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It’s our over-reliance on cars that is real madness
• As I was travelling home from work on the bus this week I noticed the article headlined “Green tax is parking mad” (November 16).
As someone who voted in favour of the scheme I was pleased at the time of the referendum to see the council is taking action to try to address the fact that there are too many cars in Islington and wondered what the issue was.
While it appears from the article that certain individuals have received incorrect demands, it seems these were quickly corrected where there was an error.
However, I believe, along with the majority of Islington residents as shown in the recent referendum (or at least those who bothered to vote), that we needed to take action on this.
What is really mad is placing too much reliance on owning cars. As someone who used to own a car, I find a combination of public transport and the excellent streetcar scheme (for more details see www.streetcar.
co.uk) allows me to get around Islington and the rest of London without too many difficulties (subject to the vagaries of Transport for London).
While there are always going to be winners and losers in any new system, it seems unreasonable to claim that this is affecting the very poorest in Islington.
At the time of the last census, by my calculations about 58 per cent of households owned a car and I very much doubt that the majority of these are “Islington’s poorest”.
I hope those people who have been incorrectly categorised appeal and receive a correct demand, and that those who now find a permit much more expensive consider whether they really need to own a car and, if they do, what car they need to own.
ALEX OLLIER
Evershot Road, N4
q The green parking referendum was in no way an exercise in democracy.
Despite heavy promotion from the council, there was only a response rate of 28.8 per cent of all residents.
Lib Dems used terms like gas-guzzlers and green charging system to support the proposal. Yes, 56 per cent of those who voted supported the proposal but they represent fewer than 16 per cent of all Islington residents (source: Islington Council website). Hardly a ringing endorsement.
Surely, a referendum for change can only be credible if it has the support of a significant proportion of those people affected by it – say, 40 per cent of all residents.
MICHAEL CONSTABLE
Cruden Street, N1
q YOU give an instance of the council recognising where a motorist has been unfairly hit financially. After hearing his case, the council reduced his charge.
We are lucky to have a council that recognises anomalies in a scheme and reacts appropriately. It’s a good example of the Lib Dem council, under its new leader, Councillor James Kempton, “listening to Islington”.
TRICIA PEEL
Hemingford Road, N1
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