Petition Free parking in town on Saturdays in all States operated car parks.

Ministers responded

This response was given on 5 September 2024

The town centre continues to perform positively compared to the situation nationally. Free parking on Saturday’s would not benefit the overall economy and likely increase the cost of weekday parking.

While there has been some increase in commercial vacancies and footfall is still recovering post-covid, Jersey’s town centre continues to have a positive performance compared to the situation nationally.

The majority of the Island’s working age population either live or work in St Helier, providing a reliable customer base for businesses that can adapt to the challenges posed by the internet. The Government of Jersey, working with retailers and the Parish of St Helier, will be publishing its Retail Strategy by the end of 2024. This strategy will address the root causes of decline and explore evidence-based approaches for business and government to tackle these issues.

The data from previous free parking trials and studies shows that offering free parking on Saturdays would merely shift spending from other out of town activities, reduce bus ridership, and harm the environment, to the detriment of the Island’s overall economy.

Additionally, the resulting loss of income to the Car Park Trading Fund would mean less maintenance for the Island’s car parks and reduced investment in new, convenient shopper facilities like the Charles St Car Park, which is set to open later this summer. Additional funding would therefore be needed to implement this proposal, and this has not been identified at present. Without additional funds to cover this shortfall, weekday parking costs would likely need to rise to maintain Jersey’s ageing parking infrastructure. It’s worth noting that Jersey’s parking fees are low by national standards.

Furthermore, while at present there is the capacity to meet typical shopper parking demand in the town centre, past trials have shown that all-day parkers, such as shop workers and town residents, benefit more from free parking than shoppers, leading to fewer available conveniently located spaces for customers. To truly support retail, investment is needed in conveniently located, modern parking facilities that accommodate all modes of transport, meet the needs of town residents, and avoid increasing town centre traffic. This is the focus of the
government’s developing parking estate strategy.

The Government’s preference and objective, as set out in the States of Jersey’s Carbon Neutral Road Map, is to encourage increased bus travel. Studies have shown that visitors to town travelling by bus generally intend to spend more money than motorists. Increasing the number of visits by bus therefore has the potential to be of more benefit to both the hospitality and retail sectors.