Your chance to help change Salisbury's parking charges

AT LAST, the first tentative steps towards a possible cut in our parking charges have been taken.
A parking review task group held its inaugural meeting last week (in Trowbridge, naturally).
You can tell how seriously the Conservative administration is taking it. Jane Scott has put her right-hand man, John Thomson, in charge.
Well, there is a general election coming up next year and a lot of Tory voters are currently feeling less than gruntled.
However, even I have to admit that cllr Thomson’s grasp of the minutiae of his previous portfolio, adult social care, was impressive, so that gives me hope of a common-sense outcome.
The man tasked with representing the city in these delicate negotiations is cllr John Walsh – a Labour stalwart who represents Fisherton and Bemerton Village .
Appearing on behalf of other bits of South Wiltshire is Conservative Bridget Wayman, of Nadder & East Knoyle.
The group appears to be a genuine cross-party affair, which is another encouraging sign.
But we have to bear in mind that we aren’t the only ones who need to be appeased. Across the Plain, although their charges are far lower than ours, residents also consider that unreasonable rises were foisted on them.
That’s part of the fun of being bulldozed into a unitary authority - as David Cameron would say: “We’re all in this together.”
To my mind, the big question is this: Is the council prepared to invest, by cutting its charges significantly and introducing user-friendly pay-on-exit technology, in the hope that car park usage (and city centre trade) will increase as a result?
Or will it just rejig the status quo, fiddling about with a 10p increase here and a 15p decrease there, and encouraging its traffic wardens to continue scaring the pants off otherwise law-abiding citizens?
Various bodies, such as the Vision (including City Centre Management), Area Board and City Council will be expected to contribute their views on what the new charging regime should be. Proposals will go out to public consultation later in the year.
But I think the public ought to consult themselves in advance, and make their views known to our city and unitary councillors and traders’ representatives right now.
After the debacle of 2011, do you really think it’s wise to leave it to the great and good to come up with a take-it-or-leave-it package? Neither do I. Leave them in no doubt. Tell them what you want.