Created: 04 Oct 2005
For reasons too boring to explore further, I have the car up here in London this week and this means finding somewhere to park. I can’t park anywhere near where I live, as it is all restricted parking and I don’t have a permit. To get one, the car would have to be registered here. Camden’s website has a helpful section on visitors’ parking permits which can be obtained for the princely sum of £5.25 per day . A maximum of ten per year are allowed and the permits have an expiry date.
Of course, these things should be limited in numbers and be charged for, or the streets would be jammed with the cars of commuters. But, what on earth is the point of the expiry date? Surely just an inconvenience to residents and a means of securing more revenue. I think £5.25 is pretty steep too. Let’s bear in mind that the people who buy these permits are probably not habitual vehicle users and may need to park their cars near their homes on handful of occasions per year (like me). Perhaps they have responsibly decided to be members of a car sharing club, or to hire a car as and when they need it only. This sort of car use should be encouraged, but instead Camden are making it more difficult and more expensive. More difficult by ensuring that their residents need to either use or remember to refund their visitors’ parking permits in one year, while those with residents’ permits can park whenever they like. More expensive by charging £52.50 for 10 days parking versus £90 for one year’s parking.
So anyway, it turns out that the cheapest way to park is to drive from my flat to Wembley Park station, park the car for £2.50 per day and get the tube back home. However, not having enough change, I only paid for two days and went back tonight to top it up. Putting in enough for one day, I was surprised to see that it only allowed me to park until 2am tomorrow morning, so I have to wait until midnight to top up the parking again. That’s the first machine I’ve seen that works on strict calendar days and it’s a right pain.
Net result of Camden’s policy? four extra car journeys and four extra tube journeys.