Yellow Lines on the Promenade

HB Times 28th Oct 2010

Yellow Lines on the Promenade

HB Times 21st Oct 2010

"I'd crush boy racers' cars with drivers still inside"

Yellow Lines on Prom "an insult to cyclists"

Council says markings an essential safety measure

HB Times 14th Oct 2010

Beach Biker

HB Times 16th Sep 2010

Seafront Parking

HB Gazette 9th September 2010

Unthinking so-and-so's

The seafront of our seaside town has been blighted with a sprouting of parking meters. A bad move, for bad reasons, with unintended consequences and a hidden fact. Canterbury City Council installed 13 parking machines along the seafront and switched them on June 28. They will operate between 8.30am to 6pm every day from April 1 to September 30 with no overnight charge. The machines are solar powered and can be paid for by cash, council parking cards or mobile phone. Council spokesman Rob Davies said:

"The council has introduced these measures to improve traffic management. The aim is to put long stay parkers into off-street car parks elsewhere in the town and encourage regular turnover of spaces on the seafront. These days, it is usual to pay for parking in seaside towns. It happens everywhere else around east Kent - all the Thanet towns and Sandwich and Deal for example - and this move to introduce charging in Herne Bay brings the town in line with others."

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So having a constant turnover of 17 and 70 year olds slewing their cars to a halt by the meters and then lurching back out into the road within a couple of hours is going to "improve traffic management". How exactly?

So Herne Bay was a little bit different from the other nearby coastal towns, and in a good way - everyone likes free parking. CCC decided that this small but distinctive advantage must be eliminated. Have a look at the vox pop piece to see some reactions - unsurprisingly, some people find it makes Herne Bay a less attractive place to visit. Thank you, CCC, for nailing the lid down.

So where are the signs pointing our visitors to the long-stay off-street car parks? No sign of them anywhere near the Marine Parade parking meters, which is where you would expect them to be, given Mr Davies' argument.

So while the users of all the other sports centres in the district get their parking charges refunded by the sports center they are visiting, the good people of Herne Bay who park on the seafront to use the Pier and gym won't. Part of the reason is that the sparkling new machines don't produce two-part tickets with counterfoils, so the gym bunnies will have a 10 minute, 650 metre trudge to and from the WIlliam Street car park, come rain or shine. Congratulations, CCC, for once again giving HB the short end of the stick.

So here's the rub: the parking fees from the Marine Parade parking meters don't even go to our beloved Canterbury City Council - the fees go to Kent County Council. Marvellous!

HB Gazette 8th July 2010

Vox pop: parking on Marine Parade

New parking machines have been installed along Herne Bay seafront. Residents have welcomed their introduction, hoping that it will reduce the number of cars in the area. But they have also prompted fears that they may have a negative impact on tourism in the town. Until just over a week ago it had been free to park cars along Marine Parade but the council has introduced a series of pay machines along the waterfront. It now costs 60p an hour to park along Marine Parade and parking is limited to two hours. However, visitors to the seaside town were less than happy with the new parking arrangements.

Mrs Mason, 89, said:
"There are advantages to this because I have neighbours who have year-long parking permits and they sometimes can't find spaces. Now, they don't have that problem."

Daniela O'Brien, 23, agreed:
"I live in Beacon Hill and I don't like the idea of people coming down and just parking here all day. At least this way they have to pay and there's a limit to the amount of time they can stay."

Gerald Davies, 69, from Medway said:
"The information about how to use the machines wasn't very clear. We have got used to coming to Herne Bay and not having to pay. Now we are restricted to two hours."

Derek Fisk, 73 from Dartford, said:
"I feel like I have wasted my time. I drove here for a day out and two hours parking is not enough. I think people will either ignore these parking meters or they'll be put off from visiting the town."

Frank Hunt, 74, from Gravesend, feels the same:
"I'm confused. The instructions are not very clear at all, not to mention that last time I visited Herne Bay parking was free so this is an extra inconvenience. You can't make a day of visiting here any more so there's no point in having a day trip out. I just use the parking spaces for nipping to shops now"

HB Gazette 8th July 2010

Seal cruelly exiled

Unreasonably harsh treatment for the seal, I think. Nervous young thing just wriggles up onto the beach for a bit peace and quiet, and maybe clear his throat. Some odd creature with long dangly, gangling limbs lollops up and surprises him. Gets bitten. Well, he's hardly going to defend himself with those stumpy little flippers. What happens next? Extraordinary rendition to Fairlight Cove, the Guantanamo Bay of East Sussex. Even as you read this, those moist sad eyes are peering out from the top of an orange jumpsuit, somewhere near Hastings.



Cycling on the Promenade

Hmmm... notifying and consulting the public - this means you, dear reader - is a "final technicality". And the notice is gibberish.

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Cyclists could soon be legally allowed to ride along the promenade between Herne Bay and Swalecliffe. Although many already do, it is technically forbidden by bylaws – but council officials are planning to scrap these to create a new cycle trail. The route of the Oyster Bay Trail has already been approved by the council's ruling committee. It will run along the prom between Hampton and Swalecliffe. Cyclists will have to use Central Parade to avoid the busiest areas by the pier and the bandstand – where the byelaw banning bikes will remain in force.

click it to big it

Council spokesman Rob Davies said:

"All the promenade bylaws prohibit cycling, but the council prefers to educate rather than enforce and tries to encourage people to be courteous and considerate. Nevertheless, if the circumstances required it, the bylaw is there if we need to take a stronger approach. The executive decided to take a balanced view. The route does not go along the busy section of promenade around the pier and bandstand, and here the bylaw will remain in place on the promenade. Outside this area, it is acceptable to allow cycling on the promenade, so the council is now going through the process of changing the bylaw to allow cycling. This is effectively a final technicality, and a period of public notification is underway."

The route will be finished in two phases – from Reculver to Swalecliffe and then from Swalecliffe to Whitstable. A direct cycle route linking Herne Bay High School, the railway station and the memorial park is also planned. The new byelaw would have to be approved by the Secretary of State.

Comments should be sent to Mark Coram, Communities and Local Government Byelaws Section , 3/J5 Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU or email byelaws@communities.gsi.gov.uk before April 1 2010.

thisiskent.co.uk 5th Mar 2010