Contents
Annex 9
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1. Introduction
Park & Ride sites are not public Highway and are therefore not covered by the Highway Act 1984, they are however assets which are “Highway Managed At Public Expense” (HMPE) and there is a duty of care upon the Council to maintain them to a safe and reasonable standard.
There are 6 Park & Ride sites in the ownership of the Council:
- Honiton Road, Exeter,
- Sidmouth Road, Exeter,
- Digby, Exeter (Exclusive use for NHS staff),
- Digby (Park & Rail),
- Exeter Science Park (Park & Change), and
- Ivybridge (Park & Rail).
Additionally, there is a further facility in Barnstaple (Adjacent to Park School) which functions as a Park & Walk / Cycle for the town centre.
Matford Park & Ride is managed by Exeter City Council and Dartmouth Park & Ride by South Hams District Council.
Park & Ride sites provide an essential opportunity for people to travel smarter by taking a sustainable form of transport for the last leg of their journey and reducing congestion (and improving air quality) in our busiest communities.
In the 18/19 financial year, it was estimated that 1.35 million passengers used the Park & Ride services owned by the Council in Exeter every year. Public consultation has shown that there is public support for expanding the park & ride estate. (LTP 2011-26). It should be noted that the impact of the pandemic and changing working practices has reduced user numbers, with approx 0.6 million users, a reduction of 44% being recorded in 2022. Consideration of recent user trends is needed when planning any further sites.
The sites are funded from the On Street Parking Account.
These assets have not previously been recognised in the Authorities Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Plan. However, to maintain the network and make informed decisions on budget setting it is important to do so. This Annex outlines a proposal to develop asset management principles for this area over the next 5 years.
2. Inventory
There is no current inventory held in terms of the Park & Ride asset.
In order to develop a proactive response to maintenance for Park & Ride sites it is intended to build a comprehensive inventory of the component assets, these include:
- Streetlighting,
- Surface,
- Signs,
- Lines,
- Footway,
- Drainage,
- Trees / Hedges, and
- Fencing.
This will allow the sites to be properly maintained for the future and true costs to be understood when considering further sites in Devon.
3. Performance
3.1 Current and historical condition
As Park & Ride sites are not defined as public highway, routine safety inspections are conducted every 6 months (aligning with the regime for pedestrian facilities).
There is no overall condition assessment for Park & Ride assets, this is an identified area for improvement. There is a need to gather more information to plan routine maintenance programmes for future years and inform areas of investment.
There are no comprehensive records of the Park & Ride sites, for example information relating to construction or drainage, this is an identified area for improvement.
There is no programme for maintenance and only ad hoc remedial works are conducted.
4. Maintenance Strategy
How the asset is managed in each stage of the life cycle.
4.1 Creation of a new asset
These assets are created as part of the wider Local Transport Plan strategy lead by the Planning and Transportation team.
There is scope that these could also be created as part of a significant development on the outskirts of our major Market or Coastal communities.
4.2 Routine maintenance
As Park & Ride sites are not defined as public highway and do not have a clear distinction with facilities for vehicles and pedestrians they are currently inspected once every 6 months in line with other footway inspections. There is an ambition to review this inspection regime to ensure it is fit for purpose and provides a high-quality environment for users.
4.3 Renewal or replacement
Not applicable.
4.4 Decommissioning of the asset
Not applicable.
4.5 Maintenance Service Standards
Maintenance Service Standards were developed which define the service of provision for each asset type based on three levels: Safety, Safety and Serviceability or Safety, Serviceability and Sustainability. These are defined in simple terms of what a road user could expect to see. This is very useful understanding the level of service in context of what is affordable.
| Park & Ride Site | Provision of safety related issues only | Provision of safety and minimal level of serviceability | Provision of safety and intermediate level of serviceability | Provision of safety, serviceability and sustainability issues |
| What a road user would see | Park & Ride Site safe and looking untidy. | Park & Ride Site safe and in fair order | Park & Ride Site safe and in good order | All Park & Ride Sites in good order. |
| Maintenance standards and activities. | Undertake safety inspections and react to defects that represent an immediate or imminent hazard. | Undertake safety inspections and react to defects that represent an immediate or imminent hazard. Limited routine maintenance based on hierarchy. | Undertake safety inspections and react to defects that represent an immediate or imminent hazard. Risk-based service and specialist inspection prioritising condition led scheduled routine maintenance based on hierarchy. | Undertake safety inspections and react to defects that represent an immediate or imminent hazard. Service & specialist inspections of signs and development of a risk-based programme for renewal/removal based on fit for purpose and condition analysis. |
| Impact | No condition assessment to assess whether fit for purpose leading to increased possibility of failure and potential claims. | Limited programme of renewal/removal based on risk rating. Some improvement to asset reducing the likelihood of failure and reducing claim potential. | Limited programme of renewal/removal based on risk rating. General improvement to asset reducing the likelihood of failure and reducing claim potential. | Improvement to asset reducing the likelihood of failure and minimising claim potential. |
Fig 9.1: Maintenance Standards for Park and Ride Sites
5. Levels of Service and Investment Strategy
Current level of service, informed by condition assessments if available, against the stated Levels of Service in the Plan.
5.1 Levels of Service and Investment Strategy
There is currently no investment strategy in place for maintenance of park & ride sites.
The on-street parking account provides minimal funding to cover the payment of business rates and a small budget is agreed to provide ad hoc maintenance to hedges, fences, surface etc.
The maintenance of sites is typically reliant on identification by inspection or report.
This is an area of concern, and an overall maintenance strategy is required.
6. Programme Development
6.1 Identifying Schemes for an Initial Works Programme
In the case of new assets these are created as part of the wider Local Transport Plan strategy lead by the Planning and Transportation team. There is scope that these could also be created as part of a significant development on the outskirts of our major Market or Coastal communities.
For other matters relating to maintenance, reports will be considered against available budget and added to programme as appropriate. Issues identified as Safety Defects as part of routine inspections will be dealt with as part of that programme.
6.2 Prioritising the Works Programme
In the case of new assets these are created as part of the wider Local Transport Plan strategy lead by the Planning and Transportation team. There is scope that these could also be created as part of a significant development on the outskirts of our major Market or Coastal communities.
For other matters relating to maintenance, reports will be considered against available budget and added to programme as appropriate. Issues identified as Safety Defects as part of routine inspections will be dealt with as part of that programme.
6.3 Selecting and Optimising Schemes for the Forward Programme
Due to limited information on site condition and no overall investment strategy, there is limited scope for optimisation.
Works orders are created and provided to contractors to programme efficiently with other works.
7. Risks
Issues which may prevent asset management objectives being achieved.
- Limited funding (increasing supply chain costs),
- Limited inventory,
- Limited scope of inspection regime, and
- Vulnerability due to aging sites requiring significant investment.
8. Improvement Actions
Alongside the Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Plan, this Annex is a live document. It will be subject to continuous improvement and ongoing development with input from Council Officers and Stakeholder feedback. Areas for improvement are identified within the Annex which are summarised as Improvement Actions in this section. These Actions are aligned with Strategic Goals and are assessed as part of a wider cross-asset prioritisation process that prioritises their implementation taking account of the framework of funding and resource availability.
The actions that have been identified as being required to ensure the Park and Ride Sites asset management objectives are achieved are:
- Gather a complete inventory for this asset, including drainage, surface construction and condition, streetlighting, lining, signing etc,
- Develop an investment strategy to ensure that sites are managed to an appropriate standard,
- Review inspection regime, and
- Consider the maintenance of this asset within the relevant asset groups.
Version Control
| Version | Date | Summary of Changes |
| 1.0 | 12 April 2023 |