recently been announced:

• A new City and Guilds certificate for Civil Enforcement Officers has been launched in line with the new Civil Parking Enforcement regulations, which will ultimately help to improve the quality and consistency of the service provided to the public.
• A new suite of standards for Parking Control Occupations developed by Skills for Security has also been approved. An expert group of leading sector employers, including UK-wide parking control practitioners, was set up in conjunction with the BPA. The group developed a brand new unit within the suite of NOS and a new pathway for CCTV Enforcement within the qualification to make sure the standards are in line with recent key developments within the industry.

To make sure you keep up to date with all the latest developments, the Institute of Parking Professionals (IPP) has a Members’ Lounge at this year's Parkex International. The IPP was launched at last year’s conference as an independent body representing individuals engaged in the UK parking industry and traffic management sector and now has over 200 members. It provides a focus for the exchange of views for members and aims to benefit the public through helping raise standards across the industry.

Find the right direction
With over 120 companies exhibiting and more than 1,600 visitors expected, Parkex, now in its 17th year, is the place to find out about the latest innovations and technology in the parking industry.
    
Expert advice will be on hand to help you understand and find new products, systems and services. Exhibitors include SEA who have developed a cutting-edge, fully automated mobile enforcement unit for use by local authorities to enforce traffic regulations regarding both moving and static vehicle offences. RR Donnelley Global Document Solutions (GDS) will also be demonstrating its live parking payments processing service, which is already being used by 17 Local Authorities.
    
Another key highlight of the event is the Parkex Annual Gala Dinner, sponsored by Equita, which brings together parking professionals and well-known industry figures from both local government and private sector organisations.

For more information
www.parkex.net