News » Car Parking in Walton
23rd Apr 2010 20:54
Posted by: Andrew Reid
Posted by: Andrew Reid
The proposed Walton controlled parking scheme has been met with mixed feelings in the town, with some in favour and others strongly opposed to aspects of it. Clearly, for safety reasons and for allowing the free flow of traffic, the situation on some roads is unacceptable. This is particularly the case with New Zealand Avenue and in the approach to Halfway on the Hersham Road. In streets near the town centre, cars parked all day have caused problems for local residents. Our concern here is that more residents could be tempted to convert front gardens into parking areas, and the CPZ scheme, which seems to work well in other areas, could prevent this from happening. The problem arises mainly from the high charges imposed in town centre and station car parks which are now left with spare capacity. The view of the Society is that we will support the majority view in any particular road, as we recognise that each road has its own needs. We note that a number of on-road parking areas near the town centre will be re-designated as free short term spaces and that this should benefit traders in the High Street. Though we would also hope that some spaces in the Multi-storey car park could be released for all day parking for people working in the town, it does seem that there is insufficient capacity in the town centre car parks to meet the needs of the shoppers, (who maintain the viability of the shops) and the large number of people employed in the town. Perhaps the Walton Business Group could take the initiative and investigate some form of park-and-ride scheme for their members to help to solve this particular problem.
