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Pay to park is not sound
April 24, 2008
So Mike Bamber, Rushmoor’s Parking Manager, and Councillors Dibbs and Baines, the councillors that Mr Bamber advises, are now proposing yet more pay and display meters at the Salisbury Road car park.
Are they trying to emulate London boroughs by peppering the district with yet more machines following on from the misplaced parking controls introduced in Aldershot, North Camp and so on?
To suggest that the policy is because of abuse of existing restrictions when nearly all areas have one-hour limits, which are already enforced by parking control officers, is a nonsense, when it is obvious that yet more income is being extorted from local council tax payers.
I am not even sure if the economic strategy has been properly examined as in secondary shopping areas the funds collected may well be cancelled out by the costs of salaries, machines and administration!
I believe traders are suffering by the loss of casual “pop in” shoppers who are driven to areas with free parking, if recent visits to North Camp and Aldershot are anything to go by, as many spaces are empty much of the day.
Barry James, Canterbury Road, Farnborough
Are they trying to emulate London boroughs by peppering the district with yet more machines following on from the misplaced parking controls introduced in Aldershot, North Camp and so on?
To suggest that the policy is because of abuse of existing restrictions when nearly all areas have one-hour limits, which are already enforced by parking control officers, is a nonsense, when it is obvious that yet more income is being extorted from local council tax payers.
I am not even sure if the economic strategy has been properly examined as in secondary shopping areas the funds collected may well be cancelled out by the costs of salaries, machines and administration!
I believe traders are suffering by the loss of casual “pop in” shoppers who are driven to areas with free parking, if recent visits to North Camp and Aldershot are anything to go by, as many spaces are empty much of the day.
Barry James, Canterbury Road, Farnborough
