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Topic ID 1358

13/02/2006 by Drama Queen

Parking to go up by 30%!

I notice that to make up the "shortfall" according to the Mercury on Friday, the council want to put up one hours worth of parking to 60p... The shortfall is due to the Traffic warden scheme costing more to keep running than anything else. That expensive parking consultation stated that pay on Exit was the choice and I still think this means traffic wardens can be got rid of. After all, all they do is just wander around the pay and display carparks in hertford trying to find fault!!! Time to tell our councillors enough is enough.. Kill the town if you like but don't expect me to pay for your foolishness!!!


0 replies

Archived Replies

Reply ID 16811

13/02/2006 by Ewoowar

quote:
Originally posted by Drama Queen
I notice that to make up the "shortfall" according to the Mercury on Friday, the council want to put up one hours worth of parking to 60p... The shortfall is due to the Traffic warden scheme costing more to keep running than anything else. That expensive parking consultation stated that pay on Exit was the choice and I still think this means traffic wardens can be got rid of. After all, all they do is just wander around the pay and display carparks in hertford trying to find fault!!! Time to tell our councillors enough is enough.. Kill the town if you like but don't expect me to pay for your foolishness!!!
Go to the nearest sea port, get on a boat, go to the middle of the ocean and shout about it. You will have about as much chance of the council listening to you. What amazes me is that the council continues to ignore public opinion on the matter. They seem to be content to carry on, rough it out and hope that we all shut up and go away. Well the only things that will shut up are the traders in town and the only things that will go away are the customers.


Reply ID 16812

13/02/2006 by farrowandfarrow

Wondered when that was going to happen. Get people used to parking in the car parks then whack the price up as it's then a captive market and people have no choice other than to run the TW gauntlet. TW's too expensive to run? Probably because people are now wise enough to be paranoid about where *and* how they park and so there are less parking infringments, less tickets to issue, less revenue raised and still the same number of TW's to support. More unfairly and inappropriately issued tickets being appealed, too, makes less revenue; More people getting adamant about their being unfaily ticketed and racking up proof of their faultless parking to back up their appeal. Long may people fight against the TW's but the aggro each apeal takes is unreal.


Reply ID 16813

13/02/2006 by Ray_by_the_Beane

Also why does it take three times the number of Traffic Attendants to do the same job that the police-based Traffic Wardens did?


Reply ID 16815

13/02/2006 by JohnSmith

With the Freedom of Information Act now in place, does anyone know what information I can ask of the council with regard to the contract for control of parking in Hertford?


Reply ID 16816

13/02/2006 by SMT

quote:
Originally posted by JohnSmith
With the Freedom of Information Act now in place, does anyone know what information I can ask of the council with regard to the contract for control of parking in Hertford?
You can ask anything. However, I would expect that the details of the contract are commercially sensitive and therefore will not be released to you under FOIA.


Reply ID 16819

13/02/2006 by Steve

quote:
Originally posted by Drama Queen
The shortfall is due to the Traffic warden scheme costing more to keep running than anything else. That expensive parking consultation stated that pay on Exit was the choice and I still think this means traffic wardens can be got rid of. After all, all they do is just wander around the pay and display carparks in hertford trying to find fault!!!
The Parking Attendants deal with on-street parking as well as the car parks. If you got rid of them then there would be no-one to deal with illegal on-street parking, which was rife a year ago and the subject of a number of threads on this forum.


Reply ID 16821

13/02/2006 by Ewoowar

quote:
Originally posted by JohnSmith
With the Freedom of Information Act now in place, does anyone know what information I can ask of the council with regard to the contract for control of parking in Hertford?
I asked about this on the forum before. I think Sloop was going to look into it (apologies Sloop if I am wrong).


Reply ID 16822

13/02/2006 by SMT

Please see attached link from East Herts website http://www.eastherts.gov.uk/FreedomOfInformation/index.htm I don't work at East Herts, but at another Council and have to deal with FOIA requests. As in my earlier posting, the difficulty with the details of the parking contract is that elements of it may be commercially sensitive and so a request can legitimately be refused on those grounds. However, I don't know if "targets" would be considered commercially sensitive, only how much was paid for reaching such targets.


Reply ID 16823

13/02/2006 by sloopjohnb

Put it this way. I am as much in the know as anyone else. I have submitted a list of questions which has incorporated most of what has been asked in town, on this Forum and by traders. Still awaiting a reply - Officers have made their apologies about not being able to attend Partnership meetings. However, Mrs Sloop is in High Dudgeon (a cosy little spot on the Cornish Riviera) as there is a press briefing at Wallfields tomorrow night to explain the reasoning behind all the charges. Would presume that Steve and/or Admin will also desert wives/girlfriends etc to be there on your behalf. The Mercury has printed basic figures to show the £130,000 shortfall and more than once I have been informed that there is no such thing as quotas/commission/targets. Within that contract though as also reported I believe, was mention of certain clauses that are commercially sensitive and cannot to be released


Reply ID 16834

13/02/2006 by Rooster

I went to Berkhamsted last week. They have a great idea along their High Street for parking. There are numerous small bays big enough for three average cars and each bay has a small ticket machine. 10p for 11 minutes. 15p for 20 minutes and so on. I had enough time for 10p to do what I needed to. As it is Hertfordshire, why can't Hertford take a leaf out of their book. Ideal! And not a warden in sight. My aunt tells me it actually works too.


Reply ID 16840

13/02/2006 by Titus Groan

60p. Sounds reasonable. [^] Titus Groan Born again pedestrian and member of the Pavement Liberation Organisation


Reply ID 16843

13/02/2006 by Ewoowar

quote:
Originally posted by Titus Groan
60p. Sounds reasonable. [^]
60p is reasonable if you have driven 20 miles and intend to spend a while in town. However if you need to go into the town from the surrounding area, and on a regular basis because it is your nearest shopping area, then 60p a time starts to become unreasonable. Especially when the rise is to fund shortfalls in traffic warden revenue. Don't forget this isn't a major conurbation with plenty of buses running into the town centre. And most people live a good walking distance from the town.


Reply ID 16845

13/02/2006 by jez_p

quote:
Originally posted by Steve
The Parking Attendants deal with on-street parking as well as the car parks. If you got rid of them then there would be no-one to deal with illegal on-street parking, which was rife a year ago and the subject of a number of threads on this forum.
Allegedly... I see them mostly in the multi storey car parks trying to issue as many tickets as possible. They never bother to actually go anywhere useful like the shops in Sele Farm.


Reply ID 16886

14/02/2006 by paul01

quote:
Originally posted by Ewoowar
quote:
Originally posted by JohnSmith
With the Freedom of Information Act now in place, does anyone know what information I can ask of the council with regard to the contract for control of parking in Hertford?
I asked about this on the forum before. I think Sloop was going to look into it (apologies Sloop if I am wrong).
http://www.cfoi.org.uk/ The Campaign for Freedom of Information These guys do a half day course. You have a right to any report paid for by a government organisation, from a private company. You can download "info-stuff" from the cfoi website too. Paul


14 replies