Car Park Management Plan SouthGate, Bath SouthGate Limited Partnership One Curzon Street London W1A 5PZ February 2010
Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Management Overview 2 2.1 Hours of operation 2 2.2 Management of Network Rail Customers 2 2.3 Car Park Equipment 2 2.4 Disabled Parking 2 2.5 Energy Efficiency 3 2.6 Car Park Team 3 2.7 Safety & Security 4 2.8 Emergency Procedures 4 2.9 CCTV and Data Protection 4 2.10 Cash Collection 4 3. Conclusion 5
1. Introduction This document outlines the car park management strategy for SouthGate Car Park. It seeks to ensure the smooth running of the car park operation, as part of a premier shopping destination and part of the wider city experience. The car park within SouthGate provides a total of 876 spaces including 40 disabled bays and 140 spaces for network rail customers. The bays are located over three levels of basement parking and are linked to the main scheme via 3 sets of lift and stair cores. The facility will be operated as a safe and secure car park to ensure that it maintains a ParkMark award. It is proposed that the car park will have a team providing customer assistance and a highly visible deterrent to any unruly behaviour. The Centre control room will deal with the car parking system and customer queries via the network pay machines of help points and intercoms. Customer Services such as Car Valet and AA/RAC recovery will add to the visible presence of personnel in the car park. The car park will be run as a short term parking facility for shoppers within the city; long term parking will be discouraged using a penal tariff structure. Page 1
2. Management Overview The SouthGate Bath Car Park will be managed as a shopper s car park by the DTZ management team. The team will be based on site and will be headed up by the Centre s General Manager. The onsite management team will be supported by the SouthGate Limited Partnership s managing agents DTZ. The management team will employ the necessary staff to ensure that the car park is managed to the highest possible standards and in line with the expectations of the Park Mark Scheme. It is proposed that the car park attendants, cleaning and maintenance staff will be provided by contract suppliers, however all teams will be branded as SouthGate staff and will feel as though they are part of the SouthGate team. The car park will also provide a nested area at level 3 which will accommodate the car parking needs of Network Rail. This area will also be run to the highest possible standards and run in line with the agreement between the SouthGate Limited Partnership and Network Rail. 2.1 Hours of Operation We propose that the car park will be open 24 hours a day 365 days per year and staffed during those hours. The car park is covered by CCTV which is manned 24 hours a day from the SouthGate Bath Security Suite located in Block C. 2.2 Management of Network Rail Customers Network Rail customers will be required to enter a separate nested area of the car park. The customer will then have their ticket validated at the ticket office in the station, once the customer returns to the car park and enters the ticket in the pay machine the ticket will calculate the lower tariff based on the rates above. 2.3 Car Park Equipment The car park is operated using an Alfia car parking system. The system provides a pay on foot revenue collection system. There are 5 pay machines located on ground floor level within the lift cores and 1 pay machine at the exit barriers. 2.4 Disabled Parking The scheme includes 57 disabled parking bays situated on the first level of the car park adjacent to the entrance and exit lanes and the lift cores up to ground level. Page 2
The bays are coloured YELLOW and have the standard disabled parking symbol painted in the centre of each bay. Surrounding the bay is a hatched area denoting additional space used for disembarkation. The spaces are charged at the normal tariff. 2.5 Energy Efficiency The car park will be run in line with the Energy Management Plan to ensure that it is run as efficiently and sustainably as possible. 2.6 Car Park Team The Car Park will be monitored and managed from the main Control Room in the scheme and it is envisaged that there will not be dedicated car park operatives and no physical office in the car park. The Duty Assistants will patrol the centre Car Park as well as the rest of the scheme wearing hi-visibility jackets and will be despatched via radio by the Control Room to deal with any customer service issues or to deal with vehicle flow within the car park. The Car Park will be monitored and managed by using the following methods: Dedicated car park operatives Alfia Parking System Payment Station Intercom Entry and Exit Barrier Intercoms CCTV System Help Points These systems are monitored and controlled from the main Control Room, which will be manned 24 hours per day. Within the Control Room there is a dedicated desk dealing with the Car Park operation alone, which will be manned by either one or two individuals, depending on time of day and peak traffic flow. The main Control Room Team will be able to switch the functionality to view and operate the car park system as part of their evening duties. The maintenance of the Car Park equipment together with the car park fabric and Life Safety System will be undertaken by the Management Team or by specialist contractor where appropriate to meet statutory requirements. We envisage there will be a highly visible team of duty assistants contracted to work on the management of the Car Park. The Duty assistants will make regular patrols of all levels and cores of the car park facility and will deal with customer queries any incidents relating to the payment machines, broken down vehicles, windows left open and break-ins. All Duty Assistant as part of their Induction Programme will receive training on the importance of customer care as well as technical aspects of dealing with minor machine faults such as coin or ticket jams. The Car Park Management Team will not handle any of the income within the Car Park, which will be dealt with by a third party cash collection agency. Page 3
2.7 Safety and Security Safety and security is of paramount importance to the Management Team. For retailers/staff/customers it is vital we work together to provide a secure place to work and visit. We wish to provide a safe and secure environment via the best possible customer service at all times. The team of Duty Assistants will regularly patrol the Car Park deterring the presence of any unruly or undesirable persons and to try to prevent loss or damage. Given the level of sophistication of the car park equipment within the main Control Room, the majority of customer queries can be dealt with remotely via the Master Computer Control and over the intercom. 2.8 Emergency Procedures The Centre Car Park will be integrated into the emergency procedures for SouthGate. The Car Park has the following life safety systems: Fire Detection/Alarm Sounders with an Audible message Fire fighting Telephone Disabled Alarm and Refuges CCTV System Emergency lighting Help Points adjacent to Cores Break Glass door release The systems are monitored and controlled 24 hrs per day. In the case of an alarm, a Duty Assistant will be despatched to investigate and if necessary, to evacuate vehicles or customers entering the Car Park in accordance with the SouthGate Emergency Procedures. 2.9 CCTV and Data Protection The centre will be registered for data protection, the control Room being a restricted access area with a CCTV system covering the Car Park including all Pay Stations and entry/exit barriers. 2.10 Cash Collection Cash collections will not be carried out on a specific day or at a specific time for security measures. Protocols will be agreed between the cash collection agency and the Control Room Team to ensure all collections are dealt with swiftly, discreetly and safely. Page 4
3. Conclusion The previous sections of this report provide an overview of the car park management philosophy for SouthGate, Bath. It is the intention of DTZ that the car park will be run as part of a premier shopping destination and will provide high quality customer service and shopper s car park that will encourage customers not only to shop at SouthGate but also to enjoy the other delights Bath has to offer. We are committed to reviewing and developing parking arrangement to reduce congestion within the city and utilising technology such as the VMS, to assist with future planning and highlighting of any opportunities available to SouthGate, Bath Page 5