u gotta be F*CKING KIDDING ME! AND ARE THESE METERS OUTSOURCED TO PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS AND COMPANIES LIKE THE E TOLL? Joburg mayor Parks Tau and members of the mayoral committee yesterday heard the complaints of frustrated residents of Parkhurst about the inconvenience and other adverse effects of the paid -parking system on businesses and the public in their suburb. The system was introduced in Braamfontein in early 2011 and then extended to parts of the CBD. It involves sets of parking bays being supervised by a parking-fee collector. Buoyed by the success of the Braamfontein project, the council extended the system throughout the CBD and Parkhurst. One of the objectives is to deter motorists who needed to park only briefly from using long-term parking space. The city audited the usage of each parking locality to assess its suitability. Yesterday a proposal based on the results of the audits was put to residents of Parkhurst, the first suburb to which the new system was introduced. The city has identified 25 localities as nodes of economic development in which the new parking system will encourage development. Tau said that an unmanaged urban environment was bad for business and residents. We cant shy away from the responsibility to manage the urban environment ... the idea is that there should be no spaces that are not managed. But Parkhurst residents were opposed to the implementation of the new system in their suburb, in which there is a mix of convenience shops, bookshops, butcheries, boutiques and restaurants. Caroline McCann, who has owned the Braeside Meat Market for 11 years, said the new system had affected her business badly. McCann said her frustration was due not only to the decline in the number of customers visiting her locality and her shop, but also to the refusal of the city to consider seriously the concerns of the community. She commended Tau for taking the time to see for himself what was happening in Parkhurst. The city should just forget about pay parking. It does not work in a suburb. It works in Braamfontein because its a city centre, and thats where it should be, she said. Cheryl Labuschagne, who represents residents and businesses in Parkhurst, said the system had been a problem from the start. When you go to buy a litre of milk for R10 you have to pay an extra R4 for it. It is a lot of money to add to the cost of a litre of milk. It is not sustainable. People are not going to local businesses as they used to, Labuschagne said. Patrons of restaurants often avoided using paid parking by leaving their car in a driveway and blocking access to properties. She said the city had not consulted the residents adequately before introducing the system. Residents at the meeting complained that the metro police called to enforce payment of parking fees were bullying. The metro police were accused of ignoring other offences and focusing on making sure that motorists paid for parking. Tau assured residents that their comments would be considered by the council. He said it was clear that the area needed solutions that accommodated the diverse needs of its residents.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 06:26:28 +0000
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