Universities need to put parking regimes to the test

International Parking Community audits offer way to ensure parking regulations are compliant, says University of York’s Fiona Macey

Universities and colleges face an ever growing demand for access to parking space on their campuses. In order to ensure their limited parking supply is used by staff, students and visitors with the most needs, many further and higher education establishments have introduced paid and permit parking controls, which in turn depend on enforcement to be effective. This is the case at the University of York.

A major challenge facing the managers of university campuses is ensuring that their parking controls are enforceable, says Fiona Macey, the university’s sustainable travel and transport manager. “Compliance with all relevant legislation and getting things right first time is vital when it comes to delivering effective parking arrangements in and around major centres of education,” she says.

“For many universities, parking has now reached a pinch-point and the risks of oversight are very real. It’s not easy to provide everyone who is using the university’s facilities with the best possible parking experience when there are so many factors to consider and a finite and insufficient number of parking spaces to meet demand.”

The parking rules, signs and lines that are used on a campus need to comply with the standards of an accredited trade association (ATA). Adhering to an ATA’s code of conduct means that where a parking charge notice has been issued to penalise a breach of regulations, the parking operator can access vehicle keeper information from the DVLA.

In the University of York’s case, it opted to join the International Parking Community (IPC), which audits each of the site’s member organisations expected to issue parking charge notices.“Without professional guidance on the legal complexities, errors and inadvertent oversights can prove to be very costly and severely compromise the reputation and credibility of a university and also undermine future sustainable transport initiatives,” says Macey.

As well as auditing all signage and road markings, the IPC provides comprehensive legal advice that takes account of all legislation and the specific requirements of different universities. 

Macey’s experience of working with the IPC led to her agreeing to join the trade association’s steering committee. She is keen to see more universities and colleges join the association and make use of its expertise.

“We’re not parking experts. That’s why professional insight and reassurance is so invaluable. Indeed, here in York, we have seen compliance with parking regulations and customer satisfaction levels increase significantly. Accessibility has also improved and delays with campus deliveries and for service users have greatly reduced as a result of this new and more considered approach to parking.

“Because of the competition between universities for fee-paying students and the expectations of students, staff and visitors, cutting corners and crossing fingers is no longer an option for managing parking operations for both city centre and campus universities. 

“Now, the reassurance of professional guidance and pre-audits is readily available to help universities comply with all relevant regulations and the principles of best practice. So, there really isn’t any excuse for perpetuating or introducing unfair and unlawful parking practices.”

The IPC held a special education sector conference in Cheshire last year. Following that conference, work is now underway to develop specific professional standards for universities and other large centres of education. There will also be a break-out session for the educational sector at this year’s IPC conference, which is being held in Nottingham on 2 November.

www.theipc.info