Main Categories
SUMMATION OF THE PROBLEMS IN PLANTATION ROAD
And so it goes on....
Tip Of The Iceberg: The correspondence listed is only a small proportion of that which has been written by residents to Bexley Council about the issues in this road. Over the years, hundreds of penalty notices have been issued against residents and their unsuspecting friends, as well as to people visiting the local church and adult education centre, who also park in this road.
Problem Widespread: Problems in this road are typically representative of a policy and mentality widespread in many areas, with certain local authorities being quick to realise that they can boost their coffers with this type of underhanded behaviour, knowing full well that the public are caught in a trap not of their own making. As has been pointed out to the local authority, compounded by the cost of housing, and offspring not being able to afford to leave their parent's home, parking is at a premium nowadays, and we need every inch. However, rather than help the situation with a sympathetic view and a sensible approach, all the local authorities appear to do is see is an opportunity to exploit the difficulties people are facing for the purpose of making more money. They have admitted that they have a choice and do not have to enforce the pavement parking ban, therefore, when it creates so many problems, why are they? We have suggested other criteria with which to judge, but in a control freakish fashion they insisting that you must be in a marked bay, whether it makes sense or not. However, if they happen to have omitted to paint a bay in a certain place where you need to park on the pavement, apparently, it's still your fault if you park on the pavement and get a fine. The fact is, the local authorities ideas are not working for people, so perhaps it’s about time they started to listen to some of ours.
Public Frustrated: The way things are at the moment with Bexley Council’s policy means that in any roads where the pavements are wide and the road narrow, and a degree of footway parking is essential, people will probably have painted bays in which to park, however, people will naturally not have marked bays close to, or across, their drives, therefore they cannot pavement park close to, or across, their own drive without the fear of being penalized for it. It also means that if they have friends and relatives visiting at any time, they too cannot park close to, or across, the drive without being penalised. This is obviously a problem situation which leaves the public frustrated and short of parking space, while the local Council rubs its hands all the way to the bank.
Such Roads Should Be Exempt: How much money do they make from this single anomaly? The amount of money they make may have something to do with the fact that they are currently refusing to acknowledge this problem, or change their policy to suit public demand. In the meantime, for the public trying to go about their business, footway parking is essential in many roads and, as we all know, much of the time, there is a shortage of parking anyway, therefore, we need every inch of available space and cannot afford to be hampered by individuals that have no idea and no sympathy and who are not prepared to listen to the people that pay their wages. Where footway parking is necessary in a road there are generally no other options! The obvious way forward in an instance like this one is for the road to be completely exempt from any footway parking ban. Simple! Until you involve the local authority that is!
Authorities Create The Problem: The fact is the authorities have created this problem, the authorities maintain this problem and the authorities benefit from this problem. The residents that live here, and who help pay the wages of the local authority, can do little but suffer the abuse and financial exploitation from people who simply refuse to acknowledge or admit that they are the ones causing the problem, however....
- The authorities are responsible for the dimensions of the roads and the pavements.
- The authorities are responsible for the poorly evaluated footway parking ban.
- The authorities are responsible for the petty enforcement of the footway parking ban.
- The authorities are responsible for ignoring the feelings of the people that live here.
- The authorities are responsible for failing to comprehend the problems they are causing.
- The authorities are responsible for not taking better solutions on board.
- The authorities are responsible for making lots of money from a frustrated public trying to go about their business.
- The authorities are rubbing their hands all the way to the bank!
No Better Than Pirates: But how much would it cost Bexley Council to admit that they are unjustly ripping people off and re-evaluate their thinking? Obviously enough to keep them in the corruption bracket. Life was a lot better before such sleazy, deceitful and underhanded people realised that they can use such motorist related problem to make pots of money. Parking, covert speed cameras in unnecessary places, congestion charging, the low-emission zone, etc... The authorities are no better than pirates - and it's getting worse.
A Nice Little Earner: The local Bexley paper, the Newsshopper, reported in its October 22, 2008 edition that Bexley Council grossed over 2.4 million pounds in the year 2007/2008 from parking penalty notices alone. With running costs at around 1 million, this left a clear profit of 1.4 million. Nice work if you can get it!