Barnet Labour launch manifesto parking pledges (Press Release from Barnet Labour Party)

Barnet's Labour councillors are launching their package of parking pledges for their local election 2014 manifesto at 10am this Saturday 9 November on Mill Hill Broadway.

 

The package of parking pledges that Labour will implement straight away if elected next year in May are:

 

·         Labour will give you 30 minutes free parking in our town centres. The Barnet Tories drove people out of the high streets with their new parking regime. We’ll help you back and support our traders with a 30 minute free parking period.

 

·         Labour will bring back cash parking. Labour will enable all current card only meters to take cash.

 

·         Labour will introduce an Oyster-style ‘Barnet Card’ to pay for parking. Pay-by-phone parking doesn’t work for everyone! We’ll develop the card service over time to offer residents discounts and widen it’s use.

 

·         Labour will consult residents and make parking enforcement fair. Unlike the Tories, we’ll ensure that parking arrangements work for local people.

 

·         Labour will give you free parking every weekend in December. Every year we have pressed the Council to give residents and shops a parking amnesty over Christmas. If elected, we’ll stop arguing about it with the Tories - we’ll just do it.

 

·         Labour will also scrap the free Councillors’ parking permits that the Conservatives awarded themselves.  If you can’t park for free, no Councillor should be able to either.

 

The pledges reflect residents' views from surveys conducted by the Labour Group over the last few weeks. On a sample of just under 1,000 surveys returned, 72% of people raised parking, with a majority calling for a free parking period and more options to pay including cash.

 

Barnet's Labour councillors have designed their parking pledges around what residents tell them they want to see, because Labour believe that above all elected representatives should listen to and consult the people who elect them.

 

Leader of the Labour Group, Cllr Alison Moore said: "A Labour council will listen to local people, and on parking we have heard what residents want loud and clear. We promise to consult residents every year as part of the annual budget process to make sure that, under a Labour council, parking policy in Barnet works for local people. This pledge is just one of many we’ll be making between now and the election next May. We’re going to make sure that, with Labour, this is a Council which works for local residents."

 

Labour's Environment & Parking Spokesperson, Cllr Alan Schneiderman said: "The Conservatives treated residents as a cash cow, and have created a parking nightmare for our traders and town centres.  By cutting the cost of parking and bringing back cash payments combined with fair enforcement, we will encourage residents to use local shops and businesses.”

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The Barnet Eye is pleased to see that the Barnet Labour Party has launched a small business and resident friendly parking policy for the 2014 Council Election. We believe this could decisively swing the election in favour of Labour, given the complete lack of trust in the Conservatives parking policies. 

In the run up to the 2014 Council Elections we will feature all interesting press releases from all parties with a short commentary in this format. The Barnet Eye is not alligned to any Political Party in Barnet.