Paying to park is killing towns

[obi_waynne]

Do you prefer to park in town? Does the introduction of pay parking across our towns reduce you chances of visiting local towns? Will you go to out of town shopping centers where the parking is free?

I think many local towns are dying because pay parking and restricted 1 hour zones have been introduced. What's it like where you are?

What about park and ride? Is this a good idea - do you use it?

 

[HDi fun]

Buckingham used to have a first hour free policy. This was disastrous as people hammered in and out of town as fast as possible in order to avoid paying for the second hour. Once it was changed to pay from the start the shops reportedly did better. Presumably once you've paid for two hours you want to get two hours.

 

[old-git]

Free car parks fill up with all day parkers which includes shop workers who would normally walk, get a lift or come in by bus, thereby taking up valuable spaces. If the park is near a fee charging train station car park commuters will park in it instead. So, making parking free reduces available spaces for shoppers and reduces income for shops, councils, bus and train companies. It also adds to rush hour congestion.

Making parking free isn't as simple as it initially seems.

 

[Twamgl3]

Well Colchester Park and Ride is a success, as I believe it it still free over a month after opening in an attempt to attract business.

It's supposed to be £3.00 per person (I still don't understand why it can't be per car), but you can park in the middle of the town for an extra 50 pence, regardless of how many people are in the car!

The wife likes the occasional visit to Lakeside (a form of punishment for me), but that's because there's more shops to choose from/places to eat rather than the free parking.

What we don't need is the ill-informed opinions of people like Eric Pickles saying things along the lines that people should be able to park on double yellow lines if they're popping into the shops for a pint of milk and a paper!

 

[old-git]

Hi Iain, who's it going?