Leave the Roamer alone, it’s good for our business

Published: 15 April, 2011

• I READ with disappointment your report of the Greens once again trying to impose their will on the majority of residents (Greens want to drive the Roamer out, April 8). They say they want the Roamer parking scheme dropped on the grounds that it encourages car use, which increases congestion and air pollution.

This highly popular scheme is a small extra concession for resident permit holders for just four hours in the middle of the day to allow them to visit friends or family or carry out errands, without the hassle of avoiding parking fines.  

It’s also, dare I say it, beneficial to the economy of the borough, giving people the opportunity to visit more local shops instead of driving out of the borough altogether. The traders of Highbury Barn have certainly felt the benefit of it in recent weeks. 

Its effect on congestion, air pollution and road safety is virtually non-existent. Once again, the Greens hold themselves up as guardians of the quality of life when in truth they are opposed not to car use but to car ownership. They contradict themselves by saying this scheme is socially divisive and should be extended to residents of estates; maybe the council should consider including them, but it should be borne in mind that resident parking permits have to be paid for.

The vast majority of car owners in Islington are eminently sensible in how they use their cars and where they park them. They do not need to be dictated to by this small but militant group giving them yet another lesson in good citizenship. I sincerely hope the council will not listen to them and will leave things as they are.

DANNY MICHELSON
La Fromagerie
Highbury Park, N5

• AS a resident on a council estate I have to buy a parking permit. Permits do not cost pennies, so to give me a few hours in the day to park anywhere in Islington is a small concession for subsidising other projects which I am sure my parking permit money is spent on.  

I am not one of those wealthy people who can go and have a cappuccino. As I work, the limited time of the day that I can park will only benefit me during my school holidays. 

The unlimited vouchers, however, can be purchased by anyone, even those who do not own a car or those who live on a council estate. 

Why is everyone so jealous of other people all the time. Why don’t they just enjoy our borough for a change and let some of us who pay our taxes have a little something back. 

JANET WOODEN
Highbury Quadrant, N5

• COUNCILLOR Paul Smith, Islington Council’s member for the environment, accuses the Green Party of ignoring the role of the council in making Islington a better place simply because we oppose his residents’ Roamer policy.  

It may, then, come as a surprise to Cllr Smith to learn that the Green Party shares the council’s desire to improve the borough. Part of our vision for Islington includes reducing congestion on our roads, reducing the vehicle pollution that contributes to approximately 100 premature deaths a year in Islington alone, reducing our climate change emissions and making our roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

By contrast, Cllr Smith’s Roamer scheme will make all of these worse. What we need from him in future, I think, is a more considered and inclusive approach to policy making. Then things really might get better.

NICK JACK 
Islington Green Party, N7