in 237721 20091102 093624 Mark wrote:

Medway Council regard parking simpy as a revenue source. Charges enforced
until 10:00pm, whole areas where there is no free parking at all, the town
centre is a joke. They don't give a toss about local shops or local
traders.

It's like that around here too. Charges on Sundays. And it's
very expensive too. Almost no free parking (and none near the town
centres).

I live near Portsmouth and parking charges in the area have gone up by 4 to 8 times
in the last few years. The car park in my nearest village went from a minumum of 5p
to a minimum of 30p with the result that nobody uses it. I rarely see more than half
a dozen cars in it now whereas it always used to be full. I bet some dickhead in the
local council offices is wondering why revenue is down by 95% and is considering
another increase to make it up.

I recently spent 10 days driving round SE France - never once paid for car parking.