A parking plan for two cities in coastal England is drawing mixed reviews. According to www.telegraph.co.uk, leaders in Brighton and Hove are considering reducing parking prices on rainy days in hopes that the discount will draw more visitors. So far, the intention is to research how similar programs have worked in other cities and the capabilities of technology to carry out the plan.
Councillors in Brighton and Hove are suggesting they charge motorists “significantly less” for street parking on rainy summer days. The scheme, which would be unique in Britain, is modeled on flexible parking charges used in San Francisco and Madrid.
Critics say the plan will cause confusion and be impossible to implement. Leadership says discounts will be based on weather predictions, not real-time weather.
“It wouldn’t be a case of someone sat there saying ‘It’s just started showering, lets reduce prices’. If you know on the Friday that it’s going to pour on Sunday, then you could cut them.”
I don’t have any money or other interest invested in this development, so my opinion is based on the hypothetical. It seems completely logical to use technology to customize parking options. Rainy and snowy cities can adjust parking requirements during inclement weather. Holidays and high-traffic days can be addressed with higher prices.
Every city has different parking needs and different parking patterns. Parking prices, enforcement and perks can all be arranged to fit the locale.
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Here in Petoskey, summer rains mean our CBD will be jammed, because resorters and vacationers won’t be on the beach, in the boat, hanging around the campground, or be poolside. In the winter bluster and snowy days (and weeks, and months) we have meters that can’t be reached because of the accumulation of snow around them and out to the gutters and sidewalks. Of course it doesn’t help that merchants pile the snow against the meters when they clear the sidewalks. We don’t expect parkers to have to climb a slippery or mushy pile of ice or snow to pay at a meter. So it is a de-facto reduction of meter rates when that occurs.