Car parks forum comments

Use this forum if you have any questions or comments about car parks or on street parking .

Should you wish to contribute, please use the following email: parkingforum@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

Subject: Parking Fees
Date: 6 June 2009
Comment: I am very annoyed that I had to pay £1.10 to park when visiting the post office (Slindon Street branch), I had a very large parcel so had to drive but in total my car was in a pretty much empty street for 13minutes. 13 minutes!!!  But I had to pay for an hour and got charged £1.10.
 
I pay about £240 for road tax each year, that covers all the roads I should wish to use!  If parking is a problem in that area then SHORT stays should not be penalised!  Portsmouth could at the very least, offer a free ticket for 30 minutes or even if it was 10p for 30 minutes to cover the ticket then I wouldn't be annoyed.  It would be good if Portsmouth council thought of it's people from time to time, almost like a courtesy and not just taking our money from every possible angle, seriously what on earth do you do with it all??
 
So based on £1.10 for 60 minutes of parking @ £0.02 per minute my stay of 13 minutes would cost £0.24, I have thus over paid by the amount of £0.86, how do I go about claiming that back?  And will you be changing the machines to allow for very short stays?

JH

Response: The fee's charged at all Portsmouth City Council parking areas are those decided at the council's budget setting meeting in February of each year. The charges made by the council are we feel very competitive with private car parks and are substantially cheaper than many places along the south coast. We have no plans currently to change the minimum charging period.
 
The fees set out on the tariff board at each pay and display machine make clear the charges that are available, we do not give refunds for time purchased but not used.
 
The issue of vehicle tax causes a lot of confusion. Vehicle Excise Duty is a central government tax that gives the owner of a taxed vehicle the right to (subject to other criteria such as MOT, driving licence, insurance) drive and use the highway. It specifically does not allow someone to stop their vehicle on the highway, that is controlled by the local authority for the highway except in the case of trunk routes and motorways. The local authority may allow people to stop on the highway and are at liberty to limit the time or times someone can stop and make a charge for so doing. All charges and limitations of stopping on the highway must go through a legal process of public consultation in advance of any limit or fee being imposed.
 
The surplus made by the parking service is used for the benefit of all Portsmouth taxpayers and once expenses to do with parking goes in to the central fund.  This ultimately relieves the burden on the taxpayer in lower council tax bills than may otherwise be required.

Subject: Motorcycle Parking
Date: 30 November 2008
Comment: I know there are some motorcycle parking spaces in car parks in Portsmouth, but they don't seem to get any mention on your website. There is no mention of on street parking for motorcycles either.

IF - Portsmouth

 

Response: A number of Portsmouth City Council Car Parks have specifically marked bays for motorcycles, these being Ashby Place, Clarence Pier, Seafront D-Day, Guildhall Walk, Greetham Street, The Harbour, London Road and Seafront The Esplanade.  In addition to this, motorcycles are able to park free of charge in all Portsmouth City Council Car Parks as long as the vehicle is parked completely within a marked bay.

Parking is also free for motorcycles in all on-street pay and display areas and motorcycles can be parked for as long as required in Residents Parking Zones.  However, motorcycles must adhere to the restrictions in non-permitted limited waiting bays and cannot park on double or single yellow lines, in taxi ranks, bus stops, disabled bays or loading bays.

Subject: Pay and Display Tickets
Date: 27/09/2008
Comment: I recently had a Penalty Charge Notice for parking in St George’s Square. I successfully appealed this notice as I had a valid pay and display ticket.

I can only assume that as the pay and display ticket was not sticky that when we left the ticket on the windscreen it was blown off when we shut the car door. I would therefore like to suggest that you change your pay and display tickets to sticky backed ones on the windscreen so as to avoid this problem and the consequent costs involved in issuing Penalty Charge Notices and dealing with appeals.

D Thurgood - Portsmouth

Response: Portsmouth City Council currently uses several different types of tickets due to the different meter types in use. The type of meter you used was a solar powered pay and display meter which can not use sticky back tickets as the meters do not have heaters to keep the tickets dry and the option to add a heater is not available.

As the option to add a heater to this type of pay and display meter is not available the onus is on the customer to ensure that the ticket is secured correctly.

Subject: The Harbour Car Park
Date: 23/07/2008
Comment: I’m writing to query the justification for overnight car parking in the Harbour Car Park in Havant Street. Up until this week it has been free overnight (7pm to 7am) but now we must pay to use it. Myself like many others commuter over from the Isle of Wight everyday and leave their car in Portsmouth due to the high charges for using the Car Ferry (£60 per day) hence we have always used the Harbour Car Park as the majority of users arrive after 7pm and leave before 7am.

This car park is always very quiet overnight and it means we do not have to take up vaulable residents parking elsewhere but now that charges are being applied overnight (£8 per night) it has forced us to start using free residents car parking spaces elsewhere.

I could understand the charges if the car park was constantly full but on examination again this morning at 6am it was practically empty so therefore could this decision be reviewed and free overnight parking reinstated. I know we can now park on the road overnight for free on certain roads around this car park but cars are constantly being broken into here due to their isolation and poor street lighting.

CG - Portsmouth

Response: The charges that have now increased to 24-hour charging was a decision taken by the Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation. Income from City Council owned car parks is an important revenue stream for the city Council that goes to reliving in some way the burden on the taxpayer. It is felt that the provision of parking should be paid for by those that use it, rather than the burden on council tax.

To enable a change in City Council charges you will need to contact a ward councillor who if they agree with you may then suggest such a change to the Cabinet Member. It is a decision taken by elected members and not officers of the City Council. You can contact elected members by using the link below: -

http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/yourcouncil/1121.html

Subject: Car Park Tariffs
Date: 04/04/2008
Comment: How do you work out your rates you charge for car parks charges. And is it in line with the rate of inflation. As I find them to be over priced in certain areas, and also it is one way to put off shoppers spending there money.

Unknown - Portsmouth

Response: Car park tariffs in Portsmouth are set by the elected members of the City Council. The tariffs set are competitive in comparison to other major tourist resorts along the south coast.

The Executive Member for Traffic and Transportation has promised not to increase charges until at least April 2009. The charges can change due to us needing to set charges at appropriate levels for the local area. This is to balance parking supply and demand, taking account of transport strategies and the economic viability of commercial centres. Other than that our charges do rise in line with inflation.