Topic ID 6538
http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/Hertfordshire/East-Herts-Council-could-charge-for-parking-in-the-evening-30042012.htm Are the District Council listening to anyone? More cars on the parking on the street? I fortunately can walk into town but lots of my friends drive and always use the car parks because they are free in the evening!
Reply ID 87630
This is getting silly. We could moan about this stuff until the cows come home, but there really is only one solution. People of Hertford, next time you are asked to vote, don't vote for the same people who ripped you off last time, or the time before that........
Reply ID 87632
So, with reference to the issues in question, do we vote for someone who intends to change the parking charges?
Reply ID 87633
quote:I think what we have is local government which considers itself too secure to have to listen or be to troubled by public dissatisfaction on many subjects. The parking issue is not new, nor is public opposition to the direction being taken.
Originally posted by Ewoowar
So, with reference to the issues in question, do we vote for someone who intends to change the parking charges?
Reply ID 87634
So..............will you be standing at the next election? And that is a serious question.
Reply ID 87635
quote:Currently personal circumstances prohibit, but they may not always.;)
Originally posted by Ewoowar
So..............will you be standing at the next election? And that is a serious question.
Reply ID 87636
I have decided as the Councillors at EHDC do NOT listen to their electorate, from this point on I will not be voting for them, which is a big deal to me. I am sorry I use the town as a performer in amateur theatre, go for meals with friends and I actually pay a lot for parking during the weekend and days I need to! I object to being charged for what I feel I already have paid for, what about the amount money I am "owed" for time I have had to pay for in our carparks and not used!!!!! I object to this "taxation" of the soft target motorist and until EHDC stop paying themselves vast amounts of salary and paying off "sick" CEO's I will not vote for them at all! [}:)]
Reply ID 87640
Anecdotally (and looking at the home towns of people who get done for affray in Hertford town centre on Saturday nights!) people come in from Enfield, Cheshunt, Stevenage and all over Essex for our night-time ecomony. Certainly the sheer number of late night vertical drinking venues with music - Deco, Sugar Hut, Masters House, Stone House, Hertford House, Blackbirds - could not be sustained by just the local population. So I sort of see the Council's point that these visitors from Harlow, Chelmsford, Letchworth etc should pay something towards parking. The council's point about encouraging sustainable transport - e.g. walking or cycling rather than driving - is interesting when applied to the night-time ecomony. I can't see many of the girls queuing for the Stonehouse in tiny bodycon dresses and vertiginous heels being happy to walk very far! I have some friends who live in Hertford but are too fat to walk into town comfortably and they tend to drive to a car park, dump the car and enjoy their night out, get a cab home and then get a bus or a lift early next morning (before car park charges kick in) to collect the car. I wonder if paying to park overnight would change their behaviour or make them choose another destination where they can park for free, in which case Hertford loses their business?
Reply ID 87641
Mmmm - let me see, should I opt to pay for one hour, two hours or three? How many glasses of wine might I drink, what if there is a queue at the bar, what if I fancy going on for a curry or cocktail? [}:)]
Reply ID 87643
Stupid decision if they do.. we will just go further on to eat out or to a nice pub or restaurant where we don't have to worry about getting a parking fine. Are the council trying to completely ruin the businesses in Hertford once and for all? I also feel that I already pay enough every time I need to visit my doctor in town, get a prescription, pick up a medicine, run an errand etc etc etc... I will avoid Hertford at night if I have to pay again to park and we will just take friends out elsewhere when they visit, who needs the stress of worrying about a parking fine on a night out, not us!
Reply ID 87648
quote:I tend to agree, but on the other hand we've a local government who won't bow down to populist nonsense. I don't know anyone local who drives into town in the evening. If I meet up with friends in the evening they'll all walk in, even the ones who don't drink. In the long term, more cars in town will do more harm to Hertford than good. The council really need to look at making Hertford a nicer place for people to walk and cycle.
Originally posted by shuntquote:I think what we have is local government which considers itself too secure to have to listen or be to troubled by public dissatisfaction on many subjects. The parking issue is not new, nor is public opposition to the direction being taken.
Originally posted by Ewoowar
So, with reference to the issues in question, do we vote for someone who intends to change the parking charges?
Reply ID 87649
When EHDC invited residents to choose from a "kiddies' menu" of budget options earlier in the year, while several parking options were available, none were related to evening charges. http://www.budgetsimulator.com/eastherts/allocation
Reply ID 87653
What's wrong with asking users to contribute towards a facility, irrespective of the time at which that facility is being used? I have parked in many city centres, at home and abroad, where I have paid for evening and overnight parking. The usual overnight arrangement is to pay a fixed price that allows you to enjoy an evening out without worrying that your parking may expire. Credit to the council for looking at alternative funding options.
Reply ID 87656
also; On thursday nights, gascoygne way can get pretty much full. Certainly st. andrews street always is on thurs/fridays. So there's certainly not a lack of use, as Rachel says!
Reply ID 87660
quote:Agreed - The evening economy is thriving compared to the daytime. Now we just need to subsidise the daytime charges by the evening charges...simples
Originally posted by codek2
also; On thursday nights, gascoygne way can get pretty much full. Certainly st. andrews street always is on thurs/fridays. So there's certainly not a lack of use, as Rachel says!
Reply ID 87661
or wreck the night time economy as well ......
Reply ID 87665
quote:If a brutal 4 year recession doest kill the nightlife in Hertford then a couple of £ to park in the multi-story isnt...
Originally posted by newgirl
or wreck the night time economy as well ......
Reply ID 87666
The Thursday/Friday night party-seekers so succinctly sterotyped by Rachel in an earlier posting probably won't balk at a few quid for parking (based on what they spend throughout an evening's conspicious consumption). So IF (and only IF) any funds raised are used to subsidise the daytime trade then all well and good. I don't, however, think we can trust our elected proxies to treat it this way at all. They'll more likely treat it as "extras" and, as newgirl predicts, kill the cash cow(s) for our evening trade (this is not a sexist jibe at the crepuscular revellers mentioned earlier).
Reply ID 87714
Living in Church Street, where we have no residents' parking I sometimes have to park in the multi storey to avoid a ticket for parking outside my house. It's quite expensive - but really expensive when I then forget that my money runs out early in the morning. OK, it's not the council's problem that I got drunk and didn't get up but since the night time economy of the town's the only thing working, I think things should be structured with that in mind. You should be able to pre-pay for the following day so that you can leave your car and get a cab without worrying. Or, as lots of people have suggested, make it a Pay On Exit. Or would that mean not making a fortune out of people's forgetfulness?
Reply ID 87718
Do we want an already declining Hertford to decline even more with these new greedy council charges? Out of principle i would not pay for parking on an evening out as charges during the day are already high plus I forget to take change with me so by the time ive run to get some i would probably end up with a ticket!! I can't see myself teetering down into Hertford in my heels so it's either a cab which is more expense or drive to a pub/restaurant in one of the villages or just stick to a take away or better still my cooking :-)))
Reply ID 87724
But as we have Pay and Display, wouldn't extended charging hours then require extended working by the wardens, therefore swallowing up a good portion of the extra revenue being generated?
Reply ID 87738
I also think its right to state that a lot of people who work in the pubs/bars/hotels and restaurants are on the "minimum wage" for the work of long hours they do. Should we be penalising them when we expect a decent service in our restaurants and bars to continue? They most definitely would need transport at the late night times they go home after clearing up and nobody seems to have mentioned them! I also don't always go out drinking but am the "designated driver" as its really expensive for a taxi from Hertford, should I be penalised for doing the right thing and not drinking and driving? I will choose to socialise elsewhere if this charge was brought in... If you want to get help for keeping the town litter free due to the nightime economy, go and ask for extra from the establishments that are in the town to put some more up money to help the council with keeping it clean...