Call for Glasgow charity workers to get parking discounts

Labour councillor Maggie McTernan said two thirds of workers for charities and voluntary groups across Scotland are women, and many are required to work at night.

She asked Cllr Anna Richardson, city convener for sustainability and carbon reduction, whether “increased” charges due to the introduction of parking controls could be dropped or cut for these staff.

Cllr Richardson said she would be willing to meet with the councillor, and charity representatives, but warned any waiver can reduce the impact of a parking control zone and isn’t a precedent that should be set lightly.

Parking control zones are often introduced to tackle excessive commuter parking in areas of the city.

Cllr Richardson said: “Any area which currently has a parking control scheme has been identified as such because the area has experienced commuter or shopper parking due to the proximity to either the city centre, a sporting venue, other economic hubs or an educational facility.

“The introduction of parking controls offers an effective solution towards managing demand for finite road space available, subsequently reducing the overall volume of traffic attracted to an area while also increasing the turnover of parking spaces and improving road safety and traffic flow.

“Any waiver to these schemes does reduce the impact of them, and while in very exceptional cases it is possible to do so for particular individuals or organisations, it is not a precedent that should be set lightly.”

She thanked Cllr McTernan for “highlighting that transport policies will often affect men and women differently”.

“It is important to reiterate that it is not a longer walk to transport that makes women unsafe at night, it is the actions of men.”

Cllr McTernan said: “Many of these workers are required to work at night, and now face increased parking charges to attend their place of work in communities.”

She asked whether Cllr Richardson would “commit to looking at a type of discount or waiver scheme for those key workers, to ensure that they are safe at work”.

Cllr Richardson said: “I would be really happy to initiate a conversation with yourself directly to get a better understanding of what is going on.

“If that requires meeting with other representatives, of course, I try to keep my door as open as possible.”

She added: “Any exemptions that are made to these schemes do set other precedents and we need to be very cautious about what we’re doing, checking that we are not creating unintended consequences.

“I just feel it’s important to manage that expectation ahead of any further conversations.”