To be angry about paying 80p/hr to park in all of our boroughs parks?

[exexe]

Am I justified in being angry about this?

I have 2 young boys and we are always in the park. Last summer holiday we spent long afternoons in parks meeting up with friends, having picnics etc.
Now we have to pay everytime we go there. Its not close enough to walk.

Aren't we supposed to be encouraging our kids to be outdoors, playing sports and running around?
Just today I read an article about how kids to have lost touch with nature and are more into gadgets. Where else is the most conveniet place to get a bit of nature then going to the local parks, kicking up autumn leaves, feeding the ducks, getting excited about squirrels etc?

We pay a high council tax in this area too.
I've emailed them and our local MP but have had no responses.

I think this is wrong but am happy to hear if IABU

YABU get the bus ...cars don't exactly help the 'outdoors'

Meh. Presumably you were paying tax, petrol, insurance and maintenance for your car, so you were paying to get there anyway. Why not get the bus?

The council's just started charging for one of our big park car parks because it was being taken up by commuters all day (nearby station). There might be a similar reason behind your council's decision. Or it might just be trying to find ways to fund essential services now that the Tories have slashed its funding, which also seems fair enough to me.

There aren't any buses that go directly there and it would take a couple of buses and ages.

YANBU

Councils love to extract money every way they can. It may only be 80p now but I bet it will be nearer £2 by this time next year.

park in a street some way from the park and walk in ??
why do we object to paying for parking, the council has to get revenues from somewher.

well it's a minimum of twice that round here so I think you're lucky! Cycle?

but you could get a bus...you choose to drive...councils have to raise money somehow - council tax is frozen.

80p an hour is not too bad

Think 80p an hour is good for parking! YABU.

Mollymole thats what most people I know have been doing.
I don't mind paying for parking when shopping or whatever but I think 80p - £1.60 everytime you go to a park is a bit much.

Councils could increase council tax but the sneaky Tories have bribed them not to increase it.

I'd rather they did increase it because services for the underprivileged suffer and the councils make you pay anyway by charging for you to breathe.

What do you think the councils do with your parking fees? They use it to pay for the bins being emptied, the grass getting cut and the sports centres. If you dont want to pay it, don't.

80p/hour doesn't sound like a very expensive car park.

oh and what Iggly said ...I might still have a job next year if they did!

Firstly, 80p p/h isn't an unreasonable sum.

Secondly, I don't see how sticking kids on a car encourages an active lifestyle. Try cycling there Instead, its free and healthy.

Thirdly, as only motorists derive a benefit from the car park, they should contribute to its upkeep and maintenance and upkeep, rather than solely relying on general taxation.

YANBU.

I nanny for three children two days a week, two with disabilities and one of those cannot walk very far, buses are not an option! Parents took the disabled badge with them last week by accident in a rush to leave the house (it stays in the car when I'm not working) so I ended up having to pay for the parking at the park. £4 for 2 hours. Bloody ridiculous.

But they do have to make their money somehow (as others have said!)

pixie that is an issue if poor planning by the family you work for, no one is suggesting that blue badge holders shouldn't park for free or get priority.

yabu

here its £1, MINIMUM

I do not have the courage to cycle in this are let alone make my kids do it (who don't cycle without stabilisers atm)

YABU

Sounds quite cheap. Walk, cycle, get bus. Walking and cycling are excellent ways to get our kids outdoors and taking exercise. It's not that I don't sympathise because I do, it's a PITA. But we all need to get used to the idea that cars are a luxury we should be avoiding using whenever possible.

I don't think it's bad, even £4 for 2 hours play is quite a bargain when you compare it with a softplay area or something similar.

one pound minimum here too. sounds quite reasonable.

Well I did post to get other peoples opinions so thanks.

I'm not annoyed about this anymore especially as now I hear how others have to pay more.
My only other experiences of visiting parks are in other countys where its all still free.

Do they do an 'all day' price? Local beaches to me charge 80p and hour or £3 for all day, so works out allright, really.

Plus, park is a free day out, except for parking, so really, if you go for three hours, you and getting three hours of fun for £2.40.

I don't think YABU.

There are 2 parks close'ish to me in the local town. I live 7 miles out of town so can't bike or walk to these parks. One of them isn't served by a bus route. The other would need 2 buses there and 2 back and would cost more than the parking. That one is actually free at the moment though I hear a rumour it will soon charge.

The other one which is the one I used to go to more as its my side of town now charges £1 to park. I do still go there but only maybe once a month, we used to go once or twice a week. Its a shame.