In east London, a new car park installed at the edge of Mile End Park by Tower Hamlets Council has been given the official Park Mark award. The new car park in Haverfield Road was opened in April 2015 to provide safer parking for residents and visitors to the park.
The Park Mark Safer Parking Award is given to parking facilities that have achieved the requirements of a risk assessment by police and the British Parking Association (BPA). It is the fourth car park in the borough to be granted the Park Mark. To gain the award, the council resurfaced part of the car park area, added new disabled and parent parking bays and installed improved fences. Before these improvement works, the car park area was underused – other than by commuters – and was faced with regular anti-social behaviour, such as abandoned vehicles and fly tipping.
To ensure that the car park meets the needs of those using Mile End Park, it now operates a ‘cashless’ pay and display system. This allows customers the flexibility to pay for parking by credit or debit card using a mobile phone. This reduces the need for people using the car park to carry coins whilst also reducing the possibility of vandalism to car parking machines. The council has put in place measures that help to deter crime and anti-social behaviour.
Mayor of Tower Hamlets, John Biggs, said: “This award has been given thanks to the hard work and endeavour of council officers. It is estimated that some parking facilities with the Park Mark® Safer Parking Award have seen a drop in vehicle-related crime of over 80%. The predicted drop in crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB) is the least Mile End Park users deserve.”
And Shiria Khatun, deputy mayor and cabinet member for community safety, added: “This car park used to be a hotspot for fly-tippers and those wishing to disturb residents using the park. It is great to see that we now have four car parks in the borough that have been granted the Safer Parking Award.”
