Council says car parks are up to two-thirds empty despite drivers' complaints

THE lack of car parking space is a common complaint for drivers travelling into the city centre.

If a new council study is to be believed, though, motorists merely have to look a bit harder.

New figures show that car parks with up to 1000 spaces are on average two-thirds empty, despite the pressure being put on on-street parking by the city's tram works.

Click here to download the parking map

Six car parks – all within a 15-minute walk of Princes Street and with a combined total of more than 3000 spaces – are included in the study.

One, at Greenside Row, is just a few minutes walk from the city centre shops and costs £2.80 for two hours, less than the nearby on-street parking.

Despite this, the council said the NCP-run facility is only working at about 33 per cent capacity, leaving around 700 spaces unoccupied on a daily basis.

Michael Dixon, spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) for Edinburgh, said more work had to be done to promote the underused car parks.

He said: "These figures suggest there's an under-utilisation of available parking and we really need to look at the way the city centre area is marketed so that what parking is available is used and people are not forced to use on-street parking.

"The challenge is for Edinburgh to make itself open for business during the tram construction and the message needs to be put out more clearly that there's good quality parking near the shops."

Council chiefs are currently considering plans for an underground car park below Charlotte Square.

In addition to this, a new owner has also recently been found for a huge city centre car park which has been sitting empty for five years.

The 600-space facility on Morrison Street, which used robots to park and retrieve vehicles, has been gathering dust since its operator went into receivership in 2003.

Graham Birse, deputy chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said the low occupancy rates of some city centre car parks was the result of improved public transport and concerns over congestion.

He said: "One of the reasons is that the park and ride schemes have been very successful and more people are using train services to get into the city.

"But there is also an anxiety about the tram works and difficulties, perceived or otherwise, in navigating around the city centre because of congestion."

Councillor Phil Wheeler, the city's transport convener, claimed there was "ample" parking in the city centre.

He said: "There are over 10,000 spaces, on-street and off, within easy walking distance of the shops and other popular attractions.

"Details of all off-street car parking, and availability of spaces, are publicised widely via variable messaging signs on the approaches to the city centre."