On Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:03:50 +0000, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

> In article ,
>    Mark <i@dontgetlotsofspamanymore.invalid> wrote:
>> I haven't been to morrisons since they introduced the trolleys that you
>> have to put a £1 in to use.  I had no cash with me at the time and the
>> staff refused to help.  I now always shop elsewhere.
> 
> Don't you carry small change in the car for parking, etc?

I carry one of those pound shaped discs on my keyring.



-- 
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
 http://www.mirrorservice.org

On Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:38:17 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
 wrote:

>In article ,
>   Bruce  wrote:
>> >I'd like to hear about a town where all the carparks are free...
>
>
>> There probably aren't many such towns, but there are plenty of towns
>> outside the south east where there is at least *some* free parking.  I
>> used to live in Yorkshire and almost always parked for free.  I had to
>> pay for parking only once or twice a month.
>
>There are free car parks round here too. Things like shopping centres. But
>if you prefer to wander round High Street shops rather than a purpose
>built centre you'll likely have to pay to park. So I'd guess no different
>from anywhere else.


You guessed wrong.  I used to park free of charge very close to the
town centre in Yorkshire.  There were 30 minute, 1 hour and 2 hour
spaces, all free of charge, but the 2 hour spaces were a little
further away and only rarely vacant.  There were privately owned car
parks that charged; these were used by people who needed longer stays
or couldn't find a free parking space.  I used those for less than one
trip in ten.

I suppose to someone who doesn't venture out of the south east very
often, this must seem unusual.  But it is the norm in many parts of
the north.

In article ,
   Bruce  wrote:
> On Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:38:17 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
>  wrote:

> >In article ,
> >   Bruce  wrote:
> >> >I'd like to hear about a town where all the carparks are free...
> >
> >
> >> There probably aren't many such towns, but there are plenty of towns
> >> outside the south east where there is at least *some* free parking.  I
> >> used to live in Yorkshire and almost always parked for free.  I had to
> >> pay for parking only once or twice a month.
> >
> >There are free car parks round here too. Things like shopping centres.
> >But if you prefer to wander round High Street shops rather than a
> >purpose built centre you'll likely have to pay to park. So I'd guess no
> >different from anywhere else.


> You guessed wrong.  I used to park free of charge very close to the
> town centre in Yorkshire.

I 'used to' park free too. Even outside my front door.

>  There were 30 minute, 1 hour and 2 hour
> spaces, all free of charge, but the 2 hour spaces were a little
> further away and only rarely vacant.

There are a number of free parking spaces in most areas here too. Provided
you can find a vacant one.

>  There were privately owned car parks that charged; these were used by
> people who needed longer stays or couldn't find a free parking space.  I
> used those for less than one trip in ten.

So you're implying no council owned car parks that charge? Have you been
there recently? 

> I suppose to someone who doesn't venture out of the south east very
> often, this must seem unusual.  But it is the norm in many parts of
> the north.

There are occasions where the easy way out is simply to pay for parking.
And to facilitate this I keep change in my car - it even has a slot marked
'coins' for this. So hardly as unusual as you seem to think. Those coins
can also be used for the odd toll - or even as the deposit for a
supermarket trolley. Which is where I came in...

BTW, I'd suggest you visit some of the touristy places 'up north' if you
think free parking is the norm there.

-- 
*Why is 'abbreviation' such a long word?

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:29:41 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
 wrote:

>In article ,
>   Bruce  wrote:
>> On Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:38:17 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
>>  wrote:
>
>> >In article ,
>> >   Bruce  wrote:
>> >> >I'd like to hear about a town where all the carparks are free...
>> >
>> >
>> >> There probably aren't many such towns, but there are plenty of towns
>> >> outside the south east where there is at least *some* free parking.  I
>> >> used to live in Yorkshire and almost always parked for free.  I had to
>> >> pay for parking only once or twice a month.
>> >
>> >There are free car parks round here too. Things like shopping centres.
>> >But if you prefer to wander round High Street shops rather than a
>> >purpose built centre you'll likely have to pay to park. So I'd guess no
>> >different from anywhere else.
>
>
>> You guessed wrong.  I used to park free of charge very close to the
>> town centre in Yorkshire.
>
>I 'used to' park free too. Even outside my front door.
>
>>  There were 30 minute, 1 hour and 2 hour
>> spaces, all free of charge, but the 2 hour spaces were a little
>> further away and only rarely vacant.
>
>There are a number of free parking spaces in most areas here too. Provided
>you can find a vacant one.
>
>>  There were privately owned car parks that charged; these were used by
>> people who needed longer stays or couldn't find a free parking space.  I
>> used those for less than one trip in ten.
>
>So you're implying no council owned car parks that charge? Have you been
>there recently? 


There was one serving the town centre.  I was there in September 2009.


>> I suppose to someone who doesn't venture out of the south east very
>> often, this must seem unusual.  But it is the norm in many parts of
>> the north.
>
>There are occasions where the easy way out is simply to pay for parking.
>And to facilitate this I keep change in my car - it even has a slot marked
>'coins' for this. So hardly as unusual as you seem to think. Those coins
>can also be used for the odd toll - or even as the deposit for a
>supermarket trolley. Which is where I came in...


Well, I also live in the south east, and keep coins in the car for the
same purpose.  Despite what you appear to think, I recognised the coin
slots as soon as I saw them.  ;-)


>BTW, I'd suggest you visit some of the touristy places 'up north' if you
>think free parking is the norm there.


The town I lived in is a seaside resort.  The locals know where to
park for free; the tourists tend to use different car parks where they
are asked to pay through the nose.  ;-)

On Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:49:34 GMT,  had this to say:

>On 31 Oct,  
>     "Ophelia"  wrote:
>
>> 
>>  wrote in message news:50B26ADECE%brian13434@lycos.co.uk...
>> > On 30 Oct,
>> >     "tim...."  wrote:
>> >
>> >> I guess that it isn't the case in Leeds/Bradford, but IME N Yorkshire
>> >> market  towns have "disk" parking, even in the town centre.
>> >
>> > Several local ones have recently contraversially introduced charges.
>> > Stokesley, Thirsk, Northallerton and Bedale.
>> 
>> I get 2 hour free 'disk' parking in Northallerton.
>> 
>Is that still so after the beginning of October?  I thought Stokesley was the
>only one in Hambleton able to hold out, due to the parish council owning
>rights to the square or it being registered as a common.  

Doesn't it seem sad that a local authority (be it simply a parish
council) can't set such things as parking conditions in its own area?

It's a bit like the 'EU' trying to impose rules and regulations on
places like England (other 'EU'-type places such as France just ignore
such regulations (although France would like to control the whole of
'Europe')).

-- 
Frank Erskine

"Frank Erskine"  wrote in message 
news:s3lpe59jf24ku3j4aan88kd22slhjl9c07@4ax.com...
> It's a bit like the 'EU' trying to impose rules and regulations on
> places like England (other 'EU'-type places such as France just ignore
> such regulations (although France would like to control the whole of
> 'Europe')).

Aye, regulations like us not being allowed to return goods and get our money 
back?? :((((((((

On Sun, 1 Nov 2009 20:51:38 -0000, "Ophelia" 
had this to say:

>
>"Frank Erskine"  wrote in message 
>news:qobke55iuu4mqq02pcscv5f7ce5nv3mob6@4ax.com...
>> In Hexham the secret is to park in the Tesco carp ark, from where it's
>> not _too_ far to walk to anywhere in the town.  If you call into Tesco
>> and buy some token item you feel a bit less guilty about using their
>> fish boat.
>
>Most Tesco par carks these days are 2 hours only!  And they police them!
>
Two hours are quite long enough to do any shopping.

-- 
Frank Erskine

"Frank Erskine"  wrote in message 
news:jcvre5tg0lop57diva1evi4jmom29906o7@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 1 Nov 2009 20:51:38 -0000, "Ophelia" 
> had this to say:
>
>>
>>"Frank Erskine"  wrote in message
>>news:qobke55iuu4mqq02pcscv5f7ce5nv3mob6@4ax.com...
>>> In Hexham the secret is to park in the Tesco carp ark, from where it's
>>> not _too_ far to walk to anywhere in the town.  If you call into Tesco
>>> and buy some token item you feel a bit less guilty about using their
>>> fish boat.
>>
>>Most Tesco par carks these days are 2 hours only!  And they police them!
>>
> Two hours are quite long enough to do any shopping.

Indeed!  More than enough for me, anyway:)

On Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:29:43 +0000, Frank Erskine
 wrote:

>On Sun, 1 Nov 2009 20:51:38 -0000, "Ophelia" 
>had this to say:
>
>>
>>"Frank Erskine"  wrote in message 
>>news:qobke55iuu4mqq02pcscv5f7ce5nv3mob6@4ax.com...
>>> In Hexham the secret is to park in the Tesco carp ark, from where it's
>>> not _too_ far to walk to anywhere in the town.  If you call into Tesco
>>> and buy some token item you feel a bit less guilty about using their
>>> fish boat.
>>
>>Most Tesco par carks these days are 2 hours only!  And they police them!
>>
>Two hours are quite long enough to do any shopping.

Much as I would hate to spend 2 hours in Tesco, they do have a
"restaurant" in many and, if they want people to use it, allowing them
more time would be useful.  Also parents with babies or disabled
children may take longer than average for shopping.
-- 
(\__/)  M.
(='.'=) Due to the amount of spam posted via googlegroups and
(")_(") their inaction to the problem. I am blocking most articles
posted from there.  If you wish your postings to be seen by
everyone you will need use a different method of posting.
[Reply-to address valid until it is spammed.]

On Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:51:10 GMT, "The Medway Handyman"
 wrote:

>Bruce wrote:
>> On Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:44:06 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
>>  wrote:
>>
>>> In article ,
>>>   Bruce  wrote:
>>>> On Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:32:22 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
>>>>  wrote:
>>>>> In article ,
>>>>>   Dave Liquorice  wrote:
>>>>>>>> Don't you carry small change in the car for parking, etc?
>>>>>
>>>>>> Why? Do you have to pay for parking?
>>>>>
>>>>> Not at most supermarkets. But plenty places do charge for parking
>>>
>>>
>>>> In SW London, certainly.  In SE England, most of the time.
>>>
>>>> But that's less likely to be the case in many other regions of the
>>>> UK, and that's why the two of you have different opinions.
>>>
>>> I'd like to hear about a town where all the carparks are free...
>>
>>
>> There probably aren't many such towns, but there are plenty of towns
>> outside the south east where there is at least *some* free parking.  I
>> used to live in Yorkshire and almost always parked for free.  I had to
>> pay for parking only once or twice a month.
>
>Medway Council regard parking simpy as a revenue source.  Charges enforced 
>until 10:00pm, whole areas where there is no free parking at all, the town 
>centre is a joke.  They don't give a toss about local shops or local 
>traders.

It's like that around here too.  Charges on Sundays.  And it's 
very expensive too.  Almost no free parking (and none near the town
centres).
Also very expensive public transport.  As a result less people shop in
the towns anymore.

-- 
(\__/)  M.
(='.'=) Due to the amount of spam posted via googlegroups and
(")_(") their inaction to the problem. I am blocking most articles
posted from there.  If you wish your postings to be seen by
everyone you will need use a different method of posting.
[Reply-to address valid until it is spammed.]

in 237721 20091102 093624 Mark <i@dontgetlotsofspamanymore.invalid> wrote:

>>Medway Council regard parking simpy as a revenue source.  Charges enforced
>>until 10:00pm, whole areas where there is no free parking at all, the town
>>centre is a joke.  They don't give a toss about local shops or local
>>traders.
>
>It's like that around here too.  Charges on Sundays.  And it's
>very expensive too.  Almost no free parking (and none near the town
>centres).

I live near Portsmouth and parking charges in the area have gone up by 4 to 8 times
in the last few years.  The car park in my nearest village went from a minumum of 5p
to a minimum of 30p with the result that nobody uses it.  I rarely see more than half
a dozen cars in it now whereas it always used to be full.  I bet some dickhead in the
local council offices is wondering why revenue is down by 95% and is considering
another increase to make it up.

I recently spent 10 days driving round SE France - never once paid for car parking.

On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:10:25 GMT, Bob Martin 
wrote:

>in 237721 20091102 093624 Mark <i@dontgetlotsofspamanymore.invalid> wrote:
>
>>>Medway Council regard parking simpy as a revenue source.  Charges enforced
>>>until 10:00pm, whole areas where there is no free parking at all, the town
>>>centre is a joke.  They don't give a toss about local shops or local
>>>traders.
>>
>>It's like that around here too.  Charges on Sundays.  And it's
>>very expensive too.  Almost no free parking (and none near the town
>>centres).
>
>I live near Portsmouth and parking charges in the area have gone up by 4 to 8 times
>in the last few years.  The car park in my nearest village went from a minumum of 5p
>to a minimum of 30p with the result that nobody uses it.  I rarely see more than half
>a dozen cars in it now whereas it always used to be full.  I bet some dickhead in the
>local council offices is wondering why revenue is down by 95% and is considering
>another increase to make it up.

If you think 30p is expensive then don't come here!  Parking is
normally £1.30 for one hour, £2.50 for two hours etc. (pay and dismay)
-- and that's a cleared building site full of potholes.  Decent car
parks can be even more expensive.

When I am on holiday in the UK I am the only one not moaning about the
parking costs.  Even very popular places are cheaper than here.

The council often justify parking cost rises to "encourage the use of
public transport".  However the bus company always put up their prices
at the same time.  Coincidence, I think not.

-- 
(\__/)  M.
(='.'=) Due to the amount of spam posted via googlegroups and
(")_(") their inaction to the problem. I am blocking most articles
posted from there.  If you wish your postings to be seen by
everyone you will need use a different method of posting.
[Reply-to address valid until it is spammed.]

Mark <i@dontgetlotsofspamanymore.invalid>
  wibbled on Tuesday 03 November 2009 09:12


> The council often justify parking cost rises to "encourage the use of
> public transport".  However the bus company always put up their prices
> at the same time.  Coincidence, I think not.
> 


And there should be a bloody law against both pay and display and machines
that don't give change. I hated carrying 25 quid in change every week to
feed the station car park machine, and I hate going shopping or to the
hospital and having to guess how long I'll be.
-- 
Tim Watts

This space intentionally left blank...

On 03/11/09 19:27, Tim W wrote:

> And there should be a bloody law against both pay and display and machines
> that don't give change.

Wouldn't be so bad if they gave you extra time pro-rata for the change 
they'd withheld, e.g council ones here used to be 60p/hour but if you 
put in a quid, no change and you still only got an hour - no wonder 
people quite happily give their "non-transferable" ticket to someone 
else on the way out.

"Andy Burns"  wrote in message 
news:tPOdnSzcCa6WGG3XnZ2dnUVZ8v9i4p2d@brightview.co.uk...
> On 03/11/09 19:27, Tim W wrote:
>
>> And there should be a bloody law against both pay and display and 
>> machines
>> that don't give change.
>
> Wouldn't be so bad if they gave you extra time pro-rata for the change 
> they'd withheld, e.g council ones here used to be 60p/hour but if you put 
> in a quid, no change and you still only got an hour - no wonder people 
> quite happily give their "non-transferable" ticket to someone else on the 
> way out.

There are new machine about which require you to enter your reg and it is 
printed on the ticket.

On 03/11/09 20:35, dennis@home wrote:

> There are new machine about which require you to enter your reg and it
> is printed on the ticket.

Yes, they have started replacing with them, the phrasing is interesting, 
it says "enter up to three letters from your car's registration plate" 
OWTTE, so one, or zero letters would count as "up to" wouldn't it?

On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:57:08 +0000, Andy Burns wrote:

> Yes, they have started replacing with them, the phrasing is interesting, 
> it says "enter up to three letters from your car's registration plate" 
> OWTTE, so one, or zero letters would count as "up to" wouldn't it?

Yes, but what the destructions say and what the machine will let you
do is another matter...



-- 
Cheers
Dave.

Andy Burns wrote:
> On 03/11/09 19:27, Tim W wrote:
>
>> And there should be a bloody law against both pay and display and
>> machines that don't give change.
>
> Wouldn't be so bad if they gave you extra time pro-rata for the change
> they'd withheld, e.g council ones here used to be 60p/hour but if you
> put in a quid, no change and you still only got an hour - no wonder
> people quite happily give their "non-transferable" ticket to someone
> else on the way out.

I've complained to Medway Council about that.  Apparently they don't have 
the technology.  Must be real rocket science to build a machine that give 
change or extra time.


-- 
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:27:33 +0000, Tim W  had this to
say:

>Mark <i@dontgetlotsofspamanymore.invalid>
>  wibbled on Tuesday 03 November 2009 09:12
>
>
>> The council often justify parking cost rises to "encourage the use of
>> public transport".  However the bus company always put up their prices
>> at the same time.  Coincidence, I think not.
>> 
>
>
>And there should be a bloody law against both pay and display and machines
>that don't give change. I hated carrying 25 quid in change every week to
>feed the station car park machine, and I hate going shopping or to the
>hospital 

Parking at or around our local main hospital is dreadful.  I just
realised the other day (when about to visit a fiend) that there's a
'free' shuttle minibus service to/from the hospital (financed, I
think, by the Hospital trust) that runs every 30 minuets to/from my
local Sainsbury car park which is about a 10 minuet walk from here
(although I usually drive there, being a lazy sod).
I gather that JS are quite happy about it, because hospital visitors
tend to buy the ubiquitous grapes and Lucozade there to take to the
patients.

-- 
Frank Erskine

In article ,
   Frank Erskine  wrote:
> Parking at or around our local main hospital is dreadful. 

Same here. Not only is the car park expensive, but the council have
matched those rates in surrounding streets.  About double the normal rate
elsewhere in the borough.   

> I just
> realised the other day (when about to visit a fiend) that there's a
> 'free' shuttle minibus service to/from the hospital (financed, I
> think, by the Hospital trust) that runs every 30 minuets to/from my
> local Sainsbury car park which is about a 10 minuet walk from here
> (although I usually drive there, being a lazy sod).

There's one bus service that goes through the hospital grounds with stops
at different places. Every 20 minutes - but not free.

-- 
*Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder *                            

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:27:33 +0000, Tim W  wrote:

>Mark <i@dontgetlotsofspamanymore.invalid>
>  wibbled on Tuesday 03 November 2009 09:12
>
>
>> The council often justify parking cost rises to "encourage the use of
>> public transport".  However the bus company always put up their prices
>> at the same time.  Coincidence, I think not.
>> 
>
>And there should be a bloody law against both pay and display and machines
>that don't give change. I hated carrying 25 quid in change every week to
>feed the station car park machine, and I hate going shopping or to the
>hospital and having to guess how long I'll be.

And then there's the car parks you visit for the first time and you
are still expected to have the right change, even before you know how
much it costs.

And the pay and dismay car parks where it costs a different amount
depending on where you park.  Once I got a ticket because I parked on
the wrong side of an invisible line.
-- 
(\__/)  M.
(='.'=) Due to the amount of spam posted via googlegroups and
(")_(") their inaction to the problem. I am blocking most articles
posted from there.  If you wish your postings to be seen by
everyone you will need use a different method of posting.
[Reply-to address valid until it is spammed.]

Mark wrote:
<>
> 
> And then there's the car parks you visit for the first time and you
> are still expected to have the right change, even before you know how
> much it costs.
> 
> And the pay and dismay car parks where it costs a different amount
> depending on where you park.  Once I got a ticket because I parked on
> the wrong side of an invisible line.

And just occasionally car parks like the new Sainsbury 'flagship' High 
Wycombe store. Fully equipped with car detectors so you get directed to 
empty bays. A smart card system - get card on entry and either present 
at the till for free parking or pay on foot.

But the real benefit is that a few days after opening (what? a couple of 
months ago) the barrier/payment system broke down and so far hasn't 
worked since. Free parking without any hassle! Hooray.

(Bound to be fixed by next time I go.)

-- 
Rod

Bob Eager wrote:
> 
> Tell them to look at the ones Canterbury City Council use in some of 
> their car parks. The big one off St Radigunds has machines that give you 
> time for whatever amount you put in, AFAIR.
> 
Last time I was in Canterbury I ended up phoning the council to work out 
how to work the b***y machine.  And then explained it to the 3 people 
who had overheard, and couldn't do it either.

The one next to Canterbury West if you want to wander down and have a go.

Andy