Editorial

EDITORIAL

Clear parking hours are welcome but some questions remain…

Arusha City Council’s clarification last week of parking fee collection hours addresses a longstanding source of motorists’ frustration. The rules are now clear: fees may be collected from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm on weekdays, until 1:00 pm on Saturdays and not at all on Sundays or public holidays. This is a welcome step.

The clarification should reduce disputes between motorists and parking attendants and make enforcement more consistent. However motorists also need to know where parking fees apply.

The regulations refer to designated parking areas. The council should therefore publish a list of the streets and spaces, where parking fees apply, clearly mark parking bays and install in signs where possible. Motorists should not be expected to pay simply because they have stopped somewhere in the city. Nor should they have to guess whether a space attracts a fee before leaving their vehicle.

Charging for parking where there are no marked bays or other clear indications of an authorised parking area would be difficult to justify. Clear designation would also improve financial accountability: it would help establish how many chargeable spaces exist, what revenue might reasonably be expected and whether collections match the use of those spaces.

The public should also be able to see how much parking revenue is collected, what it costs to administer the system and how much any surplus is spent. Parking fees are public revenue and should openly be accounted for.

The council’s clarification is a good start. Clear information on parking locations, proper marking, transparent billing and public reporting should be built on the system and strengthen confidence on it.

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