News | Transport
downsmail.co.uk Charges driving us out of town
CAR parking charges are set to bemassively increased under plans byMaidstone BoroughCouncil. Ticket prices are set to soar in off-
street sites, such as King Street, Lockmeadow, Medway Street and PalaceAvenue. Some
charges, including
overnight tariffs, will remain un- changed – and in some cases, espe- cially in one hour charges, there will be aminor reduction. But the biggest hikes are in the
changes for up to a three hour stay. At King Street, this price leaps
from £2.50 to £3.90, at Palace Av- enue £2.50 to £3.75 and Lock- meadow £2.50 to £3.30. We have outlined a sample of the changes in the table below. Marden borough councillor
David Burton, opposed to the rise in charges, said: “Money comes intoMaidstone on fourwheels and that shopper keeps the town alive.” Ukip borough councillor Eddie
Powell said: “This is absolutemad-
ness.Thebiggestpricehikes applyto the very people, shoppers, youwant to be parking here. “The charges are far too expensive
as it is. If the M&S application at Eclipse Park goes through, people will go there instead.” The owner ofWeek Street restau-
rantMuMu,CiaranO’Quigley, said: “Maidstone can only take so many blows before it gets knocked down. We need to find ways of attracting people intothe towncentre,notdriv-
Current charges
Up to 1 Hour Up to 3 Hours Up to 4 Hours
ing themto places where parking is
free.Howmanymore nails does the councilwant to hammer in?” Conservative county councillor
Gary Cooke accused the council of imposing the controversial policy of “modal shift” contained in the Local Plan through the price hikes. Modal shiftwouldencourage resi-
What it will cost to park in the town centre Off-street
Revised charges
parking place King Street Car Park
£1.50 Up to 1 Hour £2.50 Up to 3 Hours £4.00 Up to 4 Hours
Palace Avenue Car Park Up to 3 Hours Up to 4 Hours
Medway Street
Up to 3 Hours Up to 4 Hours
Wheeler Street Brewer Street (East)
Up to 1 Hour Up to 3 Hours Up to 4 Hours
Mote Road Mill Street
Lockmeadow
Up to 3 Hours Up to 4 Hours
Up to 1 Hour Up to 3 Hours Up to 4 Hours Up to 5 Hours Over 5 Hours
4 £4.00 Up to 4 Hours
£1.50 Up to 1 Hour £2.50 Up to 3 Hours £4.00 Up to 4 Hours
£1.30 £3.90 £5.20
Evening/Overnight £2.00 Evening/Overnight £2.00 £2.50 Up to 3 Hours
£3.75 £5.00
Evening/Overnight £2.00 Evening/Overnight £2.00 Up to 1 Hour
£1.25 £3.75 £5.00
Evening/Overnight £2.00 Evening/Overnight £2.00 Up to 30Minutes £0.50 Up to 30Minutes £0.60
£1.00 Up to 1 Hour £2.50 Up to 3 Hours £3.50 Up to 4 Hours
£1.00 Up to 1 Hour £2.50 Up to 3 Hours £3.50 Up to 4 Hours
£1.10 £3.30 £4.40
Evening/Overnight £2.00 Evening/Overnight £2.00 Up to 1 Hour
£1.00 £3.00 £4.00
Evening/Overnight £2.00 Evening/Overnight £2.00 £1.00 Up to 1 Hour
£2.50 Up to 3 Hours £3.50 Up to 4 Hours £5.00 Up to 5 Hours £6.50 Over 5 Hours
Maidstone Weald March 2018
£1.10 £3.30 £4.40 £5.50 £7.00
dents to walk, cycle or take public transport when there is an antici- patedsurge intrafficvolumes as a re- sult of 17,600 new homes contained in the Local Plan. Cllr Cooke added: “I suspect the
council is using parking charges to try and compel motorists to leave their cars at home and use public transport. “There needs to be a better recog-
nition withinMBC that modal shift will only ever account for very small improvement in traffic congestion.” A spokesman for MBC said:
“Changes in the tariff are designed to promote migration from high demand car parks in the town cen- tre to outer zone car parks and Park & Ride whilstmeeting the existing commitments in the integrated transport strategy and the low emissions strategy by minimising unnecessary car journeys into the centre ofMaidstone.” The consulation for the new
parking charges ended on March 12.
Have your say WHY not express your opinion about the car parking charges by voting in our online poll. The survey asks the ques-
tion: Is Maidstone Borough Council right to propose price increases to off-street parking? Visit
http://www.downs-
mail.co.uk/views/7/
What the council said on increase
in parking costs WE posed these questions to Maidstone Borough Council about the increased parking charges with the responses below:
Q – Will there be a public meet- ing/exhibition?
A – Tariff changes require a varia- tion to the off-street traffic regu- lation order and this is carried out as part of a legal processwhich re- quires the council to advertise the changes as part of a statutory consultation process. The results of the statutory consultation are fed back to members before im- plementation or variation. There is no requirement for a
publicmeeting or exhibition in this case.
Q – Howmuch extra revenuewill be raised, based on the current usage?
A – Accurate forecasts are difficult. However, current estimates iden- tify an increase in revenue be- tween £54,000 and £198,000.
Q – How will the extra money generated be spent?
A – Close monitoring of car park usage and incomewill be fed back to members to make the final de- cision.
downsmail.co.uk people
OUR online report about the pro- posed rise in parking charges prompted these responses on our Facebook page... Bridget Simmonds: No wonder don't
want to go into Maidstone. The traffic is awful, the parking is notmuch better, it's hideously ex- pensive
and
when I was in town the other week,
it was
filthy. The new M&S will result in more people not going into town Gloria Taylor-Petts: Bluewater be-
comes somuchmore appealing ! PaulWooding: After (the borough
council elelctions) on May 3, there has to be a serious shake up at MBC. Does anyone calculate what long-term effects Maidstone will suffer fromwith these crazy ideas? LindaWeeks:Well, we'll just have
to go to Canterbury more often then! A lovely city with a great Park&Ride. Maidstone will become a ghost town before long at this rate.
Transport |News Parking: you have your say Geraldine Liston: The council is ru-
ining the town. The power is in the next local elections (on May 3) so use your vote wisely . Frazer Hopper: Don't care, rather go to Bluewater shopping anyway. And free to park at Rochester for the cinema, and restaurant and also at Hemp- stead valley. Lian Bennett:
Hempstead valley is free parking, so is
Bluewater.
Maidstone coun- cil's greed will be
its downfall in the end and sad to say the shops will suffer, too. Steve de Wiggondene-Sheppard:
Maidstone Borough Council is led by the Liberal Democrats. Wake up to this when you vote inMay. John Hannam: This does not add
up. Bus prices are equally ridiculous and the buses finish at 6pm. It just seems to be a way to close out the town Si Borny: Joke. Jackie Colwell: Tumbleweed. RIP
Maidstone for being so greedy and having no forward planning.
Leaders in truce over relief road
SQUABBLING leaders of the county and borough authorities claim to have buried their differ- ences over the south Maidstone relief road at a peace summit or- ganised byMPs Helen Grant and HelenWhately. Kent County Council (KCC)
leader PaulCarter (Con) andMaid- stone Borough Council (MBC) chief Fran Wilson (Lib Dem) met on February 2. The leaders and officers fromthe
authorities agreed to co-operate on a feasibility study to identify whether a Leeds-Langley by-pass would reduce congestion. The study would be carried out
by external consultants, a point seizedon by relief roadcampaigner, county councillor Gary Cooke. Several months ago, he an-
nounced the start of exploratory surveys with initial reports to be delivered to the parishes affected by the relief roadwhen completed. Cllr Cooke said: “While I am
happy to see a spirit of co-opera- tion breaking out, I am mindful that this only comes about after KCC…has already committed to
undertaking the feasibility work and commissioned contractors to performtheworks. “We should alsowelcome the ex-
pertise ofMBC as the planning au- thority
in providing that
perspective. I would...hope that this will also mean a real recogni- tion of the difficulties that mitiga- tion can present and, consequently, MBCwill bemore accepting of the need to apply planning constraints in south-eastMaidstone.” The meeting was delayed for
months as the pair exchanged frosty letters detailing their historic positions on the relief road. Cllr FranWilson, leader ofMBC,
said: “The differences of opinion arose primarily due to some mis- understanding over the respective roles of KCC as highways author- ity andMBCas planning authority. “Hopefully, these issues have
been resolved and we can move forward in an equal partnership for the benefit of all the people of this borough.” MP Mrs Whately said she was
“delighted” to bring the two sides together.
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