Edinburgh named the second-worst city in UK for parking according to motorist complaints

Edinburgh has been named the second worst city for parking in the UK, as research revealed fed-up motorists made 695 complaints over the last two years.

The Capital came a close second to Lambeth which had 698 complaints recorded in the period to 2022. New figures obtained from councils by freedom of information requests revealed the number of complaints received about issues such as permit availability, permit costs, the permit application process and management of controlled parking areas.

While Edinburgh clocked up hundreds of complaints, making it one of the worst areas in the country, Glasgow had 49 complaints over the two years and Aberdeen had just 14.

It comes amid frustrations over the rollout of new controlled parking zones in Edinburgh. Heat maps were used in 2018 to shape the boundary of the zones, with the council subsequently creating a ‘priority list’ to tackle ‘parking pressures’ in the capital. Residents in Leith recently saw the introduction of new road markings that the council say are designed to ‘help residents park more easily near their homes’ and ‘address commuter parking’ by introducing permit parking and more single and double yellow lines in the area. But some have claimed it will create parking ‘wars’.

Researchers at Auto Trader, who put together the data, also identified the top areas where parking is most limited by analysing the number of residential parking permits allocated by each council in the financial year 2022/23 and comparing it with the adult population figures of each region,

In Edinburgh around seven per cent of the population has a permit, slightly down on the previous year.

Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “We have tried to make it as easy as possible for residents to make contact with us to share their views on parking. We take all feedback about permit parking very seriously, whether they be requests for additional parking places or new permit parking zones, concerns about permit eligibility and pricing, or residents reporting permit parking contraventions.

"The consultation on our Parking Action Plan has just closed, and I am looking forward to understanding what residents think of our plans to ensure that people who own a car are able to park it close to their home. Of course, we will continue to use parking permit pricing to reward people who need a car and choose one which has least impact on our city.

“To reduce the negative impact of commuter parking on residential areas we will always encourage people, particularly if traveling from outside Edinburgh, to make use of our excellent public transport system if they can.”

University of Edinburgh strikes: Edinburgh students heckle graduation over staff pay