Arriving here in lovely Ramsgate on Saturday, our friend from across the water checked into the Travelodge on the harbour and parked in the Leopold Street multi-storey. Which, as we know, is free on Saturdays, so no need for a ticket. My correspondent continues:
We had a great time and spent a lot of money in the local pubs and a restaurant. After having a breakfast in the hotel we left at 08.30 in the morning only to find a fine attached to the windscreen. The attendant wrote the fine at 7.30AM. So Leopold Street is a jackpot for TDC, nobody in the hotel will get up early in the morning to put money in the machine. The proof was the many fines posted on the windscreens, many probably Travelodge guests.
The problem is that if you put moeny in the parking machine on the Saturday, you get a ticket which says you paid for the Saturday, which is free.
He goes on to say that the next time he fancies a sojourn across the Channel, he'll be staying in Deal or Dover, or any of the other locations where you can park for free on a Sunday, and not have to worry about getting up at sparrow's fart to feed a ticket machine.
Clearly the machines need to be re-programmed so that, if you put money in on a Saturday, it gives you credit for Sunday. But then Thanet Council would lose out on some of their £200,000+ a year parking fine revenue, wouldn't they? After all, they need to do something to make up for the zero beach littering fines and four dog mess fines they issued last year!
Our foreign friend signs off with: 'Leopold Street car park also has an unpleasant stench of urine.' He's not wrong there.
13 comments:
It isn't only in Thanet. I recently visited Oxford. The signage on the parking meters was (in my opinion deliberately) ambiguous so that you didn't know whether you had to pay for four hours or for the 20minutes until free parking commenced. I tried asking a traffic enforcement officer who seemed to have had a lobotomy and turned his back on me and walked away when I said that I didn't understand what he was saying. I think that all councils are treating parking as a revenue stream, rather than seeking to maximise the amount of parking available and making it as cheap as possible.
My suggestion is that TDC should lease the car-park to the traders in Ramsgate who should run it as they see fit.
oh dear?
I have just paid for some friends to stay there. This was not the kind of dirty weekend I had in mind....
Well, if you hadn't already thrown up in disgust at the parking attendants, I bet you have now after Solo Gays contribution.
Re Solo Gays' commet,I like a bit of diversity Anonymous 8.40 - if you don't, perhaps you should just wander off and lose yourself in a maze of prejudice, where you'd probably feel more at home.
TDC have always relied on parking fines to subsidise their ridiculous agreement they entered into over the multi story car parks, they never put the amount in the budget but rely on getting a £100 K plus
Come now, Schmoozyschlegg, I have engaged in much diversity in Thailand, Singapore, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Capetown. Would never refer to it as a dirty weekend though. Still think jet black hair, almond eyes and 18" waists take some beating.
Looks like Mcgonigal maths again. We pay her and she taxes and defrauds us.
Are we not allowed to be prejudiced anymore?
I'm prejudiced against the people of Birchington!
As is your right anon 11:52. As for the rest of Thanet,a misanthrope would feel at home.
Thanet is as cheap as chips to park.
Bournemouth can cost you £12.50 a day but at least charging starts at 8am and not 7am.
Since Ramsgate is the Cannes of Kent(so ECR tells us), parking on la Croisette multi story will set you back about £17 for a day.
If TDC only make £200k from parking charges and fines they need to take lessons from nearby Dover with a take of over £750k and even from Hastings on £1400k.
Once again TDC is below par.
When the Tories introduced parking fees in hospital car parks I think that was the lowest of the low I have never voted for them (or Labour who could have scrapped the fees)since. Both parties have killed the town centres over the parking fees. The Tories love to sell off what does not belong to them and the taxpayers lose out on billions of pounds on the true worth.
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