Care workers and health professionals will be allowed to park on double yellow lines while visiting clients if new proposals become a reality.
Residents are being invited by Devon County Council (DCC) to have their say on the traffic regulation order – with a view to it being trialled in the autumn.
Healthcare staff are currently entitled to use on-street pay-and-display, limited waiting and residents’ parking for free if they are delivering essential services to residents in their own homes.
The order proposes this is extended to include parking on single and double yellow lines for up to an hour – but only when an alternative is not available.
They would be given a Blue Badge-style permit and time clock.
Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, DCC’s cabinet member for adult social care and health services, said: “It’s no secret that the care sector is under pressure. These plans will help care and health workers to arrive at their appointments in good time.
“This will improve their access to clients living at home and ultimately benefit the whole community.”
The authority says Devon care workers or health professional will have to have made a reasonable effort to find alternative parking first, and stop where it is safe to do so.
The vehicle must not cause an obstruction, block access or pose a danger to road users.
If the scheme is approved, all professionals and care companies who currently hold permits would be invited to apply for the new updated version and time card later this summer.
The proposals follow an online consultation last year. Of the 150 people who responded, 89 per cent agreed that including yellow lines in the scheme would make their jobs easier. Some 80 per cent said it would help them care for their clients.
Almost 65 per cent said it would help them manage stress and most said that parking near their clients’ homes would help them feel safer if they were working alone.
Cllr Stuart Hughes, DCC’s cabinet member for highways management, said: “I recognise that parking in some communities continues to be difficult and driving around trying to find a spot can add to the stress.
“This was a common theme from care workers in our consultation last year and that’s why I endorsed plans to look at how we can further improve the scheme.”
Details of the traffic regulation order for Devon care workers are available to view here.
How to comment on the consultation
You can provide feedback until Thursday, August 22, 2019.
Objections and other comments specifying the proposal and the grounds on which they are made must be in writing to:
County Solicitor
County Hall
Topsham Road
Exeter
EX2 4QD
Or
Complete an online comments form.
DCC says that if you make a submission, please be aware that your contact details and any points contributed may be made publicly available online and in other formats in accordance with our legal obligations. Receipt of submissions may not be acknowledged but those received will be considered and shared within DCC and with its partners.
Email highwaymanagementrafficorders-mailbox@devon.gov.uk with other queries relating to this parking scheme, which are not comments for the consultation.
