Those who live in Enfield know well how difficult finding a free car park space after 6 p.m. really is. Is this problem caused by the bad Enfield car parking permits management by the local council or rather a lack of common sense by the local residents in Enfield? If finding the available car park space in Enfield is so difficult, why do some people own and park more than one car in front of their houses in Enfield? Some of the incumbent residents of Enfield interviewed for the purpose of writing this blog post think that the situation with car parking in Enfield and Enfield car parking permits got worse over the last 10 years. The areas close to Enfield Town were always short of the available car park spaces but since the conservative government came into power, Enfield became the Greater London’s refugee camp. As a result of the government’s social housing policy, the working families of Central London could no longer afford to live there and lots of families moved to Enfield. Many of those who recently moved to Enfield perceive the borough as the place that is deprived from good transportation links. Lets don’t forget that Enfield Town Station is served by only two trains per hour. Having a car seems to be the only option for many residents of Enfield.
Why is nothing done to improve the situation with Enfield car parking permits?
The authorities of London support the idea that London is a large city with good public transportation links and for this reason there is no need for people to own cars. The streets of Enfield are being narrowed and cycling lanes are being built to encourage more cyclists (the new cycling path on Green Lanes connecting Enfield Town on Palmers Green). Unfortunately, too many in Enfield are not getting the message and still keep wasting their time in Enfield traffic jams and pay for the expensive Enfield car parking permits to be ale to park near to their homes.
So why wouldn’t Enfield Council send a clear message to local residents to stop driving?
One of the reasons for the councils’ inaction in this regard is the lack of budget for this kinds of public campaigns and communications. This is a reasonable assumption to be made, considering the poor customer service the people of Enfield are receiving since the conservative government have cut the finance for public services in Enfield. The other reason for the lack of action by the local authorities to deal with congested London streets is the strong car manufacturing lobby. Lets don’t forget that Britain is still a major manufacturer of cars and the local market is still the main driver behind it.
Are the residents of Enfield hostage to the British car industry?
Probably yes, and this is because the car industry in the UK it’s one of the main sources of employment for lots of people and is generating huge revenue for the British Government. The more cars we drive the more taxes we pay, so any action by the local authorities designed to reduce the number of cars on the streets of Enfield could undermine the ability of the government to collect large sums in taxes.
What are the other reasons people don’t give up their cars in Enfield?
The other, less obvious reason for the Enfield car parking permits and problems with the congestion on Enfield roads is the fact that many moved to Enfield recently. Many of the new Enfieldians come from countries where a car is an absolute must have. In places such as the United States and most of the African countries, people are simply dependent on their cars for everything. Many of the new Enfieldians come from these countries. It’s unlikely that they going to change their habits just because they moved to a new country. It’s easy to fly to another country but it’s much harder to adjust to the new reality and change habits.
What can be done to change this?
Both, the local council and the authority of London should allocate budgets for the public information campaign designed to inform the people about the benefits of giving up cars and switching to cycling or using the public transportation. The transition from using cars to using public transportation should be gradual for Enfieldians. The benefit of such campaign would be seen in the increased demand for public transportation services which in the same time would grow the revenue of the Transport for London company. The extra money collected by the transportation firms should be spent on the improvement of public transportation infrastructure, for example; building a tram line from Enfield to other parts of London. For more interesting articles about Enfield please visit the homepage of Plumbers Enfield website.
If you miss this collection, direct yourself towards Bromley North Station and look out for the postbox located right next to the Royal Mail Delivery Office. They collect post from there at 7 p.m. For the collection times from other postboxes in Bromley, please visit the homepage of Plumber Bromley website.