A number of parking machines in the Mudge Way North and Ridgeway car parks have been replaced and if they prove to be successful the remaining machines will be changed for the new ones and they will also be rolled out to other car parks across Plymouth.
The original parking machines have been the subject of persistent complaints since their installation with issues over their height, screens not always illuminating, the display panels steaming up in certain weather conditions and other difficulties reading the screens.
Councillors Patrick and Sally Nicholson said:
“Independent Plympton councillors had a meeting with Parking Services and highlighted that the car parking machines are difficult to read, so Plympton has been chosen to try out the new technology machines that have a large touch screen in full colour and are some of the first in the UK.
“We welcome this response to our numerous complaints.
These machines will be monitored over the next few months to decide whether to be upgrading all the remaining machines. We look forward to feedback from residents.”
There have certainly been some teething problems with the new machines in their first few days of going live. One user said:
“I tried the new one yesterday and it was lit up but unresponsive. Luckily one of the old ones was still in place so I used that.”
Another remarked:
“The new ones are slow. The old one was used by four people in the time it took.”
One Ridgeway business owner was fuming at the impact the machines are causing to retailers as a long queue formed at the machines with users trying to get them to work. The retailer said:
“The machines caused issues all day. Plymouth City Council are damaging business and trade in this area and have wasted taxpayers money in the process – it’s a shambles.”
Many people are calling for both types of machine to be removed altogether and others are calling for the machines, if they have to remain, to issue tickets as proof motorists have put their details into the machine.
This comes after a number of controversial fixed penalty notices issued to people who claim to have inserted their details but have been unable to prove that they did so.
Story Courtesy of The Plympton Podcast
