NHS, Social Care staff and Teachers can park for free in council car parks and in on-street bays during the current coronavirus emergency period. It is one of the measures aimed at helping critical workers travel in the borough.

Coronavirus is having a significant impact on London’s transport network. Reduced public transport means that key workers are more likely to drive to their place of work or to visit people in the community.

In order to help them do their important work:

• NHS staff, social care workers, and teachers, are now able to park for free in council-owned car parks and on-street parking bays. You can find a list of council car parks on the council’s website
• To do this, they can register for a ‘virtual permit’ giving them special dispensation for parking by emailing suspensions@ealing.gov.uk and titling their email KEY WORKER APPLICATION. They need to provide evidence of their key worker status and vehicle details. If accepted, they will be able to either park for free in the entire borough or in a specific controlled parking area near their place of work.
  
  

Council leader Julian Bell said: “We are committed to supporting NHS staff, teachers who are leading the fight against coronavirus in our borough. We are all incredibly proud of the work that they are doing and want to ensure that the last thing they need is anxiety caused by trying to find a safe place to park.

 “All critical workers in the borough using cars or other vehicles to get around can rest assured that borough parking teams are on their side and should not hesitate to inform us of their parking requirements at this time.”

Drivers who are not key workers

All parking facilities across Ealing remain open to those who are not key workers – but they should be used only for making essential journeys, in line with the advice offered by Public Health England.

The vast majority of Ealing residents are staying at home, leading to increased parking demand in residential areas during the day.

Maintaining safety and keeping traffic flowing remain important priorities, particularly around medical centres, hospitals and food suppliers.

Measures being taken include:

• Making parking dispensations available for designated vital members of staff around hospitals, clinics and emergency services control centres
• Concentrating parking enforcement to ensure loading facilities near food suppliers are kept clear, and that there are sufficient spaces to park for key workers
• Exploring options for over-spill parking sites near hospitals and medical centres.

Vulnerable users such as disabled badge holders should continue to use their badges as usual, PayByPhone or a pay-and-display bay where appropriate, and continue to adhere to the moving traffic restrictions that still apply as usual.

All controlled parking zones (CPZs) and moving violation restrictions will continue to be monitored by the council as normal in order to reduce congestion and maintain road safety.

Councillor Bell said: “To protect parking for key workers and keep London’s roads moving, the government has confirmed that some essential parking enforcement must continue and, therefore, council enforcement staff should be out on the streets where necessary, while practicing social distancing. Essential enforcement also includes ensuring that access for emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire appliances is maintained.

“We need co-operation from the public to achieve this and would ask that our enforcement officers are treated with respect while carrying out this difficult work.”

Keep an eye on the council’s online coronavirus centre for council service updates.