Maidenhead & Windsor

Forget the old adage “chips with everything” – in Windsor the speciality dish could soon be chips with free short-term parking!

As Windsor and Maidenhead Cabinet looks set to give the thumbs-up this week to free short-term parking for Royal Borough residents on more than two dozen Windsor roads, residents are being urged to make sure they get their chip cards to make the payment process easier.

Chip cards were introduced across the borough earlier this year to replace the magnetic stripe Advantage cards to make it easier for residents to get their residents discounts in local car parks – and the likely introduction of free short-term parking has prompted the Royal Borough to encourage more residents to swop their old stripe cards for new chip cards.

David Scott, head of Windsor and Maidenhead community services explained: “We introduced the new chip cards after taking on board the concerns of residents who have had difficulties using their Advantage cards in borough car parks.

“We are now taking this opportunity to reiterate the message that chip cards really are a far more reliable solution to the problems some of our residents were experiencing – and will make it easier for them to claim their discounts.”

Residents can swop their old magnetic Advantage cards for new chip cards at any local issuing centre – the Town Hall and the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, Windsor Leisure Centre and York House customer service centre in Windsor and Charters Leisure Centre in Ascot.

If the free short-term parking proposal gets the go-ahead at Thursday’s cabinet meeting, it will mean that charges for the first period of parking – anything from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the street and the parking scheme in place – will be abolished.

To claim their first free time period, Windsor and Maidenhead residents will simply have to put their cards into the machines which will print off tickets for the appropriate length of time to be displayed in their car windscreen.

Town centre businesses could also be offered more and better parking opportunities with the creation of a new outer-zone all-day business permit for spaces in Alma Road, Clarence Road and Frances Road.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead