I will begin by stating my position as firmly against the implementation of paid parking in Guernsey. So far as I can see there are two main arguments in favour of these amendments. The first is that the States require the extra revenue generated by the proposed strategy and the second is that it will force people to start walking to work/utilising public transport instead of driving. Two valid points of view but unfortunately they are also very narrow and apply to a limited portion of our populace. In the interests of keeping my post succinct I will address the second issue as I believe it renders the first moot. Many people will not have the option of walking to work or utilising public transport and these are the people who are already the most financially and time constrained among us. I would (likely) be marginally affected by the changes as I do not live very far from town and can easily (and currently do) walk or ride my bike instead of driving. My concerns are more for other people, such as my sister, who has 3 little boys at 3 different schools, lives a few miles outside of St Peter Port and works a full time job in town. It is both impossible and impractical to suggest that she; a) Drop her 3 boys to school in the morning and then park in a short term parking space (which will likely be a lot less common as no new spaces are proposed but they are removing the use of many by means of payment). b) Pay £1300 per year for a long term space essentially lowering her annual salary by that amount (I am sure that this would make work optional for some low earners). c) Catch buses to 3 different schools to take her boys to school every morning and then again in the evening to collect them. d) Walk or ride to 3 different schools with her children and then to work. So as you see, this extra tax that the States will be collecting via this proposal will only be collected from those who are already at a financial disadvantage because...I will just ride my bike instead (as many of these eco-zealots appear to be confusing in to the unrelated debate). This proposal forces ME to change a habit, my sister and many others in similar positions simply do not have that option. If as an island we wish to alter the habit of reliance on motor vehicles then there are countless alternative methods of achieving that goal. My suggestion would be to think about how the proposed changes will be directly forced upon those who already have fewer options than may be available to you personally. In my opinion other options require investigating because this proposal is another direct assault on the more vulnerable in our society which to me is unacceptable.
Posted on: Wed, 21 May 2014 11:50:14 +0000
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