Not a problem for us we only really park at one of the affordable supermarkets (lidlmorrissonaldi) or an out of town shopping park (once in a blue), increasingly our buying is online, they can stick their fines where they want.
When town and city centres are totally pedestrianised, by which i mean only people who can't afford cars (or shopping) go there they'll have to think of something else.
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yes matalan is still free if you dont go over the 2 hours
and netto carpark is still free
as GB really i tend to buy online these days have delivered to work so its even easier than going up town
dont do proper retail parks, too many look at me arent i beautiful types walking round like zombies for my liking
and dont get me started on the women
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I am sure thats the way it will go, the anti car extremists will complain bitterly when they end up with dead town centres. I only use free shopping parking and increasingly shop online.
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Manchester city centre has been anti car for years yet its still mad busy. Car parking is very expensive but you can get a train/bus/tram/cycle/walk or park on the out skirts of the city centre and walk.
There is simply not enough room in city centres so they have to try and discourage traffic. Despite the huge parking costs the city centre is booming and commercial property is anything but a ghost town.
I am sure high parking costs dosn't affect trade in central London either.
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Have you tried the car park on the old Boddington's brewery, near the MEN arena, Ratters? In fact, the streets around there are single yellows with free parking after 1230 at the weekend, IIRC. Not many people realise that. They will now, obviously...
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Rattle, we don't all have the luxury of integrated transport systems like the major cities. For many the car is the only viable option.
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I can of course see that city and town centres have to do something to combat congestion. Where their plans come adrift is when business vistors need to access premises while carrying large amounts of equipment, samples or other goods.
For example, I and the guys who work for me have to shift up tp 12 large, heavy holdalls in in out of business premises several times a day. I shall be doing exactly that in central London tomorrow. Loading bays don't work as our meetings can take a couple of hours each and the very nature of them means that several trips back to the car to retrieve different bits of kit are often required. Short term parking bays where 20 or 30 minutes maximum stays are in force are equally useless.
I would be quite prepared to pay to park where I need to park and have often thought that it might make some sense to be able to display a sort of super tax disc which allows for this eventuality. Maybe double the price of a normal RFL if one could prove its necessity to one's business.
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When I was a Lad and Hyde Park was just a Flowerpot we used to go to Paddington Green Nick and get a dispensation. Don't know what all the fuss is about!!
M
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>> Don't know what all the fuss is about!
That's the trouble Martin, people don't. Most only see the world from where they are standing. Twas ever thus I suppose.
;-)
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I do sympathise. We were back on the fringes of the city last year in 2 big vans. 'Luckily' for us on housing estates so parking although a prob was nothing like your situation. Just the peasants trying to nick anything not bolted down. Hasn't life in the UK changed?
Best regards,
Martin.
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A lifetime ago, a good friend of mine began his career in sales driving one of those Rothmans liveried Vauxhall Cavaliers. Remember them ? They looked vaguely like rally cars from a distance. Fag reps used to drive them around with thousands of cigs in the boot selling them to corner shops etc. Of course they had to stop doing it that way after they began to need a police escort to sit next to their parked car if they were visiting certain locations.
When did this place start to disintegrate ?
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it would be illegal to rep for fags these days anyway
as you would go on the sex offenders register
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Another pal, coincidentally the one mentioned elsewhere who now has the flashy house and high powered job in Dubai, started in life driving a Walls meat van for a living. He was also concurrently doing quite well as a young up and coming Formula Ford driver at the time. Fastest Walls van on the road. It did though often come back with pies stuck to the ceiling.
Apparently, the way the job worked you had to take a full van out in the morning, sell the stuff to corner shops etc and bring the empty van back with the takings. He was always back before everyone else and could get a second load on and repeat the excercise.
I suppose his sausages were by default the fresher for it.
Last edited by: Humph D'bout on Mon 22 Mar 10 at 22:06
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I can recall my last parking ticket, it was Edinburgh & £6.00 (six pounds). I have had about 3/4 tickets in 47 years driving.
Former colleague at work used to get 6-10 tickets per month and did not pay them, Leasing company paid and then charged £25 admin fee so he lost anything around £300+/ month from his pay check - and that was 20 years ago. He never was the best at budgeting and always paid 1 credit card off with another.
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Just nipped home for a bit of brekky, parked in layby so no nicks.
Thought occured to me at 5am as they tend to do.
This whole thing of councils, govt depts, quango's and seemingly every other authorised body grabbing money any way they can shows a terrible future for this country.
If you imagine the body worn out past it's prime unable to work and unable to earn therefore unable to provide it's needs (think country and no production, nothing to sell), so no good food on the table, not able to afford any medicines needed, what happens.....parasites take hold and gradually bleed the body dry from within till it's no longer able to function and dies.
The similarities if you think of the parasitic way this and other fines, penalties, taxes call them what you will are there, thats quite apart from the other parasites those who directly feed, the panic bleeding dry of any funds they can take in the all important drive to keep power.
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...Apparently, the way the job worked you had to take a full van out in the morning, sell the stuff...
I believe Ginsters still work in this way.
I've seen adverts for van reps for them in the North East which mention 5am starts.
Never managed to read any further.
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Us today, you tomorrow. - -
