Fun Friday - Parking Gone Crazy

Hey everyone... I wanted to get your thoughts on a subject which, especially at this time of year, while we are trying to buy gifts for the ones we love...really resonates with me and everyone I know.

Parking in our towns and cities!

Oooooo a can of worms I hear you say!

Well... It would seem there is simply a disconnect between those that are imposing parking regulations... And the rest of human kind!

Let me confirm... I'm all for reducing our carbon footprint, reducing congestion, increasing the local economy, providing an enjoyable environment for local residents and attracting visitors.

I also concede that it cannot be an easy task to find the balance and make it work.

What I do know is that quite simply, it isn't working...the efforts by councils to increase their revenue and profits have ... With unaquivacable doubt... Killed our high street business model... And I challenge you to prove otherwise.

Let me give a few examples...

1) in my local town, Walton on thames, there are a string of streets right in the middle of town which happens to be a residential area also, with the following parking laws... You cannot park on the street without a local resident permit, between the hours of 10.00am and 4.00pm.  Yes that's right... Unless you live there, you cannot park there during the day.  Do I need to state the obvious?  Sooooo you live there... You want to be able to park outside your house at night... Right? Sure... Makes sense... But oh wait... So you wake up... Jump in your car to go to work around 8.00am and don't get back until gone 6.00pm... Right?  Yep that's right... Sooooo who exactly will be parked in the street all day? Yep... You got it... No one... Not a soul... The streets are empty... And... Yep.. So are the shops... Because people wait until after 4.00pm to go to town to park... Or they don't go at all.  So when the home owners return from work wanting to park... There's no spaces.. So the policy you've implemented to protect residents, has just screwed them over... And the rest of the local community... So who exactly does it benefit?  The local council pocket in parking fines when people who just want to go about their business park and get stung. All you are doing is driving shoppers to other bigger towns that have larger parking facilities.  Which.. I might add... Punters are prepared to pay for.

Then there's the recent story in nottingham... Local businesses are now going to have to pay over £350 per parking space, per year, for the spaces they provide for their employees.  What I don't get with this one is that the people who own the businesses surely own the land it's on or as a collective of shops, they own their spaces.  So why should the have to pay for them?

And let me throw this into the mix... The businesses decide to not pay it and get their employees to come in on the bus.   A) what happens to the spaces that no one is parking in? B) the public transport infrastructure would be brought to its knees with overcrowding.

I have two closing arguments/trains of thought (pardon the pun). 

1) Local, regional and central government need to improve public transport monumentally in order to pursuade the public to use it.  That means it needs to be reliable, affordable and the network coverage needs to be wide.

2). You need to do to number 1 above or... And I hate to concede it, but, it actually works.  Allow shopping retail parks to flutish... With the following caveat... It must NOT be all big retail stores.  Having been a frequent shopper in the US, I can honestly say that the shopping experience when I go to the malls is not only not stressful at all, it's almost pleasurable!  Why? Because they have a good balance of shops, all in one location, with ample parking spaces... And they don't charge for parking!  Thus attracting lots of people, all in to one place, let them do their shopping, meet up, have fun, and go home again... All diverted away from residential areas so that local commuter traffic is just fine.

We cannot carry on thinking we can keep our high streets alive with the current model and regulations.

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that whilst I see the need for charity shops and betting shops, they should not be the majority footprint on our high street... Essentially we are saying... Go flush all your money down the toilets in the bookies so that you can only afford to shop in charity shops!?!?!?  That simply cannot be right and certainly isn't the way I.. Nor 99% of people I know, live.  

I would never confess to knowing it all.. But surely... Somewhere along the line, as a community, as human beings, we need to let common sense prevail.

When is enough enough?

So... I know I have followers and readers from all over the world... We have the benefit of common sense ... What works where you are? 

I'd love to go to my local council meeting with a wealth of global wisdom and help them see sense.   Your world needs you!

Oh... And for the love of all that's holy, will you please make parking notices understandable ... The amount of times I stand there looking at the permit signs/parking hours/restrictions and find myself saying 'I have no idea if I can or can't park' is mind boggling! 

I'm actually calm but very serious about this... I have no idea why any person in their right mind would want to open a shop on the local high street... Unless it's a Nandos!!! That place is always busy... In every town!   The smart people start online business and stay at home... This the consumer doesn't need to travel, the retailer doesn't need to have huge overheads... Oh... And the local government completely miss out!!!

Merry Christmas to you all... May you and your loved ones have a fun and safe festive season and I look forward to making more time putting the world to rights as well as sharing some of my positivity with you all.

Bert