Upper Town Residential Parking Scheme Announced
The Government has announced a new Residential Parking Scheme for the Upper Town, covering the area from Sacred Heart Church and Castle Road up to Willis’s Road by the Moorish Castle.
Residents within the new district will be able to apply for free Resident Parking Permits, with no limit on the number of permits per household. The scheme will include resident parking, loading bays, accessible spaces, motorcycle bays and part-time visitor parking.
A statement from the Government follows below:
The HM Government of Gibraltar is pleased to announce the rollout of next Residential Parking Scheme (RPS) – Upper Town. This new parking district is located from Sacred Heart Church, Castle Road, continuing north to Lower Castle Road and up to the top of Willis’s Road (by the Moorish Castle). It will effectively border with the existing RPS Zone 2 in the East. Residents with households within this new boundary will be eligible to apply for a Resident Parking Permit.
This is part of recommendations contained within the Sustainable, Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan (STTPP) and follows the successful rollout of RPS Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively.
The implementation of designated residential parking zones and districts aims to provide residents of the area with an improved chance of parking whilst still supporting the needs of visitors and commercial activity in those areas. The success of the RPS will rely on effective parking enforcement in these areas and will be regularly patrolled by the appointed Parking Management Officers (PMO’s).
The introduction and implementation of the RPS Upper Town is to be launched taking into account resident and stakeholder feedback. The scheme shares the positive attributes of RPS Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4 and aims to improve certain aspects whilst taking into account the specific core needs of residents within this specific residential area.
There will be a mix of exclusive resident parking (resident permit holders) loading and unloading bays, accessible parking bays, motorcycle bays and part-time visitor parking spaces. The intention of these residential parking zones is to increase the available parking opportunities for permit holders in the given residential area, as they will no longer need to compete with other visitors to the area. Whilst the scheme itself will not provide a guaranteed parking space for resident permit holders that subscribe to the scheme, it should provide a significantly increased chance of finding a parking space in the area.
We remind residents within the RPS Upper Town that they will be eligible to apply for a permit provided that they do not owe Government arrears. Residents are not obliged to apply for a permit if they do not wish to do so, but the number of parking opportunities available to them will be reduced, particularly within an area with limited on-street parking stock. Residents that already own a private garage or parking space or rent one within a Gibraltar Car Parks facility are in fact encouraged not to apply for a permit if not necessary, hence increasing parking opportunities for those who do not have their own parking provision. The RPS Upper Town will have various pockets of part-time free parking (8am to 2am daily) throughout the district, which allows visitors and smaller commercial vehicles the opportunity to access the area without restrictions. The distribution of all parking stock will be actively assessed and reviewed once the parking district is live and settled, and changes may be made to the scheme over time as necessary.
In order to apply for a Residents Parking Permit, applicants will need to provide proof of residency within this district, a valid MOT certificate (if applicable) and the Certificate of Vehicle Registration (Log Book), together with proof of identity.
The permits will be issued on a per household basis with no limit on the number of permits being applied for.
Initially, this new Upper Town Residential Parking Scheme will have the same permit structure as existing Laguna and Glacis Estates, therefore there will be no charge for permits and no limit to permits issued per household.
The UK–EU agreement regarding Gibraltar is expected to significantly increase the ease of cross border movement between Gibraltar and Spain. Reduced frontier checks and more fluid crossing arrangements may lead to higher numbers of vehicles entering Gibraltar, particularly from cross border commuters and visitors. Given Gibraltar’s limited land area and constrained parking capacity, increased vehicle inflow may create additional pressure on residential streets as drivers seek convenient or free parking close to the Town Centre or even visitors wanting to access the Upper Rock or Moorish Castle. By launching this new district, it will protect residential parking in the Upper Town area from external demand and preventing commuter and visitor vehicles from using residential streets as long-stay parking locations as is currently the case in this area. It will also support the outlined transport policy objective in the STTPP of reducing unnecessary vehicle circulation in search of free parking.
By initially adopting a free permit structure with no household limit, it will ensure full resident participation, ensuring that residential parking remains reserved for residents of the area only.
A simplified permit system enables faster implementation and immediate protection for residents. A free and unlimited permit structure reduces administrative complexity during the initial rollout and allows the Ministry of Transport to monitor parking demand and adjust the scheme if required in future reviews.
The establishment of the RPS Upper Town also supports the wider objective of directing visitor and commuter vehicles to purpose-built parking facilities, including structured car parks in the town area, which will positively improve traffic circulation and make more efficient use of Gibraltar’s formal parking infrastructure.
More details are provided in the booklet which will be available online.
Motorcycles and mopeds will not be required to obtain a Resident’s Parking Permit but will only be able to park in designated motorcycle parking bays within the defined spaces.
Further information on how Residential Parking Scheme Upper Town will operate is provided within an information booklet, which is available online via the HM Government of Gibraltar (https://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/transport-traffic-and-technical-services/parking) and the Gibraltar Car Parks Ltd (https://www.gibcarparks.com/) websites. The application form for Resident’s Parking Permits can also be submitted online via the Gibraltar Car Parks Ltd website, or alternatively the form may be submitted to Gibraltar Car Parks Ltd offices at Unit 1.02 Boston, Midtown, Queensway.
There will be a period of grace from today’s launch, allowing ample time for permits to be processed as well as finalising all signage and road marking within the district. A further Press Release will be issued to announce commencement live date of this new parking district. AS WITH ZONES 1, 2, 3 and 4, APPLICANTS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY FOR PERMITS IMMEDIATELY SO THAT USERS OF THE ZONE WILL HAVE RECEIVED THEIR PERMITS BEFORE THE GO LIVE DATE.
Since the launch of the first RPS Zone in 2017, all coinciding zones are carefully monitored and their interaction between each zone is analysed to establish whether modifications are necessary for neighbouring zones to work smoothly and efficiently with each other. The Residential Parking Schemes are not set in stone, and they could be subject to modifications in time, when residents and stakeholders are engaged post-launch. The public are therefore invited to submit their comments and feedback of this new zone via MT@gibraltar.gov.gi.
The Minister for Transport, The Hon John Cortes said: “The introduction of the Residential Parking Scheme in the Upper Town is another important step in delivering the objectives set out in the Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan. For many years residents in this area have expressed concerns about the difficulty of finding parking close to their homes, and this scheme responds directly to those concerns.
By introducing a clearly defined residential parking zone, we are protecting parking for residents while still allowing appropriate access for visitors and essential services. Importantly, this scheme is also being implemented as a forward-looking measure, recognising that expected changes to cross border mobility may place additional pressure on Gibraltar’s already limited parking capacity.
Our approach is therefore both practical and preventative, ensuring that residents in the Upper Town retain priority access to parking in their district while supporting the wider objectives of improving traffic circulation and making better use of Gibraltar’s existing parking infrastructure.”
