Online voices

STORY:

A Sunderland football fan has criticised “ridiculous” evening parking charges after he was fined for failing to buy a ticket before a Black Cats match.

Neil Hopper: Ohh no the City centre is dying a death, it’s desperate ... I know what to do ... increase car parking charges and have traffic wardens work until God knows what hours to catch anyone out who has parked slightly incorrectly or might be 5mins over there ticket time.

Christopher Barker: Make the car parks free and it'll encourage people to use the city centre. Take a look at the retail parks around Roker and Hylton riverside, always packed with customers and their cars. I wonder what effect putting parking charges in those places would have on customer numbers?

Joe Bradley: City Centres on a life support and it feels like the council put a lot of effort into

Michael Pattison: Got a parking ticket at 5-45 on a Sunday at Seaburn sea front! I never gave it a thought of paying! Was my own fault I should have known better with our council’s policies driving people away from the area. pushing people away. Overly zealous restricted parking. Expensive car parks.

Elaine Davidson: Sunderland parking charges are extortionate. No one shops or eats in the town centre. The solution is obvious to me but not them.

Gordon Greenman: Yeah great idea! charge people so that they avoid Sunderland.

Stephen Moran: The whole area around the ground and the main road is all permit holders now? Will be a nightmare for people to get parked when we are back in the Premier League with 40k+ crowds again.

Jordan Broome: Its £2 to park there! I’m glad he got fined for not buying a ticket. £2 though come on.

David Woodward: Trust me... it ain’t the parking charges putting people off visiting Sunderland.

Michael Stafford: Having wardens working at 9.30 on a Friday night is absolutely ridiculous.

Neil Hutchinson: They wonder why the town centre is like a ghost town.