I'm not angry (about that).
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh
"Anger as parking charges to be extended into evening"
(30 posts)-
Posted 9 years ago #
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But the proposals have already been slammed as “absolute nonsense” by motoring experts
By which they mean Neil "Singular" Greig.
Taking a taxi or a bus just adds to the cost of an evening meal.
Whereas a car is entirely free, has no fuel costs, running costs, taxation costs, insurance costs and is not an asset whose only future lies in depreciation.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Malcolm Duck, chairman of the Edinburgh Restaurateurs Association condemned the recommendations as “crazy”.
That's Malcolm Duck, owner of Duck's in.... Aberlady....
Taking a taxi or a bus just adds to the cost of an evening meal. I think this would have a knock-on effect, especially on restaurants because they are open in the evenings
Pondering contacting him to ask if he can ask his members to ask their customers how they got there that evening. I'm going to take a stab that 90% of restaurant goers in Edinburgh have got there by means other than private motor car. Certainly we tend to take the bus in, and a taxi home, as it means we can both drink.
And at £6 bus fare both ways, well that's probably less than the tip you'd have left as a couple eating in the city.
Particularly at weekends and in the evening, public transport is not such an attractive option for some people. What they should be doing is looking at how they can supply extra parking spaces
From who? Yep, guessed correctly, Mr Neil Greig!
Posted 9 years ago # -
What they should be doing is looking at how they can supply extra parking spaces
Yes, but in the meantime there is a shortage of spaces. How do we balance supply and demand? Hmm, if only there was some way of doing that....
And why is Neil Greig quoted anyway? Surely the focus of the IAM is advanced driving standards? Unless he's being brought in to give tips on reverse parking then his views on parking management are irrelevant.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Most likely restaurants make all their money on overpriced bottles of wine.
Quite why you would wish to encourage customers to drive, and therefore not drink said overpriced wine, I do not know
Posted 9 years ago # -
we tend to take the bus in, and a taxi home, as it means we can both drink
skip the restaurant and just get hammered
if you're eating, you're cheating
Posted 9 years ago # -
As a dedicated foodie (aka. food snob) I'd actually rather forego the alcohol...
As pointed out upthread, wine is really where the restaurants make their money, so more people coming to them and being able to drink because they've not got the car should surely be a good thing...
Posted 9 years ago # -
Fellow food snob checking in.
What utter nonsense about needing to park at restaurants. Whilst this may be an issue for countryside locations with next to no public transport, Edinburgh has good options.
Restaurants want people to buy drinks and frankly, if I'm going out for a nice dinner then I certainly don't want to be bothering with parking. I want wine which goes with the food (thoroughly recommend Mark Greenaway's tasting menu and paired wines if you ever fancy a splurge...), so wouldn't be driving in any case. I'll get the bus, or if we have a special occasion then maybe a taxi.
Any restaurant in the city centre that is busy and provides free parking is also not getting the best use out of its land...
Posted 9 years ago # -
One of the 'commentators' said these new charges would force people to drive to Glasgow.
Why, yes of course, why didnt I thik of that? When i want to go out for a night out, food and a few drinkies, the first thing i think about is "where can I park the car", and if its not convenient - i.e. rather than walk/bus/taxi, clearly the most sensible solution is to drive to Glasgow............
EEN in clickbait headline shocker.
Posted 9 years ago # -
I think Mr Duck can rest easy. The sort of restaurant where their customers are put off by a £2 parking charge tend to serve their wares in polystyrene cartons, not on fine china.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Granted I may be in the minority, but on many occasion I've been happy to stick £2 in the parking machine and enjoy a curry in from a polystyrene bowl on the Mosque Kitchen verandah. Sometimes with an accompanying shish/samosa/pakora/tandoori chicken leg
I cant imagine what size I'd be if it wasn't for my bikes.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Restaurants typically make the same margin on food as they do on alcohol (if not more). GP rates for restaurants are generally above 70% but pubs/bars around 60% upwards. The main reason for selling alcohol is to increase the average bill take and make 'additional' profit (i.e. add-ons). In any event the argument still stands, the bill will be higher with wine than not and still a benefit to the operator.
As for the EEN article I like how they only gave a passing mention at the end of the article to converting Permit Only spaces to Paid, hence, creating more spaces (so to speak).
Posted 9 years ago # -
Not quite sure if its best permit holders get preference, people living in George street for example are taking a space that would cost several thousand a year, in effect being subsided to live there and judging by some of the cars they possibility don’t need a subsidy, seems an inefficient use of resources wither pro or anti parking per say.
I don’t think I have ever driven for a meal, but I do tend to avoid Livingston asda if in my car, as every other supermarket I know has free parking its not just the cost of the ticket its rembering to buy it , timing it having to get in and out the car so even a nominal fee may put customers off.
I suppose if someone was to drive for a meal, then may be the charge on one street would influence which eatery they went to, I tend to think it would influence my choice in this hypotheical senario, not that I would ever drive for meal unless going to mcdonalds.
Posted 9 years ago # -
As a non-car owner and non-driver, I'm seriously considering selling my bikes, taking the test and getting on my own 4 wheels as these restaurant things sound amazing. It's just a shame you can only get to them by driving.
Posted 9 years ago # -
"
He said: “The main problem with parking is that the regulations are not currently enforced. In general I would say that if they extend the parking charges then yes, the evening restaurants will suffer – but everyone will suffer. Businesses need a throughflow of traffic – that’s the lifeblood of any of the businesses in the city.”
"
Posted 9 years ago # -
Wrong thread
Posted 9 years ago # -
I can honestly say that in 23 years living in Edinburgh I have never, not once, driven my car to a restaurant.
Posted 9 years ago # -
"Businesses need a throughflow of traffic – that’s the lifeblood of any of the businesses in the city."
So that's why all the really successful businesses - like Little Chef - operate on the side of motorways.
Posted 9 years ago # -
From the report:
significantly worse conditions for cycling, with almost all on-road cycle facilities rendered useless by parked cars
How many of the frothers will have read the report?
Posted 9 years ago # -
"Businesses need a throughflow of traffic – that’s the lifeblood of any of the businesses in the city."
When I was small I had Usborne's "How Your Body Works" book, in which the circulatory system was (and is still) illustrated by people in boats carrying baskets of food and cylinders of gas around the body. Perhaps Gordon Renton (secretary of the West End Community Council) had a book in which erythrocytes were depicted as motor cars, whose lasting impression upon him has yet to be dispelled.
Posted 9 years ago # -
It's a bizarre response from the community councils (if they have been quoted correctly). The changes seem to be hugely favourable for city centre residents eg the 'community' in that they make it much easier for them to find a parking space as they will be able to use many more spaces. The sad thing is that that further encourages car ownership in high density population areas. A long time ago when we lived in a tenement in the centre , and before we'd seen the light on bikes, the prime reason we gave up using a car then, was because it was so hard to find a resident parking space within 400m of the flat. These changes will make it much easier for residents to solve that problem.
Posted 9 years ago # -
So parking charges kill businesses. Perhaps the top business brains quoted in the article could explain how those businesses that are open between 8.30 and 6.30 (pretty much every business in the city) manage to struggle on.
Posted 9 years ago # -
significantly worse conditions for cycling, with almost all on-road cycle facilities rendered useless by parked cars
I like the 'cycle facility' on Gilmore Place that I pass every commute but have never ever been able to use as 24hr parking is permitted on top of it. The cycle lanes here never see daylight, let alone cyclists.
Posted 9 years ago # -
http://www.scotlandsworstdrivers.com/parking-is-the-cost-costing-us-more-1-6374/
An article suggesting that we should make parking free for everyone as it boosted footfall by 50% in a TINY VILLAGE IN NORTH WALES. Yeah that's some solid comparative logic.
Posted 9 years ago # -
[/quote]"Businesses need a throughflow of traffic – that’s the lifeblood of any of the businesses in the city."[quote]
@Wingpig Parking is cholesterol build up then. Time for a road diet.
Posted 9 years ago # -
ARobComp - that's a ridiculous article. There are a limited number of parking spaces in town. Part of the purpose of parking charges and time limits is to increase the turnover of parked vehicles. This increases, rather than decreases, the number of motorists who can park in an area.
Also, the author doesn't mention that the "parking meters" that were vandalised in Wales were for off-street car parks and not on-street parking. Perhaps rather than blaming the council they should approach NCP (a well known charity, I understand) to scrap charges in their city centre car parks.
Posted 9 years ago # -
" they should approach NCP (a well known charity, I understand) to scrap charges in their city centre car parks"
Great idea!
(And scrap all on-street parking.)
Posted 9 years ago # -
"
But for pedestrians, cyclists and other road users too, uncontrolled parking can have a real negative impact on the city’s environment and flow of traffic.
"
Suppose I'd better get used to saying "flow of traffic" instead of traffic flow.
Posted 9 years ago #
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