TheThinWhiteDuke wrote:I'm kind of against residents permits schemes though. Aren't they almost always mismanaged? With cash strapped councils selling more permits than spaces and therefore you now pay for the privilege of still having no guarantee of a space!
You're right TWD.
Although the principle is a good one, in its current set-up a DDC RPZ is less a scheme than a scam: like much of anything DDC gets involved with, it's ill-considered, half-hearted and benefits DDC rather than the people the council works on behalf of. Residents currently pay £60 pa per permit (plus extra admin for a second one) and £2 each for visitors' permits. Yet as you'll rarely see a CEO anywhere near your road to ticket them, non-residents can pretty much park when they like and for as long as they like. In any case, they can do so legally from 1530 overnight until 1030 the following morning if your zone is two-hour parking, which kind of negates a major reason for having an RPZ in the first place. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe there are only 11 CEOs to oversee all parking in Dover and Deal; and DDC is more concerned with car parks in any case.)
RPZs will only work if they are designated RESIDENTS ONLY, with the number of permits issued restricted to the number of domestic units in the road, and with bays to stop inconsiderate drivers stealing space. I personally would be happy to pay extra for such a scheme. But as that scheme won't happen, I'll soon be joining the ranks of those who'll be off elsewhere.