Barnet Council needs to get a grip on parking in Barnet.

It seems Councillor Brian Coleman is waging war on motorists in the borough without thinking through the consequences.

It is totally unacceptable that the transport committee, of which he is chairman, is overseeing a parking enforcement service that is not fit for purpose.

Westminster City Council operates a system where you register your vehicle and a debit or credit card and you are then able to text the service with your parking requirements.

It acknowledges your request within a minute by text.

In a few places, that council also provides ticket machines which take debit/credit cards that can be useful because there is no additional charge for the service.

Westminster moved over to the cashless option because of problems of theft from meters and machines and the cost of collecting cash and moving it about.

However, other London boroughs including Camden, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Brent seem quite happy to deploy machines that accept cash, so why not Barnet?

Perhaps it has installed machines which have proved to be high maintenance, in which case, it needs to communicate with other boroughs for their feedback.

It is not acceptable that innocent motorists are being unduly stressed out and in some cases, distressed, because the transport committee has not thought things out properly.

For those unlucky enough to get a parking ticket, the misery might not end there. If you ring up parking services, you are more than likely to be kept waiting 20 minutes before you get through.

If you appeal the ticket by email, you cannot be certain the parking department will deal with your appeal, even though its automatic service has acknowledged receipt of your email.

I received a letter threatening the bailiffs after I appealed in this way.

The transport committee needs to take parking issues in the borough seriously and listen to those who have been adversely affected.

There is an election next year for the London Assembly and Cllr Coleman may yet regret that he has gone out of his way to upset so many people.

Michael Zegerman
Woodfield Avenue, Colindale