Park life The government is calling for more evidence as it pursues the conundrum of promising to reduce the parking charge on private land and abolishing debt recovery fees without considering the impact it would have on landholders ability to manage their land with its stated focus on improving air quality, reducing congestion, improving public transport and promoting active travel, now smells potential general election success if it is seen to be on the side of the motorist. Is this an unwanted U-turn? Can it be enforced? According to the Joint Air Quality Unit with which we have regular and rewarding communication there are statutory requirements to introduce clean air zones, low emission zones, and other measures to meet national and local pollution targets. What a conundrum for the government. The numbers game Back in February, in homage to St Valentine, I spoke about our passion for parking, and societys love affair with the car. I argued that our love affair with the car, convenient as it is sometimes, is leading to all kinds of situations that would benefit from a change of heart.2 It seems some others feel the same: A developed country isnt a place where the poor have cars. Its where the rich use public transportation. Gustavo Petro, Colombian politician What Paris has done right is to make it awful to get around by car and awfully easy to get around by public transportation or by bike. Serge Schmemann, writer I dont know these people in fact, Ive never heard of them but you must agree their comments are interesting, if not provocative. One of the key challenges for Britain is the number of cars on our roads. We are now host to more than 35 million cars for the first time in our history. This is giving rise to increased congestion and pollution, longer journey times and more. In my April article, I quoted statutory guidance: the objective of civil parking enforcement should be for 100 per cent compliance, with no penalty charges.3 It also says authorities will need to bear in mind that if their scheme is not self-financing, then they need to be certain that they can afford to pay for it from within existing funding. Presently, the government is calling for more evidence as it pursues the conundrum of promising to reduce the parking charge on private land and abolishing debt recovery fees without considering the impact it would have on landholders ability to manage their land. Ironically, reduced and ineffective parking charges (and penalty charges in public regulated parking), not only increases the likelihood of non-compliance, it could lead to an increase in the number of PCNs being issued. Now theres an enigma! Dictionary corner This articles headline is a reference to the famous TV programme where contestants play around with letters, creating different words. Countdown lexicographer Susie Dent often highlights on social media the varied definitions of words. She once posted the Scottish phrase hingum-tringum, and explained that it can mean barely hanging together and achieving little. But it can also mean worthless, disreputable or in low spirits. A recent headline in The Sun newspaper stated: Rishi Sunak soars in Tory popularity after vow to back motorists... Meanwhile, the Guardian quoted Tory mayor Andy Street who said: Rishi Sunak must not retreat from climate pledges and pledged to fight the partys retreat from climate pledges. Now theres a conundrum as we count down to the general election. I wonder what the next 12 months will look like in the world of parking and traffic management when it comes to political focus? Isnt it ironic that a Scottish phrase might just be the best description for whats going on in Westminster? 1 See bit.ly/PNSept23MT 2 See bit.ly/PNSept23PLF 3 See bit.ly/PNSept23PLA Kelvin Reynolds BPA chief technical services officer and company secretary kelvin.r@britishparking. co.uk 48 PN Sept 2023 pp46-48 Park Life.indd 48 24/08/2023 11:12