This evening saw the first meeting of Islington residents, businesses, third party organisations and Green Party members to develop ‘The People’s Parking Plan’. The plan is a resident and business-led response to the current consultation over changes to the Controlled Parking Zones across the borough.
The meeting was organised by Islington Green Party and Green Councillor Caroline Russell and was attended by over 50 local residents and business owners. There were introductory speeches by Jamie Bamber of Islington Chamber of Commerce and Brenda Puech from Living Streets.
There was a debate on the virtue and validity of the current council consultation as well as a lot of anger over the lack of evidence to substantiate the proposed changes and the short time given to consult the public.
Those attending shared their views and ideas of how ‘The People’s Parking Plan’ could be developed as an alternative to the current set of proposals and these will be submitted to the council in due course.
Cllr Caroline Russell said: “This meeting confirmed what I had be hearing on the doorstep. The council’s rushed, ill-conceived changes to parking regulations have not been properly thought through. The overriding feeling from residents and businesses is that the council has presented no evidence to support and justify the drastic changes they are proposing. Without that and proper financial projections, how can any of us possibly input into the consultation? The People’s Parking Plan meeting, organised by Islington Green Party, invited residents and businesses to have their say and also come up with their own ideas about how Islington parking and streets can be adapted for the common good. There were issues raised around privacy, costs, convenience, abuse of the system and the timing of the consultation. I call upon the Council to scrap the current consultation and give this matter the attention, evidence and time it deserves. In the meantime, we will continue to develop The People’s Parking Plan and look forward to further input from everyone involved and affected.”
More information on Cllr Russell’s throughts on ‘The People’s Parking Plan’ can be found here.
