In my post on Coworking I mentioned the woeful parking situation awaiting any venture opening in Canberra’s CBD (and to a lesser extent anywhere near a major shopping precinct in the ACT). This is a real cause of pain to people like myself who are expected to appear on different client sites at different times of the day - and as someone who paid his latest parking fine yesterday it is a recent pain.
Nathanael Boehm put me onto Fair Canberra Parking - here is what they have to say:
Introduction
Parking is one of the hottest issues in Canberra at the moment. Only in the last few months has the Government finally agreed that forcing people to take public transport by not providing sufficient parking is an unacceptable option and are now apparently planning to build more car parks.
However a shortage of car parking spaces is not the only problem, and making more spaces is not going to fix all the problems. The rising cost of parking, parking rules and regulations and the high cost of parking infringements are unacceptable.
The purpose of this website is to channel our frustration with the parking situation into change. Let’s stop whinging to our co-workers and tell someone who has to care - the Government. What we propose is not unreasonable, but the recommendations are designed to fix an unreasonable system.
I believe many parking regulations are based on a lack of technology that enables the fair monitoring and administration of parking - and so the Government just applies a broad regulation and penalty system to maximise revenue rather than invest in technology that would enable a fair parking system.
It is not insignificant!
It’s not “just parking”. It’s not “just $70″.
When you spend 20 minutes in the morning trying to find a park, or when you are delayed and don’t get back to your car in time or need to park in a 15 minute zone so you don’t miss that meeting - it has an impact far greater than the $70 or so fine.
That time spent driving around looking for a park is less time you spend at work, resulting in reduced productivity. You get into work stressed before you’ve even started. And that stress is multiplied when you see that yellow envelope … because you probably didn’t deserve it!
And while the Government is rubbing it’s hands at all the money it’s pulling in … has it noticed how many Canberra residents are public servants, and that the Government is also suffering from the reduced productivity and increased levels of stress?
Yes there are other Australian cities that are worse off for parking than Canberra - and there’s nothing stopping them from taking the initiative to also stand up to their councils and local government!
What can I do?
Send us your complaints with parking in Canberra and join the petition that will accompany the recommendations we put to the Government.
I can but agree - parking is treated as a luxury by local government even in situations where public transport is unavailable. This petition gives us the opportunity to at least voice our concerns if nothing else. If you are concerned, sign it.
