Ah, the joys of parking. It sounds scary when you're doing it for the first time with an instructor. The fears of accidentally bumping into the car, letting go of the clutch, uncertain if you have fit the space and how much room you have. After passing your test, that's where I managed to feel more confident in parking my car in spaces. But the journey was not as smooth sailing.
I mostly have no problems with parking, but there have been times where things did not go to plan. I would like to share my experiences on this subject.
I recognise that face, that's me. I passed my driving test in October 2021. It took me four attempts to achieve liberty and drive my car unaccompanied. Now it meant I could take my car to drive my family to places, go anywhere I wanted for some time alone, pick up my brother or cousins from their schools and anything else.
To tell the truth, I have never parallel parked or reverse parked since my driving test and I'm glad I never have to do it again (unless I was found drink driving or I caused a serious accident).
On November, I wanted to go to Cheltenham to relax and shop for myself. That's when I parked in the NCP car park.
The NCP are basically National Car Parks that are operated in big towns and cities with a lot of spaces. Now it sounds good doesn't it? Parking spaces that can be easily found in big settlements.
I was given a ticket that is used to pay for my time after the day. But I thought I had to pay the price first by putting the ticket in and it confused me. No one was there and I called my dad; that was when he told me to find another car park. So, I went to Tewkesbury. More on that later.
NCP's pricing for car parking is weird and overpriced. Normally, parking spaces do not cost that much and I was genuinely surprised how much NCP's prices cost. I went to park there the second time and luckily someone was there to tell me how to pay.
Basically, I just had to park my car safely, which I did by finding a big space for me to easily get into; keep the ticket...and then pay after my day. And that's all I had to do. My fate with NCP was sealed when it was time to pay. And the price was £14.75, that is too much for a few hours in town. There are more car parks that pay less for that amount of time and I'm going to talk about one of them.
Inside the Regent Arcade
The Regent Arcade is a nice strip of shops that range from Decathlon to House of Fraser. What's even nice, on the other hand, is the car park there. What I like about it is that the higher you go, the more spaces there are.
Originally, I would find the first space and take it instantly (something I'd regret doing later on). I had a nice ticket with me when I got into the car park, but I was worried that if I bent it accidentally in my bag or pocket, I would lose it or it wouldn't work in the machine. Meaning I would be given a fine or be banned from the car park.
Fortunately, I can confirm that this has never happened to me and I'm still loyal to Regent Arcade's car park; even if the dizzying entrance does kind of put me off a bit. But what swooned me to keep on using the park is its prices. £4.50 for 3 hours and £6 for 4 hours, great prices for a lot of people. Good stuff.
But what's better than indoor parking spaces, outdoor parking spaces. In Tewkesbury, there is a big car park called Spring Gardens, where the Cascades Swimming Pool used to be.
I normally decide to skip parking in outdoor parks that only take coins, mainly because I don't have enough pound coins or the machines might not be working and would get a fine because of it. Luckily for me, there are so much free spaces. I could even do donuts if I wanted to. I wanted to stay for 3 hours, but then I put two £2 coins in the machine and it gave me a parking ticket that was valid for 24 hours! Now that's funny.
I had no plans to do anything at night and thought about staying for the nightlife in Tewkesbury. Then I chose just to stay for three hours and asked if someone wanted my ticket before I left the car park. No one wanted it, so I binned it when I got back home. It's all fun and games when a council owned car park makes things stress free.
Yet, there is another stress free car park. Park Campus. And how do I pay? Well, I could use my card or cash; but on the first few months I was at uni, there was something better I could use to park.
What you are looking at is an app called Just Park. The first time I parked here, I was confused how to pay. Then I saw the number of a passcode to allow me to pay my parking through an app. The price...£.73. for as much as long as 12 hours (unless it goes through the next day).
Because of this, parking at the University of Gloucestershire became stress free and made the journey from work to education more relaxing and straightforward.
My interpretation
But one day, I was a little late and quickly parked my care on two spaces. I went to class, enjoying a lesson in digital storytelling and then I came back and saw a yellow bag on the car window. It was a parking fine for parking on two lanes! Fortunately, they didn't penalise me and was given a warning. When my Dad found out, he was disappointed but admitted to me that he and my mum did a similar thing when their car was closely on the second space too. After that, I have never received a parking fine. But I was close to getting a second one months ago.
Crowngate Shopping Centre has in indoor parking space that is easy to pay for. While many spaces are either expensive or busy, Crowngate is mostly for me as I don't need a ticket to bring back, I just come back and pay there. However, there was one moment that made me decide not to park at Crowngate any more and it still haunts my mind.
I found a space on the second floor in the car park and thought I could easily park in. The problem, I have no censors on the front and I find it hard to see if I am not hitting something in front of me. So, I steered the wheel to my left, tried to park sensitively. But then I scratched my car with another car and I heard it. In stress, I left and drove to a safer parking space. What was worse is that someone behind me saw what I did and told me to contact the police and the driver.
Panicking, I asked my dad to help me out. He helped me contact the police; they told me to write a sign on the car I scratched and I waited for a response. I decided to leave Worcester and paid my time at the space. And then, I got a phone call from the person whose car I scratched. She told me that her car was crashed into by many people in the last year, but told me I was the only to leave a message on her car window and told me not to worry. I did not have to pay her, a massive sigh of relief. Ever since that day, I chose to find parking spaces that are way higher and have more space to park safely. The last time I parked in Crowngate was a month ago; it's still a dense car park.
So what are my tips for good parking? I decided to meet with my former driving Instructor who helped me pass my driving test. Andy Webb, of Progress Driving, has been teaching people to drive since 2004. He was happy to share his experiences of parking in Gloucestershire.
"Well, in my experience, drivers here are very good at parking, with a few exceptions." Andy recalls, "And, in those exceptional circumstances, you look, and you think, You've just taken up 3 spaces, because you're no good, or you can't be bothered."
"And when they've ended up on the pavement doing on-street parking, you look, and you think, Man! How did they do that?".
I decided to ask Andy if there are any tips for people on how to park safely. Andy agreed to share some of his.
"Make sure you're safe to start moving. Then, when you start turning, make sure you're far enough away from other vehicles, and you're keeping between lines and kerbs."
It's really that simple. With some help from Andy here are some tips to parking.
Research some car parks before leaving and choose a park
Use your GPS to pick a route to the park
Get there and take the ticket (if they have one)
Find a space and leave some space to get through
Turn, stay away from close vehicles
Make sure you're not close to one where scratches may occur
Drive through (with help from censors)
Stop your car when you're in the space
Be careful and open you door to check if you're in the space
If in, get out and lock your car
Make sure you pay by card or cash
If you bump or scratch a car, leave a message on the car with a written note
Overall, parking can have its advantages and disadvantages. There will be some parks that are cheap and some that are expensive. And there are some that are spacious and some that are too close. To tell the truth, find a good space and pay. Just make sure you are doing it right.
Comments