The number of private cars registered in London has grown from 1,945,000 in 1996 to 2,245,000 in 2003. A jump of over 15% in the number of cars belonging to Londoners over a seven year period. These figures don’t include lorries and vans, nor do they include the large number of cars which are untaxed.
Darren Johnson said:
"The reason there are so many parking problems is that there are too many cars. London’s roads are filling up and that turns into a whole heap of stress and aggrevation. Less cars would mean less parking tickets and less pressure on over crowded roads. We could start by getting rid of the 10% of vehicles which are unregistered, or illegally registered. Getting illegal vehicles off the road should be a priority for both parking wardens and the police in London. Road Safety experts suspect that these vehicles account for many of the hit and runs, which relate to a fifth of road casualties in London."
"We should spread the congestion charge and make traffic reduction a priority for London. With the Mayor planning to accommodate another 700,000 people in London, the roads will get worse and parking enforcement is going to both more stressful and more necessary."
The Greens are putting forward a series of measures which include:
· traffic wardens to prioritise removal of untaxed and dangerously parked vehicles;· local authorities to adopt incentive systems for contractors which penalise them for the number of proven complaints by motorists about wrongly issued tickets;· police to tow away and recycle untaxed and uninsured vehicles;· development of early warning messages which link the parking meter with mobile phones.· promoting car free developments for London’s new housing and shopping areas.