00:00It's a criminal. Insane. Joke.
00:03Medway drivers are facing another rise in parking charges, with prices for stays over an hour
00:10increasing by a whopping 20%. It's part of a wider attempt from the council to balance
00:16the books, but for many it's yet another increase in costs.
00:21From May 1st, the price of parking in council-owned spots will be jumping from £2.40 to £2.90
00:28for one hour, and £3.50 if you're parked for two hours. The 30-minute parking tariff will
00:34be reduced from £1.90 to £1. The council argues that this will help the local economy
00:40and local traders across Medway, but some are saying that this option isn't enough.
00:46Others fear that the increase could put customers off entirely, and push shoppers towards out
00:52of town retail shopping where parking is free.
00:55Well, people are always conscious of how long and how much parking is going to take up.
01:00I think just being in awareness that the higher it comes, the more of a choice people have
01:05to make, and they might then have to cancel a whole day here, and we are a tourist town,
01:10so to make it more appealing for people to stay for longer is always a good thing, I think.
01:15So what do shoppers on Rochester High Street think of the changes?
01:20Well, I don't know where people are going to get the money from all the time. This is
01:24the thing, cost of living, wages aren't going up, but obviously everything else is.
01:29It's bad, because we're all paying so much to park somewhere, and we don't all have the
01:34amount of money to be paying. We don't get paid enough. I just think it's ridiculous.
01:40I'm not too happy. Everything's going up so much in price. How were we ever meant that
01:45businesses are going to go out of money because people can't afford to park anymore?
01:48A worker at the Houndhot told me she's worried about the rise in parking charges, as she relies
01:54on parking in Rochester every day while working full-time.
01:58It's costing me like over nearly £200 a month in parking. Obviously I work full-time, five
02:05days a week, I'm here all the time, so even just as a cost of running a business and getting
02:10here is very difficult. Most people that come in here, they spend like a good three or so hours.
02:17With this being another increase in two years, this debate over parking charges isn't going
02:22away. Whether the rise ends up costing the local economy remains to be seen. For now,
02:28drivers are preparing to pay a little more, and businesses are hoping the change won't
02:33drive customers elsewhere. Brandon Perfett, for KMTV, in Rochester.
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