UPDATE: I have now had a briefing from a transport planner and can confirm that contrary to what the council's press release says the parking bays on the Wokingham Road are being changed subtly to white marked bays as part of a Red Route. This means that anyone parking outside of the bay (double parking for example) should hopefully get a ticket. However pay-and-display machines (with a free 30 minutes) will still be needed to make sure people don't stay in the bays for too long.
The council has started consulting on a Red Route along the number 17 bus route. We think this is generally a good thing for creating a more reliable bus service. We also think that if done right it could tackle the Wokingham Road parking problems in the vicinity of Alfred Sutton school.
As you can see from the plans – linked to from the consultation page – the Red Route won't impact on the majority of the parking in the Wokingham Road shopping area. This means that the double parking would continue.
We think the council needs to introduce pay-and-display machines in this area at the same time as the Red Route. The pay-and-display machines could have a free first half hour so the free parking would be the same as it is now. However it would be easier for the traffic wardens to issue tickets as they would only need to do one pass – as opposed to the situation at the moment where what they need to do one pass to see who is parked there and a second pass to issue tickets, by which time everyone has seen them and moved.
Please respond to the consultation with your thoughts.
3 comments:
I don't think pay and display at Wokingham road shops is a good idea, as it will just push the parking problem onto free side roads. The double parking is at peak hours and for short periods of time, therefore pay and display would not affect it. It would just affect people visiting cafes or restaurants etc., penalising local businesses.
Hi Lindsay, at the moment the restriction there only allows you to park for 30 minutes. We would want the pay-and-display machines to give people a free first 30 minutes, so there would be no difference in the time people are allowed to park for free. The difference would be that it would be easier to issue a ticket to anyone who parked for longer. This would help tackle the overstaying in these parking spaces and the double parking.
Lindsay.
I am not sure what you are really saying, but you indicate that it is OK for drivers to double park and block the carriageway whilst they visit a cafe or restaurant?
It might be better to open up PP ave for the first few yards to enable access from Wokingham Road to the car park from the Corner. Parking on a residential road outside someones house for commercial purposes is just a No No. Almost like someone parking in your driveway to go shopping!
Maybe a 15 min free limit should apply for those who shop for a bottle of milk with a three ton truck.
My real solution is to leave the car at Home.
Post a Comment