Plans for overnight parking at Metrolink park and ride stops approved

Metrolink Rochdale

Proposals to allow limited overnight parking at some Metrolink park and ride stops have been agreed today (Friday 2 October).

The proposals set out plans for a trial period, which will now see parking available on Friday and Saturday nights.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/98226/overnight-parking-plans-for-metrolink-park-and-rides

It is hoped that the plans will be put in place as early as December, but it is currently not yet known how long the trial period will last and which Metrolink park and ride sties it will affect.

Councillor Andrew Fender, Chairman of the TfGM Committee, said: “Metrolink’s park and rides offer a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, save money and help cut traffic on our roads, and we want to make sure as many people as possible can use them.

“We listen closely to passengers and, wherever possible, take action. There’s clearly a discussion to be had about how Metrolink’s current parking policy could adapt to meet the demand for overnight weekend parking.”

TfGM’s Metrolink Director, Peter Cushing added: “Our current overnight parking policy was designed to discourage misuse of our car parks. We don’t make any money from parking charges, we just want to keep spaces available for Metrolink customers to use during the day – particularly for weekday commuters.

“Metrolink has tripled in size in recent years and opened up many more travel opportunities for both shift workers and people planning a late night out at venues right across the region.

“People want to travel by tram and, if parking overnight at weekends can significantly benefit our customers, the environment and the local economy, it’s something we’ll seriously investigate.”