Safe Speed Forums

hard on the heels of councils seeking more motoring powers( viewtopic.php?f=14&t=26220) comes

http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/news/councils- ... rking-ward


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COUNCILS have increased their number of parking attendants by nearly 6% since 2008.

At the same time, 17% of local authorities have reduced the amount of free parking in their areas, figures from LV= car insurance showed.

The statistics, obtained under a Freedom of Information request, showed that 10% of councils have increased the number of parking attendants on duty by 20% or more.

In the past 12 months, 10% of drivers have been hit with parking fines, with offenders forking out £340 million – equivalent to £96 per caught driver.

Based on figures received from more than 200 UK councils, the statistics showed that the number of parking attendants has risen from 3,630 in 2008 to 3,841 in 2012 – a 5.8% rise.

In an average council area, there are now 16 parking civil enforcement officers employed to enforce parking traffic and other laws, with this figure rising to 51 for London boroughs.

LV= managing director John O'Roarke said: "The lack of free parking is putting increasing pressure on cash-strapped motorists and many are resorting to parking illegally.

"This problem is being exacerbated as councils increase the number of paid parking zones in their areas and take on more parking attendants to police them. Motorists who are visiting busy areas should plan ahead and consider parking slightly further away to avoid high parking charges. Many cities now offer park-and-ride schemes, which are a fraction of the cost of inner city parking."

Local Government Minister Bob Neill said: "There is no excuse for town halls using parking fines and motorists as cash cows. There are plenty of other ways for councils to raise extra income or make savings like better procurement and sharing back-office services.

"We want to see councils use parking to support the high street and help their local shops prosper. That's why we have ended the last government's requirements to limit spaces, push up parking charges and encourage aggressive parking enforcement."
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And why now are the high streets declining, and out of town malls ,with free parking taking over.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Just look at my local town, Crewe. ON a Saturday afternoon, the car park in town was half empty, yet the car park at the retail park 1/4 mile away was full. It is not so much the parking charges, but the draconian enforcement that puts people off going to town. The slightest transgression and you get whalloped for £60, (or £30 if you pay up early), or go to adjudication in a "double or quits" gamble.

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Good manners maketh a good motorist

I have a slightly different view on this.

It is good economics to raise parking charges until the car parks are just slightly under full. This maximises revenue without affecting visitor numbers. If you go too far with the charges you loose out in many ways.

I support this because the real reason I don't go into town on a Saturday is the uncertainty of finding a parking space and not the cost. If I can park, I will visit. If I think I will be driving round to find a space then I will go somewhere else.

Surcharging people who overstay etc. is not unreasonable. How difficult is it to buy the time you need?



I cannot understand why there was ever a governmental edict on maximum numbers of parking spaces. Was this a misguided attempt at eco/green political correctness to discourage car use? Idiots.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

Depends on the queues in shops ,and in one horse towns ,how difficult it is to find even simple things,without visiting several shops in the slowly diminishing shopping centre.
Locally, our council jacked up prices to cover the increase in VAT, and the numbers in the council parks dropped whilst the town supermarkets numbers increased ( both are two hours ,one site expects payment with a refund ,the other uses ANPR). We have a pre pay system,whilst in Coventry , the pay on exit system ( get ticket on entry and pay at machine before exit) is favoured. I prefer Coventry's system ,and I've never really had many problems finding a space, even on weekends.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on