Say "no" to station car park expansion
By ajamev | Tuesday, January 19, 2010, 17:11
Does Berkhamsted have a parking problem? Yes. Will the expansion of the station car park help solve the problem? Not one bit. The station car park is rarely more than 70% full at peak times (around 11am on weekdays is the time to check, according to London Midland) so additional capacity is simply not needed.
What this extension would provide however is a covered area for anyone wishing to indulge in antisocial behaviour. It would also be an excellent vantage point from which to observe the rear aspects of several properties in Bridgewater Road. As for the aesthetic merits of such a structure, if the ugly, 16-foot galvanised steel monstrosity that was erected in just two days in Leighton Buzzard station car park is anything to go by, the extension would do little to enhance Berkhamsted station’s cultural heritage.
Our town council has ill-advisedly declared its support for London Midland’s flawed plans. Why might that be? Well, by pretending that an expanded car park would help alleviate the town’s parking problems it conveniently puts off taking any real action – and of course it does so without dipping into its own coffers since the station car park expansion would be entirely funded by London Midland. A brilliant bit of spin if ever there was one! The council needs to wake up to the fact that we need a real transport plan borne out of some enlightened thinking, not the white elephant that this extension would undoubtedly be.
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Comments
The car park extension is not so much a white elephant as a red herring!!
The council have little or no interest in this (apart from a cursory nod in the planning department). I first sent an enquiry to the council regarding increased and dangerous commuter parking in our road on the 17/1/2006 (yes, you read that date right) - requesting yellow lines to be painted - which as you would expect was ignored. I expected this and sent a reminder - also ignored. I then emailed a councillor who lived nearby who - whilst helpful - in true local council style wanted to wrap the issue into a wider 'consultation'. There was no consultation required, we simply wanted yellow lines like every other road around us already had.
Anyway, if you're reading this I'm sure you've got your own commuter parking stories so I won't bore you with mine - suffice to say after investigations and short-sighted objections from other residents in the road we ended up with 10 ft of yellow line on one corner and, amusingly, due to a car parked on the other corner when they turned up to paint the lines, half a job on that corner - which has never been completed.This is such a massive deterrent to the commuters - taking out one and a half parking spaces.
Anyway I'll get to the point. Subsequent to this we received a questionnaire regarding parking in the town and buried in the middle was the real reason for the council's inaction. The question was asked "Would we support a resident's parking scheme?". The truth is revealed. By not making the right decision, or indeed any decision at all - a local council specialism in my experience - they not only save money by not having to paint yellow lines - they can raise money via a Resident's Scheme. They will of course wrap up the fact that we will be charged to park in our own road as a solution to the commuter problems. Paranoid? Me? I certainly hope so.
By a_chilliman at 10:16 on 20/01/10
ReportMore details on the station car park expansion here: tinyurl.com/yaxmn6w
By LaraKing at 18:49 on 19/01/10
ReportI say no!!!!!
By TomTom32 at 18:33 on 19/01/10
Report