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It’s about time they came good on
parking promises
WHEN will Westminster City Council come good on promises related to residents’ parking “promises”?
Just a couple of recent examples seem to show the low regard in which residents appear to be held by the parking department.
On September 13 the West End hosted one of the many festival type events, this time the Soho Live Event.
As usual, a large number of residents’ parking spaces were put under suspension, to make way for the revellers and traders.
However, the good news is that the council do have a pledge on their website, which advises in the case of large-scale suspensions, alternative parking will be provided and, if there are 30 or more suspensions an alternative place will be offered for every five spaces suspended.
Regrettably, this does not seem to translate into a reality. On September 13 the council has confirmed that a total of 52 Residents spaces plus 11 “shared use” spaces were suspended, but that zero alternative spaces were provided.
Being a local, who regularly has to find parking elsewhere, I strongly suspect that the same lack of regard to its own “rules” has applied to the many other such festivals that take over the West End with such regularity every summer.
In another example, related to the experimental motorcycle parking charging scheme (which, despite being “experimental”, has probably netted well over £4million from motorcyclists, including from residents), on March 31 the scrutiny committee made a recommendation to the parking department that the Residents’ Parking Permit cost for a motorcycle should be reduced to £50 (it is currently exactly the same price as for a car or van, despite taking a fraction of the space, generating much lower CO2 emissions than cars, and also helping to reducing congestion).
While the council’s city Development cabinet member, Councillor Danny Chalkley, implemented “other” recommendations related to this scheme on June 1, the poor old resident motorcyclists are still waiting for their reduced permit prices. And a report (in advance of a “decision”) by the cabinet member, that was only supposed to take a week, has so far taken three months.
What are you waiting for, Cllr Chalkley? Aren’t you supposed to for the residents?
Also, don’t forget that despite a period of recession, resident parking permit prices have gone up, general parking prices have gone up, and, in another experimental scheme in St John’s Wood – which could potentially spread to other areas – they are even “double selling” residents’ spaces, by allowing non-residents to use them at certain hours!!
Martin Johnson
Dean Street, Soho
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