Letter to the Argus 29th June 2004:
Lib Dem Councillor Paul
Elgood’s article on transport (The
Argus 29 June) is just typical of the party who will never be in power.
As all they can do is limply pass the decision making onto someone else,
we can all be thankful for that. Yes
we should all cycle more. But not
sure how we do this with children and heavy shopping bags, or travelling in from
outside Brighton. Yes we could all
say lets have a park and ride scheme – that is obvious, but is only a very
small part of the solution. Given
Cllr Elgood had a whole page to come up with imaginative ideas, is this really
the best he could do?
There is no doubt the congestion
and lack of parking in Brighton and Hove is costing businesses in the city dear.
Something that is completely lost on Labour and Lib Dem politicians.
Traffic
queues are partly as a result of the total failure to provide adequate parking
or realistic alternatives, clogging up the roads with people looking for
somewhere to park. A seaside resort
such as Brighton and Hove, relies heavily on tourist trade. The cities business need people to be spending money in
shops, restaurants and bars, not driving round looking for somewhere to park.
Due to the Lib Dems and Labour Party’s anti-car policies Brighton and
Hove is losing possibly million of pounds, as day trippers and holiday makers
will understandably not come back once they have experienced the chaos and
shambles of having no where to park their car.
Along with the excessive number of
parking tickets being given out – wardens issued 161,000 fines during 2002/03
– this city streets are frequently grid-locked.
It is high time that Labour and Lib
Dems end their war on motorists. Driving
a car for the vast majority of people is a necessity not a luxury.
In order to make a difference a radical approach is required.
Let motorist’s use bus lanes in the evening, underground parking like
in Regency Square would go along way to ease parking problems, and a fair and
even handed fines process should be in place.
Only then will getting from A to B via the quickest most direct route be
possible.