Drivers have slammed “bizarre” and “grossly unfair” plans by Green Party councillors to charge SUV and large vehicle owners more to park in Oxford. The Mail has the story.
The scheme would bring the university city in line with the likes of Paris, which has seen parking charges triple for drivers of 4x4s, and Bath, which introduced an emissions-based parking charge last year.
Oxford’s councillors argue that larger and heavier cars not only cause more damage to roads but are more likely to kill or injure pedestrians and cause secondary illnesses through its emissions.
Yet motorists have said increasing the city’s already expensive car parking charges – which can reach up to £39.10 for a day – would be “ridiculous” with taxi drivers and traders claiming they would have to stop working in the city.
Emily Kerr, a Green Party councillor who proposed the policy, told MailOnline the plans were a “common sense” approach to the worldwide issue of cars getting bigger while our roads stay the same size.
She said: “As the Green Party in Oxford we put forward a motion to the city council to investigate size, weight and emission based parking charges. This would mean that larger and heavier cars would pay more.
“It is undeniable that bigger cars take up more space and we have seen that cars have grown hugely – the Mini has grown 60%, the Golf has grown 40% – and car parking spaces are based off old cars.
“So what you are seeing now is that there is not enough space in car parks, a car might physically be able to fit in a space but they cannot open their doors when another vehicle is next to it.”
Drivers in Oxford, however, slammed the proposed policy claiming that the public would view it as nothing more than a “cash grab” from the council.
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