• Amendments to parking places and signs being made across the city
• Work will help allow future changes including Sunday parking restrictions and shared use parking, to be introduced next year
• Parking initiatives are key to the city’s carbon neutral and clean air ambitions

Work has begun to prepare for the introduction of new parking controls as part of Edinburgh’s Parking Action Plan.

We have started amending parking places and signs across the city centre in readiness for changes next year, which will include the introduction of Sunday parking restrictions.

The Parking Action Plan, approved by Transport and Environment Committee in 2016, is key to realising our ambition to become carbon neutral by 2030. To do this we need to rethink the way people and goods move in and around the city, reducing the dominance of traffic and creating streets and spaces for people.

Parking initiatives will help reduce car commuting and congestion, improve safety and air quality and encourage walking, cycling and public transport use. We also want to provide better flexibility and deliver best value for local residents.

Sunday controls won’t begin coming into force until spring 2021 as we need to replace more than 1000 signs in the central parking zones (zones one to four) before then.

Councillor Lesley Macinnes, Transport and Environment Convener, said:

“In Edinburgh we are working toward a greener, healthier more sustainable transport future, where we have achieved carbon neutrality and improved air quality. It’s essential that we address parking and car use if we are to realise this, helping to create a better, safer place to live.

“Of course, we know how important parking provision is for residents and businesses, and the Parking Action Plan strives to balance these needs with our ambitions. These actions were developed with the people that live and work here in mind and we will continue to take this into account as we progress with plans.

“We’re now beginning preparations for Sunday parking restrictions, which respond to the public’s changing travel habits, as well as shared use parking, to deliver greater flexibility for drivers.”

Work includes:

• Changing existing bay markings to shared use bays, offering additional parking places for residents
• Changing existing signage to include Sunday times of operation
• Adding additional double yellow lines around junctions for enhanced road safety

This work will allow changes being introduced next year, such as:
• Sunday parking controls across the city centre
• Electronic visitor parking permits across the controlled parking zone, including zones one to four
• New resident permit charges based on vehicle emissions
• A diesel surcharge for parking permits

Find out more about the changes being made and information on where work is taking place on the Council website.