Consultation Report
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Proposed permanent coach parking bay on Albert Embankment Response to consultation March 2016 Contents Executive Summary .............................................................................................................. 2 1 Background ................................................................................................................ 3 2 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 3 3 The consultation ......................................................................................................... 6 4 Overview of consultation responses ............................................................................ 8 5 Conclusion and next steps ........................................................................................ 13 Appendix A – TfL response to issues commonly raised ....................................................... 15 Appendix B – Copy of consultation letter ............................................................................. 15 Appendix C – Letter distribution area ................................................................................... 18 Appendix D – List of stakeholders consulted ....................................................................... 19 Executive Summary About the consultation: In August 2015, we consulted on proposals to introduce a permanent 45 metre off-peak coach parking bay on Albert Embankment, to replace some of the coach parking removed from Victoria Embankment to make way for the East-West Cycle Superhighway. The permanent bay would be in the same position as a current temporary bay: within the northbound (riverside) bus lane, outside Camelford House. We received 63 responses to the consultation, of which 85% supported or partially supported our proposals. There was strong support from the coach industry for the principle of providing more coach parking, with many respondents saying the proposals would go some way to compensating for the parking lost to the East-West Cycle Superhighway, although some felt that more provision was needed. A number of respondents raised concerns about the potential impact of the proposals on cyclists using the bus lane along Albert Embankment. Conclusion and next steps: Having considered the issues raised in the consultation, we propose to formally convert the temporary bay into a permanent bay, which will operate in the same way as was set out in the consultation documents: Coaches would be allowed to park free of charge at all times except between 7am- 10am and 4pm-8pm, Monday to Sunday During operating times, coaches would be allowed to park for a maximum of one hour and would not be permitted to return within two hours Subject to the formal Traffic Order process and temporary arrangements required for construction of the Thames Tideway Tunnel, we propose to implement the permanent arrangements by the end of 2016. About this document: This document explains the processes, responses and outcomes of this consultation. Appendix A contains TfL’s responses to issues commonly raised. 2 1 Background In February 2015, we announced we would go ahead with our proposals for the East-West Cycle Superhighway – a segregated cycle route which would mean changes to the road layout on Victoria Embankment, including relocating coach parking away from Victoria Embankment. On 27 May 2015, we introduced a temporary 45 metre off-peak coach parking bay on Albert Embankment, to replace some of the coach parking on Victoria Embankment that will be removed as part of the construction of the East-West Cycle Superhighway. We chose Albert Embankment as one of the alternative sites because it has existing coach facilities and provides easy access to central London. In August 2015, we consulted local properties and stakeholders on proposals to make the bay permanent, due to the ongoing need for alternative coach parking. 2 Introduction We proposed that the permanent bay would be in the same location as the existing temporary bay: within the northbound bus lane, outside Camelford House. It would be 45 metres long to provide space for three large coaches. It would operate in the following way: Coaches would be allowed to park free of charge at all times except 7am-10am and 4pm-8pm, Monday to Sunday Coaches would be allowed to park for a maximum of one hour during operating times and would not be permitted to return within two hours We said that we would look to formally convert the temporary bay into a permanent bay before the end of the year. 3 2.1 Location map 4 2.2 Map of the proposed scheme 5 3 The consultation We consulted on the proposals from Monday 17 August to Sunday 27 September. The potential outcomes of the consultation were: We decide the consultation raises no issues that should prevent us from proceeding with the scheme as originally planned We modify the scheme in response to issues raised in consultation We abandon the scheme as a result of issues raised in the consultation The objectives of the consultation were: To give stakeholders and the public easily-understandable information about the proposals and allow them to respond To understand the level of support or opposition towards the proposals To understand any issues that might affect the proposal of which we were not previously aware To understand concerns and objections To allow respondents to make suggestions 3.1 Who we consulted The consultation intended to seek the views of a range of different groups potentially affected by or interested in the proposals. Those we consulted included: Local residents and businesses Local stakeholders, including the London Borough of Lambeth, local politicians and local interest groups Users of the existing parking and coach parking facilities Coach industry bodies and individual operators Other road user groups (such as cyclists) A list of the stakeholders we consulted is shown in Appendix D. A summary of their responses is given in Section 4.4. 6 3.2 Consultation material, distribution and publicity We sent a letter and map describing the proposals to 172 addresses in the vicinity of the proposed permanent coach bay. A copy of this letter is shown in Appendix B and a map of the distribution area can be found in Appendix C. The letter was also emailed to 335 stakeholder contacts. A list of the groups consulted is shown as Appendix D. The consultation invited participants to comment on the proposed changes. There was one closed and one open question, as listed below: 1. Do you support the proposal for a permanent coach parking bay on Albert Embankment? - Support - Partially support - No opinion - Not sure - Don’t support 2. Do you have any comments on the proposal for a permanent coach parking bay on Albert Embankment? Participants were invited to respond in the following ways: Online survey at consultations.tfl.gov.uk/roads/albert-embankment Emailing [email protected] Post 7 4 Overview of consultation responses 4.1 About the responses We received 63 responses to the consultation. 57 were submitted online and 6 were received by email. 23 were from stakeholder groups and 40 were from members of the public (including coach drivers responding in a personal capacity). Please see section 4.4 for more information about stakeholder responses. Table 1: Consultation responses by respondent Respondent Number Coach and tour operators and their representatives 17 Cycle groups 1 London boroughs 1 Members of the public (including coach drivers 40 responding in a personal capacity Postcode analysis: Of the 50 respondents who supplied a postcode, only 3 were from the local SE area. The remainder were spread across London and the UK. 4.2 Support level The first question asked ‘Do you support the proposal for a permanent coach parking bay on Albert Embankment?’ Table 2: Answers received to Question 1 - Do you support the proposal for a permanent coach parking bay on Albert Embankment Do you support the proposed scheme? Number Support 49 Partially support 4 No opinion 1 Not sure 0 Don’t support 9 Not answered 0 4.3 Summary of overall comments received There were 63 unique respondents. 48 left a comment. 8 The following is a summary of the most popular comment themes, with a count indicating how often it was raised. A comment theme is listed in this report if it was mentioned by 2 or more respondents. Please see section 4.4 for a breakdown of responses by stakeholder organisations, including coach operators. Need for coach parking More coach parking needed: 10 respondents made a general comment requesting more coach parking in London. Although not part of this consultation, a small number took the opportunity to express displeasure at the reduction in coach parking on Victoria Embankment as part of the East-West Cycle Superhighway and note that the provisions put in place so far fall short of the space lost as a result. A small number also noted that the time that drivers spend looking for parking contributes to congestion and pollution. A large proportion of the respondents were coach operators or coach drivers (please see section 4.4 for a breakdown of responses by stakeholder organisations, including coach operators). Operating hours: 9 respondents made a comment or suggestion about the operating hours of the proposed bay. Many queried the need for the restrictions to operate at the weekends. A number also asked for the proposed 1 hour maximum stay to be increased, citing the importance of accommodating drivers’ legally-required