From Alexandra Palace:
In February this year Alexandra Park and Palace Charitable Trust announced that it was considering introducing charges for car parking. Since then we have been working with independent specialist advisors and have developed a proposal.
From Monday 11th November to Tuesday 31st December 2019 we will be asking our stakeholders, beneficiaries, visitors and local residents for their views on the proposal via our online survey available at www.alexandrapalace.com/parking
We are keen to hear your views before taking this any further, so please do visit the website, to learn more about the proposal and to complete the survey. Hard copies of the information and survey are available from the Ice Rink and East Court receptions.
We have also arranged a series of informal drop-in sessions for members of the public to share their views and discuss the proposal with members of the team; details of these are also published on the website.
Replies
Survey deadline extended to 10 JANUARY.
I've done the survey and it's quick and easy.
When I do the survey (soon!), I want to say that if AP introduce parking charges, they really must do more to support/provide public transport. The lack of shuttle buses for the current Darts championships really impacts on local people - including the anti-social behaviour - so we need more of those for their events. Also, when they close Alexandra Park Way to vehicles, they could sometimes allow buses and cycles through.
**NB** LAST DAY OF THE SURVEY TODAY
I have just filled it in. It's very quick.
Two relevant questions:
1. How much per annum would the Palace make out of parking charges?
2. How much per annum would all affected neighbours, taken together, have to pay to maintain a fit for purpose CPZ?
If the figures are of the same order of magnitude, could the Charity set up a fund specifically for maintaining free parking on Palace grounds, to which gift aid could be applied? Neighbours would be well advised to contribute to that fund! The Palace would then have to undertake to give an appropriate period of notice before introducing charges, i.e., up to a year.
From a users point of view I think that introducing charges will deter people from using the park and facilities.
For local residents I believe this will have a negative impact as visitors will seek out free parking in local streets around the park area and put pressure on local parking.
I guess there's a particular problem in that the current CPZ is designed to deter commuters with parking restrictions at midday, whereas many visitors to the Palace will park in the evenings. I see that the Palace is considering removing the parking spaces from Alexandra Palace Way altogether.
A personal view - I think that the finances of the AP&P Trust are in such a parlous state that they have to go for the parking charges – there are very few places these days that offer free parking (pubs and supermarkets?). I see that petrol stations are now fining people for parking too long on their forecourts.
It will have an impact on people who drive into the park to visit the cafes, walk their dogs or just have a wander – it might persuade a few people to walk to the park, but I feel sorry for the elderly or less mobile who need a car to get to an open space. However there is a bus service running through the Park, so only the particularly immobile cannot get transport to the park, and hopefully most of those qualify for a blue badge, who aren’t charged
There is the likelihood of some displacement of parking into surrounding streets, and the Palace’s study is a bit wishy washy about that. My personal view is that people coming by car to events will accept that this is just another place that charges for parking, and will not go searching for street parking, but regular visitors to the park may choose to park in streets like ours (Grove Avenue/Dukes Avenue/the Avenue). If that becomes a major problem the solution is to apply for a CPZ, which I believe is what the Warner Estate Residents are doing. It’s a pain to have to get permits for any guests or tradesmen visiting one’s house, and of course very difficult for eg the Palace Gates shops, if they were surrounded by a CPZ. The removal of parking spaces along Alexandra Palace Way may result in particular pressure on Palace Gates Road from displaced commuters trying to park near the station.
Apparently by the time the Palace has considered responses to this consultation, designed the final system and rules, sought the approval of the Charities Commission, negotiated a contract with an operator and installed all the kit, it may be this time next year before the charges start.
Thanks for this, Gordon - very useful to have a personal view from the chair of the Friends of Alexandra Park. I absolutely take your point about the Palace's finances - the Palace and Park provide an amazing local amenity which we should support. We do of course also need to pressure them on matters which severely affect local people, such as the often unruly crowds leaving events at the Palace, and the promotion/provision of public transport (particularly important if there will be parking charges).
With the huge numbers attending events at the Palace, I don't think it would take a very large proportion to affect surrounding streets, and unlike most CPZs, these would need to extend into the evenings and weekends, so locals are likely to need many more parking permits for their own visitors.
There already is a CPZ in some of the streets around Palace Gates, but these focus on controlling commuter parking, so currently only need to prevent parking by non-residents in the middle of the day.