Alan Stanton
"Environmentally Friendly" Parking Charges
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► Click for an updated table with figures from 2011/12.
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I took this photo on 7 March 2007. It shows one of the so-called "consultation" leaflets about Haringey's (then) proposed "Environmentally Friendly Parking Charges".
Click here to enlarge the text. Back button returns to this page.
Lies, Damn Lies, and Obfuscation
Back in Spring 2007 Haringey was "consulting" people who live in the Borough's Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs). Residents were guinea pigs in an experiment aimed at encouraging them to own vehicles with a lower carbon emission rating. So Haringey proposed banded charges for parking permits based on the carbon emissions figures for each car.
Politicians and bureaucrats are often rightly criticised for failing to use Plain English to tell people the plain truth. Do you find the leaflet in the photo difficult to follow? Did you spot that it left out a key piece of information: the increased cost?
For most people this scheme meant the cost of a parking permit doubled or even trebled.
Haringey Council left out this bad news. Instead it used upbeat words: "friendly" and "environmental". The leaflet referred not just to consultation but "an enhanced consultation period".
In my personal view, Haringey councillors were never going to pay serious attention to the views of residents. This "consultation" was going through the motions to comply with legal niceties.
"We are firm in our belief."
In 2007 former Labour councillor Brian Haley was the "Cabinet" Member for Environment and Conservation. He said:
"We are firm in our belief that grading parking charges according to carbon emissions is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal in the fight against climate change". (Full quote below.)
In 2010 Brian Haley was still hanging around the Haringey political scene - but as a member of the Liberal Democrat Party. I've no idea whether he asked if his "firm belief" was corroborated by any evidence.
I did ask.
► See below for the figures I originally got from Haringey.
► Click here for the October 2011 update.
► And click here for a cumulative table with twelve monthly figures up to June 2012.
"Environmentally Friendly" Parking Charges
═══════════════════════════════════
► Click for an updated table with figures from 2011/12.
═══════════════════════════════════
I took this photo on 7 March 2007. It shows one of the so-called "consultation" leaflets about Haringey's (then) proposed "Environmentally Friendly Parking Charges".
Click here to enlarge the text. Back button returns to this page.
Lies, Damn Lies, and Obfuscation
Back in Spring 2007 Haringey was "consulting" people who live in the Borough's Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs). Residents were guinea pigs in an experiment aimed at encouraging them to own vehicles with a lower carbon emission rating. So Haringey proposed banded charges for parking permits based on the carbon emissions figures for each car.
Politicians and bureaucrats are often rightly criticised for failing to use Plain English to tell people the plain truth. Do you find the leaflet in the photo difficult to follow? Did you spot that it left out a key piece of information: the increased cost?
For most people this scheme meant the cost of a parking permit doubled or even trebled.
Haringey Council left out this bad news. Instead it used upbeat words: "friendly" and "environmental". The leaflet referred not just to consultation but "an enhanced consultation period".
In my personal view, Haringey councillors were never going to pay serious attention to the views of residents. This "consultation" was going through the motions to comply with legal niceties.
"We are firm in our belief."
In 2007 former Labour councillor Brian Haley was the "Cabinet" Member for Environment and Conservation. He said:
"We are firm in our belief that grading parking charges according to carbon emissions is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal in the fight against climate change". (Full quote below.)
In 2010 Brian Haley was still hanging around the Haringey political scene - but as a member of the Liberal Democrat Party. I've no idea whether he asked if his "firm belief" was corroborated by any evidence.
I did ask.
► See below for the figures I originally got from Haringey.
► Click here for the October 2011 update.
► And click here for a cumulative table with twelve monthly figures up to June 2012.