Parking problems

Finding a parking space outside rows of terraced houses is becoming harder and harder as car ownership increases. Many households have more than one car. In most cases that means two cars per household. However, in my community (Mirpuri/ Pakistani), where extended families are quite normal, the situation is different. Many households have several cars.

On my street, a number of households have up to four cars. Our neighbours have three. A family several doors away have four- a black cab, a normal car for the driver of the black cab and a car each for his son and daughter. An elderly Irish couple, who have only one car, are paranoid about parking spaces. People try to avoid, out of courtesy, parking outside the couple’s home. However, occasionally the space is taken by visitors, much to the chagrin of the couple, who take it in turns to keep a look out for an opportunity to reclaim their place.

I am not sure what the solution is to this problem; a problem which, no doubt, is already affecting good neighbourly relations and may well increase. The tough answer may be to increase road tax rates where more than one car is registered at an address. This may not deter car ownership, particularly as many people own a car out of necessity to commute to work, given the sorry state of public transport. Like many other indirect tax rises, people may just take it on the chin.