1 October (Part 1) - The digital divide
I
think I speak for all my neighbours when I say the new CPZ has transformed the
area. It is so quiet and peaceful, the unexpected bonus is not the free access
unencumbered by inconsiderate commuters, but the lack of noise from vehicles
going up and down the roads looking for parking spaces and turning around right outside my house.
But not everyone is happy, not those who have no off-street parking spaces such
as those in Elstree Gardens. One sent me an email describing the problems brought
about by an incompetent and unthinking Council.
My brother lives within the new CPZ and he tried to get hold of some scratch
cards for visitors (mainly me). He does not have a Council account and doesn’t
manage online stuff very well at all. So he tried to phone the Council to see if he could buy some.
Two attempts resulted in nothing but being shuttled around. He was told he could
only apply via his online account which he doesn’t have and which is a little
beyond his IT skill levels. Or he could go to a Council ‘HUB’ for them. He
didn’t know what that was and neither do I.
I looked at the Council’s website to see if I could help but people living
outside the borough, like me, are not allowed to apply for visitor’s permits.
In the end I emailed and managed to get a form sent out to my brother which
allowed him to apply by post and pay by cheque.
I’ve not seen the form but he said it was far too confusing and didn’t even tell
him how much to pay. So he gave up.
We have asked a neighbour if I can park on her drive when I visit. It should
have been so much easier.
On a related note, I was driving along Rochester Way in Blackfen a few
Saturdays ago. There were no cars parked there because that is now a controlled
area. But it puzzled me. I used to see many families park up and go for a walk
in the woods during weekends. But it would seem that Bexley Council has put paid
to that.
Why isn’t the parking restriction 10 till 12 Monday to Friday? This would stop
the commuters from parking there for the day and free up the area for locals.
Just like the new area round you and my brother. But I guess that requires some
intelligence. It’s a sad old state of affairs.
The 26 bay
free car parking in Abbey Road had just four cars in it when I passed by this
morning. There are no adjacent houses and there is no logical reason to restrict
parking there except that, thanks to the idiot who designed it way back in 2009,
the road is too narrow for buses to pass each other; but that problem has not
been solved by the four hour restriction.