Liverpool City Council said on Saturday that it was making the spaces available in the city centre for NHS staff on the frontline of the battle against coronavirus. Tony McDonough reports
NHS staff in Liverpool are being offered free access to 1,300 car parking spaces in the city centre as they lead the battle against the coronavirus.
Liverpool City Council said on Saturday that 1,000 free spaces have been allocated at its Mount Pleasant multi-storey car park, with the remaining 300 spaces at various sites near to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
Its parking services team have arranged for the free scheme to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, the council has also offered the city’s NHS Trusts and Hospitals its Victoria Street multi-storey car park, which has 300 spaces, if required.
A further 150 free car parking spaces have also been allocated to carers in the city. The announcement follows the council’s decision at the start of the week to suspend on street pay and display parking in the city centre.
It will take a further view on this new system in 12 weeks, or earlier if the coronavirus situation improves. Parking restrictions denoted by yellow lines are still in force so the public are reminded to park responsibly. In particular around any key buildings such as hospitals, care homes, police, fire and ambulance sites and schools.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “Our NHS staff and carers everywhere are proving to be real heroes by putting their own lives at risk every time they go to work to help those suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The least we can do as a council is support our nurses, doctors and carers by providing free car parking. We’ve already been providing free spaces for critical and emergency NHS staff at the Royal and am delighted we can roll this out to a much bigger number.”
The council’s Football Match Residents Parking Zones (FMRPZ) are not being enforced following the cancellation of Premier League matches, and this will continue until further notice.
To protect the city’s most vulnerable residents, new applications and renewals of blue badges can now only be made online via the council’s website. If people do not have access to a PC they are encouraged to ask a family member or friend to complete the application.