Parking Issues in the UK Traffic Wardens Congestion
There are various issues with trying to park in the United Kingdom. How they affect people, however, is dependent on whether the driver is a resident of the country or just a visitor, and whether they are living in or visiting a town or a rural area. Each has its own set of problems and, if there's one thing one can consistently say about parking in the UK, forewarned is most definitely forearmed!
Anyone living and driving in London knows the difficulty of finding parking at a sensible cost within half a mile of their destination... and is familiar with the uniformed menace of traffic wardens waiting for them to go over their purchased parking time by so much as one minute. With multi-storey car parks in the West End charging up to thirty or forty pounds per hour, these are barely an option for many people, and even those outside the Congestion Charge Zone often charge ten pounds per hour or more, depending on their location. In short, if you want to visit Central London, avoid coming by car at all costs. If you have no choice, try and park somewhere in the suburbs near a tube station and then use public transport to get about.
Outside of Central London, the situation is slightly better - after all, there's no Congestion Charge - but you cannot always expect to be able to park exactly where you want. London is an old, sprawling metropolis and, while there are wide roads in many places, chances are that shopping streets are either two lanes with no parking, two lanes with limited parking on one side, or pedestrianised with parking somewhere round a one-way system on a back street. Double parking is not even worth thinking about: I've seen vehicles go from parked to towed in less than five minutes. Check your map before you go, or plan your route with theAA's web sitewhere you can request a map that includes the location of car parks both along your route and near your destination.
If you venture outside of London, there are certainly fewer cars on the roads, but parking is not always easy. County towns often have one-way systems where no parking is permitted, and you have to play 'hunt the car park' as you go. Small market towns often pedestrianise their central shopping areas while providing small car parks nearby for shoppers. Villages will usually have a handful of spaces available in the centre, but be careful where you park along country roads. On many of the narrower roads that are barely more than single track lanes, there are often little cut-outs along the side of the road. I have seen many a tourist park there and completely snarl up the traffic, simply because they have not realised they are in a passing space, not a parking space. Similarly, parking your car in the gateway to a field may get it off the road, but if you leave it there and go off for a hike, don't be surprised to find some irate farmer has towed you further down the road because you were blocking access to his field.
For our American friends, driving and parking in the UK can feel like being on another planet. For one thing, roads are wider in the States and generally towns and cities are designed with drivers in mind, which is perfectly logical because the USA has plenty of space. If you're used to driving a big car and just pulling in to spaces, rather than parallel parking or manoeuvring into whatever small space is available, it's worth considering whether you want to drive somewhere that has lots of narrow roads and very limited parking, where you'll find yourself planning your parking for as long as the activity you were travelling to in the first place. For another, be aware that the average traffic warden is immune to charm, good humour, begging or threats, so unless you're absolutely sure you're properly parked it may simply be worth using public transport or cabs instead.
For English readers, one of the easiest ways of avoiding coming unstuck is to make sure you read the road signs. Many people don't read them properly and get ticketed or towed as a result. Check the times on the sign - it may even be that you can park somewhere legally, and for free, when you thought you couldn't. One great example of this is the clutch of side-streets round Selfridges in the West End, where you can find free parking on weekend afternoons if you read the signs carefully, rather than paying NCP a king's ransom to stash your car off the street.
Ultimately, the UK has no constitution and, even if it did, there would be no clause proclaiming our universal right to park in a convenient place. The country is small, the number of cars on the roads ever-increasing, the number of towns pedestrianising shopping areas is also on the up. The situation is not going to get better. With the exception of the disabled, who have blue badges permitting them certain privileges, it does none of us any harm to walk a short distance to our destination, even if it is wet or cold outside at the time. Further, it does us no harm to take public transport, where it's available, where we needn't worry about getting back to the car in time, or whether it'll still be there when we've finished shopping. Here endeth the lecture. Happy parking, everyone!
