boomer

I am driving down to Islington tomorrow (no early trains and a pending tube strike that the BBC seem reluctant to mention on the news), so i need to find somewhere to park.

According to Find a Carpark / Car parking space - Carparks4u.com there is bugger-all in the area - most car parks seems to be right next to the Kengestion Zone.

I am doing some work on the Pooters at the St Mary Magdalene Academy, just off the A1 and near to the Arsenal stadium. Google Earth shows much of the area is 20mph zones and (i believe) residents-only parking, and i want to remain as safe as possible from the Parking Hitlers. Unbelievably the school is "proud" to have no on-site parking whatsoever, save a couple of disabled bays

So, what is my best bet? Cost (within reason) is not a problem, but i would prefer a proper "lot" rather than having to keep popping out to feed a meter.

Anyone know the area and who can advise?

Thanks in advance,

mb

fatherpierre

Metre feeding unless you want a long walk.

The area you are parking has one of the highest rates of car crime in the UK. Leave anything of value in your car and it won't be there when you return to it.

The only secure car park I can think of is either in the N1 Centre or Business Design Centre - both at the bottom of Upper Street, and about a mile or so from where you're working. There's also a tiny pay place, but again, next to the N1 Centre.

All the parks mentioned above are just outside the charge zone, though.

boomer

fatherpierre,

thanks for the info (and the big worry about crime )

The N1/BDC is down at the bottom, where Liverpool Road re-joins the A1 yes?

Thus is it best (coming from the North) to drive down the A1 or the B515 to get to the parking - i.e. where abouts is the entrance?

I must admit, Google Earth has some pretty impressive resolution over that area - but despite tilting the map, i still can't read the roadsigns

Cheers,

mb

fatherpierre

For BDC and N1 parking the entrance is from Upper St (A1) - both accessed from the same road, Berners Road.

BDC is your best. I think N1 Centre is pretty limited in size. There's also a small car park (manned) on Parkfield St which might be cheaper.

Parking's an absolute nightmare in Islington - there's not one single area in the southern area of the borough that you can park for free inside normal hours.

Other solutions are to park outside that area and get a bus in. But you're probably able to claim the cash back, so not an issue.

VoteConservative!

Near highbury and islington tube station there is all day parking for either 5 or 10 pounds cant remember. The parking is where there used to be a ford dealership.

fatherpierre

That'll be the Ford Dealership that's still there then.

It closed down and was then re-opened soon after. They might let you park on their lot if you buy a good quality, used Focus at the sticker price

boomer

fatherpierre,

looks like the BDC it is then

Cheers

I'll be down at the crack of dawn, so hopefully there will be some spaces left.

After spending a few hours looking into the various ways of getting down there (from Tamworth) i am amazed that anyone can be bothered to travel to London EVER!!

Driving will undoubtedly be a pain, both on the M1 (probably from Luton onwards) and the approaches to London. Parking is next to impossible within a mile of where you want to go, and it costs everywhere (apart from residents bays where you can't park anyway). And if you do manage to park, you could well get your car nicked

However, public transport is next to useless. To get down there just about "on time" i will need to leave Tamworth at 23:18 the day before, spend nearly eight and a half hours on two different trains, only have an arriving tube to catch ('cos they will be on strike by evening) and pay over ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY QUID (cattle class) for the privilege (unless i buy a super-apex, advanced, no refunds, fixed departure and arrival, only valid between 11:45 and 12:15, student railcard type ticket several days before i even know that i will be travelling).

Good luck for the Olympics - you will bloody need it!

mb

fatherpierre

Too many people packed into a small area! Islington has around the population of Bristol but is the size of a medium village in terms of area, so cars aren't loved!


There is a mini cab office on Upper St, right next to the BDC for your trip. Much cheaper than a black cab.

Enjoy.

Freak

Not on a tube strike day.....

Prepare to bend over and get shafted

Having lived in Angel (right by the BDC as it happens) I can confidently say that there is very little parking n the area. Most is residents. Few pay and displays but they are for a few hours max.
If you do find somewhwhere on the road for gods sake leave nothing on show. At all. It is rife with scum having a look because of the rich pickings on offer, it being such an affluent area.
BDC is probably your best bet TBH.
There used to be a multi storey up on the holloway rd (A1) by a little shopping centre right near holloway tube. No idea if that is still there, but that is an even more rat infested area- and NOT because of its affluence

fatherpierre

The other option is to park in Sainsbury's on Tolpuddle St. and buy a bit of shopping before leaving

Car (theft from) capital of Europe

Freak

When I lived there, that was 2 hours or maybe 90 mins max (cant remember which).
Right by the cop shop too so not far for the traffic hitlers to waddle!

Used to live a couple of streets from there and the parking drove me insane- even with a residents permit.

TopBanana

Yes - BDC is £20 for a full day I think

boomer

Well i am back, after parking ( at fatherpierre's suggestion) in the "small car park (manned) on Parkfield St" - fifteen quid for the day

The N1 Centre was up to thirty quid for the day and the BDC didn't even display it's prices outside - hence the Parfield Street one - oh, and the fact that i arrived at 7:45 so was about the third car in there!

A pleasant 20 minutes walk up Liverpool Road, followed by a Millenium (chips, beans, two rashers bacon, two eggs, large sausage, beefburger, two slices of toast and a mugs of tea for four quid) breakfast at a cafe got the day off to a good start.

At the end of the day, another 20 minute walk back (this time in the warm sun) to an intact and non-broken-into car.

It was just the driving to and from Islington the was the pain - what a horrible area. It took me as long to drive North back to St Mary Magdalene as it took me to walk down to the carpark - and then the traffic got worse. I doubt that it had anything to do with the tube-strike - just badly (anti-car) designed roads. Almost constant bus lanes, riddled with cameras in case you dared wander tooo far to the left. Red Route signs every six feet telling you what you can and can't do - some over ten feet square, saying things like "You mustn't even think about waiting on the red route at any time whatsoever unless you are unloading in which case you have up to 20 minutes except between 07:00 and 19:00 apart from disabled drivers who can park for up to three hours except on a matchday the next one of which is due on Sunday 2nd September unless..." at which point you have crashed into the car in front whilst trying to read it just in case it actually has anything of any relevance written on it. Oh, and whilst i was eating breakfast, a bus driver parked the wrong way in a bus lane, on a Red Route to get a bite to eat - how the heck does that work????

Then there are the speed cameras, which unless they have a trigger speed of 0.0001mph they will never go off due to congestion, but they are not all nice and yellow - oh, no - the ones at the start of Liverpool Road are painted completely in matt-black - Hotblack Desiato style!!

And the parking - residents only pretty much everywhere, apart from more matchday restrictions, with big signs on almost every lamp-post, and traffic wardens around every corner waiting to pounce - aaaaaarrrrggggggghhhhhh!!!!

I reckon that if they took the money that has been spent on the signs and the red tarmac and the speed cameras and the red lines and the bus-lane cameras and more signs and the bus lanes and the awkward traffic islands and the traffic wardens etc., and invested it directly in road infrastructure - they could build and underground 8-lane highway directly under the A1, keeping the drivers happy and creating a pleasant pedestrian-friendly environment above. They would hopefully have enough money left to build a "B-Ark" to send all the sign-writers and camera-makers and traffic wardens and red-tarmac mixers and bus-lane camera observers etc. off to prepare another planet for the rest of the Earth's population's eventual escape

Phew, sorry - i got a bit carried away there. It really does seem a nice area (assuming you don't drive and don't have to carry anything to do your job).

Cheers,

mb