My response to the articles that appeared in a local paper: re Car Parking Fees.
As the stampede grows to sign the Gazette’s petition on car parking charges there are a number of points that deserve serious attention.
Some success has been achieved by the campaign even as the ink dries on the first names. It has made public feeling on the issue more than clear.
The result is that when the charges come up for review next year it is virtually inconceivable that there will be any increase at all.
A standstill on charges will effectively mean a cut when inflation is taken into account and everyone will know where they stand – or park.
On the claims made about damage to trade it is worth noting that since the introduction of the new charges, almost 1,000 more people a month have used the car parks than at the same time last year.
So there is no evidence that numbers of visitors have reduced since the change – in fact more people are using the car parks than previously.
And there are numerous free parking places in our towns. Any local person determined to park for nothing will find a spot to do so.
Our car parks are chosen by motorists for convenience and the increase in users shows that they are operating as they should.
Charges pitched too low result in the equivalent of bed blocking for cars, there’s no incentive to move on. That leads to motorists facing the frustration of finding all the spaces taken.
Traders then lose out when there is no turnover of cars – that’s already happening in St Nicholas Street car park near to where I live in Norton.
It’s free but failing because the direct consequence is that on busy days motorists are unable to find a space. Shops, the pool, gym, and drivers, all suffer as a result.
That can’t go on forever. It just doesn’t work. In the event of charges being eventually introduced, nearby residents, as well as users of the pool and gym, would need to be protected.
Many of our car parks are at saturation point and our streets are choked with traffic. Better walking and cycling routes would improve access to our towns to benefit everyone – including motorists.
What’s needed is vision and bravery to attract greater numbers of shoppers by making our towns more attractive with better public spaces that people want to visit and enjoy.
It is time to bite the bullet and accept that, when we get out of the car, all of us are pedestrians – and we should have freedom to walk without risk of being mowed over on market days.
As for the reported £260,000 windfall, it is being used for the floods clean up, helping to restore what’s been destroyed and the rest is going into grants for valuable community projects in Ryedale.
Some of the floods money should come back from the Government – but having seen the devastation nature can cause we need funds to help protect us all from future disasters.
Then there’s the money in the bank. At the moment the interest is used to help keep down our rates.
If we have to spend it, we must see something for it.
That has to be something that makes a difference – a new sports centre, investment in our communities and flood defences.
As for the “free” parking at out of town shopping centres and elsewhere, the reality is that to go there costs time, patience and petrol.
Traders talking up the charges for parking in Ryedale – which with a residents’ permit can be as little as 10p a day – amounts to the equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot with a twelve bore.
Still, it would be so much easier for councillors to roll over and accept the call for lower car parking charges. It would also be wrong. Honesty really is the best policy.
