Sheffield Green Party has called for a price cut for residents’ parking permits after the recent announcement of huge profits in the city’s parking budget.
They say the residents, some who live in the most deprived parts of the inner city, have been unfairly targeted. Even residents without cars are forced to pay high prices for visitor’s permits just to allow workmen, relatives or carers to park near their home.
Green Group Speaker, Cllr Rob Murphy, said:
“Residents already have to deal with the hassle of restricted parking outside their homes. The high price of permits is unfair on people, just for living in areas with parking problems.”
He added,
“Originally people were told the permits were to pay for running the schemes. It’s clear now they have been misled and the Labour Council is taking advantage.”
The Greens have regularly proposed a £10 permit for the first vehicle, down from the Council’s current price of £36 as part of their annual budget amendment.
NOTES TO EDITORS
See http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/sheffield-council-makes-3-4m-profit-from-parking-services-in-12-months-1-8281149
Sheffield Green Party’s last budget proposal would “reduce the price of permits in parking permit zones to 2010 levels by shifting the cost of parking in these residential PPZ to non-residents, meaning that people living in some of the most congested and polluted areas of the city are not subsidising other transport services;” See http://archive.sheffieldgreenparty.org.uk/2016/03/05/green-party-budget-amendment-in-full/
This is an awful sounding Tory policy not green at all. If you are lucky enough to live so close to town or another popular walkable area that you are in residents permits parking area, then you really should make the most of it by living without a car. Encourage the council to spend the surplus on safe cycle routes (cycle lanes you would happily let your 8-10 year old child use by themselves) instead. Not only do they bring an average 20:1 return on investment – the best of any hard infrastructure in the UK, they also bring massive social benefits to the community, and it means people do not have to own a car.
Agree we should be spending more money on cycle routes but the people paying for these should not be limited to those whose areas are already blighted by traffic congestion, air pollution and access problems.
Unlike the other political parties the Green Party’s policy is to tax car use not ownership. The price of a permit for someone who only uses a car on odd occasions is the same as someone who uses their car everyday. If you live in a parking scheme and don’t own a car you will still end up paying high prices for visitors permits.
Resident parking schemes are a tool in the reduction of car use, but are unpopular with residents when they are forced to pay high prices for a permit. Many residents need vehicles for work or access for the elderly and infirm, it is unfair that those who live who in these areas (including some of the most deprived in the city) are forced to pay extra in a ‘postcode lottery’. The Green Party prioritises sustainable forms of transport, but understands for some people, and at some times, there isn’t a realistic alternative to private cars.