A live tracker of available spaces could be rolled out instead
Lincoln Central Car Park(Image: City of Lincoln Council)
Lincoln’s council leaders have rejected an idea to increase charges of the city’s most popular car parks to spread traffic around.
Lincoln Central and other car parks around the city centre can become congested at peak times, with motorists queuing to get in.
A Budget Review Group called for the City of Lincoln Council to look into whether higher charges at them could be used to boost less popular facilities.
The Executive said at a meeting on Tuesday (February 24) that it was looking into other options which wouldn’t tax motorists.
One solution could be a live tracker on a website of which car parks still have available spaces.
Another would be extra signs to direct vehicles to less-used ones, although the authority says this would likely be costly and would require Lincolnshire County Council to implement.
Lincoln leader Councillor Naomi Tweddle said at the meeting: “Our city centre strategy is working to the point where car parks are getting too full.
“We’re working on how to spread people around the city.”
Councillor Lucinda Preston, the Portfolio Holder for Reducing Inequality, said: “Car parks are clearly thriving as people want to spend their money in Lincoln, although it is causing issues and we are always looking into options.
“If you compare it to other cities, it’s noticeable how much footfall Lincoln has got.”
A report for the meeting notes that the tariff at Lincoln Central on Melville Street is already higher than other council-owned car parks.
It adds: “There is a risk that we increase the tariff even more for Central and it doesn’t dissuade people from using it and therefore doesn’t solve the issue, but could create negative customer feedback on increased charges.
“We also have to consider the response of local businesses to a significant tariff increase for our most central car park.”
