More stupid statistics

Gone are my regular morning swims at Bondi. Maybe they'll start up again when the kids are a bit older, but for the moment, a splash and a feed just after dawn are out of the question.

I lived through the horror of the introduction of parking meters at Bondi. Waverly Council, which incorporates Bondi, gave new meaning to rape and pillage when they installed those meters. They need enormous garbage trucks to cart away all the gold coins that end up in them.

Two years ago businesses in Bondi argued that parking meters were causing a dowturn in business, despite evidence from the council that they led to a higher turnover of visitors.

Yes, you may well get higher turnover than before - but that doesn't mean that visitors are relaxing and sticking around the spend some cash locally. What I normally do is park a few streets back from the beach, where the parking is still free, and put up with the extra walk to the beach. I figure that since I am going to the beach to do a long swim in order to maintain some level of fitness, walking an extra 500 metres each way is not a bad idea either.

Since the parking is free, the pressure is off as far as leaving is concerned. That allows me to swim for up to an hour, then waddle over to one of the many fine cafes for a plate of eggs and a coffee; and perhaps a bit of time to linger over the paper as the salt dries in my hair.

However, I used to see plenty of bolters - people that would park at a meter, run to the beach, run into the water, swim like madmen, then shoot out of the water and race back to their car before the meter expired. Got time for a coffee and a relaxing chat? Ah, no. Got to run before the Parking Nazis get me.

Turnover of parking spots and turnover in a shop are not the same thing. But then again, I always found that Waverly Council was stuffed full of loopy greens and commies, so their attitude is not surprising.