East Dulwich praised from afar in the News !

[ibilly99]

http://www.paigntonpeople.co.uk/Follow-example-parking-charges/story-15108697-detail/story.html

Winge not East Dulwichians we are praised from afar !

I AM sure our councillors are all very nice individuals, but seem to have a collective 'head in the sand' mentality where parking meters are concerned.

Why is it they cannot see what we ordinary folk see, the town is dead because of parking meters and parking charges, yet they want to flood the town with more.

May I respectfully suggest they take a trip (not First Class) to East Dulwich, a very busy town in London where there are no parking meters and no empty shops?

There are a couple of parking attendants who patrol the streets advising people of the restrictions (bus lanes etc), and during many visits it seems few if any disregard these restrictions, or time limits displayed.

In the evenings after 6pm, and on Sundays, there are no restrictions at all. The place is buzzing day and night.

Alternatively, take a trip to North Allerton in Yorkshire, again no parking meters.

You obtain a paper clock, available in most shops, and display the time of arrival which allows you two hours' free parking.

If you are over the two hours then a warden can issue a ticket, but mostly it's 'a word in your ear'.

There are cheap car parks if you need more than two hours.

Again, no empty shops. The same system is used in most busy towns in Yorkshire and also Wiltshire.

In the aforementioned towns not only do the shops benefit, but the cafes and restaurants too as the shoppers delay their departure until rush hour is over.

Our traffic enforcers in Torquay seem to have standard issue stopwatches, woe betide you if you are a couple of minutes over the time paid for, a ticket is slapped on your screen.

My neighbour was six minutes over, his friend the day before four minutes over, all because they were caught in the slow queue at the bank or shop.

All the grand plans and bypass schemes for Torquay will come to nought if our councillors continue to follow this suicidal parking policy.

All those intended cruise ship passengers will be able to tell their friends about all those lovely empty beaches in Torbay.

I would respectfully suggest that our councillors remove their revenue raising blinkers, try cancelling all parking meter charges for two years, or alternatively charge 10p for two hours, so our enforcers know how long a car has been parked.

They may be surprised that the rates from the once-empty shops will outweigh the revenue earned from the parking meters.

If there are no feet on the streets then the town will die, can they not hear the death rattle? We ordinary folk can.

Ivan Cloherty

Lisburne Square

Torquay

[????]

Councillors like money

And they are supported by a small number of anti-car luddites who seem to think everyone else shares their smug 'idealism' and that parking restrictions mean no change for people from outside SE22 (say SE21, SE24, SE5) who will happily jump on a bus/train to pop down for some nick/nacks, foodies stuff or a beer/wine on the weekend.

It'll ruin SE22 as it has plenty of other places - many independent businesses here are on wafer thin margins and finding it tough enough in the recssion. Parking restriction evangicals FIGHT them, they are idiots.

[eddie]

I wonder if I can get someone to take the rap for my parking tickets, you know, like the Liberal Democrat MP who appears to have had his wife take his points for speeding? Oh well, perhaps not.

[neilson99]

But if we don't have car parking charges how else will we pay for all the consultants telling us where next to dig up/close off/narrow the roads of ED, or cut our bin men and recylcing services even more?

[Loz]

eddie Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I wonder if I can get someone to take the rap for

> my parking tickets, you know, like the Liberal

> Democrat MP who appears to have had his wife take

> his points for speeding? Oh well, perhaps not.

He's not the first and he won't be the last. It's not exactly difficult (provided your dopey ex-wife can keep her mouth shut).