This entire thread is fascinating to me, like watching a nature show on television. I have very seldom had to deal with paid parking here in the US. I know it's an issue in big cities, but there are a lot of reasons I don't go to big cities, not just the parking inconveniences.
B3's point is one I agree with, though. I don't like giving my banking or credit card information to just anybody or any app. Until they force the CBDC on everyone, I'll just pay cash.
We never ever pay for parking, period. Our local SM's are free. If we visit our local town, or drive over to Sheffield, we park just out-of-town and walk in. We're both retired but still (thankfully) have the full use of our legs.
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
I'm curious @LunarSea, where do you find free parking spaces within walking distance of Sheffield city centre? I go there rarely and when I do I can use my OH's work parking space if he's not using it (eg evenings and weekends), but a friend of mine told me that there isn't much that's not metered where she'd feel that it was safe to leave a car and walk to/from the city centre.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I'm curious @LunarSea, where do you find free parking spaces within walking distance of Sheffield city centre? I go there rarely and when I do I can use my OH's work parking space if he's not using it (eg evenings and weekends), but a friend of mine told me that there isn't much that's not metered where she'd feel that it was safe to leave a car and walk to/from the city centre.
Ah well @JennyJ we always make a day of it, starting with brunch in Broomhill, so we park near Endcliffe Park. After brunch we walk through the park, down Eccy Road, up through the Botanical Gardens and eventually we'll end up in town. A lot of walking but we enjoy it. If we're knackered we get the bus back to Broomhill.
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
A variant if you like, of the parking issues. There are two out of town shopping developments side by side in Gloucester. They are the Peel Centre and Gloucester Quays. Literally separated by one road. Peel Centre is free parking whilst Quays charges. For years people have parked at the Peel Centre and shopped at both. Now the Peel Centre has new rules whereby if you leave their car park you will get slapped with a ticket. Whilst I understand the need to keep space available for people shopping there, a number of the larger shops have closed and there is no shortage of space. Allegedly they have wardens 'lurking in corners and behind bushes' watching for offenders.
I do wonder how their system is implemented. For example, if a car comes in with 4 people in it, and the driver only visits their shops, what do they do if the others leave the car park? The driver could simply have been giving them a lift into town. How are the wardens to know?
I'm curious @LunarSea, where do you find free parking spaces within walking distance of Sheffield city centre? I go there rarely and when I do I can use my OH's work parking space if he's not using it (eg evenings and weekends), but a friend of mine told me that there isn't much that's not metered where she'd feel that it was safe to leave a car and walk to/from the city centre.
Ah well @JennyJ we always make a day of it, starting with brunch in Broomhill, so we park near Endcliffe Park. After brunch we walk through the park, down Eccy Road, up through the Botanical Gardens and eventually we'll end up in town. A lot of walking but we enjoy it. If we're knackered we get the bus back to Broomhill.
Ah, that makes sense. I know most of the side roads off Eccy Road nearer town are meter parking or residents' permit parking.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Try having a foreign reg car and using these apps or numberplate recognition…..it’s a right pain. I am currently visiting my mother in Scotland with my Irish reg car and every time we go to the local shopping centre I get in easily but to get out I need to find a man to pay and raise the barrier as the machine doesn’t recognise the car on the way out. Seems odd it reads it going in but not out. Drove in to a car park at Loch Long the other day but just drove out again when I saw it was pay using numberplate recognition as I didn’t want the grief so we drove on to somewhere else for our coffee. Not very tourist friendly in a tourist area.
@Emptyheadtime it's not just Irish and other foreign plates these recognition systems have problems with. My registration is WR and it is regularly read as IIR in the main car park in town. The number plate is clean and undamaged so I have no idea why there is a problem. As the car park is pay on exit it's not so much of a problem. It's actually faster to put the ticket in the slot on the exit barrier than it is for their system to actually read the number plate.
I guess I'm in the minority who say bring it on! I've never got cash so it used to be a right pain if I ever needed to park anywhere. I wouldn't like to say I'm addicted to my smartphone but I guess life would be a lot more difficult without it. I pretty much only ever visit this forum on a phone, I'm surprised when I hear anything different 😆.
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B3's point is one I agree with, though. I don't like giving my banking or credit card information to just anybody or any app. Until they force the CBDC on everyone, I'll just pay cash.
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
Ah well @JennyJ we always make a day of it, starting with brunch in Broomhill, so we park near Endcliffe Park. After brunch we walk through the park, down Eccy Road, up through the Botanical Gardens and eventually we'll end up in town. A lot of walking but we enjoy it. If we're knackered we get the bus back to Broomhill.
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
Ah, that makes sense. I know most of the side roads off Eccy Road nearer town are meter parking or residents' permit parking.
I wouldn't like to say I'm addicted to my smartphone but I guess life would be a lot more difficult without it. I pretty much only ever visit this forum on a phone, I'm surprised when I hear anything different 😆.