Parking charges have increased substantially in recent years, while residents and businesses continue to express concern about visitor numbers and the future viability of Medway’s town centres. However, insufficient evidence has been published showing the wider effect of these charges on town-centre visits and businesses. No meaningful evaluation of Medway’s previous free-parking initiative has been published. A controlled trial would provide the evidence needed to inform future parking policy.
The trial should operate for 12 consecutive months in every participating car park. Medway Council would select the most suitable car parks and determine reasonable conditions, including restrictions on repeat use or appropriate no-return periods.
If the trial is approved, the Council should publish an implementation timetable within three months of that decision. Clear objectives, baseline information and methods of evaluation should be established before the trial begins so that its results can be assessed fairly.
The evaluation should consider car-park usage and occupancy, town-centre footfall, parking income, feedback from businesses and visitors, and the wider effect on the five town centres. The findings should be published and formally considered by the appropriate Council decision-making body within three months of the trial ending, together with recommendations on whether one hour’s free parking should be continued, amended or extended.
This ePetition runs from 14/09/2026 to 30/11/2026.
68 people have signed this ePetition.