Islington Council: Give our ‘roamer’ parking idea a chance
Town Hall leader says it allows more people to enjoy café culture
Published: 28th January, 2011
by PETER GRUNER
TOWN HALL leader Councillor Catherine West stepped into the row over the controversial new parking regime this week by appealing to residents: “Please, let’s see how it works before you start opposing it.”
In an exclusive interview, she argued that, rather than threatening a parking “free-for-all”, the scheme will give more people who cannot use public transport easily, including mothers with babies, the elderly and disabled, the freedom to get around the borough.
The plan, being introduced next week, for the first time allows residents to claim unlimited visitor parking vouchers and gives permit holders the freedom to park in any Islington residential bay for up to four hours.
The scheme has been widely criticised, particularly in Archway, where actors Juliet Stevenson and Bill Paterson have led the opposition, and Highbury, where newspaper columnist Peter Oborne has voiced his concerns.
The council’s anti-fraud officials will patrol the Emirates Stadium on match days amid fears that a black market in visitor permits will emerge, but critics warn that abuse of the system will be impossible to control. Cllr West said: “With our four-hour ‘roamer' scheme people can enjoy Islington’s wonderful café and restaurant culture, and help small businesses, while not worrying about a parking warden.
“If you have an elderly aunt who can’t use a bus, pick her up in your car, park on a residential bay and take her to lunch.”
The scheme has been seen as a “sweetener” for drivers whose parking permit fees have increased, in some cases doubling.
However, residents living near the Emirates Stadium, Tube and mainline stations and shopping centres fear their parking bays, which they pay for annually, will be used by other motorists.
Unlimited visitor vouchers – in place of the existing allocation of 10 a year – are open to abuse, according to critics of the scheme. And the “roamer” scheme, allowing parking in any residential bay between 11am and 3pm, could mean residents losing their space when they might need it most.
Cllr West said she could understand the concerns but felt they were misplaced. “First, the ‘roamer’ scheme is only for Islington residents,” the Labour leader said. “There won’t be a stampede from other boroughs. We recognise that fuel is expensive and parking permits are not cheap. Therefore, we wanted to give residents something back.
“It will provide the opportunity for carers or people with babies who want to pop out in the car and see a relative or a friend. We want them to make more use of local cafés and shops. Not everyone is able to use public transport.”
As for unlimited visitor vouchers, Cllr West said the scheme would be carefully monitored. “We can monitor who purchases the vouchers,” she said. “When people purchase them they have to show where they live.
“If we feel certain residents are buying large numbers we will be able to ask them why they are buying so many.
“We want Islington residents to feel this is their borough and this is a special scheme for them. If there are problems when the scheme is launched we want people to let us know. It will be closely monitored and we will deal with any problems as we find them.”