Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Free car parks....

With the cost of parking becoming a contentitious issue TonbridgeBlog asks where are all the free parking slots these days. We ought to draw up a visitors guide to parking for cheapskates. More likely we'd want to keep them all for ourselves but let's have a go anyway. I'll start the ball rolling and say that, if you don't mind a short walk through Mill Crescent and the parish churchyard, you can park for free all day in the Homebase car park. Or B&Q/Halfords and walk along the tow path past the gas station and town lock, coming out right in the centre of town at the big bridge. There are others on the fringes of the town, like near the old Star and Garter junction, any others?...

6 comments:

Unknown said...

You can park for free for 1hr in the first bay in Mill Lane. The bays further down are free all day apart from between 2-3pm. There are no problems finding a bay but do remember the 2-3pm slot as the traffic wardens are hot.

The Tomahawk Kid said...

If I can't now get my usual free parking space tomorrow there will be trouble TB!

There are lots of free slots during the daytime as long as you are not going to be there for the whole day.

The best advice to any visitors is probably to cough up and use the car parks given the inflexible attitude of the extorsion enforcement officers. I parked over at Homebase the other day and was walking into town at just before 8.00 am and spotted a traffic warden photographing a car parked in Mill Lane with his mobile phone. Rather than keep the important roads clear they are much more interested in catching out people parked on the back roads with the stupid 2 hour no-go slots!

Paul Bailey said...

I would be careful TB, advertising "free car-parking" at Homebase and B&Q. Quite a few of these stores impose a time limit on how long cusomers can park in their car-parks - take a trip over to Maidstone and you'll see what I mean! ASDA's in Swanley have a 4 hour limit, and I believe Sainsburys/Homebase also have a time limit at their West Station site in Tunbridge Wells.

Your publicising "free parking" might encourage the management at the Tonbridge branches of these stores to do the same thing. Not the wisest of moves, TB!

Paul Bailey said...

btw. this comment moderation really is a nuisance, TB. Surely no-one has been that offensive; certainly not enough to enrage Google into closing your site down?

I don't want to stir things up, or play "devil's advocate", but isn't all this just an attempt to silence a certain bookshop proprietor?

Tonbridge blogger said...

PB: actually I haven't stopped any of the comments from the bookseller you might be referring to going under the blog name Alesteir Crowley. No actually I've blocked two or three which were fanning the flames, using unacceptable profanities and just being too personal towards me and members of my family. I will lift it before too long I'm sure, but what would you have done?

Paul Bailey said...

Fair comment, TB, didn't realise things were getting that personal. I would have done the same.

It's a pity all these anonymous commentators haven't got the strength of character to publish their real names. Anyone can be insulting when they hide behind a cloak of anonymity.