Ill-thought-out cuts to Wolverhampton parking charges causing confusion, chaos and congestion, claims leading Tory
Recent cuts to parking charges in Wolverhampton have created 'congestion, frustration and confusion', says the leader of the council's Tory group.
Councillor Simon Bennett's comments follow an incident where the Broad Street car park was overwhelmed by people trying to leave a theatre production, culminating in frustrated drivers trying to force a barrier open.
Councillor Bennett said residents and visitors reported long queues, confusion over charges, and vehicles circulating around full council-run car parks, with many drivers unaware of changes to the pricing system.
In October last year, Wolverhampton Council introduced temporary free overnight parking at Broad Street car park in the run-up to Christmas. It was replaced by a £2 overnight fee at the start of the year.
Last month, the council announced that all its car parks, apart from the Civic Centre and St Peter's car parks, would have an overnight rate of £2 from April 1 onwards.
Councillor Bennett said the situation was entirely predictable.
“Week after week, when there’s a major event in our city centre, we see the same story, congestion, frustration and confusion," he said.
"This is what happens when you rush out a new parking system without properly managing the fall-out. Labour have rolled out U-turns, rushed discounts and new technology willy-nilly, without thinking through the impact on residents, businesses or traffic flow.”
