Archived Topic
Topic ID 4301
02/04/2009 by Mr P
Gascoyne Way's 20% price increase
I see that parking charges have gone up by 20% to £4.20 per day. I think the term the press would use for this is 'Inflation Busting' or even 'Rip-Off'.
If people are parking there less in these difficult economic times then you have to ask yourself why. Is it due to spending less overall or that the charges were pretty steep and so they park elsewhere (in domestic streets) to save money. Possibly the parking attendants have been very effective and the Council now finds that there are less parking fines coming in to suppliement the parking charges. Who knows...
If a shopkeeper finds that his takings are down 20% it is hardly a good business model to slap 20% on top of the existing prices to cover this downturn. It is more likely to chase people away and once bitten etc...
This is a punitive taxation for those that need to park in GWay for work. Not all people who come to Hertford to park are commuting into London or as wealthy as the building stock prices imply. Some people drive into Hertford to work to make ends meet or to spend a day out and possibly spend some money in the shops of an ailing town.
This situation is a very short-sighted method of revenue increase. I suggest that the Council employ no strategic business brains and that all decisions are made on a simplistic, black and white, tunnel vision format. If you have high fixed assets and low variable assets, yes, these times will be hard. However, if you purely pass on the price to the consumer the consumer will go elsewhere. This method is short-changing the future and the damage will be harder to rectify when the financial climate improves. People don't like being ripped off and learn that particular lesson very well.
It is ironic that this happens in the week that the Mercury is starting its 'shop local' campaign. Why should people come to Hertford to 'shop local' when it is punitive to do so.
And whatever happened to Pay on Exit Parking? I beleive it was poo-poohed as being a little too expensive on the start up costs. However, many (including retailers) feel that it will be the most effective way of healing some of Hertford's retail woes. If the Council are serious about making sure Hertford town survives as a retail destination this really has to stop. From memory, the charges have doubled in the last 3.5 years.
Does anyone know how to get hold of Mark Prisk?
0 replies
Archived Replies
Reply ID 62312
02/04/2009 by shunt
quote:
Originally posted by Mr P
Does anyone know how to get hold of Mark Prisk?
Vote anything, but Conservative. If Hertford was a marginal, like Cornwall, he might pay it more attention.[;)]
Reply ID 62313
02/04/2009 by M.O.G.
quote:
Originally posted by Mr P
Does anyone know how to get hold of Mark Prisk?
by the throat![:(!]
Reply ID 62314
02/04/2009 by sloopjohnb
There is absolutely no way that East Herts Council are going to implement Pay on Exit parking in Hertford. The system relies on the collection of fines. Fines in car parks is Council revenue; fines on the street under decriminalisation go to the collecting agency and any surpluses are to be spent on improvements to the parking infrastructure.
The locally based Cardiff consultants Arup stated to East Herts (2007) that the cost of converting Bircherley Green to Pay on Exit was £276,000 plus £50,000 extra costs (!). This figure was then institutionalised by the Head of Parking at the Executive meeting as he had no faith in IT based systems and would always veer towards the highest end of a quote.
In 2005 the HTCMB gained quotes from three main parking companies who all stated within £5000 that the cost would be in the region of £58000 for each car park plus £5000 for each additional terminal and no serious works to entrances etc. All car parks could accommadate queues and only need one terminal. A similar study in 2007 by the owners of Bircherley Green arrived at the same conclusion.
BTW Bircherley Green is not Waitrose car park. It is owned by Deageo Pension Fund but leased to East Herts at a peppercorn rent originally on a 103 year lease. East Herts are responsible for all cleaning, mantainance and operation of the lifts in all car parks (but see complaints on these boards). Because they open late on Thursdays/Fridays Waitrose pay a fee to East Herts to keep the car park open.
You can always contact Mark Prisk through House of Commons; really don't know what his thoughts on parking are.
The idea of an improved 5 hour stay was to help part time workers in town but if you were a retail worker that's a hours pay.
I in particular and retailers in general have been putting the case for Pay on Exit Parking to East Herts for over 5 years; their own consultants had given words of caution about decriminalisation. Each one of us has been sent packing with a clip round the ear.
As Shunt says perhaps the only way for change is not to vote Conservative but that is not the way of the electorate round these parts.
Reply ID 62340
02/04/2009 by Eyeone
The trouble is that the council simply seem to treat the car parks as a figure (Profit) on the balance sheet and not as a service for the residence or visitors. One of my bones of contention is that of it being illegal to hand a valid pay & display ticket to another visitor. (I seem recall a councillor say this was to “encourage turnover” (i.e. income). of the spaces. If the council considers a parking space to be worth say £1.50 for one hour it should not matter if it is occupied by different vehicles in that time span unless you are trying to maximize income.
I also wonder what the proposed Sainbury development will do to the councils car parking income.
Assuming this is going to offer a few hundred free spaces what short term parker is going to pay the councils extortionate prices when they can park for free?
Reply ID 62345
02/04/2009 by craig
I wonder how much it cost East Herts Council to remove the old pay on exit machines from Gascoyne Way? It was a few years ago now.
Perhaps the electrics are still there and you'll find the old kiosks in a lockup somewhere in East Herts. [:)]
Pay on exit would be great because they keep a tally on how many spaces are free. A quick check on your mobile phone to find where the spaces are and off you go. Shame EH can't embrace new technology.
Thinking about it... You could pay a man 20k a year to sit by the exit and collect the money. Still much cheaper than the places EHDC seem to get their quotes.
Reply ID 62354
03/04/2009 by Brockman
quote:
Originally posted by Eyeone
The trouble is that the council simply seem to treat the car parks as a figure (Profit) on the balance sheet and not as a service for the residence or visitors. One of my bones of contention is that of it being illegal to hand a valid pay & display ticket to another visitor. (I seem recall a councillor say this was to “encourage turnover” (i.e. income). of the spaces. If the council considers a parking space to be worth say £1.50 for one hour it should not matter if it is occupied by different vehicles in that time span unless you are trying to maximize income.
I also wonder what the proposed Sainbury development will do to the councils car parking income.
Assuming this is going to offer a few hundred free spaces what short term parker is going to pay the councils extortionate prices when they can park for free?
I'd guess Sainsbury's would implent a pay on exit scheme, albeit one that can be over ridden by a token you receive when you pay for your shopping at the till.
Reply ID 62361
03/04/2009 by jez_p
quote:
Originally posted by craig
I wonder how much it cost East Herts Council to remove the old pay on exit machines from Gascoyne Way? It was a few years ago now.
Perhaps the electrics are still there and you'll find the old kiosks in a lockup somewhere in East Herts. [:)]
Didn't all the car parks in Hertford used to be Pay on Exit or Free?
Considering that Bircherley green seems to be permenantly patrolled by 2 Parking Enforcement Officers presumably making £20K then they could get rid of them and install the machines instead, job done.
Reply ID 62363
03/04/2009 by sloopjohnb
As I remember the staff that manned the kiosk at Bircherley Green often won Hertford's Cheeriest Trader Award. Not much chance of any Parking Attendant doing that.
Just to add a bit to my previous post WPS Parking Systems of Swindon who co-incidentally installed the barrier system at Bircherley Green said in 2005 and technology has moved on, that it could be possible to wire up all the car parks in town so that signs would indicate 'full' and 'empty spaces.'
We asked if there were any towns in England similar to Hertford where there were five close car parks and we could visit to view at first hand. Unfortunately there wasn't but there was one in Holland. Budgetary restraints delayed that visit unfortunately.
Reply ID 62365
03/04/2009 by thefair1973
a little off-topic, but Sainsburys in Watford have a clever system of preventing people parking for too long. They obviously know that it doesnt take any more than 2 hours to do a shop, so each space as a sensor in it that registers when a car is parked above it. If you stay for more than 2 hours, a camera snaps your number plate and a nice parking ticket pops through your letter box. I imagine they would implement something similar in Hertford, seeing as they only re-did the Watford car park a few months ago and it's in the City Centre.
Reply ID 62366
03/04/2009 by Eyeone
Would Simsbury’s implement any form of pay on exit scheme while Tesco is free even if it is with a time limit ? I am only talking about short term parking so I doubt it.
As far as a pay on exit scheme is concerned would the council not just ramp up the charges to maintain the same level of income?
Reply ID 62400
06/04/2009 by Claudia
Yet more people parking in residential streets - therefore more cries for residents parking. So the council will make more money either way! I have recently bought a Smart Card - I work in Bishops Stortford sometimes - you get a discount for parking with one of those only if you stay all day. However I parked in BS and had to return to Ware and had to buy another ticket even though I had paid for all day parking.
11 replies