Paid parking petition handed to minister
JUST five deputies need to be persuaded to vote against paid parking this week for the idea to be thrown out, a States member has said, after a public petition containing 6,267 signatures expressly opposing the plans was handed in.
Spearheaded by Wendy de Bourgonniere and Deputy Lester Queripel, the petition was handed over to Environment minister Yvonne Burford yesterday morning, in the hope of showing the department the strength of feeling against this part yet another pillar of its Transport Strategy.
Deputy Queripel said the vote was so close last time – 25 for and 19 against – that re-examining the arguments would allow people to be persuaded that this was the wrong idea at the wrong time. With Environment already scrambling to plug a £1.6m. hole in its finances after the first registration charge was rejected, it would only be a matter of time before paid parking was extended beyond its initial target – long stay parking in Town.
'We have got to nip this in the bud now,' he said. 'The issue is once Environment has realised it is not making enough money, it will look to roll out paid parking in St Sampson's at the Bridge and St Martin's village. We wanted 5,000 signatures and I am delighted to have exceeded that.'
