5. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport: Tackling Pavement Parking

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:26 pm on 13 October 2020.

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Photo of Lee Waters Lee Waters Labour 5:26, 13 October 2020

Thank you very much and I appreciate that support. I think this is an issue that does cross party lines and will take a number of years to bring into force, and I think, as it's being enforced by all local authorities of all colours, it's important that that consensus is maintained, and I'm pleased that I have been in discussions with local authority leaders and with the police and crime commissioners, who are supportive too.

To answer the specific points in reverse order: yes, these are local authority powers, therefore it'll be for local authorities to decide how to deploy them and they, of course, will get any revenue that is raised. We do not see this as a revenue-raising measure; this is something for local authorities, their judgment about how to use it best to respond to local representations, as I think that's right.

In terms of creating parking spaces, I've had this debate myself today on social media. The purpose of this, alongside the 20 mph speed limit, alongside the approach we have towards modal shift in the forthcoming Wales transport strategy, is to change our culture and to change the local environment, putting people before cars. I don't think creating extra parking spaces is the medium- or long-term answer to this. We need to be—. One of the reasons why there are parking problems is because there are too many cars for the spaces available. Many families now have four cars—or more, in some cases—on streets that clearly weren't designed for that.

So, putting aside scarce public space towards car parking—and bearing in mind that would cost money—we know that a quarter of all households don't have a car, so money would be diverted from services that would benefit them to benefiting car owners, so it would be a socially unjust move. I think we need to be very careful that we don't just perpetuate the problem in creating extra space; this needs to be part of a basket of measures, and this is just one, as part of a range of interventions, to encourage people to use cars less, and also to think to futureproof this, because, as we know, as self-driving cars come in—. We know most cars are idle for 23 hours a day, with a very significant investment by people in cars that are sitting not doing anything for most of the time. What self-driving cars will be able to allow us, of course—and they'll be so expensive, it's unlikely most people will be able to buy them—is that we'll able to call on them as we need them, and, when they're not being used, rather than sitting idle, they can go off and be of use to someone else.

So, I'm expecting—and this is what the experts are suggesting—that, as these come in over the next 20 years or so, we'll need fewer cars, because the current fleet of cars will be able to be used more efficiently. So, I don't think we should be, in responding to people's concerns about this, looking to divert money to create extra car parking spaces. We need to see this as a suite of measures to shift the balance in society away from private car ownership to giving people genuine alternatives for getting around for local journeys.

And finally, on the initial point on commercial vehicles, I mentioned that the Federation of Small Businesses was among those who were on the pavement parking taskforce and who will now be continuing to work with stakeholders on implementing this, and I think that is an important point that I'll make sure that that group considers.