Why are parking charges in brighton so high, and why won't the council release land for a decent park and ride site, as withdean is a) far too small, and b)totally inaccessible?

David Cameron-Young

That’s a good question. Parking charges in Brighton and Hove are comparable to other local authorities. Certain charges are set by central government, specifically penalty charge notices issued by wardens. All income from charges is directed back into transport related projects in the city.

We are now investigating the potential for a number of park and ride sites across the city.

AH

With Brighton and hove relying on tourism for its economy and with the current economic outlook, do you think that the extortionate parking charges should be reduced and extensive parking restrictions and times be relaxed until we have a viable park and ride scheme?

p griffin


Parking policies, including the charges, support turnover of parking spaces, which actually allows more people to come into the city and use our facilities. This not only supports tourism but is vital to boost the economy, especially now in times of economic uncertainty.

AH

I live in Sackville Gardens, Hove, off the seafront. In this street, voucher parking for visitors applies every single day of the year, even including Christmas Day and Boxing Day, up to 8 pm. I consider this mean treatment of visitors to residents at off-season and after 6.00. What is the justification - apart from revenue-raising?

Brighton has one of the most agressive schemes for Parking Wardens, collecting in excess of £5million per year second only to London, - What do you do with all this money?, and how does reduce congestion.

B Scaping

Firstly, we only install parking schemes where the majority of residents in the area have requested them. There is no incentive for parking wardens to issue penalty charge notices. Parking wardens prevent illegal parking in disabled bays, corners and in dangerous locations where they disrupt visibility or cause congestion.

Secondly, no controlled parking scheme is designed to raise money beyond its cost. If there is a surplus it reinvested into transport infrastructure in the city. A good example of this would be the award-winning New Road scheme in the city centre, which has become one of the most popular destinations in the city.

AH

Hello Virtuoso,

Believe it or not this street is a popular parking spot every single day of the year, including Christmas Day. Without restrictions, residents and their visitors would not be able to park in Sackville Gardens. That is why the majority of residents were in favour of the current scheme.

AH

Why has my previous question been ignored? I have only asked why parking charges are so totally comprehensive and insensitive to seasonal and time-of-day factors. Charging for 365 days of the year up to 8 pm is just pointlessly brutal - unless you just want to raise maximum revenues.

Sir, why do you and your attendants continue to ignore the parking infringements that occur on a daily basis on the yellow lined area around the junctions of Robertson, Kingsley and Hemostat Roads in Brighton?

tom hodges

Dear Tom,

Many thanks for this information, our parking wardens routinely patrol all controlled parking zones and junctions with waiting restrictions. The sort of selfish and potentially illegal parking that you are talking about really highlights why in some areas we need controlled parking schemes. What we are trying to do is keep the city moving safely, which benefits both visitors to the city and people who live here.

We’ll investigate the particular junctions you’ve highlighted.

AH

Hi

Can you please tell me why the traffic lights are not vehicle acttivated. I drive a taxi in Brighton and I dread to think how much polution we are pumping out while we are waiting for the lights to go through their phase even when there are no vehicles needing a green light. one of the worse junction's being St.Peters area

john avey

You raise a very important point about the need to reduce congestion and pollution. That is why at least half of our traffic signals are vehicle activated and linked to a central control centre. We are investigating further extension of this technology to keep traffic moving and the city’s air as clean as possible.

AH

OK. Our email messages crossed. However, I've never seen proof that "the majority of residents" ARE in favour of the scheme as it has been implemented and after the facts. Perhaps you are referring to us residents saying we were in favour of the scheme before it was implemented and before every aspect of its implementation was fully detailed to us? We don't like some of its terms of use nor the horrible signage that has disfigured our street.

Are there any plans to either increase the size of motorcycle bays or the number of motorcycle bays in the city centre?

With more and more people using motorcycles and in particular scooters instead of cars and where riding a bicycle is not really a practicle thing when going to work (you don't want to get all hot & steamy before you start a shift,) finding a space is ever increasingly more difficult.

Neil Smith

Thank you for raising this question. We recognise that a significant number of people in this city do use motorcycles and so we look for opportunities to provide additional motorcycle parking whenever we introduce new schemes or review existing ones.

AH

How can Brighton & Hove Council continue to endorse the exorbitant fees imposed by Brighton & Hove Bus Company? The single fees are almost double that of London! As a council supposedly committed to environmental issues you are simply forcing more people from the buses into their cars.

Mitch Harrison

Brighton & Hove Buses have a really important part to play in creating a sustainable transport system in the city and offering a good service, which is a viable alternative to the car. Whilst we work very closely with them on the services they provide, we do not control or set the price of fares.

AH

Hello Mr Hunter, I have had to pay 2 parking fines in Brighton because I could not work out what the parking notice said. One was in Gardner St where the notice reads 'STREET MARKET 7am TO 5pm EVERY SATURDAY. PLEASE DO NOT OBSTRUCT PITCHES and another sign underneath that says 'LOADING ONLY'. I and 3 other adults, including a house owner in Gardner Road, understood that to mean you must not park between 7am and 5pm on Saturday as there is a market. Having a Bachelors Degree in Education and being a Systems Manager in a global IT outsoucing firm I am obviously not bright enough, nor any of my similarly educated friends, to realise this really means 'NO PARKING AT ANY TIME UNLESS LOADING'. Why doesn't it say so? I am English born man going back centuries - I do understand the language - God help the tourists which your department thrive off no doubt.

The other ticket I received was closer to the Adur swimming baths. The parking notice reads, 'PERMIT HOLDERS ONLY 10 - 11 am 7 - 8pm'. Which I stupidly interpreted along with my wife who teaches at a local school that I could park freely outside of those times; but NO - apparently this means something completely different in 'Council Speak' and I received a ticket at mid day. If you want to make people feel your department are not just out to steal people's money by deception why not get The Campaign for Clear English' or perhaps someone over the age of 18 to write Brighton's parking notices?

Alan McThredder

Thanks for your questions Alan,

Any signs that are displayed must be strictly in accordance with the parking restrictions. Every effort is made to make these signs as clear as possible and they also need to be legally enforceable.

If you feel we’ve issued a ticket inappropriately there is a clear and transparent appeals process explained on the ticket. The procedure is also on the council’s website at www.brighton-hove.go
v.uk.

AH

In city centres like Brighton and Hove there is enormous pressure on parking which far exceeds available space. Without controls, quite frankly, there would be dangerous parking and heavy congestion. So we need a system which allows turnover of spaces so that there is a fair opportunity to park for residents, visitors and businesses.

However, in the outskirts of the city where demand is lower and where residents haven’t specifically requested parking restrictions it is still possible to park for free.

AH

Why do some people have to pay for parking permits in the city centre, while others can park on their roads for free?

Patsy

In city centres like Brighton and Hove there is enormous pressure on parking which far exceeds available space. Without controls, quite frankly, there would be dangerous parking and heavy congestion. So we need a system which allows turnover of spaces so that there is a fair opportunity to park for residents, visitors and businesses.

However, in the outskirts of the city where demand is lower and where residents haven’t specifically requested parking restrictions it is still possible to park for free.

AH