Pain in the Arse Parking

Us students with cars are at our wits ends with parking in Nottingham, it is a complete nightmare. Those living in the Lenton triangle pay £70 for a permit and spend an age squeezing their cars through the overpopulated streets to find a space.

Parking on campus is even worse. It seems ironic that students, of all people, are ‘not permitted’ to park at Uni.

Parking permits are clearly a necessity. Without these any old sod could plop their car into a tight space in Lenton and avoid the expensive car parks in town.

It’s expensive, provided you can find a space

But here lies the problem; students are the only residents who have to pay for a parking permit. No joke. If you can prove that you have lived at the same address for a measly two years then you are granted one for free because you are officially a “local”.

As of 2011, the council decided it was about time that non tax payers paid for their car to sit quietly on the miserable roads of the Lenton Triangle. Only it turns out that in reality the only residents to be put into this predicament of ‘pay for a permit or pay a fine’ are students.

Make sure the parents don’t visit on a Saturday…

As for the University campus, isn’t this supposed to be for students? Or perhaps I’m missing the point. Inside the hours of 9.15am to 4pm, students aren’t allowed to park anywhere on campus.

Although there are nicely placed signs all over campus for “Visitor Car Parks”, the University Parking Regulations clearly state that under no circumstances do students constitute as visitors.

If you’re thinking about nipping to the library one afternoon with your mountain of heavy textbooks to return, don’t bother. Security are waiting patiently for students to make this mistake and will quickly charge you with a  £50 fine, which swiftly rises to £150 for “refusal” to pay.

Plenty of spaces in the visitor car park…

As long as they’re making money off students, I don’t see this coming to an end; ludicrous tuition fees, massive bin fines, and financial persecution for parking at the “inconvenient” times in the middle of the day.

It’s a shame that whilst newly housed second years flock with enthusiasm to the Lenton Triangle, the powers that be are rubbing their hands together in anticipation of the influx of parking permits. Taking advantage or simply taking the piss?

One word of advice for those willing to pay the permit fee, please get some practice parallel parking first.