THE dictat from County Hall vis a vis parking meters is horrendous. Living out of town, as we and many others do, we have to drive to town for shopping and other services.
We already pay enormously in council tax for the privilege of living in West Devon and away from the town there is very little provided for the money.
Frequently when visiting town the free parking is already occupied when we arrive, so all our town centre shopping carries an additional tax. We are even being forced to utilise the car parks of supermarkets away from the town centre which serves nobody except the shareholders of the supermarkets.
County Hall should forget about parking meters, one of the most effective systems in use is the disc parking scheme. This offers free parking for limited times, a cardboard disc is displayed in the car windscreen which the driver sets with his arrival time. Any stay over the permitted period or setting the disc with the incorrect arrival time can result in a sharp penalty. Result: free parking, and free traffic flow, costs involved being minimal, a few signs on streets indicating the period permitted parking and a few thousand reusable cardboard discs, the latter could be sold to zeroise the cost of production to the council.
As it is I have a parking disc obtained in Harrogate about 25 years ago and has proved very useful in areas where such sensible schemes already exist, sadly not in Devon.
M A Harding
Stowford Old Rectory
Lewdown
YET again Devon County Council has come up with a scheme that nobody wants! Surely councillors should be looking to serve the people and not running roughshod over them (although in my experience this is par for the course).
The installation of parking meters in Tavistock will drive people away from our beautiful town and many businesses, already finding things difficult with the recession, will not survive.
This is yet another example of the county council being totally out of touch with reality. Our town council says it has not been consulted, (a notice in the local paper does not constitute a consultation), so surely this decision is not legal?
Leave Tavistock alone, we do not want parking meters!
Peter Young
Tavistock resident
I AM the Bannawell Street Residents' representative on the Tavistock Parking Focus Group which meets quarterly to discuss parking issues in Tavistock.
One topic which is regularly discussed is the growing problem of large numbers of 'town-workers' who park in town centre residential streets without any consideration for the inconvenience caused to residents.
The problem which has existed in Bannawell Street, Lakeside and Taylor Square for many years is on the increase and is experienced as far afield as Down Road.
Unfortunately, in the town centre residential areas, many residents don't have the luxury of off-street parking!
Town centre residents generally don't have a problem with shoppers who might park for an hour or so, but 'all day' parking from before 8am until after 6pm makes their lives unbearable.
Local residents have been campaigning for many years for 'residents' parking' in town centre streets, only to be told by county that such a scheme, similar to that which has existed for many years in Old Exeter Road, would only be introduced in association with on-street pay and display.
Jeff Moody
Bannawell Street
Tavistock Parking Focus Group residents' representative