As aspects of daily life, including the way we move around the city, begin returning to normal, the city council will re-introduce parking charges and enforcement activities from June 15.
Charges were suspended and city council multi-storey car parks were closed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in response to the drastic fall in vehicle numbers as people adhered to the initial raft of social distancing guidelines.
Following recent announcements by the Government, including permission for non-essential retail to open from June 15, there is now a need to ensure the city’s roads and parking facilities are used correctly to ensure traffic can flow as freely and safely as possible.
Free parking for NHS staff, health and social care workers and NHS volunteer responders displaying the relevant pass will remain in place.
However, for everyone else, all surface-level car parks and on-street fee-paying areas will resume charging – and in recognition of the fact that more vehicles are expected to be out and about, three city council car parks will also be re-opened (in addition to the Snow Hill multi-storey that has remained open) on their normal fee-paying basis from June 15:
- Town Hall multi storey car park
- Dudley Street underground car park
- Jewellery Quarter multi-storey car park
Their use will be kept under close review and a decision on re-opening the remaining multi-storey sites will be made in due course.
Social distancing measures will be introduced in lifts and stairwells where possible with appropriate signs and reminders to enable people to stay as safe as possible. Payment for parking can also be done in a contactless way via the RingGo service.
The free parking for NHS staff, health and social care workers and NHS volunteer responders will be maintained until the Government withdraws this concession. Those eligible for this concession can obtain the required pass from their employer and are encouraged to use car parks rather than on-street spaces which are primarily for short-stay parking.