| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Average bus speeds fall below 9mph | |
| Posted by: | David Lesniak | |
| Date/Time: | 28/12/25 08:18:00 |
| Steve is absolutely correct. Local councils are oblivious to their part in the destruction of High Street trade. What they fail to realize again and again is how High Streets compete with retail parks and malls. The latter curate the offer and are in control of the experience from the moment a customer arrives. The former are completely clueless to this part of the equation. Arriving and staying and leaving shouldn't be a crap shoot for those looking to spend time and money whatever the reason. Councils punish people for doing so while retail parks and malls are very clear about what you can expect. One is user friendly. The other is not. Case in point: Every Sunday, after doing deliveries, I have parked on the single yellow line on Beadon Road. Next to the sign stipulating hours. About a month ago, I got a PCN for doing the same thing I - and many - have done for years. I noticed the sign was gone. In fact, there are no signs on Beadon. So I contacted LBHF and corresponded with the guy who oversees parking. A guy named Mark. The conversation went on and on and on and on. Apparently the CPZ was recently changed. This after a "consultation." I mentioned that none of us here at the Lyric were consulted. Mind you the Lyric is inextricably linked with LBHF and theatre management are always in contact with various people from LBHF. Mark then said the appropriate signage was a half mile away. He then also directed me to signs on Glenthorne which is down the hill and around the corner. His colleague repeated his words. Me being me, I counted the signs on Glenthorne. Sixteen. All stipulating site-specific conditions. I asked Mark why he's telling me to reference signs when the sign with the information that was there was removed as opposed to updated which it should have been. They have been issuing tickets relentlessly. It is now a revenue trap. Change the CPZ all you want. But you must inform the public in a way that the council itself has demonstrated. A reasonable expectation that, as on all adjacent streets, site-specific signage will inform effectively, easily, fairly, openly. Sixteen signs versus zero. Sorry, the computer says no. Mark said it was good for business to change the CPZ. Just prior to seasonal influx? With panto at the Lyric catering to families visiting? No. False. I said it is not beneficial to any business nor visitor to create a hostile environment which is precisely what they have done. I don't care how much money you have, if you get a PCN it leaves a bad taste and you're less likely to visit for fear it will happen again. Especially when there is nothing to indicate what you've done is a contravention. So the annual panto now has an added punitive component. I also mentioned to Mark the sheer irony that he expected people to park, do a quick Google followed by a deep dive into the minutia of parking regulations on one street when they know precisely what to do on several streets mere meters away. In the end the PCN was cancelled. It should never have been issued in the first place. When possible, I have taken to speaking with people perplexed by the PCN on their windshield. I tell them how to go about getting it cancelled mentioning there is precedent. Note to LBHF: when you mess with business, business will mess with you. |