Major update to our Parking Policy Report

CPRE London has published a major update to its groundbreaking report on parking policy.

Parking policy-why it needs to change June 2023 update now covers more detail than the previous version, with lots of photos to illustrate the issues.

Parking policy is key to combatting the climate crisis, improving air quality, promoting active, shared and sustainable travel, making transport more accessible, and delivering safe and attractive streets. It is one of the most effective tools local authorities can use to reduce car use and ownership and is about much more than just providing parking spaces. But not all local authorities are using parking policy to full effect.

Author Alice Roberts said: “We’ve incorporated as many photos as possible – as it an be quite a dry subject! We are calling on all London boroughs to re-assess their parking policy now. In 2021 we published a Parking Policy Assessment Tool designed for local authorities and campaigners. In May 2023 this was relaunched nationally online in partnership with Living Streets and Possible. Find out more.

CPRE London’s central interest in parking lies in the amount of space taken up by cars and parking. Cars are hugely inefficient of space: car dominance leads to loss of, and lack of, parks and playspaces within cities, where land is swallowed up by huge amounts of ‘grey space’ given to roads and parking; it also leads to environmentally damaging urban sprawl and loss of countryside on the edge of cities. And this is on top of all the other very serious impacts – carbon emissions, air pollution, road danger, noise, inactive lifestyles… which fall on everyone, despite half of London households not having a car.