Paid parking rejected by 'spineless' States

DEPUTY Pat Mellor refused last night to quit as Traffic Committee president yesterday after her paid parking proposals crashed in the States. The House rejected her proposal for a top charge of 40p an hour and even options of 30p and 20p. It left the taxpayer picking up the bill for improvements to the bus service and other traffic developments. Deputy Tony Webber said he predicted that paid parking would never happen back in March, when the States approved the principle. He called for Deputy Mellor and all her committee to resign. 'That's a typical Webber remark,' said Deputy Mellor. She turned on the States and accused it of not having the courage to agree to paid parking. 'We did exactly what the States told us to do and came up with a set of figures that would have done the job. But they don't have the balls to do the job that way,' she said. 'The taxpayer is now going to have to foot the bill for something that the motorists should have been contributing to. 'They've got no backbone. I believe it's incredibly bad government what we have done. 'Just two weeks ago we ratified this in the policy planning debate and now they don't have the backbone to stick to their decision. 'But we are quite positive that we will continue to do the job of managing Guernsey's traffic and implementing the integrated road transport strategy the States agreed. It will now cost general revenue rather than the person who parks their car.' Deputy Mellor said the committee would be asking the States for more money to fund traffic management, including a free school bus service. 'The States has not said they don't want the strategy. It's still on the table and it's our job to find a different way to make it work,' she said. 'Now we have no alternative but to ask the States to fund everything in the strategy.' Some members were less than happy on a day when the States overturned paid parking and voted against Sunday trading, having previously rejected the proposal to spend millions on the Alderney breakwater. 'We have had quite a few days of making no decisions and I don't think it has done our reputation any good whatsoever,' said Deputy Jean Pritchard. But anti-paid parking protester Denise Taylor, who collected 750 signatures on a petition in four days, said she cried at the news. 'I'm ecstatic, over the moon,' she said. 'Paid parking wouldn't have solved anything and would've just been a nightmare.'