Just think when you park
 

http://www.itv.com/news/london/story...rking-charges/

I remember last year a documentarty was shown on Tv about CCTV camera's were giving out parking tickets for illegal parking, like confette.

This was one item that caught my eye, it just makes me wonder who pockets the money, and each year the cost goes up.

I live near Hounslow, and if you ever go to the Blenheim Centre, the price has increased twice over the past 18 months, although you can park in ASDA, providing you buy goods over £10.00.

You can see parking attendants on every corner. In Central London parking is 50p for THREE MINUTES.

If there is a road near you that people know where to park for free. Guaranteed next year there will be parking meters there - another rip off by councils.

Re: Just think when you park
 

Come down here Arthur. In my borough you can park FREE of charge for up to 2 hours (one still requires a ticket to display though... all FREE.

Re: Just think when you park
 

Our council say that charges and fines only just cover their costs. I think not.

Re: Just think when you park
 

That does sound quite a rip off. I live in Great Sutton Cheshire, and when I park in nearby Ellesmere Port I pay 50p for four hours parking, or £1 for 6 hours and then it's free parking for arrivals after 3.00 pm.

Re: Just think when you park
 

Sorry but to me this is not a news worthy story.

People are parking in places they shouldn't, just because they can't find a proper space.

For example near where I stay just in the east end of Glasgow after the Royal Infirmary.

People constantly park on double yellow lines and in front of gates and emergency access points. There has not been a traffic warden in over 2 years here which is why people think they can get away with it! There is a call centre and the hosptial nearby.

If the council put out the yellow no parking cones for when they need to paint the road markings or do some work, people just move them on to the pavement and park there anyway!

So I am all for people getting parking tickets if it will teach them a lesson. I always walk past and feel like telling them to move or calling the council myself and telling them about it as they don't bother around here.

There are parking restrictions for a reason, keeping streets tidier, stopping congestion at busy times and making the place look neater.

PS. Arthur the money from fines goes back in to the pot and it goes towards repairing the roads.

Re: Just think when you park
 

Up to four years ago there were no parking charges where I live for years the council told us it was to bolster the local economy and promote trade. Then charging came in started off very reasonable for the first year 20p per two hours but now it's upto £1.20 per two hours and is increasing to £1.50 next year. Now any street within fifteen minutes walk of the high street is loaded up in the day with cars trying to avoid the charges on some streets they are reduced to single lane with both sides full of cars. There has been no noticeable benefit to our town from the extra money roads are in worse repair then they have ever been. Granted where I live is a backwards little market town where it seems once elected to the council all common sense and intelligence is removed fast as possible.

Re: Just think when you park
 

Living just off our local high street and having to put up with the problems caused by people who are too tight to pay for a space in one of the 4 local car parks (one of which is a few metres from the end of my road), I really wish the council would introduce a permit parking scheme in my area. Apparently our local resident's association tried to get the council to start one and was told in no uncertain terms that the council considered a good source of free parking spaces for the workers of the local Sainsburys..

Re: Just think when you park
 

You only get 2 hours not 4 hours for 50p, I park there most days

Re: Just think when you park
 

http://www.q-park.co.uk/parking/lond...-oxford-street

Up to 1 hour = £5.

That's about 41p for 5 mins.

That's NOT 50p for 3 minutes Arthur. Where do you get these statistics from? Dreamland?

Re: Just think when you park
 

The rac and aa disagree with you on all counts, they say it's gone beyond deterrent and is unsurprisingly being used as a cash cow and that they suspect the hundreds of millions fines bring in isn't used on the 'delapidated road network' at all


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...s-9021191.html

---------- Post added at 00:36 ---------- Previous post was at 00:31 ----------

What because he was 9 pence and 2 minutes out he's in dreamland, I've moaned about Arthur's inaccuracy before but if we're going to get this finicky this place is going to get very dull very quickly or was it just another excuse to have a pop at Arthur as has been your want over the last few days.

Re: Just think when you park
 

It's quite simple, don't park illegally don't see the problem. Same with speeding, don't like the points and the fines then don't risk it by speeding.

One of the biggest problems we have is that we are too soft on crime in general. People complain we aren't tough enough on crime then complain about the smaller things like parking fines.

If the penalty for speeding or drink driving was a permanent ban 1st time no second chances then how many people would risk it? You will get a hardcore who won't care but you get that anyway and there are ways of dealing with that.

J

Re: Just think when you park
 

it is the classic double standard. Someone will stand up and say one thing is wrong and get all moral about it but then admit to speeding regularly amongst other things

if you can't do the time don't do the crime. Although I do think parking charges in town are killing the highstreet

Re: Just think when you park
 

Spoken like a true non-driver :)

We don't object to parking tickets/fines, just the underhanded tactics used by the authorities. If it was a level playing field then that would be one thing but councils often make parking expensive and/or too far from where you actually want to get to. All in a warped and over-enthusiastic effort to force us on to sub-standard public transport.

I moaned about this on Facebook earlier: I haven't taken a bus in many years but seeing as the weather was bad and I didn't feel like driving I looked in to getting a bus in to Swansea yesterday. The bus stop is about 150 yards from my house so I checked the times etc and was about to decide on it when I saw the price - £4.50 for a single therefore £9 round-trip. Petrol costs would be about £2.50.

In parts of Swansea I can park for free for 3 hours.

As such I have zero incentive to use the council's public transport.

Re: Just think when you park
 

It's the same with hospitals. build a brand new massive hospital with no parking.

you can't even drop people off. it's constantly total chaos.

Re: Just think when you park
 

I was just pointing out that his price was incorrect. My example was the worst case as well - Cavendish Square is horrendously expensive and other car parks are cheaper.