I couldn’t agree more with Rich Webber (Letters, May 4) concerning the proposals for a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) for the Hanover and Elm Grove areas of Brighton.

Brighton and Hove City Council is proposing a reduction of more than 50% in parking space in Carlyle Street, Arnold Street, Lynton Street and Baxter Street, where pavement parking would be banned and parking restricted to one side of the street.

Further space would effectively be removed by the introduction of a number of pay and display bays open to all.

So, the proposal is to charge residents more than £100 a year for losing more than half of their parking space.

And what problem does this scheme seek to address? In response to the council’s survey last year (which had a very poor response rate of 33%), none of the above streets reported any particular parking problem at all.

Despite this, the council wants to impose a blanket scheme and says it cannot condone pavement parking.

It has, however, produced no evidence at all to support its claims that “it causes a significant obstruction to pedestrians” or “is dangerous for all road uers” in the above streets. Other councils allow pavement parking in CPZs.

Residents of the affected streets reported no particular problem with pavement parking in the survey. In fact 50% of respondents in the entire survey zone, which included these streets, said it was never an inconvenience.

As far as my own street is concerned, effectively increasing the road width of Carlyle Street in this way would, as an unwelcome side-effect, be a further invitation to the idiots who regularly speed up the hill, ignoring the 20mph limit.

But the scheme is not a foregone conclusion. If individual streets or areas reject the proposals, they will not be included in the CPZ.

I urge them to respond to the council’s questionnaire by the deadline of May 28, 2010. We cannot afford to let this scheme in the back door with the same poor response rate last year’s survey received.

Residents can also directly lobby the responsible councillor: geoffrey.theobald@brighton-hove.gov.uk.

Stephen Requena
Carlyle Street, Brighton

Rick Webber suggests we reject the residents’ parking scheme for Hanover and Elm Grove, but he is lucky to be able to park two or three streets away and walk back.

In my road there are about eight houses in a row and another at the far end where current residents are all disabled and are having to cope with two disabled bays.

We all suffer from either severe osteoporosis, arthritis in both legs and neck or heart trouble and can’t walk the distance he is stating Sometimes my husband has to park at St Luke’s Church and hope I don’t need to drive the car myself next time, as there is no way I could walk that far to the car Please think of others apart from yourself. If you vote yes for this scheme there is a chance we all will be able to park near our homes and not have to fight for a place after a hard night’s work or for carers coming to help.

R Wilson
Tarner Road, Brighton

I understand Rich Webber. Ten days ago the council sent me a survey wanting my opinion on the car parking in the Queen’s Park area.

I have not had a car for two and a half years now, and gave up my council lock-up garage then as well.

I returned the survey with a letter asking why they had sent it to me in the first place. This is how they waste money.

Ray Fletcher
High Street, Brighton