I REFER to the letter in The Argus headed "Visitor's fury over 'absurd and inept' parking system".

Welcome Mr Greg Porter to life in Brighton and Hove.

Local residents have been pointing out for ages that for varied reasons, many of which you experienced in your trip to the city,  the current parking system is not fit for purpose.

The cynic would say that is just what the council wants as it is dead set against motorists. Again as has been pointed out many times, the parking system disenfranchises many groups in society, and that from a council that boasts itself on being all inclusive.

Many of us locals now travel to Worthing, Eastbourne, Tunbridge Wells or Horsham where councils are far more proactive in catering for residents and tourists who wish to pay for parking in a variety of ways, although I realise if Mr Porter needs to attend a venue in Hove that is not much help.

On a recent trip to Eastbourne I noticed parking vouchers have been reintroduced. I wrote some months ago to Bella Sankey and suggested this may be an alternative. Books of vouchers could be bought from PayPoints and the required number displayed on dashboards as in the "good old days". Needless to say I have had no reply from Bella Sankey or the council.

Here is part of the letter. Maybe if someone on the transport committee reads it they could do me the courtesy of a response:

As a person who cannot use their phone to pay for parking and if I could would not choose to, may I suggest the council considers reintroducing voucher parking as an alternative way to pay if they will not reinstate cash options? To limit the ability to pay for parking by only allowing phone transactions disenfranchises whole sections of the population. It is also unworkable if a phone signal can't be obtained. To say that people can pay at shops with PayPoint is impractical as the shop may be some way from the parking space meaning either one pays and returns to find the space has gone, or you park, walk to the shop and return to a parking ticket. Parking along Kingsway in Hove would be a case in point if wishing to use any of the cafes or facilities along the seafront.

If PayPoint shops sold books of vouchers, as in the old days, the correct number of vouchers could be displayed on the dashboard totalling the parking price in that zone.

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