Lovely Rita, meter maid…
Morley has a new parking scheme. Our biggest car park (Queensway) gets busy at times and teeters on the edge of fullness on Saturdays. All parking in Morley is free, apart from one small car park belonging to a shop that has a pay & display scheme with refunds for Customers.
So, our burghers decided to improve things. Did they look at removing yellow lines on some little used side streets in order to create more parking spaces? No. They decided to introduce three hour limits on the lower half of the Queensway car park, the busiest bit because it is nearest the shops.
How did they decide to implement the three hour scheme? By introducing parking discs perhaps, or simply getting the wardens to keep track of number plates the same way they do on the on-street parking? No. They put in two pay ticket machines, on free dispense. So, electricity and paper consumables are required. (It looks like thermal paper). How is the scheme going? Here is a Facebook report from PJ-
Just got back from Morley. Morrison car park pretty full, but got parked easily, near the top.
The bottom bit was jam-packed and, being nosy, I had a look at a few windscreens in the hope of seeing one of these newfangled tickets.
I was sorely disappointed. Didn’t see one. Zilch.
In fact, I nearly got one out of the machine just to see what they looked like.
Good thing our lords & masters have kindly granted us a few weeks reprieve from prosecution, otherwise the wardens would be running out of tickets by now.
It is not very well signed, in my humble opinion, and I can easily imagine locals not realising about it, let alone our out-of-town visitors.
I really, really look forward to the first penalties being issued. Maybe there could be a little civic tea party at the town hall for the lucky recipients to mark the occasion, followed by a public proclamation of pardon from the town hall steps.
There is much discussion on Facebook (account required), not much of it supportive.
I went there at about 9am yesterday morning, to get a sunday paper from the Garage (ASDA doesn’t open until ten). I was the only car there, but I took a ticket just to be on the safe side, as the rules appear to apply at all times. My ticket was number 498 which strikes me as a low number after four working days.
Meanwhile, Morrisons Garage will be temporarily closing to install new petrol pumps that are “better for the environment”.
Now as carbon based fuels are regarded by the watermelons as the spawn of beelzebub, this raises a question.
What is an environmentally friendly petrol pump? One that dispenses Marmite instead?
(I assume it means the pumping mechanism is very efficient and the electronics have low energy power save features).
I called into Morley about 45 mins since on the way home (I actually was going to shop at Morrisons, not just being sad!)
I parked at the bottom this time, and being a good law-abiding citizen, obtained & displayed a prosecution waiver (sorry, parking ticket).
But, as I am still nosy, I had a bit of a count.
The two panking banks nearest the garage contained approx.48 vehicles. Of these, one was displaying one of the new tickets.
Mine.
So is it the case that people are fully aware of both the scheme, and the fact it is not being enforced yet, so are not bothering?
Or is it the case that people do not realise it exists and fail to notice the 2′ x 1′ signs placed halfway up lamp posts as they are keeping their eyes on the road (recommended), confused (probably), have entered the car park by the top entrance and not seen any signs (highly likely) or just know that Queensway has been restriction free since 1973 when it was constructed and are unaware of any changes as they have not had a lime-green leaflet informing them so (taking full credit of course).
Just my opinion
Comment by pj — October 6, 2008 @ 6:31 pm
PJ, I drove round the car park behind the Church of the Nazarene and I felt it was very unclear where the controlled zone started and ended. It doesn’t help that the small signs are also in the upper areas advising motorists to park in marked bays. You have to be pretty close to the signs to make out what they say.
Comment by Shades — October 6, 2008 @ 6:42 pm
PJ, by the way, I didn’t realise that Morley had Panking Banks, I thought you had to go behind Batley Library for that.
SENSITIVE READERS- ***BAD TASTE ALERT!***
Comment by Shades — October 6, 2008 @ 6:47 pm
ROFL
Neither did I, this town gets more interesting.
Could imagine that being in Viz, “Do any other readers know where typos have led to definitions of strange perversity?” Is this in Roger’s Thesaurus?
Comment by pj — October 6, 2008 @ 7:18 pm
You could earn yourself a Viz knackersack pencil if you sent it in to Roger’s Profanisaurus.
Comment by Shades — October 6, 2008 @ 7:37 pm