I hope The Argus will highlight the local issues which really matter to its readers now the local election campaigns are getting underway.

Chief among these for many of us is parking. I have train and bus services nearby but they go to only a limited number of destinations and often not to the places I want to visit.

So I take my car. I have traded down and I'm looking into buying a hybrid but it's unrealistic to think the majority can do without cars with the way modern towns and cities are laid out.

Most of my friends have to travel a considerable distance to work.

And councils such as Brighton and Hove are making the journey harder with so-called road improvements and are artificially limiting parking too.

The result is that people like me end up driving round for ages looking for a space, adding to the queues and increasing pollution.

It's not a green solution.

The local buses are generally quite good but the current Brighton and Hove City Council administration is punishing drivers even though they've done nothing wrong.

And as for the parking wardens, they enforce the rules harshly and disproportionately.

If the opposition parties can offer constructive and credible alternatives, it could be time for a change.

  • J Matthews, Buckingham Road, Brighton