Anger as council drives up cost of parking again

By MICHAEL BLACKLEY
Published on Friday 10 February 2012 15:56

PARKING charges are set to soar in some of Edinburgh’s busiest city centre streets, it emerged today.

That represents an inflation-busting 7.7 per cent increase on the £2.60 currently charged and means that the fee has increased by more than 55 per cent in the last four years.

Meanwhile, busy New Town and Stockbridge streets will see an even greater increase, with the hourly charge in the area between Northumberland Street, St Stephen Street and Royal Crescent rising by 12.5 per cent to £1.80.

Motoring groups and businesses say that the increases could force people to stay away from the city centre, causing more pain for retailers already struggling in the downturn.

City leaders, however, insist that the measure is designed to encourage people to park on quieter streets in the city centre, where charges will be frozen.

Josh Miller, chairman of the George Street Association, said: “They are not doing anything to increase or facilitate better parking in the city centre and all they do is put prices up.

“People do like to bring their car into the city so putting prices up is not the answer.

“There does not appear to be an integrated plan that supports people bringing their car into town and encouraging them to shop in the centre.”

Neil Greig, director of policy at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, added: “This seems counter-intuitive as they are the most popular streets because people want to go there.

“They may kill the geese that lay the golden egg. If you try to stop people parking where they want to you do risk making it more difficult for them to go into town at a time when businesses are already struggling.”

On-street parking on the busiest city-centre streets such as George Street increased by 60p per hour last April, meaning that the successive rises will have put prices up by 40 per cent in little over a year.

Charges in areas including the West End, Tollcross and Fountainbridge will remain frozen at £2 per hour, while the charge for the Old Town, the area between Shandwick Place and Morrison Street, Stafford Street and Melville Street will remain at £2.20 an hour.

Councillor Gordon Mackenzie, the city’s transport leader, said: “Overall, in net terms, it is a below-inflation increase but we are focusing charges in areas that there is demand.”

Residential parking permit costs will also rise by five per cent.

Other price rises, revealed as part of the council’s final budget for 2012/13, include a 3.2 per cent increase in the cost of additional nursery school hours, to £3.92 and a £4 increase in the cost of grass-cutting in the garden aid scheme. The cost of hiring council venues, holding events on public land and applying for licences will also rise at rates similar to inflation.

City finance leader Councillor Phil Wheeler said: “We have managed to try to hold most things to an inflationary basis. It is appropriate that users should pay a bit more for these services to ensure we can continue to supply these services.”

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41

Frenchman

Monday, February 13, 2012 at 10:10 AM

Hello Edinburgh, why do you all want to park in George Street? Just park a couple of blocks further downhill and there's plenty of parking space. A bit of a walk is good for your cardiovascular stystem, too.

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40

Accept No Nonsense

Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 10:16 PM

#39 May have escaped your notice but your on an Edinburgh newspaper site. UK. Not USA! Great to hear you LA memories but the bottom line here is relevance. Your tripe from the land of the yanks is irrelevance. Save your daft gun balls for another time.

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39

SlyFifer

Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 12:23 PM

Parking options where I used to live outside LA. 25cents, a quarter for 20 minutes on the street, Been that rate for 20 years unchanged. Option, park round the corner from the shops in the free multi storey car park. All the years there I never saw anyone get a parking ticket. The traffic Wardens, such as they were, were more like tourist guides than blue meanies. Have to reflect though that if Edinburgh's traffic wardens were let loose on the streets of LA they would probably survive just a few hours before being shot !.

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38

Hazelkaye

Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 09:25 AM

Far too much parking in the centre of Edinburgh as it is - esp on George Street

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37

Snoopy1

Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 08:04 AM

#Tartancult,the word you where after is EXPOTEDIENTLY,totally agree,it is just another way to screw the good people of the City of Edinburgh,and to take there minds of the Tram debacle by inflicting some more pain as a distraction.

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36

flyinngscott

Friday, February 10, 2012 at 07:06 PM

"City finance leader Councillor Phil Wheeler said: “We have managed to try to hold most things to an inflationary basis. It is appropriate that users should pay a bit more for these services to ensure we can continue to supply these services" What services? Parking charges were introduced to pay for wardens to keep the traffic flowing. These increases can only be seen a revenue generating exercise, with a profit making company enforcing. The way they hover around the sick kids, waiting to pounce on any unfortunate who has more important matters on their minds is disgusting.

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35

Snoopy1

Friday, February 10, 2012 at 06:45 PM

This is the ECC at its best,a bunch money grabbing wasters,they are screwing the motorist with one hand,and killing of business in the city centre with the other,that is why at the elections in May the voters are going to give them there verdict on there manegment of the City of Edinburgh. Just remember the story in the EEN just the other week about Stevie Boy Cardownie and his parking of his big German car at the city chambers illegally along with an other councilors BMW,it is one set of rules for them,and ripping of the voters of Edinburgh for the rest. Just look at the state of the roads in the city,full of potholes,so where is all the money gone,as we have to pay three times,polltax,roadtax,and parking tax.

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34

Accept No Nonsense

Friday, February 10, 2012 at 06:21 PM

Great news. The less car driving goats we see in Edinburgh the better.

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33

Tartancult

Friday, February 10, 2012 at 06:18 PM

You are all missing the point here. Council are increasing the cost of parking so that less vehicles will use the centre of the city. As a result, to make up the lost revenue, council will increase the cost of parking which will result in less vehicles so they will then raise the costs, ad infinitum. There is a mathematical term for this...

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32

franklymrshankly

Friday, February 10, 2012 at 06:11 PM

And what Jasbar would you have suggested city centre retailers did when the council were tearing Edinburgh apart?

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31

One-man-bucket's older twin

Friday, February 10, 2012 at 06:00 PM

Mmario Antoinette - what planet do you live on? City centre shops certainly don't sell mainly what city-dwellers want. How many CDs, DVDs, computer games, mobiles, and how much tartan tat do you think the average household can use? If you can afford the prices in Harvey Nicks and the designer shops in George Street, you might find it worthwhile shopping in the city centre, otherwise you need a car to get to the Gyle, Fort Kinnaird, Crewe Toll or the Almondvale, (or the supermarket, to get your groceries) where you can also park free. When I was a student living in Thistle Street in the Jurassic period, I did all my shopping in the centre (on foot). There was a good greengrocers, a butchers and a fish shop all opposite each other in Dundas Street, and you could get your other stuff in the groceries in Littlewoods and BHS. Once the trams are up and running, and crosstown buses are axed to force us onto the trams, city folk will need a car to do their weekly shop if they don't want to have to make multiple changes to get there and get home.

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30

franklymrshankly

Friday, February 10, 2012 at 05:54 PM

Is there a sweepstake going on at Edinburgh council to see how many businesses they can destroy by their sheer stupidity?

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29

jasbar

Friday, February 10, 2012 at 05:43 PM

Greedy incompetent council scumbags. I hope all the numpties who support the trams are happy with this latest tax on Edinburghers. Personally I wouldn't go near the city centre with a bargepole. With the internet and shopping in other towns and cities that don't extrort visitors, they will get my business. And city centre retailers deserve all they get for not protesting about this council robbery. What makes me laugh is that is that the same SNP numpties who want us to hand them the keys to control the whole nation.

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28

Mario Antoinette

Friday, February 10, 2012 at 05:39 PM

27 they dont kill the shops, the shops adapt to sell things city dwellers need. Jesus.

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27

Dragonlord

Friday, February 10, 2012 at 05:14 PM

Increased parking charges means increase in blue badge misuse. Hope they are going to clamp down on illegal badges and those who use someone else's badge................................................................................................................By increasing parking ( or charging anything at all) they kill off the shops, killing the shops means no revenue and less people in the town center. How can that help the ecconomy ?

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