Green targets ‘may hike parking costs’

PARKING charges may need to soar as part of a bid to achieve green targets, council chiefs have said.

Councils are already considering imposing workplace parking levies and planning the introduction of low emission zones.

Ewan Wallace, chairman of the society of chief officers of transportation in Scotland, told Holyrood’s net zero, energy and transport committee, councils already have the powers to reduce emissions but need to apply them ‘in a more collaborative way’.

Asked about the ‘demand management’ measures required to achieve the Scottish Government target of reducing car kilometres by 20 per cent by 2030, Mr Wallace said: ‘In terms of the powers we already have, there’s low emission zones coming in, so that will act within the larger cities.

‘We already have the ability to vary our own parking charges, we are seeing now the opportunity for use of workplace parking levy, so that is another tool.’

He said the Scottish Government target to cut car kilometres by 20 per cent ‘will focus the minds of local authorities in terms of how we are going to comply with that’.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said prices of parking and a workplace parking levy would be ‘constraints’ on people using the car.